The Region for the Holy Margins is an intentional community of Roman Catholic Womenpriests and Associates, unrestricted by geography, committed to bending “the moral arc of the universe toward justice.”
Click on each member’s name to access their biography and additional information.
After obtaining my MDiv at Marylhurst University in 2016, at 64 years of age, my church duties in Oregon led me to become a Lay Eucharistic Minister at the VA hospital in Portland for five years with my focus on Intensive Care and ministering to families of the deceased.
My heart lay in the Interfaith Ecumenical dialog I enjoyed with my professional colleagues. You see, I come from seven generations of Catholic Women on my mother’s side of the family. My father was baptized Methodist, yet raised us as Catholics. My first husband was a Protestant. My friends are Lutherans, Mormons, and Baptists. When in Germany, in the late 70s, I attended the combined Army/Air Force worship services which were Interfaith Christian. In Seminary, while enthralled with World Religions, I learned my Godfather was a Black Muslim, who converted from Christianity in the ‘70s.
My Master’s Thesis emphasized hospitality, my personal theology. Just before my mother died in 2018, we discussed my calling as a Roman Catholic WomanPriest (RCWP). She told me she loved me and to trust God. I had begun the RCWP Program and searched for an Inclusive Church home. I found the Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community on the RCWP Website, where I was welcomed for over four years.
I currently participate in two churches in Hillsboro, Oregon, where I live. All Saints/Todos Los Santos Episcopal Church; Calvary Lutheran Church and on occasion Spirit Of Grace combined Lutheran Catholic church. I participate in luncheon Prayer rituals, minister to the sick, companion to the homebound and assist at the local food bank, sing in the choir at Calvary and serve as a homilist.
My personal concern for humanity is that as a society we are not nearly charitable enough. Indifference runs rampant in the United States. “Let someone else do it,” is the rule; love is the exception. I prefer being the exception.
Professional Title: Rev. Vieda Baker
Location: Hillsboro, OR
Ordained Deacon: 2021 | Ordained Priest: 2022
Kathleen has felt called to the priesthood since she was seven years old. She received her early formation in radical Catholicism from her time at the Catholic Worker, from working in her large vegetable garden, and from raising her two children. Years of training as a catechist, specializing in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, strengthened her love of scripture, liturgy, sacraments and celebration. Kathleen was ordained a deacon in 2012, received her Masters in Religious Education from Graduate Theological Foundation in 2013, and was ordained a priest in 2014. She is also a graduate from the Seminary of the Wild Earth with a certificate as a Wild Guide (2025). She enjoys exploring the interplay between nature, scripture, liturgy and the liturgical year. If not crafting a liturgy, you will often find her in the garden or hiking and camping with her husband in the forest. In 2026 she was ordained as Bishop of the Region for the Holy Margins of Roman Catholic Women Priests.
Professional Title: Rev. Kathleen Bellefeuille-Rice
Location: Olympia, WA
Ordained Deacon: 2012 | Ordained Priest: 2014 | Bishop: 2026
Community: Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community and The Catholic Church of the Beatitudes
Community Contact: kbr.urbanfarmer@gmail.com
Meeting Format: Both (In person and zoom)
Jeannette Bertalan Love was ordained a deacon on Aug. 28, 2010, and a Roman Catholic Womanpriest on September 12, 2010. For nineteen years Jeannette was a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart. While there, she studied theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington School of Theology in New Jersey. She was ordained a priest and then a bishop in the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch (not under Rome) and served the Archbishops and aided in the development of the Church for eleven years. Jeannette also attended the University of Creation Spirituality founded by Matthew Fox in Oakland, CA and received a Master’s Degree awarded by Naropa University in Boulder, CO. Jeannette worked at La Casa de Maria Retreat Center in Santa Barbara as Program Coordinator and then Conference Coordinator for nine years. While there she met Suzanne Dunn, SFCC and learned about the Sisters for Christian Community and after a two year preparation time, became a vowed member. She is currentlty living in Community with Suzanne Dunn, RCWP and was with her when she began the Beatitudes Community. Presently, Jeannette is Pastor of the Catholic Church of the Beatitudes in Santa Barbara, CA. During her time at La Casa she trained as a Spiritual Director, and offers opportunities for Spiritual Direction, facilitates a weekly Centering Prayer Group, and is commissioned to give the Centering Prayer Introductory Workshop.
