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Saturday, February 25, 2017

Roman Catholic Women Priests Draw Support in Exhibit Hall at Los Angeles Religious Education Conference

Women Priests Draw Support at Exhibit Hall of Los Angeles Religious Education Convocation
Congratulations to Jen O' Malley RCWP and Suzanne Thiel RCWP for drawing support for women priests at Los Angeles Religious Education Congress,
thelargest gathering of Catholic Educators in the United States!



People's Catholic Seminary: Eucharist, Sacred Heritage and Personal Encounter at Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community in Sarasota, Florida with Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP



"The liturgy is primarily the celebration of the love of God and the love of Christ as revealed in scriptures. 


Whenever we take care of others, whenever we put their needs ahead of our wants, whenever we act selflessly, rather than selfishly, our behavior is modeled on the biblical example of God’s love.

 ..So, if the liturgy is a celebration of the paschal mystery, it has to celebrate the paschal mystery that has been experienced by the participants in the celebration."



"When we care for others (preparing meals for a family, help a child learn to read etc, we ourselves feel somehow energized and spiritually enlarged after doing it. Jesus recognized the phenomenon and talked about it in terms of losing life and finding it. " 

Joseph Martos, Deconstructing Sacramental Theology, Reconstructing Catholic Ritual. pp. 274-275 


Bridget Mary Meehan
703-505-0004


Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community 8th Sunday of Extraordinary Time – February 25, 2017 Co-Presiders: Janet Blakeley, ARCWP & Sally Brochu, ARCWPMusic Ministers: Mindy Lou Simmons & Russ Banner Lectors: Roman & Theresa Rodriquez

GATHERING SONG AND GREETING: # 618 “Isaiah 49” – verses 1,2
Presider: In the name of God, our Creator, of Christ, our liberator, and of the Holy Spirit, our Wisdom. ALL: Amen.
Sally Brochu ARCWP and Janet Blakeley ARCWP (left to right)



Presider: My sisters and brothers, God is with you! ALL: And also with you.
PENITENTIAL RITE
Presider: Creator God to whom all hearts are open, no desires unknown, and from whom no secrets can be hidden, cleanse our hearts by the inspiration of Holy Wisdom.
ALL: We take your Word into our minds and hearts. Open them to new understanding.
Presider: We ask for the grace to continually acknowledge our need to grow in goodness and caring for ourselves, for others and for our earth, and all the while to be Jesus for others and to meet Jesus in others.
ALL: We accept your love and understanding of the frailty of our human nature.
Presider: And we join with you, Jesus the Christ, believing the strength and insight of the Holy Spirit will lead us to deeper dedication to justice, equality and peace in our world. ALL: Amen.
(All raise hands extended in prayer)
Presider: God, our Father and Mother of Mercy and Love,
ALL: Through his living, dying and rising, Jesus has revealed that nothing can separate us from your infinite love. May you, Loving God, give us pardon and peace, and may we forgive each other our failures to care for one another and our earth in the name of you, our Creator, of Jesus, our brother, and of the Holy Spirit, our wisdom. Amen.
GLORY TO GOD
ALL: (sung) Glory to God, glory, O praise and alleluia. Glory to God, glory, O praise the name of our God. (3x)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Isaiah 49: 14-15 (Response: Thanks be to God)



Responsorial Psalm 62 “In God alone be at rest, my soul”
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (Response: Thanks be to God)
Gospel Acclamation: ALLELUIA! (sung)
Gospel: A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 6: 24-34 (Response: Glory and praise to Jesus, the Christ)


Janet Blakely (homily starter)

Homily Starter:
Today’s readings reflect about 3,000 years of our spiritual ancestors’ image of God –  as their all-powerful protector.   Jesus refers to God as a father who will provide for all our needs.   Isaiah speaks for God and promises us that God will never forget us.      And the Psalmist, before that, calls God his “stronghold, a fortress” – a place where he can seek refuge.

