Media Type: Video

A post with a video embed or link to video

Chicago Preaching Slam Celebrating Mary Magdalene

Written on April 29, 2026. Posted in Mary of Magdala, Women In Church Leadership.

On April 26, 2026 FutureChurch continued its ongoing 35th Anniversary celebration by hosting a preaching slam at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL.

We are thankful to CTU and the Bernardin Center for their kind hospitality and support in making this event such a success!

We are deeply grateful for our inspiring preachers—Krista Chinchilla-Patzke, Pau Delgadillo, Kimberly Lymore, and C. Vanessa White—who each offered compelling reflections on resurrection, discipleship, and the enduring witness of Mary Magdalene.

Special thanks to our presider, Tiffany Swann-Covington, who beautifully guided us through a prayerful and spirit-filled celebration.

We also give thanks to Celine Woznica and Margaret Rudnik, who shared their migrant ministry and invited us to imagine how we might live out the call to justice and compassion in our own communities.

It was a joy to gather in Chicago with so many wonderful people, reflecting together on how each of us is called to be a preacher of resurrection in our own context.

“Resucito!” and “Alleluia! Give the Glory” reprinted and streamed under OneLicense #S-921009. “You Shall Be My Witnesses” used with permission of the composer.

Intersectionality for Prophetically Inclusive Ministry with Yunuen Trujillo

Written on March 31, 2026. Posted in Justice In the Church.

FutureChurch and DignityUSA proudly welcome Yunuen Trujillo for this collaborative virtual Lenten gathering.

In her reflective presentation, Yunuen explains intersectionality as a way to understand how overlapping identities (such as race, gender, class, and sexuality) shape experiences of privilege and oppression. Through reflection exercises—especially the wheel of privilege and vulnerability—and historical context, the she explores how these dynamics influence culture and society, personal perspectives, and ministry work, highlighting areas where we may lack awareness or understanding due to our own experiences. Grounded in the Gospel’s call to love and solidarity, Yunuen challenges systems of division and encourages more inclusive, justice-centered ministry through practices like reflection, listening, learning, and collaboration.

Yunuen Trujillo (she/her) is a Catholic lay minister, author, immigration and workers’ rights attorney, and faith-based community organizer. With over 15 years in ministry—including leadership in LGBTQ+ Catholic inclusion—she is a frequent speaker at major gatherings like the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. She is the author of LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry (and its award-winning Spanish edition), founder of @lgbtcatholics, and a board member of New Ways Ministry and FutureChurch. Her work centers on intersectional justice and building bridges across faith and social movements.

To learn more about our partner, DignityUSA, visit https://www.dignityusa.org/

En Español

FutureChurch y DignityUSA dan una cordial bienvenida a Yunuen Trujillo para este encuentro virtual de Cuaresma en colaboración.

En su presentación reflexiva, Yunuen explica la interseccionalidad como una forma de entender cómo las identidades que se entrecruzan (como raza, género, clase y sexualidad) moldean las experiencias de privilegio y opresión. A través de ejercicios de reflexión—especialmente la rueda de privilegio y vulnerabilidad—y del contexto histórico, explora cómo estas dinámicas influyen en la cultura y la sociedad, en las perspectivas personales y en el trabajo ministerial, destacando áreas donde podemos carecer de conciencia o comprensión debido a nuestras propias experiencias. Arraigada en el llamado del Evangelio al amor y la solidaridad, Yunuen desafía los sistemas de división y anima a un ministerio más inclusivo y centrado en la justicia mediante prácticas como la reflexión, la escucha, el aprendizaje y la colaboración.