Professional Title: MA
Location: Carpinteria, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2010 | Ordained Priest: 2010
Community: Catholic Church of the Beatitudes
Website: https://www.beatitudes-sb.org/
Meeting Format: Both (In person and zoom)
Nancy Corran holds a Diploma in Theology from Oxford University and a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from San Francisco Theological Seminary of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She received scholarships to continue studies in biblical languages at the GTU and to continue theological and pastoral formation at the Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Certified for Ordination by the PC(USA) in 2004, Nancy has worked in many churches with children, youth, and adults. She served Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community (founded and convened in 2005 by two RCWPs) in San Diego, CA from 2007-2016. Nancy was ordained a Roman Catholic woman priest in 2010 and incardinated into RCWP in 2015. Nancy is married with two young children, and currently resides in Eureka, CA.
Professional Title: Rev. Nancy Corran
Location: Eureka, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2010 | Ordained Priest: 2010
Incardinated into RCWP-USA: 2015
Mary Grace Crowley-Koch began her walk toward priesthood at age 4 when she engaged her nursery school playmates in Eucharistic celebrations. She was taught by the Adrian Dominicans for 12 years and entered that community. While completing her MA in Theology at St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, and serving as a pastoral associate at several parishes, she continued to feel the Spirit nudge. First to marriage and after Angela and Brian were on their life path, the ordination nudge returned. An opportunity to work as a hospice chaplain was offered to her and she again felt the validation of her call to priesthood from the persons she served and blessed. She and her married priest husband, Ron, also initiated a small faith community which has been meeting monthly for 30 years. A final nudge came as she and Ron, ministered to couples with RC based spirituality who wanted to get married outside the RC church building venue. Mary Grace believes in the constant call of the Spirit of the Living God to “do a new thing.” Following her call to ordination, she continues to share her talents and gifts and has been blessed abundantly in the dance of love and service to God’s people.
Professional Title: Reverend Mary Grace Crowley-Koch
Location: Mount Prospect, Illinois
Ordained Deacon: 2010 | Ordained Priest: 2011
Community: Spirit of the Living God
Contact: agraced12@gmail.com
Meeting Style: In Person
Professional Title: Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Marriage, Family, Child Counselor
Location: Long Beach, CA
Ordained Deacon: 1972 | Ordained Priest: 1973
Incardinated into RCWP-USA: 2020
Website/social media: nick.delosreyes@gmail.com
Community: Magdala Catholic Community
Community Contact: MagdalaCommunity@groups.io
Meeting Format: Zoom
Suzanne Dunn. Sfcc, (Sister for Christian Community) is currently Pastor Emerita of the Catholic Church of the Beatitudes in Santa Barbara, California. She recently celebrated her 85th birthday. She resides in Carpinteria, Ca. with another member of her religious community, Sr. Jeannette Love. Suzanne holds an MA in Religious Studies from Seattle University and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Fielding Institute. She served as a Pastoral Associate at St. Joseph’s Parish in Carpinteria, Ca. for 5 years. Then she began the program of studies to become an ordained Roman Catholic Womanpriest. She was ordained a Roman Catholic Woman Priest on September 7, 2008. Suzanne founded the Catholic Church of the Beatitudes and served as its pastor until 2016 when she retired at the age of 75. Currently, Suzanne is offering Spiritual Direction, visiting sick members of the Beatitude Community in need of an anointing and Eucharist, and assisting Jeannette Love, current Pastor, at liturgies and other liturgical functions.
