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Women Erased: Talking Truth About Sacraments with Susan Ross, Ph.D.

Written on September 23, 2020. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Women have always been at the heart of the sacraments and the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. In the real world where Catholics participate in the Eucharist and the Eucharistic life of the parish/community, women are the backbone. But their ministry is, too often, erased — unrecognized, and undervalued in that they do not receive the same official sanction as male ministers – yielding both sacramental grace and authority for their ministry. Dr. Susan A. Ross, argues that when it comes to the sacraments, the requirements of Catholic social justice have not applied, a disjuncture that severely limits the transformative power of the Eucharist and our common sacramental life. Yet, she also calls attention to what is changing – mapping the opportunities for transformation and emerging realities that are currently redefining our common sacramental life.

Women Erased: Restoring the Memory of Black Catholic Women with Anita Baird, DHM

Written on August 22, 2020. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Black Catholic Women have been instrumental in shaping the life and faith of the Church, yet, our collective memory of their work, courage, challenge, generosity, and faith is too often made “invisible” in our Catholic education, Catholic liturgy, and Catholic art. Sr. Anita Baird, a native of Chicago, IL, and a member of the Religious Congregation of the Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary shares the stories of some of the Black Catholic Women who challenged the Church, challenged their communities, and brought enormous change to this country as they stood against racism and for a more just Catholic Church and world.

2020 Mary of Magdala Virtual Art Tour with Dr. Christina Axen

Written on July 29, 2020. Posted in Mary of Magdala, Women In Church Leadership.

FutureChurch continues to celebrate the 2020 Feast Day of Saint Mary of Magdala with a virtual art tour, featuring early and medieval art.

Dr. Christine Axen draws on her knowledge of the layers of Medieval spiritual life and symbolism to expand our understanding of the complex imagery used to depict Mary Magdalene during the Medieval period. This tour will increase our understanding of the high status Mary Magdalene attained as a patron of 14th-16th century Penitential communities. It will also open the door to questions for further exploration: What happened? Why was “Mary Magdalene Proclaimer of the Resurrection” shown only in private art? And, How did Mary Magdalene go from distinguished Medieval preacher and revered hermit to Titian’s sixteenth century (and other’s) nudes?”

Dr. Christine Axen, Ph.D. is a medievalist with a specialization in French religious history and female religiosity in the Middle Ages. She received her doctorate from Boston University, and currently teaches at Fordham University in New York. She also gives guided tours of the Met Cloisters, the medieval branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is interested in the depiction of women in medieval art, and the messages that art conveys about social order.

2020 Mary of Magdala Celebration with Preacher Dr. Kim Harris

Written on July 23, 2020. Posted in Mary of Magdala, Women In Church Leadership.

FutureChurch Celebrates the Feast Day of Saint Mary of Magdala on July 22, 2020 with a special online liturgy with preaching from Dr. Kim R. Harris, Ph.D.

Dr. Kim Harris is Assistant Professor of African American Thought and Practice in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University. While pursuing her PhD at Union Seminary in New York City, she composed Welcome Table: A Mass of Spirituals, along with composer M. Roger Holland II. A gifted preacher, story teller, singer, and composer she records and travels the nation, performing concerts, lecturing on the music of African American freedom traditions, and leading music in a variety of liturgical settings.

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #S-921009

Women Erased: In Search of a Majority with Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, Th.D.

Written on July 14, 2020. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Throughout the early (2nd-6th) Christian centuries, the lives of most women were lived in silence, while the few elite ascetic women got at least some attention. What about the rest? Dr. Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, Catholic Professor of New Testament emerita at Brite Divinity School and past president of the Catholic Biblical Association, explores the lives of these early Christian women we know little about.

Women Erased: Reading the Bible Against the Grain with Carol Dempsey, OP, Ph.D.

Written on June 22, 2020. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Carol Dempsey, OP, PhD explores new ways of reading the Scripture “against the grain” and offers us new understandings of many of the stories and poems can become uncanningly “prophetic” to move us forward in our work for global justice. Included in our discussion is the topic of the gendering of “God” as we explore hegemonic power. Professor Carol J. Dempsey, OP is an internationally recognized and award-winning scholar who teaches courses in Biblical Studies, specifically in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. With particular expertise in the Prophets, Professor Dempsey’s interests lie in a feminist and liberation approach to biblical texts, gender studies, biblical theology, literary and rhetorical criticism, and environmental/ecological studies.

To Speak the Truth in Love Book Study with Christine Schenk, CSJ and Theresa Kane, RSM

Written on June 4, 2020. Posted in Women In Church Leadership.

To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Theresa Kane RSM

A three-part series from FutureChurch featuring Sr. Christine Schenk CSJ (author) and Sr. Theresa Kane RSM

FutureChurch was honored to welcome Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ and Sr. Theresa Kane, RSM for this unique opportunity to read Sr. Christine’s new book, To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Theresa Kane RSM, together! Each session was filled with additional insights and commentary from Sr. Christine and from Sr. Theresa Kane herself offerred a Q&A. View the session descriptions and the videos of these three remarkable nights below:

Session One: Pope John Paul II meets Sister Theresa Kane: Who is this Person?
Sr. Theresa Kane’s historic 1979 encounter with Pope John Paul II requesting full inclusion of women in all the ministries of the church galvanized the women’s movement in the Catholic Church. What led up to this moment? What changed because of Theresa’s prophetic act?

Session Two: Innovative Provincial: The Perils of Prophetic Leadership
After Vatican II, Theresa and the Sisters of Mercy of the Union experienced immense changes in their ministries and lifestyle. Because Theresa would not desist from speaking her Sisters’ truth about the full equality and moral agency of women, the Vatican tried to remove her from office. But she persisted with a deep and persevering faith.

Session Three: The Significance of Theresa Kane’s Leadership Yesterday and Today
In 2009, the Vatican announced dual wide -ranging investigations of US sisters, described at the time as “probably the largest investigation in church history.” Pope Francis ended both investigations favorably for the sisters. After nearly 50 years of opposition, the Vatican publicly affirmed contemporary expressions of religious life first inaugurated by Theresa and her contemporaries. What lessons does this 50-year saga hold for the People of God today?

Women Erased: From the Lectionary with Michael Peppard, Ph.D.

Written on May 8, 2020. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

FutureChurch welcomes Michael Peppard, PhD, associate professor of New Testament Studies at Fordham University, who discusses how Biblical women are disproportionately underrepresented in the assigned Scripture readings for the Church year: some women are omitted entirely, others are only read at weekday mass, and still others are made “optional.” Providing examples from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Dr. Peppard covers just the tip of the iceberg in this presentation.