June 2016 WATERritual: A Church for Our Daughters – WATER – Womens Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

June 2016 WATERritual

A Church For Our Daughters

By Diann L. Neu and the WATER Staff

This month we celebrate our daughters. We give thanks for the many ways we create a church for them. We call church leaders to work with us to build a Church that strikes down every oppressive practice, teaching, and law that assigns women and girls subordinate status. We commit to bringing about radical inclusion, justice, and equality without qualification for our daughters and sons.

WATER is glad to co-sponsor the A Church for Our Daughters campaign. Read the declaration and sign here.

Audio available here.

Setting

Set the altar with a pink carnation and an unlit candle for each participant. Place a candle in the center of the altar and light it. Gather your choice of bread and wine/juice, and provide a small glass for each participant to be used during the Eucharistic Prayer.

Welcome and Naming the Circle

Let us share our names and say where we are geographically.

Call To Gather

We must begin tonight in solidarity with Orlando. Together, we mourn the lives taken by senseless violence at Pulse and stand with the LGBTQIA, Latinx, and multiracial communities worldwide. We continue to strive for a world in which safety is not determined by how or whom we love and self-expression does not come at a cost. We strive for a world in which violence and hate against marginalized communities are eradicated for good. May remembering the names of those lost inspire us to act so that this pain is never felt again. May our love triumph over hate.

Let’s take a moment of silence.

We also gather tonight in solidarity with a coalition of 30 Catholic social justice organizations who petitioned the U.S. Catholic bishops for concrete changes to create A Church for Our Daughters yesterday at the bishops’ semi-annual meeting in San Diego.

Imagine a church without women – our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, goddaughters, neighbors, friends, and their daughters. The shocking headline for the “A Church for Our Daughters” campaign warns: “Missing: The Next Generation of Catholic Women.”

We gather tonight to listen to the voices of Catholic women calling for gender equality. Erin Saiz Hanna, co-director of the Women’s Ordination Conference, pregnant with a baby girl, asked, “How could I tell her she can be anything she wants to be when she grows up knowing that encouragement falls short when it comes to our religion?”

Let us pray together the Kyrie said at the Church for Our Daughters liturgy in Huntington Beach, CA.

Kyrie

We pause for a moment to consider those times when we did not acknowledge the inequality of women in the church…

Sacred Spirit, too often we have been unaware of the impact of our liturgy on women and girls…
All: Heighten our awareness with compassion.

Jesus the Christ, too often we have ignored your women disciples, the women you taught and healed.
All: Stretch our hearts to challenge the structures in our church that hold women back.

Sophia Spirit, too often we are silent in the face of church authority and complicit in church discrimination against women and girls.
All: Infuse us with courage that we might speak out more often and more boldly.

Inclusive One, draw us into Your radical inclusivity. Help us to speak in Your name for equal rights and equal rites of women in the church. Call Your church to greater integrity and authenticity. Amen.

Song: “Yo Soy Mujer (I Am A Woman)” by Maria Del Valle and Mildred Bonilla, 1987

Yo soy mujer en busca de igualdad (I am a woman in search of equality)
No aguantare ni abuso ni maldad (I will not stand for any abuse or malice)
Yo soy mujer y tengo dignidad (I am a woman and I have dignity)
y pronto la justicia sera una realidad! (and soon justice will become a reality)

Pore so hoy yo vengo hasta aqui (That’s why I’ve come here today)
Buscando en mi la fe que tengo en ti (Looking for the faith in me I have in you)
En lucha de justicia (In the struggle for justice)
Llegara la libertad (liberty will become a reality)

Toda mujer que quiera compartir (All women who wish to take part)
Alza los brazos y grita que SI! QUE SI! (Raise your arms and shout, Yes! Oh Yes!)
“Somos la vida, la fuerza, la mujer” (We are the life, the strength, the women)
En marcha de justicia empezamos a florecer (In the march for justice we begin to flourish)

Confessions:

We, women of this circle and daughters of the church, want to speak truths about our authenticity, not for penance, but for sharing our realities with the greater Catholic community. We recognize that this confession is a transgressive act as we confess to each other rather than to a male figure of authority. We invite the circle now to confess our doubts, questions, and struggles with our faith.

