Kayla August is a vibrant, up-and-coming leader in the U.S. Catholic community. Maybe you heard her preach on Christmas Eve 2020 on Catholic Women Preach. Maybe you heard her speak at the 2021 FutureChurch Feast of St. Mary of Magdala. Maybe you heard her just last month at Saturdays with the Saints at Notre Dame University speaking about Thea Bowman. Like I said, she’s all around. Currently, Kayla is pursuing a doctorate in Religious Education with an emphasis in preaching. You might find yourself asking *why* would a Black, Catholic, U.S. woman pursue such a degree? You’ve got to hear her answer to that question. She is flying on faith, and she reminds us that journeys are one step at a time. Listen for Kayla’s distinction between evangelization and proselytization, the importance of sitting in gratitude, and how to love a Church that doesn’t always love you back. Links we talked about in the episode:Boston College School of Theology and MinistryDr. Sr. Jamie PhelpsKayla August preaches for Christmas Eve Kayla August at Notre DameDiscerning DeaconsSister Thea BowmanKayla speaking at Saturdays with the Saints on Thea BowmanKayla’s bio page on Boston CollegeSupport the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/molleen

You know how sometimes you hear someone talk about climate change… global warming, the island of plastic in the ocean, the destruction of forests around the globe, all that stuff and you feel just so weighed down, guilty, and well, hopeless? Get ready for a hope firehose…Anna Robertson is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Mobilization for Catholic Climate Covenant. The Covenant is an arm of the United States Catholic Bishops whose mission is to help Catholics respond to the Church’s call to care for creation and care for the poor. Anna tells us how Catholic Climate Covenant can help you connect to transformative work in your neighborhood and offer resources for your already existing group. She also points out that so often we are told what to say “no” to when it comes to climate change, wait til you hear what she says we need to say ‘yes’ to. Bottom line is this: you are not the only one who has hoped to be more responsive to the climate crisis and has felt like your efforts are not adding up to much. Anna is about to lay down some practical and mystical ways to be present to the pace of nature, be attentive to the movements of God, and find what she calls ‘credible hope’ in the midst of this climate-related mess. Links we talked about in the episode:Catholic Climate CovenantSign up for the Covenant’s newsletterLaudato Si’Seven themes of Catholic Social TeachingCredible hopeLaudato Si’ Action PlatformGodsplanet.usBethlehem FarmSupport the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/molleen

Trigger warning: Erin talks about her sister’s death by suicide in this episode. Please take care of yourself and maybe skip this episode if this subject will trigger you today. Erin Duffy-Burke is many things. She works as an independent minister, spiritual director, yoga therapist, birth doula, the list goes on. We talk about Mary and Jesus, birth and death, trees and books. We talk about her call to the priesthood and why she uses the word priestess to describe it. Stay tuned for a contemplative conversation about what Erin has learned so far about life and spirituality. You’ll love the way her genuine spiritual practice grows directly out of her life experience. Enjoy my conversation with Erin. Links we talked about in the episode:Erin’s blogCaity SightingsContact Erin to join her rosary group celebrating the Divine Feminine [email protected]

Maureen Day is a sociologist, specializing in American Catholics. She studies us, interviews us, and writes about us. Her most recent book is Catholic Activism Today: Individual Transformation and the Struggle for Social Justice. We’re talking data. We talk about models of Catholic activism in the 21st century. She is finding that Catholics are engaging their faith more and more through groups that are centered around specialized missions, rather than simply sticking to the neighborhood church. She talks about the importance of belonging as an essential component of a strong faith community, especially among young adults. If you’re working to engage young people and others in a meaningful community, this is a must-listen for you. Enjoy the episode.Links we talked about in the episode:Catholic Activism Today: Individual Transformation and the Struggle for Social JusticeMaureen’s booksJustFaith MinistriesOpus DeiSant’EgidioRead more of Maureen’s workA Bold Embrace of Laudato Si’ - Maureen’s keynote at Creighton University’s Climate Conference Summer 2021 with Cardinal CupichThe Shared Parish by Brett HooverGaudate et ExultateSupport the podcast at buymeacoffee.com/molleen

