St. Joseph Sr. Christine Schenk, an NCR board member, served urban families for 18 years as a nurse midwife before co-founding FutureChurch, where she served for 23 years. Her book Crispina and Her Sisters: Women and Authority in Early Christianity (Fortress, 2017) was awarded first place in History by the Catholic Press Association. She holds master's degrees in nursing and theology.
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Honor the 'mothers' of early Christianity during Women's History Month
Simply Spirit: Women's History Month is a great time to celebrate the 'mothers of the church,' early female believers who shaped our church's future no less than the better-known 'fathers.'
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'Scholomance' fantasy novel touches on power of evil — and of grace
Simply Spirit: A Deadly Education, the intriguing first book in Naomi Novik's new series, led me to think in new ways about how we are called to use our own graced "superpowers" to overcome evil and promote good.
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How should Christ-believers counter insurrectionist cults?
Simply Spirit: I think it oddly providential — or perhaps synchronistic — that the horrific events at the U.S. Capitol occurred on the Feast of the Epiphany. An epiphany is a manifestation or an awakening.
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The implosion of clericalism dramatized in Leonard Bernstein's 'Mass'
Simply Spirit: It may be time to own our despair. The clerical system isn't working anymore. Perhaps it was never meant to work, only we didn't realize it.