Professional Title: Rev. Dr. Suzanne Dunn
Location: Carpinteria, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2008 | Ordained Priest: 2008
Website/social media: https://beatitudes-sb.org/
Community: Catholic Church of the Beatitudes
Community Contact: dunnsuzanne323@gmail.com
Meeting Format: Both (In person and zoom)
Chris has a BA in Theology and studied at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, where she earned an MDiv. After 6 years of campus ministry, counseling, and teaching at Mercy High School in San Francisco, she went on to earn a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She has a background in liturgy and music, pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, and convening a small Eucharist Community. As a psychologist, she is grounded in her theological background with a focus on the wholeness of the human person. Chris was affirmed by her Eucharistic community and was ordained on February 8, 2014, in Santa Cruz, CA.
Professional Title: Rev. Dr. Christine Fahrenbach
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2011 | Ordained Priest: 2014
Community: Santa Sofia Inclusive Catholic Community
Community Contact: cmfahrenbach@gmail.com
Meeting Format: In person
Christine is a Board Certified Chaplain serving Palliative Care and Hospice. She also occasionally preaches and presides at Church of the Beatitudes (a hybrid community based in Santa Barbara, CA). She holds a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion, a BA in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College and a Certificate in Women’s Studies in Religion from the Graduate Theological Union. Previous to her career in chaplaincy, Christine spent over a decade working in faith-based social justice organizations, including: Women’s Ordination Conference, Call To Action and Equally Blessed. She lives in the Sacramento area with her spouse (Rev. Alex Haider-Winnett, a Unitarian Universalist minister), two young children and a few cats.
Professional Title: Rev. Christine Haider-Winnett
Location: Davis, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2015 | Ordained Priest: 2018
Donna Johnson-Smith was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1951. She went through Catholic grade school at Sacred Heart Academy and St. Philip Neri. After graduating from high school, she entered the convent at 19 with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. Donna was a member of the community for 14 years, during which time she finished her undergraduate work in psychology. She worked at St. Joseph’s Children’s Home in Spokane and also taught at a Catholic school for 3 years. After deciding teaching was not for her, she went back to school and got a master’s in psychology from Santa Clara University and did individual counseling. After leaving religious life in 1985, Donna moved back to Portland and continued working in counseling. Donna met her first wife, Joy, and was married for 28 years, before Joy sadly passed away. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Pacific University in 1998 and worked as a clinical psychologist until her retirement. Donna met her second wife, Janis (an Episcopal priest) and they’ve been married for 6 years. Donna was ordained a priest for RCWP in 2022, and is presently retired from her priestly ministry at Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community in Washington State.
Professional Title: Rev. Dr. Donna Marie Johnson-Smith
Location: Lacey, Washington, USA
Ordained Deacon: 2021 | Ordained Priest: 2022
Community: Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community
Community Contact: psydmsmith@gmail.com
Meeting Format: Both (In person and zoom)
Chris Kanowitz (he/him) is from Reno, Nevada. His parents are Morris and Aida, and he has a younger sister, Leslie. Chris was canonically ordained a priest for the Diocese of Reno in 2017 and served three parish communities. He also lived for a time as a hermit at the Carmelite monastery in Reno. During his time of ministry in the diocese, Chris struggled to help create communities where all could truly be welcomed unconditionally. After 7 years as an institutional cleric, he was received into the Region for the Holy Margins of RCWP. Chris helped co-found and currently serves on the leadership team of Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community in Seattle, is a practitioner in the Tiger Mountain Sangha (Buddhist meditation community) which practices in the Plum Village tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, is an Associate in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, and is also a member of the Co-Dependents Anonymous Fellowship. Chris is a certified Death Midwife and hopes to study Kabbalah one day. He currently lives in Ellensburg with his partner, Jonathan, their little girl, Lila, their pet rabbit and their four dogs.
