Pastors Judy Lee, ARCWP and Judy Beaumont, ARCWP Celebrate Marcella's 12th Birthday at Naples' Zoo in Florida

http://judyabl.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/happy-birthday…m-the-giraffes/

"...The excitement at seeing the alligators and snakes, the bears and the impalas,the kebu and the anteater and especially the lion and lioness whom they dubbed Nala and Simba was contagious. But the highlight of the day was the boat ride around “Lake Victoria” seeing the monkeys, apes and gibbons in their own island habitats, and the lemurs being fed at snack feeding time. Gaspare and Eric loved feeding the giraffe but Marcella enjoyed watching this from a bit of a distance.  The way the giraffes bent down and waved their necks made us think they were singing Happy Birthday to her. The barn owls and the sloth hanging around the neck of its trainer and the Gila Monster whose venom is helping people with Diabetes II and cancer were also highlights of the day. Letting off steam in the playground was another fun time. This was such a joyful time with the animals and her friend Eric and her family and pastors, that I think she will remember her twelfth birthday for a long time. that is if she doesn’t get sick from ordering and eating 5 chicken pieces, one carmel shake,curly fries, and one chocolate turnover at Arbys."
Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP
Good Shepherd Catholic Community, Ft. Myers, Fl.

Faithful Filibuster to Speak God's Justice for the Poor"/Sojouners/Jim Wallis

"It’s time to end this shutdown. I’m standing in full view of the Capitol Building with a group of clergy and faith leaders who are here to offer a “Faithful Filibuster” of the government shutdown – and we’re going to keep talking until things change.
We know that this shutdown disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our society. So our words will not be wasted diatribes or placements of blame. Rather, we will use God’s own words – reading the more than 2,000 Bible verses that speak to God’s justice for the poor and vulnerable – until this shutdown ends.
And while we recite the verses to bear witness for those suffering, we want to make sure that every single member of Congress can read them too. It is our goal to send each member a copy of the Poverty and Justice Bible, which highlights each of those 2,000 verses. Our elected officials need this reminder now more than ever."

"We need your help to make this happen! Will you chip in $25 to sponsor a Bible for a member of Congress? We’ll include your message of why they should pay attention to what God says about justice for the poor and vulnerable.
Our nation can have a brighter future for all of its people – a vision that cannot become a reality as long as Congress remains gridlocked on the budget.
After these 2,000 verses are read, we’re going to keep talking. We’re going to keep sharing God’s message of good news for the poor to help our elected officials rediscover the vision of the “common good.” We’re going to keep talking whenever Congress is in session until this shutdown ends.
I look forward to reading my portion of the 2,000 verses today. I believe in a God of justice who looks out for the poor and vulnerable in our society, and I am eager to stand with fellow faith leaders to share this conviction. Our “Faithful Filibuster” will remind members of Congress that its dysfunction hurts people and that it is biblically imperative that they function to serve the most vulnerable. Will you join us in this work? 
Our members of Congress will hear this message over and over again in the coming days as we keep faithful vigil over the Capitol and the work within. 
Accompany us in this work by following #FaithfulFilibuster on social media and offering your own messages, verses, and prayers."
Jim Wallis is president of Sojourners. His book, On God's Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good, is now available. Watch the Story of the Common Good HERE. Follow Jim on Twitter @JimWallis.    

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"The State of the Peace Movement Today" Mary Ann McGivern/National Catholic Reporter

http://ncronline.org/print/blogs/ncr-today/state-peace-movement-today
..."The work continues when Michelle Alexander writes The New Jim Crow [3]; the War Resisters League and the Friends Committee for National Legislation publish charts showing the enormity of military spending; and shareholders submit resolutions calling for corporate transparency...Where's the "Catholic" in all this? I suspect some of the bishops' complaint against the sisters is exactly that we haven't been "Catholic" enough, and besides, without habits we've been invisible to people we aren't harassing. It might help if bishops campaigned against the use of force by men the way they have campaigned against abortion, a women's issue. But the poor have paid a heavy price for the bishops' siding with the Republicans, and I think Catholics have paid a heavy price too. A final note: The Catholic Worker is thriving. It's not "Catholic" and it's too white, but across the country, men and women in their 20s and 30s are feeding the hungry, protesting war and resisting taxes. Dorothy Day always called the Worker a school. Graduates are pouring out to challenge the system every year."

Roman Catholic Woman Priest, Debra Meyers Fights Inequity In and Out of Classroom

http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2013/10/10/priest-fights-inequity-in-and-out-of-classroom/

..."Meyers has a Ph.D. in history and women’s studies and a

master’s degree in religious studies.

She began teaching at NKU in 2001, and currently teaches

women’s studies and history.

 The potential inclusion of women in the Catholic priesthood is
raising controversy in the Catholic Church and the world at
large. On NKU’s campus, Meyers has
advocated for equality through both action and words...
 Meyers was ordained in May of 2013 as the first female
 Catholic priest in the Cincinnati area and the second in the state
 of Kentucky. Though the ordination — and other ordinations
like it — are opposed and not officially recognized by the Vatican,
those in favor of female ordination within the church are fighting
 for change. Even though they are not recognized by the
Roman Catholic Church, they are recognized by the
Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests.

 

Though her interest in both religious studies and gender inequity

 have been long-standing, Meyers began her higher education with a different goal in mind.

After graduating high school, she attended a community college

and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. She worked in

the field for several years before the birth of her children, after

which she went back to school and earned a bachelor’s degree

in history, initially planning to teach at the high school level.

She went on instead to earn a Ph.D in the field.

 

“I landed a position at Ohio State—or, the Ohio State, as

they insisted we call it, but I wasn’t really happy about the

 emphasis on sports and that kind of thing,” Meyers said.

 “When the job opened up here I jumped at the chance.”

