Note: In honor of the upcoming Roman Catholic Women Priests episcopate ordinations on October 1st, the Table will run a feature post on both Suzanne Thiel and Jane Via this week. This is the first installment. WOC celebrates this milestone for the RCWP community.  You may think of Roman Catholic bishops as stern or stuffy;…
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I was in my late teens when I first read the life of Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), a gift book from a devoted aunt who sought to encourage vocations in all her nephews and nieces. It is hard to explain my subsequent fascination with this French nun who died of consumption at age 24 without…
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The following are excerpts from an interview between WOC executive director, Kate McElwee (KM) and Cindi “Sam” Bowns (SB) first published in the Spring 2017 issue of New Women, New Church. Sam has discerned a vocation to the diaconate and advocates for the restoration of ordained women deacons in the Roman Catholic Church. A PDF version…
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In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches the disciples how to seek reconciliation. This is clearly something the disciples needed, and something that our world, and each of us gathered here need today. Many of us here are seeking reconciliation, because our brother has sinned against us. Our Mother Church has sinned against us. Jesus says “If…
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As Pope Francis begins his trip to Colombia (6-11 September 2017), we share this 2013 article from our journal, New Women, New Church, by Colombian woman priest Olga Lucia Álvarez Benjumea, ARCWP. I’ve been discovering that ever since I was a very young girl, without much awareness back then, that the Divine has always guided me with kindness and…
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Without question, the subject of this amazing book, Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray, is the most influential woman of the 20th century, whom we know the least about! Pauli Murray was a lawyer who worked on the most powerful civil rights legislation of her day, was affiliated with the ACLU, the EEOC, National…
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For the fourth time, the women of Voices of Faith gathered at the Vatican on International Women’s Day (March 8) for a storytelling and conversation series highlighting women’s resilience and courage. This year’s theme focused on peace-building and women’s unique role as first responders and negotiators in crisis, conflict regions and communities in need. Expectations for this year’s conversation…
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I am not sure how it started – curiosity, maybe. But I got it in my mind to visit women clergy in my town. I guess I have wanted to see what it would be like to see a woman pastor in action. After all, in my path to this moment, the ordination of Episcopal…
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Thanks to Bridget Power for this special guest post on her short documentary film, Agayutem Yui (People of God), exploring the leadership and spirituality of lay, Yup’ik, Catholic women.  __________________________________________________________________________________ I made Agayutem Yui (People of God) in an attempt to explore how lay, Yup’ik, Catholic women like Susan Murphy, Yuagiisaq Lena Long, and Masmaruss’ak Lilly Afcan…
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This Advent, The Table has featured weekly reflections from Deacon Christine Haider-Winnett, RCWP, based on the liturgical readings for that week. This week’s readings can be found here. Homilies and reflections on The Table are part of a new “Preaching Equality” series from WOC. “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about,” says Matthew,…
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