Professional Title: Rev. Christopher Kanowitz
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Ordained Deacon: 2016 | Ordained Priest: 2017
Incardinated into RCWP-USA: 2024
Community: Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community
Website: seattleinclusivecatholic.org
Email: chris@seattleinclusivecatholic.org
Meeting Format: In person
Suzie has a BA in Religious Studies from the University of San Diego, extensive studies in theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and the Franciscan School of Theology. Her pastoral work in Catholic parishes and high schools includes retreat coordination, sacramental preparation, catechetical formation, liturgical planning, and preaching. For over 30 years, she taught Religious Studies and served as Campus Minister at Catholic high schools in Phoenix, Oakland, and San Diego. A founding member of MMACC with her husband, Dave, Suzie was called to the priesthood by the community and ordained a Roman Catholic Womanpriest in January 2024.
Professional Title: Rev. Suzanne Knapp
Location: San Diego, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2023 | Ordained Priest: 2024
Maureen is an ordained Roman Catholic Womanpriest (RCWP-USA). She received her M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. In addition, she holds a teaching credential in English. Her areas of emphasis is Feminist Liberation theology, social justice and the emergent field of eco-theology. Maureen has been a high school theology teacher, Campus Minister, hospital chaplain and liturgist giving workshops on both the local and national level. She was pastor of St. Hildegard’s Inclusive Catholic Community from 2015- 2020. Currently, is an officer of the Board of Directors Circle for RCWP-USA.
Maureen is a published writer and poet. Presently, she is a contributing writer to This Is My Body found on Substack.
Professional Title: Rev. Maureen Mancuso
Location: San Ramon, CA. USA
Ordained Deacon: 2011 | Ordained Priest: 2013
Professional Title: Rev. Rosa Manriquez
Location: East Los Angeles, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2016 | Ordained Priest: 2017
Barbara Mattus first heard the call to priesthood at age nine. Her spiritual journey began at even a younger age through a profound attraction to the Liturgy and especially to the Eucharist. This desire only deepened through many years of questioning and longing for a relationship with Jesus. Barb was ready to enter a religious community of sisters in 1959 but it just didn’t seem like the right ‘fit’, so she delayed entering the convent. Later, she married in 1962 and she and her husband entered the world of the United States Air Force, started their family with two wonderful and caring children, and lived mostly in the Western USA. Barb became involved in religious ed in 1967 when she began ministering in the military chapel youth program. She has spent almost a lifetime travelling. She holds a B.A. Degree in Theology, an MA in Christian Spirituality and an MA in Counseling and Guidance. She continued as the Diocesan Director of Religious Education and as a Catholic Youth Worker at an Arizona detention center near Tucson and more than 29 years as Director of Detention Ministry for the Diocese of Tucson. Currently she is retired from active ministry at “Mary of Magdala Inclusive Catholic Community” and has a ministry of presence to the retired community of Fellowship Square, a Christian Independent Living Facility in Tucson, AZ.
Professional Title: Rev. Barbara Mattus
Location: Tucson, AZ
Ordained Deacon: 2009 | Ordained Priest: 2010
Adina Meyer entered the Catholic Church in 1989 and spent many years as an RCIA teacher and cantor. She compartmentalized her call to ministry until 2013 when she attended her first inclusive Mass while at the SOA Vigil in Fort Benning, Georgia. Seeing a woman at the altar opened up a flood of emotions for her, and she recognized her own vocation to the priesthood.
In 2019, she quit her job as a high school humanities and religion teacher in order to attend Portland Seminary full time, where she graduated with an M.Div. in 2024. She helped found Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community in Seattle in 2022. She was ordained a deacon in 2023 and a priest in 2024. In 2025, Adina was ordained as an authorized minister in the United Church of Christ, and now serves as the pastor of Keystone Congregational UCC while continuing to serve Living Water as one of their priests. The two congregations worship together on the fifth Sunday of the month.
She is married to husband Matthew and has two children – Rowan and Jack, and one grandchild, Zara.