 

Meyers said working in an environment in which feminism was

discussed, contributed to her current focus on inequity within the Catholic Church and the

world at large. She described her ministry as “inclusive” and

particularly concerned with social justice regarding women

and children.

“I came from a family that was on the border of poverty and

I know how hard it is for people to struggle to get out of that,”

Meyers said. She said these experiences influenced her

current goals centered on social justice for women and

children in particular.

“I know how important education is in that process of breaking

out of that cycle of poverty,” Meyers said. “I have always spent

much of my time helping women to do those kinds of things.”

 Meyers recently led a lecture and discussion entitled
“Breaking the Holy Glass Ceiling”, one of the Democracy Square
 Live discussions with the help of Roy Bourgeois, a laicized—
or withdrawn from his position— Roman Catholic priest.
 In addition to her job at NKU, she serves as a priest at the

Resurrection Community of Cincinnati.

She celebrates the Catholic mass at two main locations, Christ

Church in FortThomas and Our Lady of Peace in Cincinnati.

 Meyers said community reaction to her ordination has been
overwhelmingly positive. She described her first experience as a
priest celebrating mass as both “natural” in feeling
and an act she felt sure would serve the community well.
“It certainly wasn’t terrifying,” Meyers said. “Mostly because
 I’ve been preparing for this my whole life….I feel I am where
I’m meant to be.”
- See more at: http://www.thenortherner.com/news/2013/10/10/priest-fights-inequity-in-and-out-of-classroom/#sthash.2FSjtHik.dpuf

Inclusive Catholic Church in N. Kentucky and Cincinnati with Pastor Debra Meyers, ARCWP

http://www.inclusivecatholicchurch.com/

Inclusive Catholic Church
Pastor Debra Meyers revdebrameyers@gmail.com

Be the MOVE in movement.  BE God's living passion for justice, equality and peace. 
Become a member of an INCLUSIVE Catholic community that welcomes all and promotes the liberation of God's people.

Here at Inclusive Catholic Church, we are committed to serving God and the needs of you and your family. We welcome everyone at the Eucharistic table and offer all sacraments to everyone.
Wherever you may be on your spiritual path, you will find a supportive community at Inclusive Catholic Church.
We aspire to strengthen each person's confidence and joy in Jesus Christ - at every point in their life, and encourage personal and spiritual growth through prayer and active service. 
We celebrate Mass at the following greater Cincinnati locations:
Fort Thomas, Kentucky Mass is held the third Tuesday of the month from 7-8pm at Christ Church 15 S. Fort Thomas Ave.
Westside Mass held the first Wednesday of the month from 7-8pm at Our Lady of Peace Church 119 Wocher Ave off of River Rd. in Cincinnati.

Worship Services

Weddings & Baptisms

Funerals

http://www.inclusivecatholicchurch.com/

"Shadowing our Women Priests on a Day of Pastoral Visits" by Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP

"We began this day with a prayer for grace. As we prepared to visit Allan, who is fifty-six, in Hospice first, we prayed that we might know how to be there for him. We were told that he would not rise out of this bed. We did not know how we would find him. We have known Allan since the beginning of our Church in the Park ministry in 2007. He was one who dropped in on his own schedule when we were outside and when we moved to Church in the House too in 2009. Tall and artistic he had painted houses and the fumes had taken its toll on his lungs even then,  Still it was a struggle to help him get SSI Disability as he hated going to Doctors. (Finally with lawyers he was successful and he was proud to own a little trailer of his own).  He is known for his Hawaiian shirts so we brought him one to drape over his bed along with a little bear bearing a heart that said I Love You. 

Allan was in quiet reverie as his eyes fixed on the TV with a poor and faded picture. He looked up, focused and was so pleased to see us. He loved the bear and gave us a big smile. He liked it even better when we produced the trademark Hawaiian shirt and draped it over him. He began slowly to come alive and was happy to share that his son had come from California to see him and his ex-wife and step daughter were regular visitors along with his best friend, Dan. This meant so much as he has been estranged from his family.  He liked Hospice better than the hospital, and he was feeling comfortable. But, said he was praying to get up and walk again so he could go home. He admitted that it was very painful to get up so he didn’t think it would be soon,maybe “in a while”. In the meantime he was thankful for being comfortable and having people who care about him. He shared that in addition to the COPD, he also had cancer.  They “got it”  but he was unable to continue with radiation.  He became more and more animated as we talked. He even asked us to fix the TV picture so he could actually see it. We did and he was amazed at the brilliant colors.  He said that he still loves colors. This is Allan sporting his Hawaiian shirt. 

When we asked Allan if he would like to be anointed he said “Oh, yes. My Grandma raised me in the church and I would like the rites.” The peace of our God be with you, Allan”. “And also with you” ,he replied. He also knew the reading from James: “Are there people sick among you: Let them send for the priests of the Church,and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil…” “That is why I called for you”, Allan interjected. He listened carefully at every word of the rite. My heart was moved as he offered his thin hands for the anointing as well. He joined Pastor Judy Beaumont and I in the prayer of Jesus and said every word with meaning.  He nodded his head and smiled when we shared the words of the prayer after anointing that end in “and when alone, assure him of the support of your holy people”. He said “That is good!” We assured Allan that we would come again and keep him in our prayers.  We ended with a prayer that he be surrounded by God’s love and protection and Allan said a big “Amen!”
Pastor Judy Beaumont and a peaceful Allan
As our last two in hospice Anointings were when death was imminent and last rites were appropriate, we were thankful that Allan was so well able to  respond and gain a bit of life and strength from the healing Rite and our time together.
We then went to visit Mike who is also fifty-six and has COPD. We knew Mike from the beginning of our ministry with the homeless as well. He had lived in our transitional facility and was housed since 2009.  Mike was finally home after three life threatening hospitalizations. We had anointed him at the hospital. We were so glad to see him doing so much better and taking hold of life once again. This is Mike and one of his cats. His love for them motivates him. Our gift to Mike was cat food as well as cookies for himself. He is happy to be able to eat again.

