Homily for Ordination of Rose Mary Gordyan ARCWP and Kathleen OConnell Sauline ARCWP by Bishop Mary Eileen Collingwood ARCWP, August 28, 2021, Cleveland, Ohio

Bishop Mary  Eileen Collingwood ARCWP

Priests from ARCWP and RCWP join in celebration

left to right  Kathleen Sauline, Mary Eileen Collingwood and Rose Gordyan

Thank you-- each and every one of you—who came here today to celebrate the Roman Catholic ordination of Rose and Kathleen as priests.   It is an extraordinary day not only marked by their courage and faith in answering the call to be ordained in this prophetic renewal of the priesthood, but also to celebrate your courage and willingness to witness to the Holy Spirit’s movement in and among us, right here, right now, as the Spirit refreshes and infuses us with new vision and purpose.  

The Gospel chosen for today tells the story of a woman who seeks healing from a hemorrhage she suffered with for 12 years. Her story is surrounded by the plight of a father seeking healing for his 12-year-old daughter.   

Could it be that these interwoven stories are connected?  

The 12-year-old girl is at the age when the Jewish law at that time recognized her as an adult and, therefore, subject to the Law.  Yet because she is desperately ill, it is her father that seeks and believes in the healing power of Jesus.  The woman with the 12-year hemorrhage seeks healing by claiming the power from Jesus herself.

In the Jewish tradition, the number 12 represents authority, appointment and completeness.  By law, both women possessed their own authority, yet the young woman’s illness made her unable to exercise it herself.  The younger one believed in her father and counted on his faith in Jesus; the older woman believed in Jesus’ power and knew she would be healed just by touching him.  

Women are famous for connecting with one another, no matter their age or situation in life.  In this story, both women suffered, and both were completely cured through faith. Both are recognized as daughters and are rejoined with the community from which they had become isolated due to illness.  Both are healed and restored to the fullness of life as women of their time.  

Ordained women, too, are daughters, and, infused with the Spirit, we claim our right to the fullness of sacramental life through priesthood.  Our priestly presence opens doors to spread the mantel of the church far and wide.  Although we cannot fully participate in the traditional Catholic church communities from which we have become isolated, we can follow the Way of Jesus in forming inclusive faith communities that welcome all who have been disenfranchised from the religious institutions of our time, to worship and live in a spirit of true hospitality and dignity.  Today, we stand before you in faith as prophetic voices declaring the fullness of life as women of our time.  

Traditional Catholic Church polity doesn’t recognize our ordinations because we don’t support all the rules the men have established.  With their rules, they want to retain authority over all who find themselves within their domain. Like women of history, on whose shoulders we now stand, today’s women still struggle to be recognized as full members worthy of sacramental leadership. The Holy Spirit, Wisdom Sophia, upends false claims of authority by calling women to step forward as living witnesses in a renewed priesthood, restoring wholeness and holiness to the church.  Structures and rules are no barrier for the Spirit as She moves where She will. 

Brave women gave Jesus the opportunity to expand the circle of his ministry, and Rose and Kathleen are two more who continue this dynamic, releasing the captives and inviting the Spirit within them to breathe freely. 

Rose Mary Gordyan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies, and a Certification in Pastoral Ministry, completing her field experience in hospital chaplaincy and evangelization.  She has accumulated 53 Master level semester hours in Theology. In her 40 years of church ministry, she was a leader in catechetics, sacramental programs and youth ministry that expanded to include adult faith formation and ministry with the bereaved and divorced members of the wider community. Her pastoral ministry assignments included presiding at funeral services and directing retreats in biblical studies and women’s spirituality.  In addition, Rose served as Campus Minister for Marycrest, a home for homeless and delinquent women and girls in Cleveland.

Throughout her years in church ministry, her husband, Ken, was by her side supporting her call to ordained ministry providing space in their home for her studies, and willingly typed all her papers.  Now deceased, Rose feels his spiritual support as well as the respect of her two sons, as she answers her call to priestly ordination.  

Kathleen O'Connell Sauline holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with majors in Accounting and Public Administration, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree. She also has Principal and Superintendent licenses.  Kathleen is a long-time educator, embracing anti-racism as the cornerstone of her career.  She presently serves on several boards, utilizing her educational experiences. 

