Welcome to the Community of St. Bridget
an inclusive Catholic community!
We are a lay led Roman Catholic eucharistic community served by Roman Catholic women priests.
The Community of St. Bridget, an inclusive Catholic community
shares the same location as the Brecksville United Church of Christ
23 Public Square, Brecksville, Ohio 44141
We are easily accessible from I-77 near the intersection of SR 21 and SR 82.
Please join in our joy and come celebrate with us!
Inspired by the words of Pope Francis,
we are a community that builds bridges, NOT walls.
Join us for Weekly Mass * Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Visit us on Facebook * Contact us * Donate
The Community of St. Bridget, an inclusive Catholic community
shares the same location as the Brecksville United Church of Christ
23 Public Square, Brecksville, Ohio 44141
We are easily accessible from I-77 near the intersection of SR 21 and SR 82.
Please join in our joy and come celebrate with us!
Inspired by the words of Pope Francis,
we are a community that builds bridges, NOT walls.
Join us for Weekly Mass * Subscribe to our Email Newsletter
Visit us on Facebook * Contact us * Donate
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much;
it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Second Inaugural Address
Wednesday, January 20, 1937
it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
~Franklin D. Roosevelt
Second Inaugural Address
Wednesday, January 20, 1937
News updates:
Women priests in Brecksville offer alternative to traditional Roman Catholic Church
ARCWP Summer Newsletter now LEADING now available.
Catholic Women Preach homily for September 16th - Listen now
View archive of prior news updates
Women priests in Brecksville offer alternative to traditional Roman Catholic Church
ARCWP Summer Newsletter now LEADING now available.
Catholic Women Preach homily for September 16th - Listen now
View archive of prior news updates
August 22, 2018
Press Release: Response to the Recent Reports of Clergy Child Sex Abuse and Cover up in the RCC:
From: Mary Eileen Collingwood, ARCWP Bishop serving the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Press Release: Response to the Recent Reports of Clergy Child Sex Abuse and Cover up in the RCC:
From: Mary Eileen Collingwood, ARCWP Bishop serving the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Women priests are needed as part of a systemic change in the Roman Catholic Church—building a structure that supports justice and equality.
Our voices need to be heard. We work within a model of circular governance as ordained members within our movement and within the liturgical communities we serve.
Catholics have deserved so much more for a long, long time! Following the prophetic witness of women priests, the church needs to form inclusive faith communities that thrive as all members are honored equally, treat others with compassion, and seek Gospel justice for all.
This crisis that has taken over the world stage is a clarion call for all Catholics to raise their hearts and voices in demanding new structures that place women and men in decision-making roles in our church. Those clerics that are responsible for covering up the sexual abuses of our children by the clergy, and those that engage in corroborative criminal behavior, must be removed now.
It is time for serious reform of these church structures that have protected bishops and the Vatican from accountability.
Accepting women priests and married men will counter the corrupt clerical model that has produced the present ecclesial environment which continues to tolerate cover-ups and pay-offs as the standard fare of conduct.
Pope Francis can name the cause of sexual abuse of children as coming from the evils of clericalism, but he falls short in dismantling that structure through a new model of priestly ministry that includes women.
A structure that includes women and men standing and working together as equals, seeking justice for all in a renewed model of priestly ministry will ultimately be the Church’s salvation.
Our voices need to be heard. We work within a model of circular governance as ordained members within our movement and within the liturgical communities we serve.
Catholics have deserved so much more for a long, long time! Following the prophetic witness of women priests, the church needs to form inclusive faith communities that thrive as all members are honored equally, treat others with compassion, and seek Gospel justice for all.
This crisis that has taken over the world stage is a clarion call for all Catholics to raise their hearts and voices in demanding new structures that place women and men in decision-making roles in our church. Those clerics that are responsible for covering up the sexual abuses of our children by the clergy, and those that engage in corroborative criminal behavior, must be removed now.
It is time for serious reform of these church structures that have protected bishops and the Vatican from accountability.
Accepting women priests and married men will counter the corrupt clerical model that has produced the present ecclesial environment which continues to tolerate cover-ups and pay-offs as the standard fare of conduct.
