Worldwide Magdala Celebrations Honor Women in Ministry with Paul
In mid-July, organizers across the US and in at least eight other countries joined together to expand awareness of women leaders in the early Church. At over 250 celebrations women and men honored Mary of Magdala, Phoebe, Prisca, Lydia and other little known women leaders who ministered with St. Paul. Twenty-one celebrations were held internationally in Australia (7), Canada (7), England (1), Germany (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (1), and Uganda (2). The remaining 228 were held throughout the continental United States, as well as in Hawaii and Alaska.
Many people mistakenly believe St. Paul was against women. Yet as Pope Benedict noted in a February 14, 2007 papal address, St. Paul worked closely with women leaders such as Phoebe, Junia, Lydia and Prisca. Unfortunately, Romans 16, a passage that names eleven women and identifies some of them as deacons, apostles, and co-workers, is never proclaimed on a Sunday. This July, at the conclusion of the Church's Year of St. Paul, it seemed only right to celebrate women like Prisca, Phoebe and Lydia who with Paul served as "Apostles to the Gentiles" in the early Church.
Weaving Stories, Treasuring Women
Joan Brausch, a member of FutureChurch's Women In Church Leadership Advisory Committee, created a prayer service Go and Tell: Celebrating the Women Who Were Co-Workers with Paul for organizers to use. The service, along with a special Mary of Magdala organizing kit is available for free download from the FutureChurch website or by mail. Joan's prayer service invites participants to create a special artwork, weaving together their own stories with those of biblical women and contemporary women who serve, lead, share their faith and preach the gospel in word and action. Here are just a few highlights from this year's events:
(For photos and descriptions of these and other celebrations visit www.futurechurch.org.)
- In San Francisco, the Catholic Women's Advocacy Group read reflections at the end of each weekend Mass in July and handed out education materials about women in the ministry of Paul and Women and the Word postcards.
- The Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity sponsored Women of the Word: A Day of Education, Reflection and Empowerment. The July 18 event in O' Fallon, Il, attracted 150 people from St. Louis, Belleville and other nearby cities. Sr. Chris Schenk was the keynote speaker, and an afternoon panel presentation featured Dr. Penny Weiss, director of the Women's Studies program at St. Louis University, Fr. Joseph A. Brown SJ, PhD, professor and director of the Black American Studies program at Southern Illinois University and Mick Gibbar, a FOSIL member who spoke on a male perspective on sexism in the Church. On July 19 Schenk spoke at a parish on the western side of the Belleville diocese to fifty parishioners from several nearby parishes.
- Sr. Theresia Saers in the Netherlands is passionate about expanding roles for women in the Church. She sent media releases about the feast day to Netherlands national newspapers as well as to the conference of women religious in that country.
- In Spokane, Washington, Maggie Albo invited women to her home for a celebration and BeadforLife party. Maggie writes: "Ugandan women turn colorful recycled paper into beautiful bead jewelery, and people who care open their hearts, homes and communities to sell the beads. We all wore our beads -- necklaces, bracelets, earrings-- during the ritual and passed a bowl of loose beads and strung them into a necklace in memory of those whose stories we shared. The beads become income, food, medicine, school fees and hope. It is a small miracle that connects and enriches everybody in the bead circle." (www.beadforlife.org).
- At St. John the Baptist parish in Essex, Massachusetts, the Women of the Well group asked attendees to offer their own contributions, such as a story, poem, or personal experience to underscore the need for greater awareness of women's contributions to our church.
- In Westport, Connecticut, St. Luke's parish held a "biblical feast" in celebration of Mary Magdalene and other significant women in the Early Church. The "grocery list" included spices, fruits, grains, bread, meats, fowl, and, of course, wine.
- In Cleveland, New Testament expert Dr. Sheila McGinn regaled a receptive crowd of about fifty with her humorous accounts of early women leaders such as Lydia, Phoebe and Prisca. Far from being meek helpmates, Dr. McGinn explained that these women were actually wise patrons and evangelists without whom Paul's mission would have been impossible. They led prayer, managed table fellowship, decided the missionary agenda of a group, and worked with Paul to proclaim the Gospel. Their witness confirms the ministry of women leaders in the early Church and today.
Venues vary greatly
Many celebrations were held in traditional workshop sites such as Catholic parishes, Protestant churches, and convents. Others were held in locations accessible to the people who planned to gather-- colleges and Newman Centers, senior, retirement and assisted living facilities, women's prisons, private homes, and local restaurants. Still others sought out God's natural splendor as a fitting environment and headed to park, arboretums, lakes, and retreat centers.
Groups from our sisters and brothers in Church reform also annually join in the celebration. This year eleven Call To Action chapters and five Dignity groups, as well as groups from the Women's Ordination Conference, Voice of the Faithful, Catholic Worker, Pax Christi and CORPUS, planned special events.
St. Mary of Magdala is herself among the most misunderstood women of the Bible. In 1997, FutureChurch began special celebrations of her July 22nd feast to publicize contemporary scholarship that she was not a prostitute but the first witness to the Resurrection. These also provide a place for women to serve in visible liturgical roles, and they educate about Jesus' inclusive practice
Participants at this year's celebrations were invited to send paper and electronic postcards to Cardinal Antionia Cañizares Llovera, Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship. A follow up to FutureChurch's three-year Women and the Word campaign, the postcards ask his office to follow through on synod proposal 16 from last October's Synod on the Word and open an examination of the Lectionary to include deleted women leaders (see cover story).
Jan Valder of Charlotte, North Carolina, may have named the value of the Mary of Magdala celebrations the best. She wrote, "I got women friends together to celebrate Mary of Magdala and ourselves as women. We prayed, ate and shared. We made time to enjoy each other and reinforce our belief in the power we have." Perhaps that is the message of Mary Magdala and the FutureChurch project. Take time to celebrate the gifts of women past and present-- including ourselves—and go forth into the church and into the world.
For photos and descriptions of these and other celebrations visit www.futurechurch.org.