Yunuen Trujillo (ella) es ministra laica católica, autora, abogada de derechos de inmigrantes y trabajadores, y organizadora comunitaria basada en la fe. Con más de 15 años de experiencia en el ministerio—incluyendo liderazgo en la inclusión de personas LGBTQ+ en la Iglesia católica—es una ponente frecuente en encuentros importantes como el Congreso de Educación Religiosa de Los Ángeles. Es autora de LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry (y su edición en español galardonada), fundadora de @lgbtcatholics, y miembro de la junta directiva de New Ways Ministry y FutureChurch. Su trabajo se centra en la justicia interseccional y en tender puentes entre la fe y los movimientos por la justicia social.

Para obtener más información sobre DignityUSA, visite: https://www.dignityusa.org/

The Crucifixion Principle: A Lenten Evening of Reflection with Father Anne

Written on March 25, 2026. Posted in Women In Church Leadership.

On March 24, 2026, FutureChurch welcomed back Father Anne who continued exploring the themes of her new book, The Shepherd Within, leading an evening of reflection on the Crucifixion Principle.

The evening was separated into three movements – each consisting of a brief presentation by Father Anne followed by time for personal reflection and prayer. We invite you to follow along with the video and the reflection guides below, pausing to take as much time for reflection in between the three movements as you need.

Closing Poem
“Two Ways” by Steve Garnaas-Holmes

About Father
Anne Father Anne was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2021 through a reform movement called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Because the Roman Catholic Church prevents the full participation of women in Church life, Father Anne was forced to choose between obedience to God and obedience to Church law. Choosing God, she was excommunicated, ending her career in the Church she loves. She now devotes her life to gender justice in one of the most powerful institutions in the world. Father Anne has a Master of Divinity from Jesuit School of Theology and a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University. Her deepest desire is to serve as a parish priest in the Roman Catholic Church. She works for the day this dream comes true. Visit Father Anne’s website: https://www.fatheranne.com. Learn more about and purchase Father Anne’s book at http://shepherdwithin.com

More from Father Anne and FutureChurch:

Cultivating Resilience in 2026: Drinking from Wisdom Wells of Our Neighbors’ Traditions with Lynn Cooper

Written on March 19, 2026. Posted in Justice In the Church.

As part of FutureChurch’s 2026 Lenten programming, we welcome Lynn Cooper, who offers a reflective talk on cultivating resilience in the face of violence, injustice, and uncertainty in 2026, drawing on spiritual insights from multiple traditions.

Lynn weaves together the diary of Etty Hillesum, a Jewish woman documenting life under Nazi occupation, poems from early Buddhist women, and a contemporary devotional rooted in resistance theology to explore how individuals can remain grounded without becoming overwhelmed. Through these voices, she highlights the power of inner life, storytelling, and attentiveness as practices of resistance that allow us to notice beauty and joy even amid suffering. Framing resilience as the ability to stay rooted in one’s values while adapting to hardship, she ultimately invites us all to understand our own lives as “sacred texts” and to engage in reflective practices that sustain hope, freedom, and meaningful action.

Lynn Cooper is the Associate Director of the University Chaplaincy and Catholic Chaplain at Tufts University. She holds a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University School of Theology and an M.Div from Harvard Divinity School. Working in a multifaith chaplaincy context in higher education has been one of the great gifts of her life. At Tufts, she runs an interfaith friendship for students, faculty, and staff, facilitates the interfaith student council, and directs an intergenerational oral history that magnifies the wisdom and stories of lay folks. Lynn’s first book, Embracing Our Time: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship, came out in May 2025 from Fortress Press.

Opening Prayer (as originally developed by Olivia Hastie for Ash Wednesday)

Today we feel the cool trace of ash pressed gently on our skin.

Dust, we are told. Dust and beloved.
We remember we are made of earth and breath, and alive with holy possibility.
This Lent, we fast not to shrink but to awaken.
Nurture our activist spirit, O God,
steady as rivers shaping stone,
persistent as roots finding water in the dark.

Let our repentance be a turning toward justice.
Let our prayers move our feet.
Mark us with ash, but also with vision.
Mark us with dust, but also with resolve.
For we are of the earth – and the earth is aching.
We are of the Spirit- and the Spirit still speaks.