Pope Francis can name the cause of sexual abuse of children as coming from the evils of clericalism, but he falls short in dismantling that structure through a new model of priestly ministry that includes women.
A structure that includes women and men standing and working together as equals, seeking justice for all in a renewed model of priestly ministry will ultimately be the Church’s salvation.
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Scripture readings
The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time September 22, 23 This weekend's readings: First Reading: Wisdom 2:12,17-20 Psalm Response: Psalm 54: 3-6, 8 Second Reading: James 3:16-4:3 Gospel: Mark 9:30-37 The language used in this, and all our liturgies, is inclusive, celebrating our God who is neither female nor male, but beyond all our imagining! The source we use is The Inclusive Bible from the Priests for Equality at the Quixote Center. You can learn more about this marvelous translation here. |
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Homily for the Community of St. Bridget
The 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 4, 2018
The 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 4, 2018
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This reading from Exodus says that God was testing the Israelites, but I don’t think that’s quite right. I think that when the scriptures say that God is testing us that it means that WE are testing us. Doesn’t God already know who we are and what we’ll do? We need to discover who we are and what we’re made of. We can look at this reading and think, “Those ungrateful Israelites! They were hungry and God fed them. What is their problem?” Sure, the bread was in a totally unrecognizable form. And it wasn’t made the way they thought, or baked the regular way; it was still bread, right? WE would never be like that. Whenever God provides us with bread (or a blessing) that doesn’t look like the bread (or the blessing) we were expecting, it’s just fine with us, right? We never doubt that, even though the way God feeds us or blesses us is completely foreign to what we hoped for, it’s just peachy. So the bread was not what they asked for, but it got them to where they needed to go, right? read full homily |
Homily for Holy Spirit Catholic Community
The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 16, 2018
The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 16, 2018
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The Good News, so we hear today, brings us buffets and spitting, snares of the netherworld, suffering, loss of life! On top of that, Mark gives us that paradox: if we try to save our life, we’ll lose it. Sure doesn’t sound like good news… but it is. read full homily |
This week's quote
Today we celebrate the autumn equinox, one of only two days of the year in which the daytime and nighttime are of exactly equal length. From now until late December, daytime will continue to wane. But there is nothing to fear from this diminishment of the kind of life associated with sunlight. The night times of life have their beauty and their lessons, too. ~Joan Chittister
A reader asks:
Does prayer really matter? Does it make a difference? Why should I pray?
Does prayer really matter? Does it make a difference? Why should I pray?
You must begin with what the purpose of prayer is. When people ask us to pray really hard, what does that even mean? If you think prayer can change God's mind, what kind of God is that? A god that can be swayed, who doesn't already know what the people need, and even then, doesn't care? Yikes!
Prayer is not meant to change God. Prayer is meant to change us. It helps us realize that we need one another, that we must support one another. When someone asks you to pray for them, they are reaching out for your support, your care, your love. Isn't that what humans should do for one another? Whether you are the one who is praying or the one being prayed for, a connection is generated or deepened. Prayer reminds us that we can't control everything. We must be aware of what we can do, and rest in the quiet of prayer to understand what God is asking us to do. Sometimes that is nothing. But the time spent in prayer connects us to one another and awakens us to our awareness of a Higher Power.
Not bad for a few moments of your day!
So, stop, become aware of the need or gratitude or whatever needs your attention, and send that love and grace into the universe. The universe will thank you for it!
View more Frequently Asked Questions
Prayer is not meant to change God. Prayer is meant to change us. It helps us realize that we need one another, that we must support one another. When someone asks you to pray for them, they are reaching out for your support, your care, your love. Isn't that what humans should do for one another? Whether you are the one who is praying or the one being prayed for, a connection is generated or deepened. Prayer reminds us that we can't control everything. We must be aware of what we can do, and rest in the quiet of prayer to understand what God is asking us to do. Sometimes that is nothing. But the time spent in prayer connects us to one another and awakens us to our awareness of a Higher Power.
Not bad for a few moments of your day!
So, stop, become aware of the need or gratitude or whatever needs your attention, and send that love and grace into the universe. The universe will thank you for it!
View more Frequently Asked Questions
