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The Women’s Ministry: A Valuable Opportunity to Connect and Build the Faith with One Another
In his 1995 Letter to Women, St. John Paul II wrote, “Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood, you enrich the world’s understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic” (2).
With this in mind, we recognize that the church is filled with women of all ages and stages of life. They are mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. They are homemakers, professionals, and everything in between. Women are always doing the tasks that are in front of them and that is why it is crucial that they also nurture their spiritual life. In an effort to support and build up these women that St. John Paul II speaks of, we must create a community of support for them. At Our Lady of Lourdes, the Women’s Ministry is seeking to do just that.
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“I believe that where you have a strong women’s ministry, you have a strong parish,” says Janine Sedore, coordinator for the Women’s Ministry. “Women lead their families. When you have a well-catechized mother, you have well-catechized children. They encourage their husbands to be more involved as well.”
As Janine points out, as women form these Catholic connections with each other, they can in turn rely on one another.
“In our groups, we have women of all ages,” she says. “This helps us by being able to draw on that wisdom and experience. We bolster each other’s faith. We hold each other accountable. It is very important to have other women on this journey with you. We need to feel that connection.”
Currently, the ministry hosts a Thursday Theologians group that meets after morning Mass in the Fallon Center. Attendees read the upcoming Sunday readings and discuss them to prepare for celebrating the Mass.
This ministry offers studies and events that are both academic and social in an effort to build that important community for the women of the parish. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the ministry’s offerings have been limited.
“We are really planning a big launch of programs for the fall of 2022,” Janine says. “My goal is to have studies offered for all levels of learners. There is often very little offered for the beginner and little offered for the well-informed. So we hope to have studies for women who are at every stage.”
The ministry also hopes to draw in the moms of our school.
“They are an important part of our parish and we would like to see more of them involved in the women’s ministry,” Janine says. “We have had childcare offered for some events in the past. We have provided it, but the moms have had to pay for it. We are working on figuring out how best to make this work because it is important to us to have young women within the ministry as well.”
All women of the parish are invited to join in the Women’s Ministry, regardless of age, vocation, or job!