This Lent, may we tend what is holy within us until it rises –
steady, luminous, and brave enough to love the world into change. Amen

Suggested Reading List:

The Time is Now Launch Call

Written on February 27, 2026. Posted in Mary of Magdala, Women In Church Leadership.

FutureChurch hosts a launch call for its project, “The Time is Now: Let Mary Magdalene Preach the Resurrection,” which invites Catholics to ask their parishes to read the full Resurrection Narrative from John’s Gospel on Easter Sunday.

In this launch call, we discuss the inspiration behind this project, provide an overview of the resources available to help you, and share real-world insights about approaching your pastor/pastoral team with this request.

Opening Prayer by Olivia Hastie

God of the Living Word,
on Easter morning we will dare to listen longer, deeper, more fully —
to hear the whole story of your love in the Gospel of John,
not in fragments, but as a living witness from beginning to end.

We remember that it was Mary Magdalene who first proclaimed the resurrection,
whose voice carried the good news when the world was still trembling.
As we commit to hearing this Gospel in its fullness,
lift the voices that have been shortened, silenced, or set aside.
Give us courage to receive the testimony of those you have already sent.

Risen Christ, you are the Word made flesh —
not a few verses, but a life poured out in signs, stories, tears, courage, and love stronger than death.
As we listen to her proclamation, stretch our attention, our imagination, and our hearts.
Let this long telling become an act of hope, a refusal to reduce your good news, a sign that we are hungry for all you have to say.

Make our church a people who listen fully —
to Scripture, to the marginalized, to the women who proclaim resurrection, to all who have seen you and cannot keep silent.

We ask this in the name of the One who calls us friends, who speaks our names in the garden, and the Spirit who is still speaking life into the world.

Amen

Commissioning Prayer by Martha Ligas

Loving God we have been called.
We’ve heard the Good News.
And like our sister Mary of Magdala,
we want to shout it from the rooftops.

Give us the courage
and the fortitude
to take the good news of Mary’s proclamation to our parishes,
and open the eyes and hearts of our parish leaders
to join us in proclaiming her full story for all to hear.

Amen.

Praying with the Shepherd Within: An Advent Evening of Reflection with Father Anne

Written on December 10, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Women In Church Leadership.

On December 9, 2025, FutureChurch welcomed Father Anne who led an evening of reflection on the Incarnation to celebrate the ongoing mystery of Advent. Together we will explored some of the principles in the first section of her new book, The Shepherd Within, creating quiet time during to invite God to minister to us and teach us about God’s essential drive to incarnate into our lives to bring about goodness.

The evening was separated into three movements – each consisting of a brief presentation by Father Anne followed by time for personal reflection and prayer. We invite you to follow along with the video using the prayer guides below, pausing to take as much time in between the three movements as you need.

Learn more about and purchase Father Anne’s book at http://shepherdwithin.com

About Father Anne

Father Anne was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2021 through a reform movement called the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests. Because the Roman Catholic Church prevents the full participation of women in Church life, Father Anne was forced to choose between obedience to God and obedience to Church law. Choosing God, she was excommunicated, ending her career in the Church she loves. She now devotes her life to gender justice in one of the most powerful institutions in the world. Father Anne has a Master of Divinity from Jesuit School of Theology and a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing Studies from San Diego State University. Her deepest desire is to serve as a parish priest in the Roman Catholic Church. She works for the day this dream comes true.

Learn more at https://www.fatheranne.com/

The Spirit Still Speaks: New Voices for Reform

Written on November 20, 2025. Posted in Emerging Models of Parish & Community Life, Justice In the Church, Uncategorized.

On November 19, 2025 FutureChurch hosted a powerful conversation with a panel of young thinkers and activists. Moderated by Shannon K. Evans, Katie Gordon, Maxwell Kuzma, Medene Presley, and Yunuen Trujillo shared their experiences, insights, and hopes for a more just, inclusive, and Spirit-led Church.