** Trigger warning ** the stories in this episode include intimate partner violence, suicidality, and other traumas related to being unhoused. Please take care of yourself as you listen and consider skipping this episode today if these subjects will trigger you.Elizabeth Bowler is a social entrepreneur in Oakland. After being away from the California Bay Area for many years, she was shocked upon her return to see the massive explosion in the homeless population. Volunteering at a youth homeless shelter blossomed into a spiritual journey for her that I can’t wait to share with you. Listen up for Elizabeth’s philosophy on being in relationship with people who have been traditionally excluded from mainstream society. Hers is a story of social entrepreneurship yes - and also a story of being an attentive witness of the divine at work in the world. Listen in. Links we chatted about in the episode:hort.culture on InstagramSupport hort.culture on Venmo @hort_cultureCovenant House CaliforniaPema ChodronFather Greg BoyleRichard RohrEckhart TolleMy conversation with Elizabeth got me thinking about those things that happen to us in life that bring us down to the ground. Elizabeth talks about stories that bring you to the ground. And I’m struck by why we are brought down to the ground- that the ground is an appropriate receptacle for our grief, our outrage at injustice, our astonishment at the tender and vulnerable humanity of one another. The ground holds us up when we can no longer hold ourselves up - or are ready to give up the illusion that we ever held ourselves up. Join me in continuing to ponder this mystery. Thanks for listening to On a Mission. Find all of the details about this episode at molleendupreedominguez.com While you’re there make sure you sign up for my weekly email newsletter, which contains prayer tools, cool stuff to read, and links to other progressive, faith-based stuff around the internet. Try and review this podcast wherever you listen. Today instead of asking you to give money to this podcast, I’m asking you to contribute to the work of hort.culture find them on Venmo @hort_culture or at the link in this episode’s show notes.

Today I’m talking with Lydia Wylie-Kellermann. She’s an author and activist I’ve admired for a long time, and I’m so happy to share her with you. Her latest book, The Sandbox Revolution, is a collection of essays from parent-activists around the U.S. It offers advice for raising children committed to social justice in the world today. Lydia offers beautiful forwards to each section of the book. When she’s not writing books, Lydia is the editor of Geez magazine, a paper-only publication that comes to your door four times a year with inspiration for living life more simply and justly. She also curates and edits the blog Radical Discipleship. You’ll love her spirituality of resistance. Listen in to our conversation about the value of print magazines, the challenge and blessing of raising kids in 2021, and how to manage when your kids *don’t* want to engage in activism.... enjoy!Links we chatted about in the episode:Radical DiscipleshipThe Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just WorldGeez magazineJoanna Macy, Buddhist scholarJennifer Harvey’s Raising White KidsSupport the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/molleen

Today I’m talking with Anne Tropeano! She’s also known as Father Anne, and will be ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest on October 16, 2021. She wants to see the Roman Catholic Church start ordaining women in her lifetime. You will love her down to earth way of relating to God, hear about her vision for ministry, and what she says about the role of the body in discernment. Also - listen up for the parable she shares that I’m going to call, “Just put up your hood.” Enjoy my conversation with Father Anne Tropeano. Links we chatted about in the episode:https://www.fatheranne.com/Expecting Adam by Martha BeckAssociation of Roman Catholic Women PriestsThe Women Who Want to Be Priests: New Yorker article June 28, 2021Support the podcast: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/molleen

Welcome back for Season 4! Today I’m talking with Ellie Hidalgo. She’s on staff with Discerning Deacons, a recent effort to promote dialogue around the issue of reinstating women deacons in the Catholic Church. We talk about this recent movement to recover the true memory of women in early Christianity - shout out to St. Phoebe- and about Ellie’s personal journey to doing this work. You’ll love hearing how she started out in Catholic journalism, the inside scoop on Pope Francis’ commissions on women deacons, and why Ellie says ordination of women deacons matters. Links we chatted about in the episode:https://discerningdeacons.org/New St. Phoebe hymnsbuymeacoffee.com/molleen molleendupreedominguez.com

My guest today is Kerry Robinson. She is an international leader in the field of excellence in Church leadership. She has spent the last 15 years traveling the world, bringing together outstanding leaders in the business and nonprofit worlds with the ordained leaders of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church to achieve excellence in leadership and management.

We talk about what happens when Catholic women run into obstacles in offering their gifts to the Church, what makes an excellent Catholic parish, and what happens in her day job when best leadership practices run up against Church teaching. Listen in.

Find all links at www.molleendupreedominguez.com/podcast

Kate Carter has lived a life dedicated to social justice. She became a Jesuit Volunteer in 1978, serving in Montana. She went on to work for JVC and became deeply involved in Central America solidarity work. She was a key member of a group that was bringing news of the oppression of the poor in Central America to faith communities in the U.S. during the tumultuous 1980s and 90s. We talked about what she’s learned from observing democratic elections in Central America, how those learnings apply here in the U.S., Catholic connections across borders, and where she discovered her passion for hospitality and community. Listen in.