I am Jennifer DeCoste, and I am a member of the Phoebe Circle here at Immaculate Conception.
One year ago, I would have been intrigued but surprised if you had told me that my spiritual journey and connection to my faith community would soon shift its momentum to the discernment of the role of women in the church. The key catalyst on my path from casual curiosity to deeper engagement was a simple but powerful one: a personal invitation.
One beautiful Sunday last fall, a fellow parishioner invited me to her home after Mass to learn about the work of two other members of our community who are engaged with the current synodal discernment regarding women and the diaconate, Casey Stanton (co-director of Discerning Deacons) and Pilar Timpane (a filmmaker whose ongoing project tells the stories of two women engaging in the global synodal discernment). At this gathering, I learned that in the ongoing Synod on Synodality which our global church embarked upon in 2021, a theme that has arisen from remarkable diversity of Catholic communities on every continent is the need to more fully actualize the spiritual gifts of Catholic women, including a call to actively discern the question of restoring the ordination of women to the permanent diaconate.
I left this gathering inspired by their work, but sensing a gap: members of our parish are engaging in this spirit-led synodal journey in such powerful ways on a global scale, but what could we do here in our own local community to elevate this conversation? Those questions—followed by many more personal invitations!—evolved into what we now call the Phoebe Circle. We are a multi-generational group with a wide variety of backgrounds and gifts, but united in our shared calling to prayerfully engage with the role of women in the church. Our group is named after St. Phoebe, a deacon in the early Church who is mentioned in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.
One year ago, I would have been intrigued but surprised if you had told me that my spiritual journey and connection to my faith community would soon shift its momentum to the discernment of the role of women in the church. The key catalyst on my path from casual curiosity to deeper engagement was a simple but powerful one: a personal invitation.
One beautiful Sunday last fall, a fellow parishioner invited me to her home after Mass to learn about the work of two other members of our community who are engaged with the current synodal discernment regarding women and the diaconate, Casey Stanton (co-director of Discerning Deacons) and Pilar Timpane (a filmmaker whose ongoing project tells the stories of two women engaging in the global synodal discernment). At this gathering, I learned that in the ongoing Synod on Synodality which our global church embarked upon in 2021, a theme that has arisen from remarkable diversity of Catholic communities on every continent is the need to more fully actualize the spiritual gifts of Catholic women, including a call to actively discern the question of restoring the ordination of women to the permanent diaconate.
I left this gathering inspired by their work, but sensing a gap: members of our parish are engaging in this spirit-led synodal journey in such powerful ways on a global scale, but what could we do here in our own local community to elevate this conversation? Those questions—followed by many more personal invitations!—evolved into what we now call the Phoebe Circle. We are a multi-generational group with a wide variety of backgrounds and gifts, but united in our shared calling to prayerfully engage with the role of women in the church. Our group is named after St. Phoebe, a deacon in the early Church who is mentioned in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.
I am so grateful for this spiritual community which has already borne so much fruit in my life, and I am excited for the opportunity to extend the invitation to our entire parish to participate in the celebration of Phoebe Day this weekend (September 2-3). In commemoration of Saint Phoebe, we will celebrate together with other Catholic communities around the world as we discern women’s participation in the context of the ongoing Global Synod, and lift up the many gifts that women contribute to our own local parish and to the church around the world.
- Women will be offering reflections at all weekend masses September 2-3
- After the 9:30 and 11:30 masses on September 3, we will be in the gathering space to celebrate with cake, kids’ activities, and opportunities to learn more about St. Phoebe, the synod, and women in the church.
- For more information about Phoebe Day or the Phoebe Circle, please contact Olga Rodriguez