Her parish ministry included leading the Children’s Liturgy of the Word for 17 years.  She, along with her deceased husband, Dave, led Baptism Preparation sessions for 12 years. Dave often spoke of his devout support of Kathleen on her road toward ordination even while dealing with the aftermath of a stroke. Recently, with Kathleen’s life partner, Rafe, they are providing transitional space for a family moving to the area post immigration.  

Kathleen and her three daughters embrace an expansive faith that focuses on God's love and mercy as it is brought to life in our world through caring for one another. 

 

We members of the Roman Catholic Women Priest movement stand in solidarity with all women, taking the power we have in claiming our vocational call of equal leadership and ministry in our church and world.  Despite the opposition we face, the Divine Feminine moves us forward. We are the appointed prophets of our time!

As prophets, we now enter into the Rite of Ordination for Rose and Kathleen. 

May the Holy One bless them, and bless all of us who witness this historic moment and holy sacrament.

St Francis of Assisi & Blessing of Animal Companions Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community Liturgy, August 28, 2021, 4:00PM Den & Jan Rigdon & Michael Rigdon Presiding, Mary Al Gagnon & Jerry Bires Reading, Peg Bowen IT Support, Linda Lee Miller, Music (See Zoom link, bring pet or photo of pet)

       

Zoom link for video - 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85108095506       

ID 851- 0809-5506, Passcode 1066

Dial 1-929-436-2866 

Meeting ID: 851 0809 5506

Password: 1066      

Welcome! (Jan) Welcome to Mary Mother of Jesus, an inclusive Catholic community in Sarasota Florida. All are welcome at our table to break open God’s Word and to break bread and share wine together. Please unmute to share during our shared homily or our community prayers, then remute when you finish. And have with you a piece of bread and a cup of wine/juice for communion.

Theme. (Michael) Christ in all creatures, all creatures in Christ

(Den) Let us begin our celebration by sharing a sign of peace with one another. Bow toward your camera with hands folded 🙏 as we say together: (All) The peace of Christ be with you. Namaste, Namaste, Namaste. 

Please join in singing our gathering song, 

🎶 Prayer of St Francis 

https://youtu.be/pSnSZ1vtmZM

Make me a channel of your peace. 

Where there is hatred, let me bring your love. 

Where there is injury, your pardon, God, 

and where there is doubt, true faith in you. 

Make me a channel of your peace.

Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope. 

Where there is darkness only light, 

and where there’s sadness ever joy. 

Oh God, grant that I may never seek 

so much to be consoled, as to console, 

to be understood as to understand, 

to be loved, as to love with all my soul. 

Make me a channel of your peace. 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 

in giving of ourselves that we receive

And in dying that were born to eternal life.

Opening prayer. (Jan) Nurturing God, you embrace each person and every living thing with delight. May we live our oneness with all creation in your heart of love. We rejoice that you speak to us each day through earth’s creatures, especially these animal companions gathered here today and others we especially remember. We ask you to bless all in the circle of life. We ask this through Jesus our brother and the Spirit our wisdom.(All) So be it!

We break open God’s Word.

(Mary Al) The first reading is from the book of Genesis.

God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!

      Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”

   God created the huge whales,

      all the swarm of life in the waters,

   And every kind and species of flying birds.

      God saw that it was good.

   God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!

   Birds, reproduce on Earth!”

   It was evening, it was morning—Day Five.

God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:

      cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.”

   And there it was:

      wild animals of every kind,

   Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.

      God saw that it was good.

We respond to this inspired message from Genesis: (All) So be it!

(Excerpt From The Message by Eugene H Peterson)

🎶 Laudato Si’, Canticle of the Sun. Words by St Francis, 

music by Marty Haugen, performed by Michelle Sherliza.  

https://youtu.be/CfJ6WJPUff8

(Michael) The second reading is from the encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, On the Care of our Common Home.  

Paragraph 190 comes near the end of chapter 5, Lines of approach and action. As you hear it, you will recognize why this idea of pope Francis has provoked criticism.

Here too, it should always be kept in mind that “environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits. The environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces.”[134] Once more, we need to reject the magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals. Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations? Where profits alone count, there can be no thinking about the rhythms of nature, its phases of decay and regeneration, or the complexity of ecosystems which may be gravely upset by human intervention. Moreover, biodiversity is considered at most a deposit of economic resources available for exploitation, with no serious thought for the real value of things, their significance for persons and cultures, or the concerns and needs of the poor.

[Footnote 134] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 470. 