Professional Title: Rev. Adina Meyer
Location: Seattle, WA
Ordained Deacon: 2023 | Ordained Priest: 2024
Website: www.seattleinclusivecatholic.org
Social Media: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083095282306
Community: Living Water Inclusive Catholic Community
Community Contact: junia@seattleinclusivecatholic.org
Meeting Format: In person
Mary Alice Nolan is the 4th of six children raised in Denver Colorado. A cradle Catholic and educated from Kindergarten through her Bachelors in Nursing in Catholic Institutions. Working with the Migrant Farmworkers early on in her career and then spending the last 30 years in nursing in Cancer Centers with a focus on end-of life has exposed her to many social justice issues. But the ultimate injustice of denying women, and many others, a place at the table for Mass, propelled her to compete her theology degree at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University.
Ordained in 2016 in San Francisco and ministering to the Sophia In Trinity community enlightened her Spiritual life and allowed her to fulfill the goal of welcoming all to the Table of God. As her devoted friend and mentor Maria Eitz said: “Being called to the priesthood, is “a challenge, an honor, a mission , a responsibility; it is speaking for all the women throughout history who were denied by the institutional church, the hierarchy, to serve at the Table of God.”
Professional Title: Mary Alice Nolan, MS, RN, MTh
Location: San Rafael, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2015 | Ordained Priest: 2016
Jennifer O’Malley holds a Masters of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University of Chicago, a Masters of Special Education and Certificate in Educational Leadership. She is currently a Director of Special Education. Jennifer previously worked as a Coordinator of Youth Ministry at a parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and was a Program Director for a national catholic service learning program. Jennifer is committed to social justice, she has traveled throughout central and south America meeting with local community leaders and union groups. She is currently working with local community groups to promote the rights of hospitality workers and is the pastor of Holy Wisdom Catholic Community in Long Beach. Jennifer lives in Long Beach with her wife, Elizabeth Carlin.
Professional Title: Rev. Jennifer O’Malley
Location: Long Beach, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2009 | Ordained Priest: 2012
Kori Pacyniak (they/them) is a trans, nonbinary, queer catholic priest who grew up in a Polish immigrant family in Chicago. Called to the priesthood from an early age, Kori’s vocational journey spans both academia and the non-profit sector, working in communications, church leadership, and with queer and trans communities and activist organizations. Kori served as pastor of Mary Magdalene Apostle Catholic Community (MMACC) in San Diego, California from 2017 to 2022. They hold a Master of Divinity (MDiv) from Harvard Divinity School, a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) from Boston University School of Theology with a concentration in Trauma and Theology, and a PhD in the Study of Religion with a focus on queer and trans studies in religion from the University of California, Riverside. Kori’s scholarly work has focused around issues of identity construction within queer and trans religious communities and the ways in which we process trauma. Kori was bitten by wanderlust at a young age and spent time studying in Rome, Poland, and Brazil and participated in multiple social justice trips and pilgrimages to Israel and Palestine. Currently they reside in Bloomington, Indiana where they serve as the postdoctoral fellow in American Religion at the Center for Religion and the Human at Indiana University. Their ministry focuses around celebrating the sacred lives of queer and trans folks and working for trans justice and affirmation in the church and the wider world.
Professional Title: Rev. Kori Pacyniak
Location: San Diego, CA / Bloomington, IN
Ordained Deacon: 2019 | Ordained Priest: 2020
Victoria Rue, M.Div., Ph.D. was ordained a priest in 2005 on the St. Lawrence Seaway. She founded Sophia in Trinity in San Francisco in 2009. She retired from that community in 2013. She was a Hospice Chaplin, 2008—2012. Dr. Rue lectured in Comparative Religious Studies and Women’s Studies at San Jose State University, 2004—2021. She is now Emerita. Theatre has always been Victoria’s ministry. She has written and directed plays for over 50 years on both coasts. In 2018/19 Dr. Rue was a Fulbright Scholar at Dar al Kalima University, Bethlehem, Palestine. There she interviewed Christians and Muslims on the subject of Mary/Maryam and created/directed the play, “Maryam, A Woman of Bethlehem.” It premiered in Bethlehem and toured Palestine through the US State Dept. In 2022 the play and actresses came to the US and performed at the Hammer Theatre in San Jose, CA/youtube. Her most recent plays are “Mary and Maryam, a Conversation” (performed in churches with collaborating mosques in the Bay Area and Santa Barbara), and “Voices from the Silenced: Pre-Roe Stories” (made into a film: www.voicesfromthesilenced.com). Victoria’s spouse of thirty-six years is Dr. Kathryn Poethig. They met while studying at Union Theological Seminary in NYC and presently live in Walnut Creek, CA.
