Category: Ministry of Irritation

Would you believe that Nine to Five is almost forty years old? NPR’s Morning Edition on Thursday featured the song as one of its American Anthems. It’s fun to wake up to, and interesting to hear the examination of the lyrics by Lynn Neary, Karen Nussbaum, Rebecca Traister, and Merrill Garbus. It’s not as simple…
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“Can Women Save the World?” an author of a recent New York Times article asked. Wow, I thought. I was just hoping they could save the Church!  Tina Brown, founder of the Women in the World summit, former New Yorker editor-in-chief, and host of a podcast TBD, argues that “a new paradigm of female leadership…
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We know who they are! They are even “on parade” on Holy Thursday and Ordination Day at the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul in Philadelphia! They censor our rituals; they kill the joy of our celebrations by denying access, based solely on gender, to ministry and, most egregiously, to a holy Sacrament. They do…
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Why is it that only the “no” votes matter? That change can be put off because not everybody agrees? Not to decide is to decide, the mantra of Pope Francis when it comes to us. Once again, women are revealed as the third rail of the church. You’ll be executed if you touch it, so…
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THIS IS HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN!HOLY THURSDAY WITNESSAPRIL 18, 2019 at 11:00AM Sister Cities Park, 18th & JFK Parkway(Across from Sts. Peter & Paul Basilica)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Remember that song from the Sixties, “Stop, in the name of Love!”? Don’t you sometimes want to sing it, shout it, pray it, from the rafters of your…
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Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your thoughtful and thought-provoking responses to my March 26 blog post quandary over the choice for the theme for our annual Holy Thursday Witness for the Ordination of Women across from the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul in Philadelphia (at 9am if you care to join us…
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We in the Southeastern Pennsylvania division of Women’s Ordination Conference on each Holy Thursday hold a witness calling for the ordination of women. We stand in song and prayer outside the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul in Philadelphia in all kinds of weather – rain, snow, sleet, heat – while, inside, the (Vatican-sanctioned) male…
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How much more can we take? We wore our blue armbands this past weekend to stand in solidarity with victims of sex abuse. We asked over and over for accountability, change, and redress from the Church that betrayed them, and yet, it seems daily, more and more abuse comes into the light. We protested unfair…
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I realized I’m angry about anger these days. We all know the drill when it comes to women: We are to suppress our anger – at least in public forums – or risk being vilified as hags, harpies, or harridans. We may shrug off these labels with a “sticks and stones…” retort, but think what…
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Has a certain ring to it, does it not? After All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, observe All Survivor’s Day. Begun by the Survivor’s Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), these nationwide and international witnesses will take place on Saturday, November 3. Most will be from 3 to 5 pm at cathedrals, but…
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