Corpus Mid-island News
by FRANÇOIS BRASSARD, Ladysmith, BC
In late March of this year, Connie and I were contacted by Bill Manseau of Corpus USA, who serves as the Dean of the Master of Divinity Program for Global Ministries University, an on-line university for theological studies. He asked us if we would serve as Sacramental Mentors for a candidate on Vancouver Island who is a member of Catholic Network for Women's Equality and who will be the first Canadian woman to be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. We heartily agreed. And thus has begun an exciting adventure for us all.
We have met several times now with Michele Birch-Conery as she pursues her studies in preparation for her ordination in July after the Women's Ordination Worldwide (WOW) Conference in Ottawa. She was ordained to the deaconate last June on a
boat on the Danube in international waters (and thus free from Canonical territorial restrictions). This is the same place where Gisela Forster and Christine-Mayr Lumetzberger were ordained to the priesthood a few years earlier, and later secretly ordained as bishops by Catholic bishops 'in good standing.' I mention this because it is these two women bishops, as well as Dr. Patricia Friesen, later ordained a bishop, who will ordain Michele and seven other women to the priesthood on a boat in international waters near Gananoque, Ontario.
Michele is now a part of our mid-island Corpus family, and she made a wonderful contribution to our discussion at our last gathering. The topic was "50 ways to improve women's lives in the Church." After an initial exchange, Michele suggested that one important way would be to put an end to efforts to define who women are. The wisdom of this remark became clear with further discussion. Indeed, traditional definitions of women as 'brides of Christ' or as distinct from men by
their 'complementary' attributes, have subverted the freedom and equality (Galatians) of women in the Church. In fact, the historical treatment of women in the Church is contrary to the radical egalitarian treatment of women that Jesus practised during his ministry. In this regard we agreed that the best way to improve women's lives in the Church was to return to our source and to become true 'followers of the Way.'
At the end of our meeting we prayed as we normally do, but in a special way we prayed that the Spirit might guide and strengthen Michele as she pursues her prophetic journey. We left our gathering on a great high that evening.
On July 17 our mid-island community did a commissioning service for Michele with a laying on of hands. The service was filmed by CBC TV and Vision TV. We sent her, grace-filled, to Ottawa for the WOW Conference, and then on to Gananoque for her ordination to the priesthood.
Biography
Michele Birch-Conery, M.F.A., Creative Writing and Ph.D. in English Literature is a published poet and a feminist literary critic writing in an experimental genre she calls "Inclusive Discourse." She is an educator at North Island College, a multicampus community reaching people in rural areas of Vancouver Island. Since 1990, she has taught Canadian and Women's Literature, Global Perspectives and Issues in Women's Health in Women's Studies. From 1963 to 1974, she studied and taught with the Sisters of the Holy Names in Oregon and Washington. Their progressive vision for the Church and their commitment to social justice which flow from their charism in education for social justice influences her ministry. Dr Birch-Conery is a feminist activist now working with Women Elders in Action on pension reform. She lives in Parksville, BC.
michelebirchconery@shaw.ca
Michelle Birch Conery
Ordained womandeacon 2004 womanpriest 2005