This weekend, church communities around the world will hear these same readings and the same message:  that we are not to worry about what we are going to eat or drink tomorrow.   Rather, we are to seek God’s righteousness – God’s reign and God’s justice – and everything we need will be given to us.   (pause)   Really?!

I see the wailing woman in Somalia who is the lone survivor of a family of eight.   Everyone, young and old, has died of starvation.   And the Mexican father who is abandoned by his guide in the middle of an unfamiliar desert, who dies trying to find his way to the American border.   Or the immigrant who leaves for work, wondering how long it will be before he is picked up and deported, unable even to say goodbye to his family.

“Do not worry about what you will eat or drink tomorrow.”   But tomorrow comes and where is this God who promises never to forget us?   who is a source of living water that promises life?   who is our fortress, our stronghold, our protector?

Sometimes God does not show up.  Yet, in spite of that, people have continued to believe in the God who will rescue and protect them (pause) … until the holocaust.   That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, that seemed to burst even the long-suffering Jews’ bubble.   “Enough!” they said.   “Who needs you?!?”   Many felt so let down that they refused to talk about God.   Some openly proclaimed that God was dead.    Just a few found the courage to sit in silence before the mystery of God.   They couldn’t even bring themselves to ask “why?”

To those who humbly acknowledged their inability to understand,  the catastrophe of the holocaust slowly revealed that their image of God was too limited.   They came to see that God, although mighty, can be vulnerable;  that God is among us and suffers WITH us; that God lives WITHIN us and experiences what we experience.   We now believe  that if there is suffering that needs to be alleviated, God is suffering and from within us and through us wishes to alleviate the suffering.

So the mother in Somalia watches her family die, the Mexican father dies of dehydration in the desert, and the immigrant worker grieves that he may never see his family again.   What of the God who does not forget, is a source of living water and life, a stronghold and a fortress where we can seek protection?  Where is that God?

We are God’s hands and feet, we are all the Body of Christ, but how is heaven’s name do we be the God these people have cried out to?   My mobile home park would not allow non-residents to live there.   I can’t go to where they are.   I don’t have money to give them.  (pause)   I do worry about their tomorrows.

Some people may mobilize and bring about change.   I seem to be obliged to sit in silence before the mystery of God.   What about you?
SHARED HOMILY:

Profession of Faith:
ALL: I believe in God, the creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, child of God, born of Mary, human like us. I believe Jesus came to teach us God’s love, to heal our minds, our bodies, our spirits, to bring hope and a new vision, to show us how to live in the fullness of grace. I believe that Jesus threatened the establishment. Jesus called for God’s people to focus on the kin-dom within. I believe because of the message that Jesus proclaimed, Jesus was condemned to die. Jesus was put to death through crucifixion, buried in a borrowed tomb. I believe that the women, faithful to Jesus, went to the tomb to anoint his body. I believe that the body of Jesus was gone, and Jesus overcame death through the resurrection. I believe in the Holy Spirit, eternally living in our hearts, present in our world, in our universe. I believe the holy Catholic Church is the people of God gathered in worship and song. I believe that all God’s children will one day be with God experiencing life everlasting. Amen.
GENERAL INTERCESSIONS
Presider: We are people of faith. We believe in the power of prayer. Some of us struggle to understand why there is so much suffering in our world, of one person’s inhumanity to another. Yet, we believe that we send blessings to those who are struggling and who need to experience hope, to those who are grieving and need to be comforted in their loss, to those who are facing medical challenges that they be granted hope and healing. We bring the needs of people throughout our world to our gracious God.
After each intercession, the response is: Loving God, hear our prayer.
For what else shall we pray?
Presider: Healing God, you faithfully listen to our prayers. Strengthen us as we strive to respond to the needs of your people and work for justice and positive change in our world. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus, the Christ, Amen.
Offertory Song: # 624 “God of the Hungry”
PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS – (Please join us around the altar)


