Newsletter Summer 2000

"Madeleva Manifesto" and WICL Anchors
By: Sr. Chris Schenk, csj

  From April 28-30 twelve Women in Church Leadership (WICL) Anchors from the United States and Canada, along with FutureChurch and Call To Action staff, met in South Bend. The meeting was designed to coincide with the 2000 Convergence event in which St. Mary's College invited 15 prior Madeleva lecturers to write a "Charter for Women of Faith in the New Millennium." The lectures are an annual event honoring Holy Cross Sr. Madeleva Wolff who started the first graduate theology program for women in the Unites States in 1943. Attending lecturers were Elizabeth Johnson, Lisa Sowle Cahill, Sandra Schneiders, Monika Hellwig, Jeanette Rodriquez, Diana Hayes, Dolores Leckey, Joan Chittister, Elizabeth Dreyer, Mary C. Boys, Mary Collins, Gail Mandell, Maria Harris, M. Catherine Hilkert, and Kathleen Norris (Episcopalian author of Cloister Walk, Dakota, and other books).

WICL Anchors meet to brainstorm new ideas at the Madeleva 2000 Convergence in April.

 

Before Sandra Schneiders' inspiring Friday night address, WICL anchors presented a WICL packet and a summary of the project accomplishments to each Madeleva lecturer. On Saturday night the Madeleva leaders presented their Charter. Entitled the "Madeleva Manifesto" a strong statement at the beginning invited all to "re-imagine what it means to be the Body of Christ because the way things are now is not the design of God." Another statement addressed women who suffer the cost of discipleship: "You are not alone. We remember those who have gone before us, who first held up for us the pearl of great price, the richness of Catholic thought and spirituality." At the reception afterwards, we had an opportunity to interact with the women leaders and many thanked us warmly for our work.

While the Madeleva theologians met to write their historic "Manifesto," WICL anchors were busily brainstorming ways of advancing the WICL agenda locally and nationally. Participants decided to: focus on networking with women's colleges and religious communities; work on developing resources for girls and young women; think about developing a resource clearinghouse; and, continue to educate about the great need for inclusive language. Each WICL anchor committed to several concrete actions to be completed by our next meeting to be held on October 21-23 at the Saint Joseph Conference Center in Cleveland.