🎶 Alle, Alle, Alleluia 

https://youtu.be/gIHnZn3JjcM

(Jerry) Today’s gospel reading is from the Good News attributed to Matthew.  (Excerpt From The Message by Eugene H Peterson)

Look at the birds 🦅 , free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

This is the Good News from Matthew, and we all respond:

(All) Thanks be to God. 

🎶 Alle, Alle, Alleluia 

https://youtu.be/gIHnZn3JjcM

Blessing of animal companions. 

(Michael) Introduce your animal companion(s) if you wish. Those present and those remembered. 

Mutual blessings—

(All) First of all, we thank our animal companions who bless us every day with their unconditional love and affection. 

(Michael) As we bless our companions now, you may want to sign them with a cross ✝️ or lay your hand on their head. 

(All) We pray for our companion’s health and happiness. May they experience in our caring and affection God’s love for each of them.

(Michael) If you wish, please unmute to share a special prayer for your companion or a thought about our celebration today. 

Profession of Faith. (Michael & All) 

We believe in God, the fountain of life, 

flowing through every being. 

We believe in Jesus the Christ, 

who reflects the face of God and the fullness of humanity. 

We believe in Spirit Sophia, the breath of God in the cosmos, 

who calls us to care for the earth 

as the common home we share with all creation. 

We believe that every living being is our sister and brother 

and a reflection of God‘s goodness in the circle of life. 

Amen to loving actions on behalf of environmental healing and transformation.

Prayers of the Community. (Den) We bring to the table the needs of our community, our country, and our world. 

(Response: Holy One, you hear our prayer)

May each of us contribute to the health and sustainability of our Mother Earth, we pray.

May we support organizations and leaders who address climate change, we pray.

We bring to the table community members with health problems, especially Donna Marcantonio who suffered a head injury and is slowly recovering from neurological damage. And we pray for Cheri’s son Michael.

We bring to the table our many fellow citizens who are suffering from the wildfires in our western states and from the impact of tropical storms. We pray.

Joan will bring to the table petitions in our community prayer book. 

And for what else shall we pray today? 

Holy One, we bring these needs to you in faith and hope. 

All: Amen

We offer our gifts 🥖 🍷 

🎶 Seed scattered and sown 

https://youtu.be/r7CWT7q5ybQ

Our communion prayer. 

(Den) Our loving God, who speaks to us through wild flowers, butterflies and our beloved animal companions, dwells on earth…

(All) And in every living being. 

(Den) Lift up your hearts.

(All) We lift them up to our Creator in whom all beings live.

(Den) Let us give thanks for the Source of Life. 

(All) It is right to give the Living God thanks and praise.

(Jan & All) Holy, holy, holy God, Spirit of love of peace,

Earth’s abundance reflects your glory. 

Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed are all living things who reflect the beauty of God. Hosanna in the highest.

(Michael) Holy One, we bring you these gifts 🥖 🍷 that they may become the Christ Presence. Fill us with tenderness toward our sisters and brothers, our animal companions here with us today and those we fondly remember. 

(Den & All, with hand extended) On the night before he died, while at supper with his friends, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them saying, “Take this all of you and eat. This is my very self.  (Pause)

(Jan & All) in the same way, Jesus took the cup of wine. He said the blessing, gave the cup to his friends and said take this all of you and drink. This is the cup of my new covenant with you. When you do this, remember me.

The Mystery of Faith. (Mary Al) We are one body in Christ, in communion with all creation.

Litany for the breaking of the bread

(Michael & All) 

Christ of the cosmos, may we live our oneness with you and all creation.

Christ of the cosmos, may we work to heal the earth. 

Christ of the cosmos, may we celebrate justice rising up in the global communion everywhere.

(Jerry & All, lifting the bread & cup) 

This is the Cosmic Christ in whom all creation lives and moves and has its being. All are invited to partake of this banquet of love. And to celebrate our oneness with all living beings on the planet. We are the body of Christ.

(All receive communion now)

🎶 Irish Blessing. Bill Leslie.

https://youtu.be/AaLQuVNrh2Q 

(Michael) Christ of the cosmos, we remember those within our world and church who are working for environmental healing, human rights, and justice for all.

(Den) Christ of the cosmos, we remember St Francis who sang canticles to brother sun and sister moon. We remember our sisters and brothers who have cared for earth’s creatures and have blessed our world with their loving service to God’s people most in need. We praise you in union with them and give you glory by working for a more just and peaceful world.