Sally Brochu ARCWP and Janet Blakeley ARCWP

Presider: Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.
ALL: Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Blessed are you, gracious God of all creation, through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink. ALL: Blessed be God forever.
Presider: Pray my friends that as we celebrate this breaking of bread and blessing of wine we accept more fully the mission of our Church by actively living our response to God’s call.
ALL: May our gracious God accept these gifts for the praise and glory of God’s name, for our good, and for the good of all our Church.
Presider: God is always with you. ALL: And also with you.
Presider: Together, we lift up our hearts. ALL: To God and one another we lift them.
Presider: Together, we give thanks to our gracious God. ALL: Indeed it is right to constantly give thanks and praise.



MMOJ Inclusive Catholic Community Celebrates Eucharist

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Voice 1: Gracious God, source and sustenance of life, redeeming presence to the pain and brokenness of our world, Holy Spirit who enlivens all that exists, we beseech your healing power upon us and all for whom we pray today. We join together with our community, with all creation everywhere, with all those who have gone before us and live in the eternal now (Names of our loved ones…………)
Let us sing:
ALL: We are holy, holy, holy (x3), we are whole. (You, I, We) By Karen Drucker
Voice 2: We ask you to enliven anew in our hearts the empowering grace of your abundant Spirit, who infuses for us these gifts of bread and wine with the transforming energy of life, to nourish and sustain us in all times and especially in times of need.

(Please all extend hands as we recite the consecration together.)
ALL: Before he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, Jesus took bread and gave you thanks. He broke the bread and gave it to his disciples and said: take this, all of you, and eat it; this is my body which will be given up for you.
ALL: When supper was ended, Jesus took the cup. Again he gave You thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said, take this all of you, and drink it; this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all. Do this in memory of me.
Presider: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith:
ALL: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
Voice 3: (Please place your hand on the shoulder of the person to your right)
As we gather around this Eucharistic table, we recall God’s blessing and love from ages past, and we celebrate anew the gift we share among us at this Eucharistic feast. May the Spirit of life and wholeness, who transforms the gifts we present, transform us too, that we may be refreshed in our inner being and be empowered to bring mercy, love and healing to those whose lives we touch and who are Jesus to us.
Voice 4: Remember gracious God, your Church throughout the world; make us open to receive all believers. We join with all God’s people, with our community, with Bridget Mary our Bishop, and with Francis our Pope.
Voice 5: So grant that, in union with all peoples living and dead, we may strive to create a world where suffering and pain are diminished, where justice and peace are restored, and where all people can live without fear, in health and wholeness. May we all be united in acclaiming the God of Life, whose abundance is offered to each and to all, ‘til the Kin-dom arrives in the fullness of time.
ALL: Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, gracious God, forever and ever. Amen (sung).
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
Presider: Let us join hands and raise our voices as we say the Prayer Jesus taught us:
ALL: Our Father and Mother…….
Presider: Deliver us, God, from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us holy in your sight and protect us from all anxiety and fear. We watch and wait, discerning signs that You are continually with us.
ALL: Amen.
THE SIGN OF PEACE
Presider: Jesus, You said to your disciples, “My peace I leave you. My peace I give you.” Look on the faith of all and grant us the peace and unity of your kin-dom where you live forever and ever. ALL: Amen.
Presider: May the peace of our gracious and loving God be always with you. ALL: And also with you. Let us offer each other a sign of peace.
LITANY FOR THE BREAKING OF BREAD
Presider: Loving God,
ALL: You call us to live the Gospel of peace and justice. We will live justly.
Presider: Loving God,
ALL: You call us to be the presence of Jesus in the world. We will love tenderly.
Presider: Loving God,
ALL: You call us to speak truth to power. We will walk with integrity in your presence.
Presiders: This is Jesus, our strength, who liberates, heals and transforms our world. All are invited to partake of this sacred banquet of love. ALL: We are the Body of Christ.
Communion: Instrumental by Mindy
After Communion Reflection – “Bread For The World” (Bernadette Farrell)
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Presider: May wonder, gratitude and thanksgiving fill us, may compassion fully fill our hearts, that you may heal the numbness that continues because of our society’s injustices. May we each know that we are loved and may we continue to be the face of God to each other. Amen.