M: I confess that I admire and trust all the Catholic women in my life more than I have any male Catholic priest, teacher, or leader.

E: I confess that I resent that my childhood Catholic education taught me so much that I had to unlearn.

E: I confess that my church’s silence on the acceptance of LGBTQ members silenced me for far too long.

D: I confess that I feel deep anger when I hear celibate priests attempt to define womanhood, and even deeper anger when fellow Catholic women agree with their objectifying labels.

As we confess our insecurities, fears, hopes, and experiences in our faith communities, let us imagine a future church that builds upon these confessions to create an environment that serves all its members. Mary E. Hunt and Diann L. Neu, Catholic feminist theologians and co-directors of the Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual say, “Inclusive, justice-seeking communities are what our children are growing up to expect. We do well to take our cues from them and settle for nothing less.”

Let us imagine this inclusive and affirming space.

Reading: “Declaration for Our Daughters”

Today we call on our Church leaders to work with us to build a Church that strikes down every oppressive practice, teaching, and law that assigns women and girls to a subordinate status. We call on our leaders to create a Church that is truly inclusive and alive with the gifts, spirit, and potential of all its members.

Chant: “Spirit of our daughters, dance, oh dance in us” x2
(adapted from “Spirit of Our Elders” by Kathy Sherman)

A Church for our daughters is a community that…
…recognizes that all people are created in God’s image and equally endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the common good.
…honors the vocations and ministries of all its members, fostering and welcoming all called to priesthood, diaconate, and liturgical leadership.
…opens its sacred sacraments to all, as nourishment and ritual without limitations based on gender or sexuality.

Chant: “Spirit of our daughters, dance, oh dance in us” x2

A Church for our daughters is a community that…
…celebrates the witness and contributions of our foremothers in faith – those in Scripture, those in our tradition, and those who walk with us today.
…affirms the spirit of the divine present in the gifts, needs, and dreams of all God’s people.
…celebrates and promotes a spirituality that recognizes an inclusive God, beyond gender, and incorporates language that is inclusive and representative of God’s feminine, masculine, and non-gendered attributes in liturgy, doctrine, and pastoral practice.
…honors women’s moral agency to make decisions that impact their health and family life.

Chant: “Spirit of our daughters, dance, oh dance in us” x2

A Church for our daughters is a community that…
…takes a firm and proactive stand opposing all forms of exploitation and violence perpetrated against women.
…advocates for social structures that support and sustain the basic needs of women including access to clean water, clean air, adequate housing, food, security, education, the workforce, political and social engagement, and freedom of movement.
…advocates for education for all our children, but especially for our daughters around the world who face daily acts of discrimination and violence in their quest for knowledge.

Chant: “Spirit of our daughters, dance, oh dance in us” x2

A Church for our daughters is a community that…
…works to dismantle oppressive structures and customs that disproportionately impact women creating inequality in pay, employment opportunities, development of public policy, and property ownership.
…works to eradicate destructive forces that triply oppress women of color such as racism, religious intolerance, and unequal access to social goods.
…honors and justly compensates the contributions of women working in the Church including equal pay, equal access to job opportunities, healthcare, and paid family leave.
…commits to reflect on its own participation in the oppression of women; to repent for unjust acts, systems, and teaching; and to renew structures of leadership to be more inclusive of the People of God at every level.

Chant: “Spirit of our daughters, dance, oh dance in us” x2

So that our daughters and yours may know radical inclusion and justice, equality without qualification, and an institution that transforms oppression into love without bounds, let us build a Church for our daughters.

Reflection
What Catholic women are important to you?
What do you hear them saying about gender equality and building a Church for our daughters?
What do you want to say to church leaders?

Prayers of the Daughters

Eucharistic Prayer: “Honoring Women Who Break Bread and Do Justice” by Diann Neu

(Six people proclaim the Eucharistic prayer:)
1. Praise to you, God of our Ancestors, Source of Life,
For you created our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, goddaughters, neighbors, friends,
and their daughters in your image and likeness,
The image of love, power, and beauty.

Sung Acclamation (to “Amen” from Lilies of the Field):
We give thanks. Merci. Danke. Gracias. XieXie.

2. Praise to you, God of Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah,
For you promised that all families of Earth would be
Blessed through a covenant with these our foremothers.