(Jan) Lover of animals, we are filled with awe as we behold our animal companions and give thanks for all living things. May we immerse ourselves in the beauty of nature that surrounds us each day. We ask this through our brother Jesus, in union with Spirit Sophia. (All) Amen

Prayers of thanks.

Announcements.

Final Blessing (Den & All) 

May our nurturing God bless all gathered here 

in the name of the creator, 

in the name of Mary‘s child, and 

in the name of the spirit 

as we serve one another and 

care for our animal companions and the earth.

Commission (Jan & All) Let us go in the peace of Christ. Let our service begin. 

Final 🎶 All Things Bright and Beautiful  

https://youtu.be/iUnQMvwaXlc

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If you want to add an intercession to our MMOJ Community Prayer book, please send an email to Joan Meehan jmeehan515@aol.com  

If you want to invite someone to attend our liturgy, please refer them to the day’s liturgy at MaryMotherofJesus.org      

To support our community, please send your check to:

Mary Mother of Jesus Inclusive Catholic Community

St Andrew UCC, 6908 Beneva Rd, Sarasota, FL 34238

Has belief really vanished in Ireland? by Gladys Ganiel, Women Are the Untapped Resource,' Ordain Women as Pastoral Leaders in Inclusive Faith Communities

https://sluggerotoole.com/2021/08/22/has-belief-really-vanished-in-ireland/?fbclid=IwAR1qdUfay_KJ2qaO0-kVAnRScSIG0kWVgWZebQ5oqPsTPP6AybODVl7JeS4

This is an excellent article on the effects of sexual abuse crisis, COVID and women as the untapped resource.

I believe the Irish people would welcome women pastoral leaders including women priests. According to legend Brigid of Kildare  was ordained a bishop and served a monastic community in partnership with Bishop Conleth. Maybe it is time for the institutional Church to follow in the footsteps with Brigid . It is time for the local communities in the villages, towns and cities in Ireland to call forth leaders- women and men- to function as ministry partners in a sacramental Church.

This week, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell made headlines with his assertion that ‘evidence of Christian belief in Ireland today “has for all intents and purposes vanished”.’

Farrell made the comments in an interview with Síolta (Seeds), the journal of the national seminary in Maynooth.

Farrell painted a bleak picture of declines in vocations, financial free-fall, and a younger generation increasingly lost to faith. His remarks were covered in major news outlets like the Irish Times and the Irish Independent, but readers had to persevere to the end of the articles for a surprise ending: Farrell claimed that he was ‘not pessimistic’ about the future of the Church, adding:

“This time of reduced numbers may well afford us an opportunity to be creative and to reimagine the institutional Church. We have not been abandoned by God. God is to be found in this situation.”

Those comments reminded me of the words of American Methodist theologian Stanley Hauerwas, who once asserted that the church in the West wasn’t dying, God was killing it. For Hauerwas, this was because the churches had become so caught up in exerting power that they had neglected their mission of love and service.

While Farrell is right that Christian practice in Ireland has declined rapidly, it is something of an exaggeration to claim that belief has ‘vanished’. Ireland still ranks among the most religious nations in Western Europe.

A 2018 Pew Research Center report ranked Ireland the third most religious country in Western Europe. And a study of European Social Survey data among 16 to 29 year olds found that Irish young people were among the top four of 22 countries for regular religious attendance. Rates of religious attendance and affiliation in Northern Ireland have dropped but remain higher than in the Republic, so when an all-island approach is taken religious decline is more nuanced.

This may be cold comfort for the Catholic Church, which is still struggling to recover from the stunning loss of trust caused by the abuse scandals. But the stubborn persistence of the faithful few may form the basis for Farrell’s cautious optimism. Faith in Ireland has not completely vanished, and to say that it has is probably something of a disservice to those who still care about it and may be called on to rekindle it. It also is possible that Farrell overlooks the untapped potential of women to help renew Christian ministries.

In addition, religious practice has been impacted by the pandemic, with many church services moving on-line during lockdown. Some clergy and churches have used online resources with energy and enthusiasm, reframing them as an opportunity for renewed mission and a chance to make inroads in a secularising society.

But some churchgoers still have not returned to in-person services, and it is not clear if they will do so.

