Call for Essays: April 16, 2007

Young? Woman? Catholic?

We think you have something to say.

Grab your pen, pencil or keyboard & tell us about your experience as a young woman involved in Catholicism.

Here are some questions to get you started, but let your creativity lead you where you need to go.

Catholic Identity.
--Do you call yourself Catholic? What experiences have shaped your understanding of Catholic identity?
--Tell us about your spiritual practice.

Relationships.
--How have your relationships influenced your experience of Catholicism?
--How has church teaching affected your relationships?

Education.
--How have your experiences in Catholic education shaped your worldview?
--What role has Catholic education played in the ways that you are active in the world?

Service and Social Justice.
--Tell us a story about service or justice work and its impact on the way you experience church.

Vocation.
--What is the relationship between your work and your Catholicism (i.e. as a teacher, an activist, a lawyer)?
--Tell us about the moment you knew you had to do whatever it is you do.
--Describe your understanding of ministry and explain how that has developed.
--Describe your experience as a young Catholic woman in a vowed religious community.

Keep in mind that we're soliciting memoirs and critical reflections from women around the country. Your submissions will be considered for a collection of women's stories about their experience of Catholicism.

We have had promising conversations with Boston-based academics, and a publisher has encouraged us to present a completed manuscript.

Our outreach for this project is intentionally grassroots, so we are relying on people like you to spread the word. Please forward our blog to members of your Catholic networks who will be interested.

And if you have questions or need more details, don't hesitate to let us know.
Jen & Kate