Whom Shall We Send? with Elizabeth Young, RSM

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Elizabeth Young, RSM offers a reflection on restoring women deacons as one way of responding to the current needs around us: "So what are the needs around us today? Who are the Hellenist widows who cry out for ministry at their own tables? ... How will each of us respond? How will we reach out? Our personal efforts can be strengthened by the response of the whole Church to delegate and to send. Why not complete the restoration of permanent deacons by authorising ministry from the other half of the population, and recognise women and men called to contribute by God, the community and needs around them?" Elizabeth Young, RSM comes from a farm in rural South Australia, Boandik country. After a degree in Circus Arts, she entered the Sisters of Mercy, professing her first vows in 2010. Elizabeth studied a Bachelor of Theology, Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning, and Master of Theology (Coursework). She is currently a Parish Life Coordinator in a remote town of New South Wales, where she is instituted as a Catechist to lead regular community liturgy in the absence of a priest, including baptisms and funerals. In 2021, she started the blog Liturgy on the Margins, along with the group Australian Catholics Exploring the Diaconate, which celebrates and promotes the ministry of permanent deacons, both present and potential. This includes the diaconal ministry of women who respond to needs that exist. Visit www.catholicwomenpreach.org/preaching/05072023 to learn more about Elizabeth, to read her preaching text, and for more preaching from Catholic women.