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Portraying Mary Magdalene Today: The Movie Version(s) with Joan Taylor, Ph.D.

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

Mary Magdalene has been a figure of religious and artistic inspiration for Christians for some 2000 years.  In the Bible, she is a disciple of Jesus and a key witness at his crucifixion and resurrection. In the Western Church her role and character changed and she became known as a penitent prostitute.  In medieval art, she is often portrayed naked, covered only with her long hair.  In more modern versions, she has been portrayed as the romantic partner and wife of Jesus.  What is the truth? Professor Joan Taylor of King’s College is an expert in the field and shares her insights into some of the images of Mary Magdalene that we receive today.

About our presenter

Prof. Joan Taylor: After a BA degree at Auckland University, New Zealand, Joan completed post-graduate studies at the University of Otago and then went to the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (Kenyon Institute) as Annual Scholar in 1986. She undertook a PhD at New College, Edinburgh University, and was appointed in 1992 to a position of lecturer (subsequently senior lecturer) at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, in the departments of both Religious Studies and History. In 1995 she won an Irene Levi-Sala Award in Israel’s archaeology, for the book version of her PhD thesis, Christians and the Holy Places (Oxford: Clarendon, 1993, rev. 2003). In 1996-7 she was Visiting Lecturer and Research Associate in Women’s Studies in Religion at Harvard Divinity School, a position she held in association with a Fulbright Award. She has also been Honorary Research Fellow in the Departments of History and Jewish Studies at University College London. She has taught at King’s College London since 2009. View the engaging and informative documentary on Jesus’ women disciples featuring Joan Taylor.

Opening Prayer

Litany to Saint Mary Magdalene adapted from “Thirteen Ways of Calling Out To Mary Magdalene” developed by The Women Who Stayed, the women’s ministry at the Church of St. Francis Xavier, NYC.

SynodWatch Series Session Three

Written on . Posted in Justice In the Church, Synod on Synodality.

FutureChurch hosts a 3-part online series exploring the Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for the October 2023 Assembly of the Synod on Synodality which was released on June 20, 2023.

Session 3: Participation, Governance, and Authority

This third session covered the third priority in the working document – “Participation, Governance, and Authority” FutureChurch co-directors, Russ Petrus and Deborah Rose, were joined by Sr. Lynn Jarrell, OSU; Ellie Hidalgo; and Rev. Joseph Healey, MM who offered their own insights and commentary from their experience and expertise.

  • Deborah Rose provides an overview of who will be attending and voting at the October Assembly.
  • Sr. Lynn Jarrell, OSU, a canon lawyer, addressed how canon law could be used to promote synodality.
  • Ellie Hidalgo, co-director of Discerning Deacons, will discussed her recent journey to the Amazon to learn how synodality is taking shape there.
  • Rev. Joseph Healey, MM spoke about synodality in the African context from his own decades-long experience as a Maryknoll missioner – mostly in Tanzania and Kenya – in a number of capacities.

View Deb’s Slides

 

Gender and the Role of Women in Our Liturgical Life

Written on . Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

FutureChurch is joined by Yale Divinity School Professor Teresa Berger, Ph.D. who has spent a lifetime examining both past and present liturgical developments from the perspective of women’s lives. In her presentation, Dr. Berger offer insights into the roles women played in Early Christianity, the history of women’s liturgical ministries, and the development of the calendar of saints and the uneven ways we have come to formally venerate women within the tradition.

Teresa Berger, Ph.D. is Professor of Liturgical Studies and Thomas E. Golden Jr. Professor of Catholic Theology at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

Further Reading: 

SynodWatch Series Session Two

Written on . Posted in Justice In the Church, Synod on Synodality.

FutureChurch hosts a 3-part online series exploring the Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for the October 2023 Assembly of the Synod on Synodality which was released on June 20, 2023.

Session 2: Co-responsibility in Mission

This second session covers the second priority in the document – “Co-responsibility in Mission.” FutureChurch co-directors, Russ Petrus and Deborah Rose, are joined by Kate McElwee and Luke Hansen, who will offer their insights and commentary.

  • Kate McElwee is the executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue and prayerful witness to call for women’s ordination and gender equity in the Roman Catholic Church. Kate earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and a Certificate in Buddhist Studies from Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley Massachusetts, USA, and a Masters degree, with distinction from the School of Oriental and African Studies in (SOAS – University of London) in International Human Rights Law.
  • Luke Hansen is a campus minister and religious studies teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. He has a master’s degree in social philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Luke has worked as a journalist, prison chaplain and advocate for social and ecclesial change. He is a former co-director of the Discerning Deacons project, which engages Catholics in the question of women and diaconate. He also worked as an editor for the Jesuit journals America and La Civiltà Cattolica. He has reported from the Vatican, Honduras, El Salvador and Guantánamo Bay, and he has won several awards from the Catholic Press Association for his writing.

View Deb’s Slides

SynodWatch Series on the Working Document

Written on . Posted in Justice In the Church, Synod on Synodality.

FutureChurch hosts a 3-part online series exploring the Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for the October 2023 Assembly of the Synod on Synodality which was released on June 20, 2023.

Jump to:

Session 1: A Communion that Radiates

This first session covers the overall structure of the document and discusses the first priority addressed in the document – “A Communion that Radiates.” FutureChurch co-directors, Russ Petrus and Deborah Rose, are joined by:

Session 2: Co-responsibility in Mission

This second session covers the second priority in the document – “Co-responsibility in Mission.” FutureChurch co-directors, Russ Petrus and Deborah Rose, are joined by Kate McElwee and Luke Hansen, who will offer their insights and commentary.

