There are some significant events coming up for those of us who are interested in the flourishing of the permanent diaconate in Australia, now and in the future.
Firstly, we encourage you to register for our retreat for the Feast of St Phoebe. You may also know someone who you think would benefit; please share this invitation with them. It will be held on the 1st – 3rd of September, at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney. This retreat is about your own journey of faith and ministry, and we will be hearing from permanent deacons about their spirituality and ministry lives. Both women and men are welcome to attend. Please register soon; the final date is the 4th of August. More information and registrations are at:
Secondly, everyone is invited to attend the free webinar, which forms the conclusion of the retreat, and falls on the Feast of St Phoebe, 3rd September. From 11:15am – 12:00pm AEST, we will hear feedback from the retreat followed by guest speaker, Dr Debra Snoddy. A lecturer in biblical studies at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, she will speak to the topic, ‘St Phoebe and Women in the Early Church, inspiration for a synodal Church today’. More information and registrations are at:
Finally, the Australian Catholic University Centre for Liturgy is holding an online Public Lecture on Monday the 7th of August, from 10:00am-11:30am. The guest speaker, Dr Phyllis Zagano, will talk on ‘Women deacons and the Synod: what happens now?’ She is an international expert on the topic, and our guest speaker for the Feast of St Phoebe in 2022. This is how the ACU website’s promotion explains it:
“Australia and New Zealand made their synodal wishes known: the Church can and should restore women to the ordained diaconate. The historical facts of women deacons are well known. They ministered in different ways in different places during differing eras. In 2016, the International Union of Superiors General asked Pope Francis why, given that so many women were already performing diaconal ministry, women could not be ordained as deacons today. Since then, two commissions presented private reports to the pope. The Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod on Synodality reports: “Most of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of several Episcopal Conferences call for the question of women’s inclusion in the diaconate to be considered. Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” What are the arguments for and against women ordained as deacons? What will happen in October?”
More information and registrations are at:
Liturgy on the Margins 