Prayers of Gratitude, Introductions, Announcements
CONCLUDING RITE
Presider: May God be with you. ALL: And also with you.
Presider: Let us call upon our gracious God as we share blessings with each other. We bless one another and pledge to live the Gospel of Christ. ALL: Amen.
BLESSING
(Everyone please extend your hands in mutual blessing.)
ALL: May our gracious God, bless us all gathered here, in the name of God our Creator, in the name of Jesus our strength, in the name of the Holy Spirit our Wisdom, as we care and minister to one another in love, for we are the Body of Christ and the face of God to the world. Amen.
DISMISSAL
Presider: Go in the peace of Christ. Let our service continue!
ALL: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN: # 617 Rain Down” – verses 1,3

Unify: International Women's Day, Celebrating Global Sisterhood



https://www.facebook.com/mk.mcgraw.3/posts/1262985040454671

Calling all women! Join us on International Women's Day for a Global Synchronized Meditation and worldwide sister circles. The Divine Feminine is Rising. www.women.unify.org

GLOBAL SISTERHOOD

SYNCHRONIZED WORLDWIDE SISTER CIRCLES


International Women’s Day, March 8th

7pm your local time zone

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Florida Center Provides One Stop Shop for Young Children In Need, Sarasota Herald Tribune Links

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170215/florida-center-for-early-childhood-is-one-stop-shop-for-young-children-in-need

"The research shows that the earlier we intervene and meet children's needs early on, their rate of success is much higher than children who don't have any interventions," said Kathryn Shea, the center's CEO.
Shea would know. A licensed social worker specializing in infant mental health, she saw first-hand the importance of focusing on early childhood. The youngest child she ever diagnosed was 4 months old. He had depression.
When Shea started working at the center 17 years ago, she found herself at one of the first and only nonprofits in the area to recognize mental health as an issue that affects children. "

Catholics Support Women Priests, Pope Francis Should Too!

https://action.groundswell-mvmt.org/petitions/pope-francis-welcome-all-priests

Suzanne Thiel RCWP and Juanita Cordero RCWP at Religious Education Congress in Los Angeles, California

Suzanne Thiel RCWP and Juanita Cordero RCWP at Los Angeles Religious Education Congress

"Sanctuary", and "Abide" by Carrie Newcomer YouTube Music Videos




Refrain

Will you be my refuge
My haven in the storm,
Will you keep the embers warm
When my fire's all but gone?
Will you remember
And bring me sprigs of rosemary,
Be my sanctuary
'Til I can carry on
Carry on.
Carry on.

This one knocked me to the ground.
This one dropped me to my knees.
I should have seen it comin'
But it surprised me.

Refrain

In a state of true believers,
On streets called us and them,
It's gonna take some time
'Til the world feels safe again.

Refrain

You can rest here in Brown Chapel,
Or with a circle of friends,
A quiet grove of trees
Or between two bookends.
Will you be my refuge
My haven in the storm,
Will you keep the embers warm
When my fire's all but gone?
Will you remember
And bring me sprigs of rosemary,
Be my sanctuary
'Til I can carry on
Carry on.
Carry on.

Carry on.


Abide
By Carrie Newcomer

I will bring a cup of water here's the best that I can offer
In the dusk of coming night there is evidence of light.
With the pattering of rain let us bow as if in grace
Consider all the ways we heal and how the heart can break.
Abide with me where its breathless and its empty
Yes abide with me and we'll pass the evening gently.
Stay awake with me and we'll listen more intently
To something wordless and remaining, sure and ever changing In the quietness of now.