Mike is presently homebound and this is hard for him as he likes to go to church and he likes talking with people. He shared how much he enjoys visits from his friends who are ‘snowbirds’ and will return soon. We shared his health concerns, his recently successful battle with alcohol,his family joys and concerns, and his worries. We helped him fill out paperwork for rides to the Doctor’s office.We also shared his joys at getting better finally.  He was happy to be anointed and participated fully. He likes to pray and was at peace as we left.
C
When we left Michael we met Len at the bus station to buy him a ticket home to another part of Florida. Len has been housed since March 2013 but has recently been struggling with mental health issues that pull him back to the streets. By the grace of God he is now ready to get help for those issues and to return home so he does not lose his housing. He will be going home on his fifty-seventh Birthday. He was thankful for the ticket and for a Birthday card and gifts.
Then we went to visit Shawn and his family. Shawn is a young adult, twenty-two years old, that we knew from our pastoral work before we started the Church. There are now sixteen members of his family that now attend our church as he does. We visited him as,due to gum disease, he is going to have all of his teeth pulled tomorrow and he felt frightened and depressed. As he had trouble eating and felt weak, we also brought him an MD prescribed protein shake and blender so he could survive without chewing.  He had shared his lowering self esteem because of the removal of his teeth as a major source of depression.  We gave him a beautiful new shirt to wear as he felt better and his family told him how handsome he would look in it. This brought the first smiles in days. We prayed with him and promised to be with him throughout this trial. 

We then enjoyed some play time with his younger cousins who also attend our church.
Fortified by the love of this wonderful family, we then visited two more families. 
We visited Jane and her two adult sons. Jane is an elderly woman who has many painful illnesses. She was feeling better after her new Doctor tried a new medication and she was planning a little vacation. She was nervous about leaving home and shared her hopes and her anxieties. We have known Jane for about thirteen years through our earlier Mission parish work. She was happy to pray with us and asked our blessing on herself and her sons.
We ended the day with visiting Roger who was the first man we had prayed with during our street ministry. He has had some troubles lately and was glad to have us visit. He wanted to assure us that he has to miss church sometimes but he is living as Christ wants him to live.  He is sharing his goods and gifts with his neighbors and is praying always. We blessed Roger and received his blessing and our day of pastoral visits was ended.  
Thanks be to God for this day of blessings!"
Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP
Co-Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd
Fort Myers, Florida
10/9/13

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Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary time for Holy Spirit Catholic Community by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP

Naaman is healed in Israel
and so concludes that God is in Israel.
So he asks to take muleloads of dirt with him back to Syria
to make it holy ground.
The tenth leper is made clean
and so heads off to find a priest
but doesn’t know whether to go to the temple in Jerusalem
or the temple in Gerazim in Samaria.
So he goes back to thank Jesus.
__________________________________
These foreigners have it right.
They experience healing.
They know that it transcends—goes above and beyond—
anything they have ever thought or experienced before.
It’s a faith experience.
So they think about it.
They examine the facts.
They look at the reality around them.
And they place their faith in their own experience,
and act on it.
__________________________________
That’s pure theology:
First, an experience.
Then, believing that the experience is real.
Thinking about it and trying to understand what it means.
__________________________________
These readings today reverberate in our own lives.
Each of us has been, at some time—maybe even yet and still—
in some way one of the outsiders, one of the foreigners,
one of those in need of healing.
Syrians and Samaritans and Paul in chains—they’re outsiders.
Sunni and Shiite, Israeli and Palestinian—outsiders.
Gays and straights, the clean and the addicted,
blacks and reds and yellows and browns and whites.
They are “other,” and we don’t trust them.
They’re homeless.
They have B.O., filthy clothes, scraggly beards.
They look desperate,
like they’re ready to pounce and rob you.
No matter that they don’t have an address
so they can’t get mail or apply for a job
or wash their clothes or take a shower.
They might even be HIV-positive,
so you don’t even want to shake hands with them
or touch a doorknob after they do. .
________________________________________
But the scriptures teach us what to do with outsiders.
Elisha, the prophet of God, reached out to Naaman
and sent him to wash in the healing waters of the Jordan.
Jesus reached out to the lepers
and sent them to the priests to be certified clean.
Elisha and Jesus did not hesitate to reach out,
to act in compassion and kindness.
There wasn’t a whisper of judgment in their treatment,
only kindness and caring and concern.
________________________________________
And these foreigners, these outsiders, are changed forever.
They have experienced God,
and not just as a healer.
They have experienced God
in the one who embraces the outsider.
They have experienced God
as one who goes beyond all the limits
of nation and culture and religion.
The experience catapults them into faith.
They believe in the God who has touched them.
________________________________________
And so they respond.
Naaman wants to give a gift, but Elisha won’t take it.
So he asks for enough dirt to take along
so that he can have holy ground to pray on,
enough so he can stay in touch
with the God who has made him whole.
The cured leper returns to Jesus to give thanks,
and Jesus tells him it’s faith that has saved him.
Even though a Samaritan,
the leper had believed the word of a Jew
that he was healed.
The leper realizes that God is not in the temple,
neither in Gerazim in Samaria nor in Jerusalem in Israel.
God is in the loving acceptance of another human being.
________________________________________
The first Christians were not sure
about how far to take this inclusive love
that they had seen in Jesus.
Jesus was a Jew.
They were Jews.
What would an outsider have to do to follow Jesus?
Would the outsider have to become Jewish?
Be circumcised?
Follow the dietary restrictions?
The early Christian community struggled with those questions
and eventually opened their hearts to the outsiders
in the way Jesus had shown them.
________________________________________
Every once in a while I hear someone talk
about the deserving poor… and the undeserving poor.
I’ll give someone a dollar for the bus,
and someone will see it
and tell me not to give that person anything
because he already gets $350 a month disability check.
Or because she spent 18 months in Stryker for prostitution.
Or because he’s a transvestite.
Or a Muslim.
Or whatever, just different.
One of those people.
Not us.
________________________________________
But they are us.
We are all different,
all on the margins at one time or another,
for one reason or another.
So we all have a responsibility
to end the marginalization of people
who are out there right now.
________________________________________
This year,
50 years after Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech,
racism still exists in America.
A coalition of Toledoans,
with funding from the Toledo Blade and the Anderson family,
is working to change minds about people who are “other.”
One of the projects they have put together
is called “Be Kind to a Different Race Month.”
There are details about it in today’s bulletin.
Anyone who volunteers is asked
to take on a project or do an act of kindness
for someone of a different race, 10 times in October.
They give the person a “Combating Racism” card
explaining the effort.
Some of the suggested random kindnesses are
paying for someone’s groceries, raking leaves, mowing a lawn,
handing a person a gift card,
putting change in a parking meter, walking a dog,
visiting someone in the hospital,
hauling in someone’s garbage cans,
I signed up.
As a white person, I’m part of the privileged majority here.
I’m going to keep my eyes open
for people of color who are living on the margins,
and I’m going to go out of my way to be kind.
Some people won’t want my help and will walk away.
Some may even get angry at me, or try to take advantage of me.
No doubt I’ll end up helping someone who didn’t need it.
And that’s all okay.
The person I’m really working on
is me.
I hope to be a better person by the time November rolls around.
More aware of discrimination.
More caring, more compassionate.
More sensitive to people who are different from me.
More like Jesus.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Mass at 2086 Brookdale (Interfaith Chapel):
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 9 a.m.
Mass at 3535 Executive Parkway (Unity of Toledo)
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Bev Bingle, Pastor

