Happy 45th Anniversary,
Women’s Ordination Conference!
For many organizations, a conference is just conference. But from our her-story, we know a conference can shift the tide, energize a movement and change the world. We stand on the shoulders of those visionary and courageous members of the first organizing task force, and the collective energy of the more than 1,200 people who gathered Thanksgiving weekend in 1975 to claim their ministerial equality and embark on a path of renewal and hope.
Relive our virtual gala celebrations!
From November 27-30, 2020, the Women’s Ordination Conference celebrated our 45th anniversary with a virtual gala celebration. We opened with a live toast and quiz on Friday, released videos of prophetic messages from friends of WOC around the world on Saturday (check out the videos below), and rounded out the weekend with a feminist, inclusive liturgy on Sunday. We also had a live auction running all weekend to help us meet our ambitious fundraising goal of $45,000 for 45 years. You can still donate and download the gala program, which includes a letter from our Executive Director, a special prayer for 45 years, and the program from Sunday’s liturgy!
Make a solidarity gift to WOC
November 27th:
Purple Friday
On Friday we held our opening ceremonies for the gala, where we raised a glass to WOC, opened the online auction, and hosted a short and fun quiz about WOC’s herstory.
Check out the quiz slides
November 28th:
Prophetic Voices
Throughout the day we released short video messages from theologians, former staff members, activists, and friends of WOC! Watch on Youtube or below.
Access the playlist on Youtube
November 29th:
Inclusive Liturgy
Hundreds of people joined us to Break Bread at the Table of Justice! Whether you have been a part of our feminist liturgies for 45 years or this is your first one, the video is now online for you to experience and relive.
Watch the liturgy video!
Gala Program
Our gala program is a great way to commemorate the weekend! It includes a letter from our Executive Director, a photo collage, our Sunday liturgy, and more!
Download the gala program
A Prayer for 45 Years
To celebrate 45 years of prophetic persistence, we put together this special prayer to both honor the past and look to the future with hope.
Download the prayer card
Send WOC some Kudos
Sign WOC’s virtual birthday card on this “Kudos Board”! Though the gala is over, we’re still celebrating, so we’d love to hear from you!
Sign our birthday card!A day of
prophetic voices
Throughout Saturday, November 28th, we released a full day of videos from board members, staff, theologians, and friends of WOC. They’re all available on YouTube and right here (below!) on our gala hub.
9 a.m. (est) Jennifer O’Malley and Liz Carlin; Kate McElwee; Sr. Margaret Farley;
11 a.m. Natalia Imperatori-Lee; Miriam Duignan, Fr. Roy Bourgeois;
1 p.m. Erin Saiz Hanna; Luke Hansen, SJ; Nontando Hadebe; Sr. Martha Ann Kirk
3 p.m. Sr. Teresa Forcades; Tony Flannery; Lilian Medina Romero; We are Church Ireland
5 p.m. Our closing message!
A welcome from the WOC Board President
First, our current board president, Jennifer O’Malley and her wife, Liz Carlin welcome all to the gala celebrations, and acknowledge our sponsors.
Liz and Jen are joined by Sr. Jeannine Gramick, who surprised WOC with the honor of the Margaret Ellen Traxler Award! This award honors women of integrity who boldly advocate for justice in the face of opposition. The award is represented by a giraffe as a symbol of “a willingness to stick out one’s neck despite conflict with Church or State authorities.”
A word of thanks from Executive Director, Kate McElwee
Kate welcomes you all to the gala, and expresses her deep gratitude for all those who have made this anniversary possible.
Dr. Margaret Farley, RSM
Dr. Farley attended the first Women’s Ordination Conference where she gave an address titled, “Moral Imperatives of the Ordination of Women,” and 45 years later, she stands by nearly every word.
Dr. Natalia Imperatori-Lee
“You’ve shown generations of women that remaining prophetically Catholic is possible and necessary.”
Fr. Roy Bourgeois
“Who are we as men to say that our call from God is authentic, but God’s call to women is not? As the Catholic priest, I have to face the truth: the problem is not with God, but with our all-male clerical culture that views women as lesser than men and as a threat to their power.”
Miriam Duignan
“The Church is a superspreader of sexism. This hugely influential institution is saying to the world that women need to be restricted and ring-fenced and they need to let the men get on with the business of running the show.”
Fr. Luke Hansen, SJ
“When Pope Francis said ‘the door is closed to women priests,’ Bishop Erwin Krautler responded, ‘As long as a door is there, it should be open.’”
Nontando Hadebe
“I know personally what it’s like to be prejudiced, excluded because of a biological characteristic of race, and so whenever biology is used to exclude, it is an act of injustice and needs to be called out.”
Erin Hanna
Former director of WOC: “Sisters, Carry on!” Erin reminds us that WOC, with our social justice roots, will always be relevant, and WOC will always be necessary.
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk
Sr. Martha Ann Kirk CCVI, an advisory board member of the Women’s Ordination Conference recalls WOC’s incredible journey through the decades, in a way only Sr. Martha Ann could: through movement, dance, music, and drama! Martha Ann attend the first Women’s Ordination Conference and continues to be an incredible ally to the movement.
Sr. Teresa Forcades, OSB
“This is still a pending fight within the Roman Catholic Church, and that’s why it’s so important that the women who have a clear consciousness that this is an injustice and contrary to the witness of the Gospel do not disappear, do not leave the Church.”
Lilian Medina Romero
“The mission of the Women’s Ordination Conference is critical, not only for those women with a call for ministry, but for all of us who need to be represented in every single place where decisions about our lives are being made.”
Fr. Tony Flannery
“You’ve lived through hard times, through dark times…but you were not intimidated, you did not kowtow or bow down. You kept speaking your message loudly and clearly and for that you deserve great credit.”
Colm Holmes, We Are Church Ireland
“”We look forward to continuing to work with you until such time as women have their rightful place at the table.” – Colm Holmes, We Are Church Ireland
Extra Gala Provisions
The road to justice needs sustenance! We put together some of our favorite recipes for our gala participants.
Mix a drink
As you might imagine, we’ve developed a few “WOC-tail” concoctions over the years! A glass of “Feminine Genius,” anyone? Enjoy our menu of custom cocktails (and mocktails).
Cheers!Bake some bread
For our Sunday liturgy, we put together our favorite communion bread recipes, include gluten-free and vegan options. Make them for your next liturgy or just to eat!
RecipesThis celebration is about the journey we are on together…
toward ordination justice, equity, and transformation as protagonists in our faith. It is not about closed doors or oppressive systems, but all the ways we – together – have cultivated joyful resistance, prophetic persistence, and renewed priesthood.
Thank you for being part of WOC’s story and the story that WILL be told of how women came to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church!
Thanks to our Organizational Sponsors
Apostle to the Apostles ($2,500)
National Coalition of American Nuns
St. Catherine’s Champions ($1,000)
Catholics for Choice
Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community
New Ways Ministry
Roman Catholic Women Priests
St. Hildegard’s Helpers ($500)
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
CORPUS
Dignity Washington
SEPAWOC (Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference)
St. Joan of Arc’s Sparks ($100)
Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO)
Community of the Christian Spirit (CCS)
DignityUSA
FutureChurch
Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community
The Church of the Beatitudes