Let us ponder the unknown, what is hidden and what's whole
And finally learn to travel at the speed of our own souls.
There is a living water a spirit cutting through
Always changing always bringing all things new
Abide with me where its breathless and its empty
Yes abide with me and we'll pass the evening gently
Stay awake with me and we'll listen more intently
To something wordless and remaining, sure and ever changing in the quietness of now.

There are things that I cannot prove and still somehow I know
Its like a message in a bottle that some unseen hand has thrown.
You don't have to be afraid you don't have to walk alone
I don't know but I suspect that it will feel like home
Abide with me where its breathless and its empty
Yes abide with me and we'll pass the evening gently
Stay awake with me and we'll listen more intently
To something wordless and remaining, sure and ever changing in the quietness of now.



Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Homily at Holy Spirit Catholic Community , 8th Sunday of OT, Feb. 26th, Beverly Bingle RCWP

Today’s readings
are the perfect antidote to the troubles of our time.
They tell us we don’t have to worry...
but we do need to get our priorities in order.
First, Isaiah reminds us that, in times of trouble,
God is the one who will not forget us.
Then the psalmist calls us to remember
that our hope and our strength comes from God.
And Paul tells the Corinthians
not to pay attention to any person or any human court,
but to Christ, who is the ultimate judge,
Finally, Jesus tells us that we can’t divide our loyalties.
_______________________________
Just like with last week’s gospel, scholars conclude that Jesus
probably said something like the first part of today’s gospel,
the part that is printed as the first paragraph in the bulletin.
They think the last part, the part printed as a second paragraph,
was added to address specific concerns
of the Christian community.
_______________________________
So Jesus really said
that we can’t split our loyalty to God
with someone else or something else.
We can’t serve both God and money.
_______________________________
As we get ready to step into Lent this Wednesday,
we can prepare ourselves by asking what really matters to us.
Do we have our priorities in order?
One of the ways to figure that out
is to look at how we spend our days,
which turns out to be, as author Annie Dillard said,
how we spend our lives.
It’s not a question of what we do for a living,
or where we live,
or even where we volunteer in our spare time.
It’s HOW we spend our lives wherever we are,
in the middle of whatever task we’re doing.
_______________________________
I was walking into the Y last week
when a teenager ahead of me slowed down
and held the door open for me.
When I stop at the Lagrange branch library,
I see one of the librarians smiling and listening
and patiently explaining things to patron after patron.
Grandparents travel, sometimes very long distances,
to spend time with their children and grandchildren.
I notice a friend who always gives generous tips,
sometimes twice the cost of the meal.
I heard that Elsie sat at the hospital all day
with a member of her church
waiting for doctors to tell her test results.
_______________________________
These folks have their priorities in order.
God is Number ONE for them,
so wherever they are and whatever they’re doing,
it’s the way they are—their very being—
that shows their choice between God and not-God.
_______________________________
The opposite of that is also true.
We can see when priorities get out of order,
or, as Jesus puts it,
when someone tries to give himself to both God and money.
The Golden Rule gets broken.
It becomes “Do to others before they do it to you.”
We can see examples of that these days,
especially in the major shifts to public policy.
Immigration enforcement that breaks up families.
Refugee policy that targets Muslims.
Health care policy that makes the poor pay more than the wealthy,
and, if they can’t afford to pay,
takes away their insurance.
Tax breaks for the wealthiest people
but not for the working poor.
Public policy that’s prompted by half-truths and outright lies.
We hear diatribes against people
because of what country they come from
or what religion they believe in.
These days we hear too many elected officeholders judge people—
as Martin Luther King put it—
by the color of their skin
rather than the content of their character.
_______________________________
The principles of Catholic Social Teaching—
those basic rights and dignity of all human persons
that are honored not only by Catholics
but also by other Christians and by Jews
and by Muslims and by every other religion—
those principles are being violated every day
in the public arena.
_______________________________
The first thing we are called to do in the face of injustice
is to keep our priorities in order.
God is God: our Number One.
All of us earthlings, as children of God,
are required to stand in holy relationship to one another.
_______________________________
So we will take peace with us as we go about our daily business,
whatever that may be.
We will choose to act with justice
toward all our sisters and brothers.
We will think about how we want people to treat us,
and we will go out of our way to treat everybody like that. -
With our priorities in order, we can leave worry behind.
Amen!