Sign Letter to Congress: "There is nothing Christian about taking food from poor"/End the Government Shutdown Now!

Dear Faithful America member,

Stung by the outcry against their pointless political stunt, House Republicans are now desperately trying to reopen the Smithsonian and our national parks.

But these politicians, who got elected by calling themselves pro-life Christians, continue to take food out of the mouths of hungry babies, force poor parents to miss work because child care is shut down, and even jeopardize military death benefits for widows and orphans.

If this reckless bunch spent more time with their bibles and less time scheming to keep people from getting health insurance, they might have noticed James 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.”

This time, let's not let them get away with wrapping themselves up in the Bible while ignoring its contents. A diverse group of Christian leaders including Jim Wallis from Sojourners, Sister Simone Campbell of the Nuns on the Bus, and two former U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican just released a powerful statement condemning those perpetuating the shutdown, saying "There is nothing “pro-life” or Christian about taking food away from pregnant women and babies."

If we all add our names to their statement, we can make sure it gets seen far and wide — and the members of Congress who call themselves Christians may finally have to start answering for their deeply unchristian behavior.

Add your name: Tell pro-life House members: There is nothing Christian about taking food from the poor

Thanks! 

-- Michael and Aaron

For more information: 

"Government shutdown: Forget the parks. Children, parents, spouses hit," LA Times, October 2, 2013

"Faith leaders challenge pro-life representatives to end shutdown," Faith in Public Life, October 3, 2013

Homily for 27th Sunday for Holy Spirit Community by Rev. Beverly Bingle, RCWP

Increase our faith, the disciples ask.
So Jesus tells them that,
with faith the size of a mustard seed,
they could order a mulberry tree to leap into the sea…
and it would.
Imagine that!
A huge, deep-rooted tree pulled up and thrown away.
According to Dr. Javier Provencio,
director of the neurological ICU at the Cleveland Clinic,
most people can lift six to seven times their body weight,
but they don’t do it
because of fear, fatigue, and pain.
So we hear of folks who—
because they believe
that someone will die unless they take action—
lift cars off people pinned under them.
They are convinced that the situation is life-threatening.
So they act in spite of their fear, fatigue, pain.
Jesus had no doubt seen people doing extraordinary things,
and he saw beyond that
to observe that belief,
when the situation called for action,
would allow his disciples to perform extraordinary feats.
________________________________
And they did.
They went forth—not fearlessly but in spite of fear—
and called others to follow the Way of Jesus.
In spite of the Roman Empire
they called people to pledge allegiance to God above all.
In spite of the greed of the society around them
they called people to be generous to everyone.
In the midst of hate and discrimination and oppression
they called people to love their neighbors
and to love their enemies.
________________________________
These days we wish that our elected Congresspeople
would have enough faith in one another
to uproot a few mulberry trees.
We hear that Representative John Boehner
is going along with the government shutdown
because he fears
that he will lose his position as Speaker of the House.
He doesn’t think the House is acting responsibly,
but he’s afraid.
________________________________
The disciples are following Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.
They don’t understand what he’s about.
They know it’s dangerous.
So they ask for an increase of faith.
Jesus assures them that just a little bit of faith
will allow them to do unexpected things—miracles, even.
Then he tells them, through the story of the dutiful servant,
that those who render unstinting service,
giving themselves completely
to the responsibilities of the tasks they’re given,
without thought of reward,
are in right relationship—the right relationship of justice.
________________________________
So us.
We see a can thrown in a parking lot and pick it up for recycling.
We notice someone with a heavy load and offer to help carry it.
We open doors for folks and let them go ahead of us.
We respond to requests for food, clothing, shelter.
We show up at the school for parents’ night or grandparents’ day.
We send contributions to charities here in town
and around the world.
We listen when hurting people need to talk.
We walk along the Way,
doing every task that comes to us to the best we can,
and when we’re done with the day
we look back and see
that we have simply done what we were supposed to do…
we have followed Christ.
And in doing so we’d be doing nothing out of the ordinary—
just our ordinary duty as ordinary Christians...
just turning our world into the kin-dom of God.

