Adult Faith Enrichment – Page 10 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

“Evening for Women” with Sr. Colleen Gibson – Tuesday, October 3 at 6:30pm at St. John the Evangelist

All women of the Collaborative are invited to our opening “Evening for Women” program on Tuesday, October 3 at 6:30pm at St. John the Evangelist Parish. Our featured speaker will be our very own Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ, who will explore the topic “Wandering in Wonder: Finding Ourselves and God along the Way” as she invites us into the story of her own faith journey as a means of discovering the ways God calls each of us to be and become exactly who we’re meant to be.

After our program in the Lower Chapel (more info coming soon!) we will gather in Powers Hall for a potluck dinner – please bring a dish or beverage to share! Invite a friend or neighbor to come along! To help us plan for the evening, please RSVP…

Seasons of Hope – A Group for Those Who are Grieving

If you have experienced the death of a loved one and are looking for meaning and consolation, we invite you to join our Fall Seasons of Hope group. Seasons of Hope is a Christ-centered group where we will be able to share and learn from each other as we walk together in faith on our unique journey of grief.

The group will be facilitated by Kelly Meraw, Sr. Colleen Gibson SSJ, and Anne Mears, and we look forward to welcoming you with great love. There will be 6 sessions on Mondays from 5:00-6:30pm at St. John the Evangelist Church (Powers Hall) beginning on Monday, October 9…

Our Collaborative Outdoor Mass is this Sunday, September 17 at 10:30am on the Lawn at St. Paul

Please join us as we gather together as a community on the expansive lawn in front of St. Paul Church to celebrate our first Collaborative Outdoor Mass since 2019. Parishioners are invited to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. A section of chairs will be set up and available for those who require them due to mobility issues. We ask all others to please bring their own lawn chairs/blankets for seating. After Mass, please join us in the parking lot behind the church for fellowship, food, and fun!

We will have a reduced Mass schedule on…

Collaborative Book Club: “Women of Hope: Doctors of the Church”

The SJSP Book Club will meet Thursday, September 14 at 7:00pm in the St. Paul Rectory to begin a study of Women of Hope: Doctors of the Church by Terry Polakovic. The book covers Saints Teresa of Ávila, Catherine of

Synod Update: Instrumentum Laboris and the Equal Baptismal Diginity of Women in the Church

October 2023 will begin a process of communal discernment in a month-long Vatican assembly of Bishops, Cardinals, Priests, Consecrated, and Lay People representing the experiences of the whole People of God at the Synod on Synodality. Throughout this two year process, their guiding document will be the Instrumentum Laboris, a document which was compiled from the sharing of millions of Catholics worldwide participating in the Continental Stage of the Synod… For the first time in history, women (more than 50!) will be voting delegates of the Synod. A significant area of focus for the Synod will be the equal baptismal dignity of Women in the Church…

Saint Phoebe

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is also a minister (diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae,
that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the holy ones,
and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a benefactor to many and to me as well.

-Romans 16:1,2

Welcome Sister Colleen!

I am so happy to introduce you to Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ, the new Coordinator of Pastoral Care for our Collaborative. Sister Colleen, whose primary office will be at the St. Paul Rectory Offices, will work in partnership with Kelly Meraw, our Director of Pastoral Care, on adult faith formation programs, service and outreach initiatives, and coordinating sacramental liturgies and services across the Collaborative. Below is a brief introduction – please join me in welcoming Sister Colleen to our Collaborative!

Sister Colleen Gibson, SSJ is a Sister of Saint Joseph from Philadelphia and recent graduate of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. An award-winning writer, her work appears regularly in Give Us This Day and the National Catholic Reporter…

Welcome Deacon Rick!

I am thrilled to let you know that we will be welcoming a new deacon to our St. John-St. Paul Collaborative community!

Rick Vatcher will be ordained a Permanent Deacon on September 9, and will be joining our Collaborative pastoral staff in a part-time capacity after that.

Below is a brief introduction – I know you will join me in welcoming him to the Collaborative!

Saturday, September 23: “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent: Rethinking Women’s Participation”

Enlarge the Space of Your Tent: Rethinking Women’s Participation is a Global Synod Gathering hosted at the Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Boston in Braintree on Saturday, September 23 from 2:00 – 5:00pm. Participants will be invited through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the resources of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to fruitfully contribute to Conversations in the Spirit. The event will include: a gathering and invitational liturgy, small group sharing, personal witnesses, fellowship, and a Vigil Mass celebrated by Father Richard Lennan.

Preregistration required…

FutureChurch Celebration of Mary Magdalene: Thursday, July 20 on Zoom

FutureChurch Celebration of Mary Magdalene: “Rethinking Women’s Participation – Stories of Synodality Then and Now”
Thursday, July 20 from 7:00 – 8:30pm on Zoom
Jesus himself practiced synodality and sought to teach it to his disciples – both women and men – through example: teaching through parables; seeking out those on the periphery, whose voices had been ignored or silenced; placing each person he encountered on his path at the center of his ministry.

Perhaps the greatest ‘miss’ in the history of Synodality was when the other Apostles dismissed the witness of Mary Magdalene, who was commissioned by Jesus to “go and tell” the good news.