Key points:

Speaking from his perspective as a convert to Catholicism from the Afro-Pentecost tradition, Medene J.R. Presley comments on how the Church can reach out to communities it has hurt and alienated, noting that simply issuing documents isn’t enough.
As someone who occupies many Catholic spaces, Yunuen Trujillo addresses the need for progressive Catholics to open their minds and spaces to true intersectionality and inclusivity as one way to confront the pervasiveness of white Christian nationalism.
Reflecting on his journey as a transgender Catholic, Maxwell Kuzma discusses the role of personal discernment and intergenerational solidarity so that we can show up unapologetically in Catholic spaces as our true, authentic selves.
Katie Gordon reflects on her work with Nuns and Nuns and her relationships with different communities of women religious to share insights about how faith communities grow, evolve, and change.

More about our panelists:

Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at National Catholic Reporter and the author of the books The Mystics Would Like a Word, Feminist Prayers for My Daughter, and Rewilding Motherhood. With interest in ecofeminism, social change and contemplative practice, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion. She and her family make their home in central Iowa.

Katie Gordon is a spiritual seeker inspired by monastic tradition. She is the Coordinator of Monasteries of the Heart, an online movement that translates Benedictine wisdom for contemporary seekers. Katie is often experimenting with new ways of co-creating community outside of traditional religious forms, including her previous projects like Nuns & Nones and the Formation Project. She is most inspired by Benedict as a model of “living otherwise” today, and writes about this and more on her Substack, Following the Monastic Impulse.
Maxwell Kuzma is a writer, advocate, and podcast host exploring what it means to be transgender, Catholic, and committed to justice. A columnist for National Catholic Reporter and board member of DignityUSA, he centers LGBTQ+ voices in the Church and reimagines Catholic theology through a liberatory lens. He has been interviewed by press such as the NYTimes and BBC on queer and trans Catholic identity, church reform, and LGBTQ+ inclusion.
Medene J.R. Presley is from Sacramento, CA; born and raised in the Afro-Pentecostal Christian tradition, but in 2018, was received into the Catholic Church while studying in seminary. He holds a Bachelors of Psychology from William Jessup University; a Masters of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology, and is currently pursuing a second Masters in Clinical Psychology at Loyola Marymount University. Medene researches the integration of psychology and theology, moral/practical theology, and pastoral counseling. He is the co-founder of the God Talk with Medene and James podcast. Moreover, he is a religious educator, campus minister, and community service director at a private Catholic high school in Los Angeles.
Yunuen Trujillo is a lay minister, faith-based community organizer, and immigration attorney. With over 15 years of experience in young adult ministry, she currently serves as the Religious Formation Coordinator (Spanish) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Yunuen has worked with L.A. Voice PICO, a faith-based organization focused on creating a society that reflects the dignity of all, advocating for immigration reform, criminal justice reform, and increased resources for education. She is a board member of New Ways Ministry and FutureChurch. Yunuen is also the author of LGBT Catholics: A Guide to Inclusive Ministry, published in English and Spanish by Paulist Press.

Prayers:

Opening Prayer: “The Spirit Who Still Speaks” by Martha Ligas
Closing Prayer: “Like Rivers Meeting” by Olivia Hastie

Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns Accepts 2025 Fr. Louis J. Trivison Award

Written on October 24, 2025. Posted in Fall Event.

FutureChurch is honored to present the 2025 Louis J. Trivison Award to Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns in deep gratitude and recognition of her care-filled and faithful service to the People of God – and especially those at the margins – as a delegate to the Synod on Synodality.

The Fr. Louis Trivison award is given to a Roman Catholic who exhibits outstanding leadership in advancing FutureChurch’s Vatican II mission or vision in one or more areas of: teaching, administration, research, publication, advocacy, and pastoral care.