--
Holy Spirit Catholic Community
Mass at 2086 Brookdale (Interfaith Chapel):
Saturdays at 4:30 p.m.
Sundays at 9 a.m.
Mass at 3535 Executive Parkway (Unity of Toledo)
Sundays at 5:30 p.m.www.holyspirittoledo.org

Rev. Bev Bingle, Pastor
419-727-1774

"Women Are Key To Pope’s Reforms" by James Carroll

      http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/09/29/pope-francis-must-create-church-equality-for-women/wdCYG2KtPJhXHw5dEEk36O/story.html
",,,The positive reception to Pope Francis from all quarters is itself almost as astounding as the man himself. A kind of global sigh of relief has greeted his humane and kindly manner, a signal that the human family, even in a secular age, longs for a rescue of transcendent value. The Catholic Church, for all of its problems, and if only because of its history as a pillar of Western culture, remains a universal object of fascination. When James Joyce described Catholicism as “here comes everybody,” he forecast the way everybody seems relieved to have such a man at the pinnacle of religious influence...",,,:The church of justice for the poor must be the church of equality for women — inside the church as well as out. There is no other way. Thus, it matters less whether Pope Francis at present favors the ordination of women than that he has already launched a historical process that makes it all but certain. Other reforms will follow. Style influences substance, and attitude influences everything..."
Bridget Mary's Response:
James Carroll is right. This is why the Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement is a "holy shakeup." Justice for the poor and justice for women in the church is constitutive to the Gospel today. We are leading the church into its future by living Gospel equality now.
The Roman Catholic Church must follow Jesus' example and treat women as spiritual equals in all areas of church life including the call to priestly ministry. There should not be seven sacraments for men and six for women. Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org, sofiabmm@aol.com

National Catholic Reporter Editorial Challenges Pope Francis to Give Women "Real Authority" in the Church

http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/editorial-its-time-real-authority-women-church
..."He already has a problem with those who want ordination or nothing. But, putting that aside for the moment (which NCR does not do lightly), there are plenty of other stained-glass ceilings in this church that women could break if only he'd let them, starting with the diaconate. While some dismiss this as a consolation prize, others -- especially married women or those for whom a commitment to priesthood would not work -- would embrace the opportunity to minister as a deacon.
There are other changes Francis could make in the governance of the church. For example, Greg Burke, the communications adviser to the Vatican's Secretary of State, speaking Sept. 25 at the annual conference for the Religion Newswriters Association, wondered why a celibate cardinal heads the Pontifical Council for the Family. A layperson, including a laywoman, could hold that position, he said. There are other jobs in the Curia in which women could excel given a chance.
But when the pope speaks in generalizations, and when male journalists (and yes, we know there are women on America's staff) are not keenly aware they must report anything and everything he says about women, then it's hard for women to not shake their heads and say, "They still don't get it." Francis may be getting the message. His parting words to Eugenio Scalfari were a hint that the atheist newspaper editor would be invited back for another talk, and Francis says: "We will also discuss the role of women in the church," a topic the male editor didn't raise. Francis told him, "Remember that the church [la chiesa] is feminine."
If there's room for women at Francis' table, now is the time for him to offer a real chair, with real authority."
Bridget Mary's Response
Unless Pope Francis ordains women as priests and bishops, women will not be equals in our church. The full equality of women in sacramental ministry as well as in institutional jobs is an issue of justice.
Pope Francis could appoint women to  head major Vatican offices as cardinals. This would be a step in the right direction! Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org,
sofiabmm@aol.com

