By Erin Hanley and Andy Castagnola

The only way to fit more people into La Casa de Maria’s chapel in Montecito, California, would have been to cut a hole in the roof. More than 120 people gathered there February 18 for the first West Coast WOC conference, titled "A Conversation and Celebration of Women Called."

Like the friends of the paralyzed man in the gospel, who cut a hole in the roof of a crowded home to get him closer to Jesus, so too were these 120 people called to make way in the institutional Catholic Church for women’s ordination.

The day’s gospel message was given breadth and context throughout the conference. Keynote speaker Nicole Sotelo, a recent graduate of Harvard’s Divinity School, delivered a thoughtful, complex yet gentle presentation on the theology of why women should be ordained. Jesus, she said, "wanted to help people see beyond their earthly divisions and distinctions toward a new, broader kin-dom of God’s justice, toward a realm where all are called to serve and minister."

The other keynote speaker, Victoria Rue, an ordained womanpriest, followed with a charismatic and inspiring story of her journey to priesthood and her role in the Church today. "I live and work from the margins of the institutional Catholic Church—and I like it out here on the margins. There’s more room. More possibility. And there are a whole lot of us out here on the margins!"

In between were periods for group reflection and time for conference participants to network and build relationships. Attendees included women religious, older women, young women and a handful of men, and they seemed hungry for this chance to connect with similarly open-minded, spirit-filled people. Some had been longtime advocates for women’s ordination, others were just beginning to learn about the movement.

The day had some historical significance as well. In attendance was Anita Caspary, author of Witness to Integrity and leader of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Community of California during its canonical split from the Roman Catholic Church. Caspary, widely regarded as a prophetic visionary, helped instill that same bravery and hope in those present that day. The conference also marked another step in the reconciliation of two religious communities — Immaculate Heart and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet — who drifted apart when IHM split from the church. Both communities attended the conference, helped make it happen, and re-connected in sisterhood. La Casa de Maria is owned by the IHM community, and Sr. Theresa Harpin, CSJ, was the lead coordinator.

By the end of the day, after a song-filled and powerful closing liturgy led by Rev. Victoria Rue, the message was clear: Plan one for next year and "cut a hole in the roof" for more people.

Erin Hanley and Andy Castagnola live in San Luis Obisbo, Calif., and served on the planning committee for the “Conversation and Celebration of Women Called.”