The 45 page A Million Voices resource packet educates about the use of gospel nonviolence when a Catholic’s right and responsibility to speak on a “matter concerning the good of the Church” (Canon 212.2) is violated. The packet is organized into two threads: Thread One provides resources and strategies for those who wish to exercise their right and responsibility to continue the discussion of women’s roles in the church, including the current church teaching on the non-ordination of women to the priesthood; Thread Two provides resources and strategies for addressing and resisting an array of common abuses of authority in the US Church experienced by many Catholics at both the parish and diocesan level. The packet also includes advocacy materials for both threads.
Women and the Word Resource for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost
This resource offers time tested ways to incorporate women in our salvation history and women today during Lent, Holy Week, the Easter Season and Pentecost. You will receive:
Lent: Were You There? Women Witness the Way of the Cross Prayer Service
Holy Week: Concrete Ways to Incorporate Women in Your Holy Week Services
Good Friday: With Him All Along: The Women on the Journey
Easter Season: Concrete Ways to Incorporate Biblical Women in the Easter Season
Easter Gospel Restoration Project – Resources for including the story of Mary of Magdala on Easter Sunday
Pentecost Prayer Service featuring the Spirit of Women
Women and the Word Resources are available in the FutureChurch shop.
Our Mary of Nazareth: Feast of the Assumption Download offers educational and prayer resources to help you learn about and pray with Mary the disciple and prophet.
Education Resources on Mary of Nazareth
Mary Through History — An easy-to-read examination of Marian thought and art from the Early Church through Today by Mary Christine Athans, BVM, Ph.D.
Reclaiming Mary: A Task for Feminist Theology by Mary Grey, Ph.D.
Will The Real Mary Please Stand Up? Transcript and MP3 of Podcast Discussion with Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ
Mary of Nazareth: Sign of God’s Liberation by Christine Schenk, CSJ
Outline and Discussion Questions to host your own four-session series on Mary of Nazareth
Resources on the Feast of the Assumption
The Assumption: History and Questions by Judith Davis, Ph.D.
Beyond the Womb: Mary as Disciple by Judith Davis, Ph.D.
A New Perspective: Mary as Prophet in the Visitation by Penelope Duckworth
Mary’s Influence on Jesus: Three Prophetic Themes by Penelope Duckworth
The Wisdom of Older Women by Jordan Denari
Prayer Service Celebrating Mary, Disciple and Prophet
Poetry by Christine Lore Weber
Mary of Nazereth Resource Packs are available in the FutureChurch shop.
In 1997, FutureChurch launched an international campaign to restore St. Mary of Magdala to her rightful place as the apostle to the apostles, asking supporters to sponsor special celebrations on or around July 22 at which a biblical expert would trace Mary’s unparalleled fidelity in accompanying Jesus through crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. This would be followed by a prayer service at which a woman would preside, preach and encourage attendees to reflect on their own encounters with, and witness to, the risen Christ.
Annual celebrations of St. Mary of Magdala exploded after that, going from 23 that first year, to 150 the following year to between 250 to 400 celebrations worldwide in each year since. Every summer, thousands of women and men help correct an egregious injustice done to a great woman leader in our church.
About this year’s celebration: Just as Mary Magdalene proclaimed the Divine Truth of Resurrection 2,000 years ago, women are proclaiming Divine Truths today. This year’s celebration features a liturgy of the word uplifting the voices of women who are writing or speaking out on pressing issues facing the Church and world. And FutureChurch program associate Olivia Hastie has written a beautiful guided meditation to help participants discover and embody the truth God is calling them to proclaim.
We invite you to host your own celebration, adapting this prayer service as necessary. FutureChurch has an extensive library of resources to help – including nearly 30 years’ worth of celebration guides, which provide everything you need – prayers, readings, and music suggestions – to plan your own celebration.
A 2021 Lenten Bible Study Series with Dr. Lizzie Berne DeGear
Beginning Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET through March 31, 2021 (6 week series)
Join FutureChurch for six evenings (75 minutes each evening) of Bible Study during Lent.
Each week, Dr. DeGear will introduce a story from Scripture where women’s power and the divine feminine are waiting to be discovered and incorporated into our own lives.
Some of the powerful and inspiring women we will meet include:
The midwives from Exodus who establish their own dynastic lines of power;
The business-owning women of Proverbs educating the next generation of literate and successful young women;
The healer in Mark’s gospel who invites Jesus to experience resurrection before he dies.
Each week we will also explore a biblical image of the divine feminine, tapping into the power of that image through a spiritual exercise that can be practiced throughout the week.
Each evening will include:
Welcome and opening meditation
Presentation on one biblical story that introduces us to a surprising form of power held by our female ancestors
Discussion — all are invited to reflect on the story through the lens of their own lives
Introduction of an image of the divine feminine from Scripture
Honoring St. Mary Magdalene as “Apostle to the Apostles” Through Art
Art Changes Lives! Join the educational campaign for students!
Imagine a Catholic Church where the name of Mary Magdalene immediately evokes images — not of a repentant prostitute — but of the first witness to the Resurrection, joyfully announcing the Good News to the Apostles and friends of Jesus.
Imagine a Catholic education system where artistic representations of Mary Magdalene as “Apostle to the Apostles” are just as ubiquitous as representations of the male apostles.
Imagine what it would mean for young girls in Catholic schools, for young women in Catholic universities, and for men studying to be priests to be deeply acquainted with the images of Mary Magdalene as “Apostle to the Apostles.”
Now imagine the lives you could change, the Church you could enrich through art.
Today we are reaching out to you to ask your support for a massive educational project we are undertaking during the season when we honor the feast of St. Mary of Magdala.
During our “Feeding Five Thousand Campaign” FutureChurch willl produce high quality posters (18 x 12) of St. Mary of Magdala Proclaims the Resurrection by artist Margaret Beaudette, S.C., package them with a cover letter explaining the significance of the art from our biblical expert, along with a copy of Pope Francis’s decree, “Apostle of the Apostles.” We will then send them to five thousand Catholic schools, universities, and seminaries.
Artist, Chloe Becker, discusses her process and the symbolism in each of the portraits for FutureChurch’s Women Witnesses for Racial Justice series and takes questions from the audience.
Music:
“All Are Welcome.” Text: Marty Haugen. Tune: TWO OAKS with refrain by Marty Haugen. Copyright 1994, GIA Publications Inc. All rights reserved. Printed and streamed under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.
“I’m Gonna Do What the Spirit Says Do.” Traditional African-American Spiritual.
Music: “Women of the Church” by Carey Landry. Copyright 2005 Carey Landry. Published by OCP. All rights reserved. Printed and streamed under ONE LICENSE #A-737115.