Homily for 27th Sunday: "The Flame of Faith" by Dr. Judith Lee, ARCWP

{ This is  Rev. Melvin G. Williams and his wife Deaconess Virginia Maniti Williams with a Bethany Methodist Church Youth Group Member in 1957. They are my spiritual parents in the faith who,along with my grandmother Ella  and mother Anne,  encouraged me to fan my faith and gifts into flame. The picture is from a book of poetry I wrote entitled The Flame Keeper and Other Poems (PublishAmerica.com, 2007.}
This is Keep the Faith Sunday. The readings are rich and meaningful to those who experience disillusion, need, injustice and pain and to those who stand in solidarity with them. In the world I came of age in and in the church I now pastor people understand when I say “keep the faith” when parting.  Poor folks and people of color know that keeping the faith has more to do with the way life is lived, and living for justice than mouthing words of belief, though they do that as well.
In the first reading from the book of Habakkuk we see the unusual prophet, one who not only decried oppression and exploitation of the poor and of God’s people, but one who told God exactly what he thought about God for “ making or letting this happen” (his viewpoint). Habakkuk lived during the beginning of the Seventh Century (BCE) when the treacherous King Nebuchadnezzar ruled and the terrorizing Babylonian (Chaldean) oppression of the Hebrew people was just beginning.  Habakkuk could not believe what was happening.
According to Eugene Peterson (The Message) Habakkuk spoke God’s word to us AND our word to God. Now this is a prophet I can understand. I can understand complaining to God and trying to talk with God about how bad things are and how they “shouldn’t be that way”, especially for God’s people. My heart breaks for the 800,000 Government workers who are furloughed in this immoral Government Shutdown forced by a minority of Tea Party Representatives in the House who cannot accept the law of the land regarding health care, disparagingly called Obamacare by them.  What kind of a world is this when the tail is wagging the dog? Many of those furloughed people will not be able to pay their bills and feed their families. Yet those Representatives still get paid. And when churches are bombed in Syria and Egypt killing those worshiping because they are Christian, I hurt. When U.S. Drones attempting to “take out” enemies also kill children and families even as Dictators who use nerve gas wipe out whole innocent communities, I want to say “God, when will this stop? When people go berserk and assassinate people in movie theaters, workplaces and public spaces because the mental health system is so bad that most fall through the gaping cracks in it, I want to scream.
I understand Habakkuk who said to God: “”So why don’t you do something about this? Why are you silent now….You stand around and watch! “(Hab 1:13 MSG). And, “God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? …Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day: Anarchy and violence break out…Law and order fall to pieces.  Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head”. (1:1-4 MSG).
Now, my guess is that you understand Habakkuk too.  And you understand the prophet’s meanings not only on the wider scene, but in your own lives. “How can that saint suffer so? How can this young father of two have incurable cancer?” “How come I struggle with such pain in my back or head or how can I deal with the insecurities of cancer or heart trouble?” “Why did I lose my job when I have mouths to feed and rent to pay?” “Why don’t I have somewhere to live?” “Do something, God.” We long to have Divine intervention to make things right and we don’t want “pie in the sky bye and bye”. We don’t want to wait for heaven for it to be right. Well, neither does God. And that is why God asks for us to be steadfast in practicing, in exercising, our faith.  “Faith is the assurance concerning things that we hope for (expect), as it was the substance of things now in existence.  And it is the appearance (revelation) of things not seen”. (Heb. 11:1 P’Shitta Text- Aramaic text.) Faith IS the substance we can hold on to, especially in troubled times.   The Aramaic word for faith is haymanootha.   Its meanings include confidence, firmness, faithfulness and being trustworthy.  The Semitic root of that word is amen which means “to make firm” “true” “lasting” and “enduring”.  According to Aramaic scholar Rocco Errico in And There Was Light (1998:230) “it is a quality or attitude of perseverance”.  We are to persevere in practicing and living our faith. We are to be trustworthy and faithful in our covenant with God.  We are the answer to prayers for justice and peace and we are the answers to someone else’s prayer. God is not silent unless our mouths are silent. And, maybe it is we who are standing around and watching.
In the beginning of the second chapter of Habakkuk, God, who is in dialogue with the prophet, says that the time will come when “those who steadfastly uphold justice will live” (Hab 2: 4(b) TIB (The Inclusive Bible).  The Message says (same verse) “The person in right standing before God…is fully alive, really alive”. God is telling Habakkuk –keep the faith-keep doing what God wants you to do, enact justice, preach justice, live justice-live the faith, keep our covenant (to love God and love your neighbors as yourself) and you and the people will live, even in the midst of ALL that is wrong.  By the end of Habakkuk’s vision his song, his tune, changes. And it changes because he is in dialogue with God and he is listening. God did not chastise Habakkuk for taking God on, God entered into dialogue with Habakkuk.  If we are speaking with God, God is speaking to us as well. By the end of his song the prophet says,(paraphrased) we are still living in devastation, we are still in big trouble, and I wait for disaster on our attackers but I believe that it is going to be okay as God saved Israel in Moses time, God will do it again.  “I’m singing joyful praise to God…counting on God’s rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength…” (Hab 3:18-19a MSG).  Habakkuk kept the faith and gave the people hope.  Let us take heart and gain strength in the midst of our troubles.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, after remembering Timothy’s sincere faith which was passed on to him from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (1: 5),  Paul, Timothy’s spiritual parent, encourages Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (1:6). He does not want Timothy to be shy with God’s gifts in leading his community of faith but bold (powerful) loving and self- disciplined.  It is because of Timothy’s strong faith that Paul can encourage his gifts. Indeed that faith can be Timothy’s best gift.  It is interesting to note that Paul begins his encouragement of Timothy’s gifts by reminding him of the faith of his grandmother and mother and saying “that is why I want to remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…” Yet, whoever chooses the Sunday readings in the Roman Missal chose to leave out the reference to Timothy’s mothers in faith. The reading omits verse 5 and begins with verse 6 even though the phrase “that is why…” has no referent.  It is critically important for us to remember our mothers and fathers in faith and to build on and pass on that legacy.  To keep the faith Paul is saying that Timothy needs to pass it on-boldly. I remember well the faith of my grandmother Ella and my mother Anne. I would not be writing this now if they had not passed that faith on to me. And they did it in the midst of much trouble and turmoil. We were poor economically and my mother was our sole wage earner though she was sometimes too ill to work. We knew hard times and yet I learned to live by faith. That faith was reinforced by my strong faith community and its Pastors.  We were rich in faith and the flame was lighted within my heart and nothing could extinguish it. Fan the flame of faith and God’s gifts to you into a blaze!  Turn the fading embers into a flame of passion for God and God’s work for you.
In the Gospel, (Luke 17:5-10) the apostles, upon hearing Jesus tell them to forgive those who sin against you endlessly with endless forgiveness, plea “increase our faith!” They thought that MORE was better.  Jesus told them: “There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake’ and it would do it” (17:6 MSG).  Jesus is saying if you have faith you have power-all kinds of power-use it.  For Jesus, faith is also a relational concept. When people expressed faith in him they were healed, made whole, transformed. He was often moved by the plight of the other person who had faith in him. Having faith is a two way street. As the Aramaic definition tells us, it involves trust and trustworthiness, confidence in one another, and perseverance. Let us be the trustworthy, steadfast followers that Christ can have confidence in even as we have confidence in the love of Christ for us and for all. Let us fan the often dying embers of our faith that is both weakened and strengthened by troubles and doubt, into a flame, a blaze that burns bright, clears the underbrush and makes the way for new life.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Judith Lee, ARCWP
Co-Pastor The Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community  

Link to Where to Get Baby Food and Formula during Federal Government Shutdown

http://www.feministhulk.net/wic-and-shutdown-where-to-get-baby-food-and-formula.html

TWEET Pope Francis for Women Priests on Feast of St. Francis

 Saints Francis and Clare were spiritual equals, so are women priests @Pontifex

TWEET POPE FRANCIS ON OCT. 4TH FOR EQUALITY FOR WOMEN IN THE CHURCH/Women's Ordination Conference