Last month, an Iona Institute survey of pre-pandemic massgoers in the Republic found that 54 percent had not returned, up from 64 percent who had not returned in September 2020. Among the top reasons people had not returned were:

Why have you not returned to mass? July 2021

Concerns about COVID-19 and public places	62%
The restrictions on numbers and the need to wear masks etc are off-putting	33%
I prefer to watch the mass on TV, online or on the radio nowadays	19%
My faith isn’t as strong as before Covid-19	6%
I have health or other issues that prevent me from returning to Mass	6%
Other	12%

Moreover, one in five of those who were attending mass regularly before COVID say they do not know if they will be back. This figure remains roughly unchanged from when the same question was asked in September 2020.

The Iona survey also confirmed that financial contributions are down. Among regular massgoers before COVID, 36 percent are contributing less, 46 percent the same, and 9 percent more, with 9 percent who don’t contribute to collections.

Trends of reduced attendance and financial contributions will certainly force churches to be ‘creative and to reimagine the institutional Church’, as Farrell says. I titled a report on my own research among Irish clergy during the pandemic ‘Something Other than a Building’ to capture an emerging shift in mindset away from the church as a building to a group of dedicated people serving others in the wider community. I think Farrell is getting at something similar.

It remains to be seen if the Irish churches – Catholic and Protestant – can adjust to changes in religious practice emerging from the pandemic, ministering to the faithful and reaching out to serve the community beyond. The stakes are high: vanishing or flourishing.

Image: church ruins in Howth, Co Dublin.

Facebook Link for Bridget Mary Meehan

 https://www.facebook.com/bridget.meehan

WHEN WE FORGIVE WE ARE TRANSFORMED, SOCIETY AND RELIGION CHANGE.

STORIES OF FORGIVENESS IN THE MIDST OF VIOLENCE.
Olga Lucia Alvarez Benjumea ARCWP*

Stories that today teach us the value of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the hope of uniting us to rebuild a future without hatred, without violence towards peace. Sincere forgiveness is done with words and actions.

These are rare stories in this country full of hatred and violence, of revenge and vengeance that we need to know as rays of hope for the construction of peace.

To forgive is not synonymous to stop fighting for Human Rights, and even less to tolerate impunity.

Let us understand that forgiveness=amnesty of a political nature is very different from forgiveness=forgiveness of an ethical-Christian nature. Forgiveness is one of the most urgent and important acts for the strengthening of community living. 

In these stories the protagonists are women. Women who have lost their children and their brother. 

Lolita Londoño, (member of the "Madres de la Candelaria"-Medellín) lost her 3 children. Josefa Morelos (member of "Mujeres Espejo"-Cartagena) 1 son, brother of Rosiris Murillo, also of the group Mujeres Espejo. Mercedes Segura Rodríguez, 1 son (member of the Vida Digna Foundation-Buenaventura).

All of them inhabitants of the popular sector in their cities.

Each of them could give us details of their process and maturity in the face of life. 

They are stories that the whole world should know, celebrate and honor for the lessons they leave us.

Lolita, her womb and mother, knowing the story of the young man who murdered her son, adopts him, welcoming into her home, the one who murdered Oscar, her son, and who bears the same name as her son. Her mother's womb never closed to continue giving life and visiting others in prison. 

Josefa and Rosiris, forgive and embrace the one who snatched their loved one from their side and offer him their friendship and welcome. They know and know of the young man who was paid to commit his crime. A young man, known and neighbor of the neighborhood, student of Rosiris and of known history.

Mercedes loses her son, Luis Omar, the only boy. Under the same strategy of the youth gangs already known.

Some for not accepting to join the gang. Others are put to the test for training and to demonstrate that, if they are capable, they are even capable of killing their own friend and neighbor.

To ask for forgiveness and to forgive is free. You don't find this attitude in the market.

Without being in their shoes, it is very easy to say: "they are weak". But today we see them as pioneers of forgiveness and strong as warriors, on the front line of reconciliation and peace.

They are free and brave women, no one can stop them in their courage, work and decision to change society and religion.

For them, there is no question that makes them falter in their determination for peace. "Are you going to forgive?", "How can you think of it?", "After what they did to you?", "What does that solve, you are not going to resurrect your son?", "What they have done to you, God will not forgive".

The lesson that these stories challenge us and force us to reflect, to think about our attitudes and even the fuss we make over insignificant trifles.

Forgiveness is the threshold that allows us to jump over grudges, and be free to live in peace, happiness, joy in community, family and social coexistence.

It is our time to forgive and to be forgiven in order to achieve PEACE!

*Roman Catholic Presbyterian

Envigado, August 20, 2021