  • Kate McElwee is the executive director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue and prayerful witness to call for women’s ordination and gender equity in the Roman Catholic Church. Kate earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and a Certificate in Buddhist Studies from Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley Massachusetts, USA, and a Masters degree, with distinction from the School of Oriental and African Studies in (SOAS – University of London) in International Human Rights Law.
  • Luke Hansen is a campus minister and religious studies teacher at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. He has a master’s degree in social philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Luke has worked as a journalist, prison chaplain and advocate for social and ecclesial change. He is a former co-director of the Discerning Deacons project, which engages Catholics in the question of women and diaconate. He also worked as an editor for the Jesuit journals America and La Civiltà Cattolica. He has reported from the Vatican, Honduras, El Salvador and Guantánamo Bay, and he has won several awards from the Catholic Press Association for his writing.

View Deb’s Slides

Session 3: Participation, Governance, and Authority

This third session covered the third priority in the working document – “Participation, Governance, and Authority” FutureChurch co-directors, Russ Petrus and Deborah Rose, were joined by Sr. Lynn Jarrell, OSU; Ellie Hidalgo; and Rev. Joseph Healey, MM who offered their own insights and commentary from their experience and expertise.

  • Deborah Rose provides an overview of who will be attending and voting at the October Assembly.
  • Sr. Lynn Jarrell, OSU, a canon lawyer, addressed how canon law could be used to promote synodality.
  • Ellie Hidalgo, co-director of Discerning Deacons, will discussed her recent journey to the Amazon to learn how synodality is taking shape there.
  • Rev. Joseph Healey, MM spoke about synodality in the African context from his own decades-long experience as a Maryknoll missioner – mostly in Tanzania and Kenya – in a number of capacities.

View Deb’s Slides

 

The Women of Acts with Teresa Calpino, Ph.D.

Written on . Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Teresa Calpino, Ph.D. joins FutureChurch for this “Women Erased” series presentation, discussing the women who led and ministered in The Acts of the Apostles, with a particular focus on Tabitha (Acts 9:36–42) and Lydia (Acts 16:11–15). The women in Acts of the Apostles have routinely been ignored by scholars or mentioned only in praising the male apostle associated with their story. As a result, these important characters have been obscured.

Dr. Calpino received her BS from Northwestern University in Communications. She received an MA in Biblical Languages and Literature in 2005 and her PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity in 2012 both from Loyola University Chicago. Her interests include Acts of the Apostles, Women and Gender, The Greco-Roman Social Context of early Christian literature, The Church Fathers, and Letter, Inscriptions and Artifacts of the early Christian world.

Dr. Calpino’s book Women, Work and Leadership in Acts was published in 2014 by Mohr-Siebeck. (WUNT II, 361; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014) She has also published articles in Biblical Review and Annali di Storia dell’Esegesi. Her book chapter, “Mary Magdalene in Modern Scholarship,” was published in late 2014 in the scholarly anthology Maria Magdalena. She has also presented numerous papers at conferences on both the local and national level. She is a member of The Society of Biblical Literature, The Chicago Society of Biblical Research and The Catholic Biblical Association. She is currently the chair of the “Teaching the Bible” section for the Midwest Society of Biblical Literature.

Resource

Dr. Calpino’s Dissertation: The Lord Opened Her Heart: Women, Work, and Leadership in Acts of the Apostles

The Making of a Women’s Lectionary

Written on . Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Ashley Wilcox joins FutureChurch for this Women Erased Series presentation, sharing the story behind her best-selling book, The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible throughout the Year.  

Ashley Wilcox is a graduate of Candler School of Theology, The School of the Spirit, and Willamette University College of Law. Before going to seminary, Ashley worked for appellate courts in Washington and Oregon. Her writing has been published in Working Preacher, Friends Journal, Quaker Religious Thought, Western Friend, Fidelia, and various Quaker anthologies. She founded Church of Mary Magdalene and Preaching with Confidence, an online preaching class and preaching coaching.

Ashley preaches, speaks, and teaches across the U.S. and internationally. She has been teaching and leading workshops on women and spirituality for more than a decade. She also taught preaching to Candler School of Theology students for five years.

Helpful Links:

More Lectionaries:

Black Catholic Women in 18th and 19th Century New Orleans

Written on . Posted in Justice In the Church, Women In Church Leadership, Women Witnesses for Racial Justice.

Professor Emily Clark joins FutureChurch to discuss the lives of Black Catholic women such as Venerable Henriette Delille in the context of late 18th century and early 19th century life in New Orleans, offering background on the many unique features of life in New Orleans. The region’s development under French and Spanish rule brought the enslavement and transport of African people, Code Noir, color labels such as quadroon, the creolization of culture and religion. Dr. Clark will explore the history and discuss how free women of color such as Henriette Delille, Juliette Gaudin, and Josephine Charles were able to found the second successful religious community of Black Catholic women, the Sisters of the Holy Family, in the United States.

Emily Clark is the Clement Chambers Benenson Professor in American Colonial History at Tulane University. She specializes in early American and Atlantic world history, with a focus on the French Atlantic. Her research interests include slavery, race, gender, religion and historical memory.

More Resources