St. Francis Day of Action - Friday, October 4, 2013

Please tweet Pope Francis and members of hierarchy on Friday, October 4, the Feast of St. Francis, and let them know you support the ordination of women in Roman Catholic Church. It's time to create a truly collaborative relationship with women in the church, just as St. Francis did with St. Clare. Taking action is easy! Simply tweet one of the following or write your own. Don't have a Twitter account? Sign up free.   "Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible & suddenly you are doing the impossible" StFrancis of Assisi #ordainwomen @Pontifex "I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, God can work through anyone." St Francis of Assisi #ordainwomen @Pontifex @USCCB Need to "investigate further the role of women in the church"? #ordainwomen @Pontifex @USCCB #fem2 "È necessario ampliare gli spazi di una presenza femminile più incisiva nella Chiesa." #ordainwomen #fem2 "A new balance" for the #Catholic church? Include women in significant ways #ordainwomen #fem2 @Pontifex @CardinalSean "Thinking with the Church?" @Pontifex? Ask a woman. #ordainwomen #fem2 @CardinalSean @Cardinal_Wuerl On the Feast of St. Francis, let us remember his peer, St. Clare @Pontifex @CardinalDolan @CardinalSean #ordainwomen Happy Feast Day @Pontifex! Who is St. Francis w/o St. Clare? #ordainwomen @CardinalSean La Chiesa è la totalità del popolo di Dio? #ordainwomen @Pontifex @CardinalSean @Cardinal_Wuerl #fem2

Article on Popular Irish Priest Reformer Fr. Tony Flannery and Ongoing Saga with Vatican/Will Pope Francis Change Hard Line Approach of CDF/Curia?

THE PHOENIX MAGAZINE,
DUBLIN, IRELAND,
OCTOBER 4 – OCTOBER 17, 2013. 
                                     FR. TONY FLANNERY
Redemptorist preacher Tony Flannery is the most headstrong of the six Irish priests whose outspoken and unorthodox views have been targeted for silencing by the Vatican.
Flannery’s determination not to be bullied into submission by the centuries old Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, CDF, has pitched him into direct confrontation with Rome’s agent in Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown.
For some time now it has looked likely that Flannery was doomed to lose but the dramatic resignation earlier this year of the bookish German Pope Benedict XVI and the election of the lively Argentine Francis I, the first Jesuit pontiff from Latin America, has stirred hopes that the reign of intellectual terror in Roman Catholicism may be coming to an end. For once will the might of Rome back down? Will Flannery be restored to public ministry and his good name be upheld?  As battle rages, it remains to be seen if Francis can reverse an entrenched tradition of secretive authoritarian reaction in Rome and reconcile Catholicism with democracy and Vatican bureaucracy with consultative decision-making.  
Oh, what a difference a Pope makes.
Just 18 months ago, the beleagured Flannery faced excommunication from Mother Church and robust removal from his religious order for his “scandalous” writings. As a member of a religious order which for decades was feared by the simple faithful for its hell-fire and brimstone preaching at parish missions and retreats, Flannery came under the surveillance in 2012 of Pope Benedict’s official representative in Ireland, the New York-born Archbishop Charles Brown.
Although not being a career diplomat, Brown was a rising theologian on the staff of the CDF and was an unapologetic disciple of then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger whose theological trademark was to denounce relativism as the chief heresy in the modern world. Brown was horrified to discover that the Galwegian who preferred colourful open-necked shirts to the drab clerical garb – and to watch a GAA match rather than talk theology - was a skilful exponent of popular talks which watered-down strict church teachings and questioned traditional attitudes to birth control, divorce, abortion, priestly celibacy and the ordination of women to the priesthood.
But Flannery had to learn that CDF procedures fail to fail to meet the most elementary requirements of due process – the accused is unaware that he (or she) is under investigation until formal charges are brought against him; accusers remain anonymous and the grounds on which the charges are based are not given; the time given to respond to those charges is ridiculously inadequate, often as little as three weeks; the accused is not allowed legal reservation but may seek the support of one (and only one) “friend” who may not accompany the accused into the interrogation room. 
Proceedings are held in secret, questioning is conducted in a hostile and negative manner. The CDF is both prosecutor and judge with no appeal from its findings. Sentences are frequently quite disproportionate to the alleged offence. There has been excessive use of the sentence of automatic excommunication, latae sententiae.
                 
