Women's Ordination Conference

Greetings! We are pleased to offer the Women’s Ordination Conference’s first-ever virtual retreat February 26-28, 2021, titled “Creative Wisdom, Subversive Spirit.”  This is an invitation to come as you are, wherever you are, and know that the living Spirit already meets you there. It is a chance to be renewed and strengthened in the journey for ordination justice in the Catholic Church.  The retreat will combine online gatherings with pre-recorded offerings for reflection that fit into your life and schedule. We anticipate a time commitment of 1.5 hours on Saturday and 1 hour on Sunday, plus individual reflection time. In addition, we will have an option, informal meet-and-greet on Friday evening. To participate, you will need to be able to access Zoom on your computer or via phone.  The retreat will be facilitated by Dr. Lizzie Berne DeGear and Luisely Melecio-Zambrano, M.Div. More details about the weekend’s schedule and guest contributors will be forthcoming. We invite you to register here. The retreat is free for current Women’s Ordination Conference members, and we invite non-members who want to participate to join at a membership level of $45 or a student/justice level of $25. Financial assistance is available for those who cannot afford a membership at this time.  If you're not sure about your current membership status, please reply to this email or make a membership gift below. Begin or Renew your WOC Membership This retreat is a long-held dream of WOC's coming to life - we can't wait to have you join us.   For equality, Kate McElwee Executive Director Katie Lacz Program Associate WOC Responds to Canon Law Development Permitting All Laity in Roles of Acolyte and Lector The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) welcomes Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter, “Spiritus Domini,” that expands Canon Law 230, regarding the ministries of lector and acolyte, to include all laypeople. This shift brings the institutional Church in better alignment with pastoral realities around the world, and eliminates the ability of an individual bishop to apply misogynistic theology to bar women and girls from these roles. “While this is not a radical shift, the Church recognizing widely accepted practices by Catholics around the world and taking doctrinal steps to be more inclusive, is radical,” said Kate McElwee, executive director of WOC. Read our full statement here. WOC was quoted in the New York Times, the Guardian, the BBC, NBC, Reuters, and more. See our In the News Page for a full recap. Welcome Lorena, the newest member of our team! We are thrilled to welcome the newest staff member of our Escuchando a Las Mujeres program, Lorena Gallego Rosero! Lorena will be partnering with our Latinx Outreach Coordinator, Lilian Medina Romero, to increase engagement with the Latinx Catholic community in the U.S. Lorena Gallego Rosero is a bisexual feminist activist and women right's advocate and international human rights lawyer focused on women's rights, state crimes and international refugee law. Since 2014, Lorena has worked with non-profit organizations, international foundations and feminsit collectives to advance the rights of immigrants, women of color and other racialized populations in the United States, England and Colombia. Please welcome Lorena!  Applications are open for the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship Are you a woman or non-binary person studying theology and discerning ordination to the priesthood? Do you know someone who is? Consider the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship for Women Discerning Priestly Ordination - a $2,200 scholarship to support your journey. Find out more here. You're invited: Inclusive Eucharistic Liturgies with RCWP and ARCWP (via Zoom) Our friends at Roman Catholic Women Priests and the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests have asked WOC to share the open invitation to join them for inclusive Zoom liturgies throughout North America and South Africa. Attend one that fits your spiritual and worshiping needs. Find the directory here.  ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