By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald

Women of St. Peter's honor women witnesses

EAGLE RIVER -- On July 22, the women of St. Peter the Fisherman Parish, and some friends, gathered for their second annual prayer service and brunch to celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene.

The celebration was one of 300 that took place throughout the world to honor and rediscover women leaders in the Catholic Church.

Last year, Mary Platner and Lorry Skelton, the co-chairs of the Women of St. Peter's, organized a program to help the women -- and men -- of the parish rediscover Mary of Magdala, a figure biblical scholars believe is often confused with other women in the Gospel and mistakenly thought to be a prostitute or a public sinner.

In her introductory speech, Skelton said, "We are happy to be part of a worldwide effort to expand understanding that St. Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but was the first to witness the resurrection. The early church fathers even called her 'the Apostle to the Apostles,' the one whom Jesus commissioned to tell the news of his resurrection to the other Apostles."

For this year's service, the women chose to present the lives of six women witnesses in the church, from ancient to modern times: Prisca, Phoebe, Dorothy Day, Edith Stein, Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel.

As Skelton explained, "They were chosen because of their spirituality, compassion for the poor, courageous deeds and leadership in our church. These women are an inspiration for us today."

During the service, six women of the parish, dressed as the women they had researched, presented moving portrayals of these witnesses.

Prisca

Darlene Goldschmidt portrayed Prisca, a prominent married Jewish Christian of the first century church, who founded and directed house churches in Corinth, Ephesus and Rome.

She worked closely with Paul as a leader in the early church. Paul speaks highly of both Prisca and her husband Aquila in Romans 16. He wrote, "Greet Prisca and Aquila who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life. Greet also the church in their house."

As she represented Prisca, Goldschmidt spoke about how Jesus never denied anyone a place at his table. Jesus changed Prisca's life because he "set our hearts on fire, and we knew we had found the promised one. We risked our jobs and our lives to become Christian, but it was all worth it."

Phoebe

Phoebe, played by Jan Donner, was a gentile Christian who was a benefactor of the first century church. In Romans 16, Paul speaks of her as a teacher, preacher and servant of God, and he refers to her as "a deacon of the church at Cenchreae."

In her presentation, Donner described Phoebe as a woman of means and influence who was happy to support the church and its missionary work. She often served as an introduction to Paul and his mission. And Phoebe, Donner said, believed nothing was more necessary than the love and good news of Christ.

Dorothy Day

Adele Svetnicka presented Dorothy Day as the "Conscience of American Catholicism" who wished to be remembered as a "Christian and ardent seeker of God who followed Christ's example after a few false starts."

In her younger years, Day went to church on her own because her family did not practice religion. Eventually, as she became more interested in the socialist movement, she rejected religion altogether. She grew further from God as she became pregnant out of wedlock and had an illegal abortion.

After Day was married, she had a daughter, and it was the pure joy she felt at the birth of her child that led her back to God. Day baptized her daughter and joined the Catholic Church. Her return to faith resulted in separation from her atheist husband.

A single mother living in New York City, Day co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement and newspaper in 1933. She was a journalist who fought for peace and social justice, for better working and living conditions and for the rights of workers and the poor.

She was a pacifist and expressed her position openly in the Catholic Worker. Though many opposed her anti-war position and the paper lost subscriptions, Day "had to hold fast to the conviction that followers of Christ could not kill one another," said Svetnicka.

Edith Stein

Edith Gardner, whose maiden name happens to be Stein, played the role of Edith Stein. Gardner described Stein as an internationally celebrated philosopher, author, lecturer and women's advocate. Born in 1891 into an Orthodox Jewish family, Stein later converted to Catholicism and eventually became a Carmelite nun.

She had a passion for philosophy and eventually obtained a doctoratein the subject. Despite her talent and credentials, Stein was unable to obtain a professorship because she was a woman. She was further discriminated against because she was a Jew.

Though she wished to join the Carmelite order, Stein was advised that she could do more for the world as an educator. Thus, she launched her public speaking career before eventually achieving her dream of becoming a nun.

After the church denounced the Nazis, Stein and other religious were arrested and taken to concentration camps. Stein was murdered in a gas chamber at Auschwitz in 1942.

Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel

Jean Donovan and Dorothy Kazel were abused and murdered in 1980, along with Ursuline sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, by national guardsmen in El Salvador, making them martyrs for the oppressed and the poor.

Theresa Piro, who played Donovan, described her as an outgoing person who would do outrageous things to get attention. She drove a motorcycle and would sometimes pour scotch on her cereal to shock people. Donovan had a successful career and a fiance, and she lived a comfortable, happy middle-class life.

But she began to question her middle-class values and gave it all up after learning about a mission in El Salvador. Donovan became convinced that Jesus wanted her to feed the poor. Archbishop Oscar Romero further motivated her to care for the poor and wounded refugees.

Donovan returned to the United States to attend a friend's wedding in 1980, shortly before she was murdered. Her friends tried to persuade her not to return to El Salvador, and though Donovan almost gave in, she could not abandon her commitment to the El Salvadorians.

Kazel, portrayed by Lisa Pepp, was an Ursuline sister who wanted to work with the poor and teach women to nourish their children.

When the civil war started in 1977, Pepp said Kazel was afraid to take injured Salvadorians to the hospital for fear that the injured would be killed right at the hospital. Religious and lay persons were also murdered because by helping the Salvadorians, they gave them a voice, courage and hope.

Kazel was a witness who "speaks to the most profound level of faith" because she was willing to "follow the Lord even if it means laying down (her) life," Pepp said.

The prayer service drew an audience of about 50 women and a few men. Many said they were moved by the performances and learned things they hadn't known about the six women leaders.

Even those who organized the program found it to be a learning process. Donner admitted she knew little of the six women before she began her research.

Skelton said many Catholics don't know about Prisca and Phoebe, or that there were women deacons in the early church, because the Scripture that mentions these women is generally only used in weekday liturgies -- not at Sunday Masses.

Sr. Jeanne Wiest, OP, pastoral associate at St. Peter, served as presider for the day. She said few details are known about Prisca and Phoebe because little is recorded about women leaders in the early church. They are only mentioned in a few lines of Scripture.

Wiest said more is known about the other four women witnesses. But, she said, there is still much to be learned and rediscovered about past and present woman leaders in the church.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003