Public Domain

-- 
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m./Sundays at 5:30 p.m.
at 3925 West Central Avenue
Toledo, OH 43606
(Washington Church)


Rev. Dr. Bev Bingle, Pastor
Mailing address: 3156 Doyle Street, Toledo, OH 43608-2006


Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria performs first consecration of deaconesses

Bridget Mary's Response: There were thousands of women deacons in the east. now the Patriarch of the Ancient Church of Alexandria is ordaining women deacons. Will Pope Francis follow in his footsteps? We share the same faith, sacraments and ancient traditions, including ordaining women deacons. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP, www.arcwp.org




On the feast of the Saint and Great Martyr Theodore of Tyre, 17 February 2016, the day on which His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa celebrates his name day, a festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Holy Church of St Nicholas, within the Missionary Centre of Kolwezi.


Together with the Alexandrian Primate concelebrated Their Eminences Nicephorus, Metropolitan of Kinshasa, Innocent, Metropolitan of Burundi and Rwanda, and the local Metropolitan Meletios of Katanga, accompanied by the Clergy of the Hy Metropolis.





As the official site of the Patriarchate reports, His Beatitude the Patriarch spoke during his homily about the Great Martyr St Theodoros, emphasising the confession of martyrdom before the persecutors of faith and his love for Jesus Christ.


At the end of the Divine Liturgy the Primate of the Alexandrian Throne consecrated the Catechist elder Theano, one of the first members of the Missionary staff in Kolwezi, to “Deaconess of the Missions” of the Holy Metropolis of Katanga and read the prayer for one entering the “ecclesiastic ministry” for three Nuns and two Catechists, in order for them to assist the missionary effort of the Holy Metropolis, particularly in the Sacraments of Baptisms of adults and marriages, as well as in the Catechetical department of the local Church.


Note that it is the first time in the history of Missions in Africa that these consecrations have been done.






The Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria restored the deaconess ministry during its working session held in November 2016.


Several holy women who fulfiled the deaconess ministry are enlisted in the Orthodox Calendar, among whom the most well known are St Tatiana (January 12), St Olympias (July 25), and St Foebe (September 3).



Tuesday, February 21, 2017

SILVIA BRANDON PÉREZ to be ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest in Berkeley, CA

The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
La Asociación de Presbíteras Católicas Romanas
joyfully invites you
les invita con júbilo
to the / a la

PRIESTLY ORDINATION
ORDENACIÓN PRESBITERAL

of/de

SILVIA ANTONIA GUILLERMINA BRANDON PÉREZ

Ordaining BishopLa obispa que ordena
Olga Lucía Álvarez Benjumea


April 8, 2017 – el 8 de abril de 2017
11:00 AM / a las 11 a.m.
St. John’s Presbyterian Church
en la Iglesia Presbiteriana de San Juan
2727 College Avenue
Berkeley, California 94705

All clergy are invited to wear stoles with the color of their choice.

Roman Catholic Woman Deacon to be Ordained in Sarasota Florida


The Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Invites you to the

Diaconate Ordination
of 

Elena Garcia
and

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
Invites you to the

Baptism of Elena’s Grandson

Brohdi Lucas Courtney

Presiding Bishop: Bridget Mary Meehan

March 25, 2017 
4:00 PM

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community
St. Andrew’s United Church of Christ
6908 South Beneva Road
         Sarasota, FL 34328