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Lent 2025 Session Five: Praying with and for Women

Written on April 10, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Lent 2025.

In this fifth session of our Lent series, we celebrate a Eucharist in solidarity with all women.

We are grateful to Rev. Angela Meyer, RCWP and members of the Brownsburg Inclusive Catholic Community who so beautifully led us in prayer. To learn more about BICC, visit https://www.binclusivecatholiccommunity.org/.

View/Download the Worship Aid

The series will continue to unfold over this sacred season as we pray with and for vulnerable populations and see where our gifts and joys might meet their needs. Learn more at https://futurechurch.org/lent-2025.

Music:

“There Is a Light” © 1992, Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. and spiritandsong®.. All rights reserved.
Eucharistic Acclamations from “Mass of Creation” by Marty Haugen. © 1984, 2010 GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Used and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.

Lent 2025 Session Four: Praying with and for the Environment

Written on April 3, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Lent 2025.

In this fourth session of our Lent series, we pray with and for the environment, seeking forgiveness for our role in environmental degradation, listening to the word of God, and discerning “what is mine to do.”

This prayer service was developed by Ariell Watson Simon and led by Molly Sutter. Readers are Ann Farah and Daryl Grigsby.

Music:

“There Is a Light” © 1992, Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. and spiritandsong®.. All rights reserved.
“Sacred Creation” © 1990, Rufino Zaragoza, OFM. Published by OCP. All rights reserved.
Used and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.

Confiteor adapted by Ariell Watson Simon

I confess to Creator God,
to Brother Sun, to Sister Moon,
to all that lives and moves around me,
and to you, my sisters and brothers,

That I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughtless consumption and in my broken resolutions;
In my willful ignorance, and in the despair that leads me to opt-out;
in what I have done to contribute to the destruction of the environment,
and in what I have failed to do to prevent it;

Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.

Therefore I ask Saint Francis of Assisi,
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (patron of ecology),
all my spiritual ancestors,
and you, my sisters and brothers,
to pray with me for our Common Home.

Amen.

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Bending Toward Justice: Sr. Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights

Written on March 28, 2025. Posted in Save Our Parish Community, Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

Sr. Christine Schenk joins FutureChurch to present on her latest book, Bending Toward Justice: Sr. Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights

In Bending Toward Justice (Rowman Littlefield, 2024) Schenk the story of the rampant closings of Catholic parishes across the United States and documents the courageous advocacy of Sr. Kate Kuenstler and hundreds—indeed thousands—of ordinary Catholics whose persistence charted a new course in canon law. Sr. Kuenstler’s expertise eventually gave increased leverage to the laity—and their parishes—in the struggle to preserve their parish homes, especially in ethnically diverse and poor neighborhoods.

To learn more about FutureChurch’s Save Our Parish Community initiative, click here.

Christine Schenk, CSJ has worked as a nurse midwife to low-income families, a community organizer, an award-winning writer-researcher, and the founding director of an international church reform organization, FutureChurch. Her first book Crispina and Her Sisters: Women and Authority in Early Christianity (Fortress Press, 2017) received a first place in history from the Catholic Press Association and her most recent work, To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Sr. Theresa Kane RSM (Orbis Books 2019) received first place awards from The Association of Catholic Publishers and the Catholic Press Association.

Schenk also writes a regular column for the National Catholic Reporter and is one of three nuns featured in the award-winning documentary Radical Grace. Schenk graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University and holds two masters’ degrees, one in science from Boston College and an MA in Theology “with distinction” from St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland.

Lent 2025 Session Three: Praying with and for Immigrants and Refugees

Written on March 27, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Lent 2025.

In this second session of our Lent series, we pray with and for the Immigrant and Refugee community, who face increasing threats to their dignity, freedom, lives, and livelihoods.

Developed in collaboration with the FutureChurch team, our prayer service was led by Mayra Cervantes, Damaris Molina, Giovanni Perez, Maria Luna, Yolanda Chavez. The reflection is offered by Yunuen Trujillo, a faith-based community organizer, immigration attorney, and FutureChurch board member.

Music:

“There Is a Light” © 1992, Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. and spiritandsong®.. All rights reserved. Used and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.
“Open My Eyes” All text except Spanish bridge © 1988, 1998, 2006, Jesse Manibusan. Music © 1988, 1998, 2006, Jesse Manibusan. Published by Spirit & Song®, a division of OCP. All rights reserved. Used and streamed with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.

Lent 2025 Session Two: Praying with and for the LGBTQ+ Community

Written on March 20, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Lent 2025.

In this second session of our Lent series, we pray with and for the LGBTQ+ community, who are still struggling for their rightful welcome and inclusion in the church even as they face emerging threats in society. We lift up our lamentations, our love, and our intentions as we stand in solidarity with this community.

We thank the members of the larger FutureChurch network who so beautifully helped us pray:

Leaders: Sarah Hansman, Sarah Morris, Isabel Thurston
Readers: Max Kuzma, Christine Zuba, Michael Sennett

Music:

Lent 2025 Session One: Introductory Reflection

Written on March 13, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church, Lent 2025.

Inspired by the Anointing Woman of Mark’s Gospel (14:3-9), who – in Jesus’ words – “did what she could,” FutureChurch is offering several opportunities designed to help each of us prayerfully discern how we are being called to stand in solidarity with the vulnerable and marginalized and to uphold and defend the dignity of all people.

In this first session, FutureChurch’s Martha Ligas offers an imaginative reflection on the anointing woman and helps us to discern what gifts we have been given and what brings us joy.

To view the Ted talk referenced in the video, visit: https://www.ted.com/talks/ayana_elizabeth_johnson_how_to_find_joy_in_climate_action

Music:

“Catholics for the Common Good” with Daryl Grigsby

Written on February 13, 2025. Posted in Justice In the Church.

Author, Daryl Grigsby, joins FutureChurch to share about his new book, “Catholics for the Common Good: An Eternal Offering.” In his book, Grigsby profiles 36 contemporary Catholics who have worked for justice and human dignity. He features Catholics from diverse national and racial backgrounds; religious, lay, and ordained. During the presentation, Grigsby shares the origins of his book, how it’s organized, offers highlights about four of the Catholics who appear in the book, and takes questions from our community.

Daryl Grigsby is an author and commentator on contemporary Catholic issues. A retired public works director, he also holds a Master’s Degree in Theology and Pastoral Studies from Seattle University and is a graduate of the Sabbatical Renewal Program at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. He is a board member for Leadership Foundations, which resolves critical urban challenges around the world, and for FutureChurch. Grigsby is the author of In Their Footsteps: Inspirational Reflections on Black History for Every Day of the Year and is a frequent contributor to National Catholic Reporter and Black Catholic Messenger.

“The Mystics Would Like a Word” with Shannon K. Evans

Written on January 9, 2025. Posted in Women Erased, Women In Church Leadership.

On January 8, 2025, author Shannon K. Evans joined FutureChurch to discuss her new book, The Mystics Would Like a Word: Six Women Who Met God and Found a Spirituality for Today.

Shannon discusses the origins of her latest book, the lives of six female mystics (Teresa of Ávila, Margery Kempe, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux), and the lessons we can learn from them for today.

Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and is the author of previously published “Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life” and “Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality.” With interest in ecofeminism, social change and contemplative practice, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion. She has partnered with the Jesuits of Canada and the U.S. and is a frequent contributor to Franciscan Media.