                                  CENSURE
Flannery had not anticipated censure. Remote from the workings of the Holy See because of his pastoral ministry, it came as "a shock, a bolt from the blue" when he was telephoned to be told that the CDF "had their sights" on him. In due course, he was ordered to issue a public statement, accepting all church moral teachings and also agreeing that that women could never be priests. He was also warned about the requirement for total secrecy about his relations with the CDF and to shun the media.
Summoned to Rome to meet the superior general of his order in February 2012, he was told that he was in serious trouble and that the then Prefect, Cardinal William Lavada, was taking personal charge of his portfolio. He was handed two A4 pages on un-headed and unsigned paper by his superiors which had come from the CDF. The first page contained four extracts from articles he had written for Reality on structures in the church and the need for reform, the nature of priesthood, the new missal, priestly celibacy and the role of women in the church. On the second page, his superiors were ordered to "seek to impress upon Fr Flannery the gravity of his situation".
He was not to be allowed to write or to give newspaper interviews. Further, he was to be instructed to withdraw from his leadership role in the ACP and also from public ministry and to undertake a period of spiritual and theological reflection. Flannery was angry as he wondered who "who had produced this document" of diktats and given them to his superiors. He wanted to confront his CDF accusers face to face, to show them that their quotations from his articles were cited out of context. He has not yet been given that opportunity.
                                               MEETINGS
Angrily, he realized his Redemptorist superiors in Rome, instead of standing up for him, had bought into the CDF’s way of thinking and acting. He realized that when it came to the test I as an individual would not be of any real significance . . . [and] I would be viewed as dispensable".
Returning to Ireland, Flannery wound up his pastoral duties including saying Mass in community and hearing confessions. He did not publish or give interviews and entered into a period of reflection in a retreat house in Ireland. However, he stuck with the ACP, which openly supported him. In early summer 2012 Flannery received another document from the Vatican, the contents of which exacerbated an already delicate situation. He had two meetings with his superior general, one in Ireland and the other in Rome.
In Rome he was told there had been another "very angry letter" from Cardinal Levada.
Back in Ireland, his period of reflection having ended, he resumed his pastoral duties while preparing a response to the new Vatican document, which he sent to his superiors in late June 2012. This positive outcome was a relief.
But there was a new twist to the story. By September 2012, with a new head of the CDF – Cardinal Muller – in place, there were further demands that his author's statement be amended. New instructions to discipline Flannery were issued: he was to go on a further extended period of reflection to a retreat house outside of Ireland and he was to cease all ACP involvement. Believing he was being bullied by the CDF and his superior general, he again felt angry and prepared an extensive response.
But when Flannery refused to cease contact with the ACP, his superior general invoked rule 73, number 3, of the order. This imposed a 'formal precept of obedience' which obliged him to obey or run the risk of being dismissed from the order. Flannery refused to conform or sign any pledge. To do so would only humiliate him. In mid-January this year, the author went public in The New York Times and held a press conference in Dublin outlining his case.
All of this is documented in his book, A Question of Conscience, published last month,   lifting the lid on the machinations of the CDF. In a foreword former President Mary McAleese, asked “what mother treats a son as Tony Flannery  has been treated?” 
Going on an autumnal offensive, Flannery’s AIP colleague Fr. Brendan Hoban, claimed that Brown was the voice of ex-Pope Benedict. Hoban astutely cast Brown as being out of touch with the more liberal Francis. (See “Archbishop Brown’s Bad PR: Charlie Brown and Benny”, Phoenix September 20, 2013.)
At the Humbert Summer School on September 1 in Hoban’s hometown of Ballina, County Mayo, an emboldened Flannery declared that while his persecutors were unsure of how they stood with Pope Francis, he was sure that the CDF would back off, though it would never reverse its judgement and allow him to return to public ministry.
A tidal change favouring Flannery came with the publication on September 19 of a ground-breaking 12,000-word interview, carried out by the editor of the Italian Jesuit magazine Civilità Cattolica, Fr Antonio Spadaro SJ, which was simultaneously published on several Jesuit websites around the world in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish including The US Jesuit magazine America. 
In his interview the Pope called for the church to be “home for all” ( the vision of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council, 1962-65) and not a “small chapel” focused on doctrine and limited below the pelvis views on moral teachings (the Benedict-Brown model.)
Francis desired to “heal the wounds” arguing that priests must be “merciful” because “the people of God want pastors, not clergy acting like bureaucrats or government officials”.
Significantly, Francis’s interview was given page one lead coverage by The Irish Times, which quoted Flannery as saying, “What the Pope said seems to amount to a fairly substantial critique of the way in which the Curia and, in particular, the CDF have been operating.”
And Flannery added: “It changes the rules of the game in the sense that it appears that the Curia has largely been taken out of the business of dealing with disciplinary matters and it has been handed back to the local church to deal with it.”
Suddenly, it looked that Flannery would win, especially as both the Pope and the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin agreed that the problems should be resolved by the local hierarchy, not Rome.
But nothing is ever straight forward even with divine planners. Archbishop Martin is not involved in this dispute’s arbitration, according to Flannery, who describes the Irish Episcopal Conference as dysfunctional and as showing no leadership in his book. “The one among the bishops who has most capacity to lead” is Diarmuid Martin, but “for whatever reason he has not assumed that role,” writes Flannery.
        
                                   POLITICS
Most likely Diarmuid feels that in the baroque politics of Maynooth he would be swamped by the rest of the hierarchy as Flannery is from the diocese of Clonfert, whose Bishop John Kirby is on Brown’s retirement and replacement files.
Nor is it all sweetness and light on the Muller-Brown axis: the German and the Yankee are shedding sweat in second-guessing which tune the fiddling Francis will play next – collegiality or cconformism?
As British Prime Minister Harold McMillan was wont to say, matters will be determined by events.
Yet, the Franciscan script for October kicks off with a meeting in Rome of the special advisory Council of eight cardinals appointed to come up with a roadmap for change.  It will be open season for innovative proposals. Although still of the belief that the ban on the ordination of women is irreversible, Francis told Spadaro that “it is necessary to broaden the opportunities for a stronger presence of women in the Church." 
A tempting quick-fix for Francis is to take up the suggestion of Fr James Keenan, a Boston Jesuit, that it is canonically possible for him to appoint women to the college of cardinals. Top of Keenan’s list is Linda Hogan, professor of ecumenics at Trinity College Dublin who is not a cleric and is a married female. And the indefatigable Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan, the Irish-born theologian leading the 160-strong Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, has urged Francis to dent the machismo of the church’s all-boys club. Also cheering on Francis’s committee of eight via an Open Letter to Francis released on October 1 are an alliance composed of theologian Cathy Molloy, Sister Dairne McHenry, Brendan Butler and, last but not least, Tony Flannery.
There is no light yet at the end of the tunnel for Tony, who is intent of his own volition in stepping-down from the ACP leadership team at its October AGM. At ant moment the sanctions might be lifted, but he lives under the shadow of an overnight automatic excommunication: once Roma locuta est, its decision will be final. There is no room for the prodigal son in an unreconstructed Roman Curia.
Flannery can still win but his fate hinges on which Francis turns up on judgement day. 
If the reformist hand of history is on Francis, he may choose as the next suitable posting for Archbishop Brown to move to Guantanamo Bay as prison chaplain. No doubt, a magnanimous Flannery would supply a testimonial. 
ENDS