Christ the Nonviolent King

(Cont.) The other evening I met with our Phoebe group, with a dozen or more of us present. This group was founded through the inspiration of Discerning Deacons, a national group that advocates for the ordination of women to the diaconate. One of the national staff members is a woman named Anna Robertson, a parishioner of nearby St. Joseph’s parish in Seattle, and the group sent a delegation to Rome to meet with Pope Francis, who was encouraging to the idea, although he did not wish to open that question to the wider synod that followed in Rome. This synod was about the synodal process itself, modeling the listening process at all levels going forward as an essential process in the governance in the Catholic Church - an even more radical step than what Discerning Deacons was lobbying for. at this moment. Their time will certainly come.

The Phoebe group prayed together over that gospel of Jesus before Pilate - a dialogue that immediately precedes the crucifixion. One reason for this was that they were giving me input for that Sunday, as I’m scheduled for giving the homily at that Mass. I took notes! It was a wonderful time together, and I am grateful for having been able to join them. The group has over 30 members now, and it will certainly catch on even more. During our own parish synodal process last year, Women in the Church was the NUMBER TWO item that surfaced from our parish meetings (#1 was Strenghening Our Parish). Both women and men weighed in on that question.

I have my own ideas too about that homily, which I shared with them that night. But we’ll have to see what I wind up saying!