Professional Title: Rev. Dr. Victoria Rue
Location: Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Ordained Deacon: 2004 | Ordained Priest: 2005
Website/social media: www.victoriarue.com
Rev. Dr. Joanna Truelson was ordained a RCWP on June 25,2016 at the Orinda Community Church, Orinda California. With the enthusiastic support of her Namaste Inclusive Catholic Community, she transitioned from a 14 year Interfaith Minister background to their Pleasant Hill, Ca. home-church in 2011. Previously her world-wide interfaith ministries had begun after receiving a MA in Spirituality and a Doctorate in Ministry when studying under the tutelage of Rev Matt Fox in Oakland, Ca. from 1995-1999. She thereafter entered the CHI (Chaplaincy Institute for Arts and Interfaith Ministries) where she was ordained an interfaith Minister.
After all her schooling and academic endeavors, Joanna’s real spiritual journey had begun in childhood. Joanna was born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania on February 4,1945 as Joanne Beretsky. Her Polish parents and heritage brought her family first to Brooklyn, NY then to Massapequa, Long Island. Joanna attended St John Cantius Polish Catholic School in Brooklyn but transferred to public school on Long island when Catholic Schools weren’t available. However, the deep Catholic roots had been well planted into this little girl who addressed “Jesus-Mary-Joseph” as her true parents…
Joanna’s education began at Bellevue Nursing School as a RN. After ten years of night school she received a BSN (Sacramento State University) followed by a MS in Mental Health Administration (at UCSF). Joanna was an avid seeker; curious, adventurous and always faithful to God.
Her curiosity took her all around the world, first as a tourist, then on sacred pilgrimages, followed by ministries delivering supplies to countries such as: Haiti, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Nepal, South Africa, Russia and Siberia. Indigenous peoples worldwide taught her the sacred values of our Oneness; the dynamic evolving energy for our forever expanding universe and the evolution of our religion and church. She is honored to be growing & a part of RCWP.
Professional Title: Rev. Joanna Truelson
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2014 | Ordained Priest: 2016
Jane Via was born in St. Louis, Mo. in 1947, where she grew up. She earned a B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Purdue University, a PH.D. in Theology and Religious Studies from Marquette University and a J.D. from the University of San Diego. Jane taught Religious Studies with a focus on New Testament at Mercy College of Detroit and at the University of San Diego.
After graduating from Law School, Jane served as a research attorney for the San Diego Superior Court and later for the 4th District California Court of Appeal before working as a Deputy Prosecutor in San Diego County for approximately 20 years. Jane was ordained a Deacon on the Danube River in 2004 and a priest on the Bodensee (Lake Constance), off Swiss shores in 2006.
In 2005, she and now deceased Diocesan priest and Liturgist Rod Stephens, founded RCWP parish, Mary Magdalene the Apostle Catholic Community (MMACC). The parish celebrated its 20th anniversary in November 2025 and continues to meet weekly in a hybrid Mass (https://www.mmacc.org/liturgy/livestream-online-liturgy) with an approximate average attendance of 55. Jane serves as a member of the 3-priest Pastoral Team. MMACC, to our knowledge, is the only RCWP parish in the U.S. that pays the equivalent of a full time pastor’s salary (currently divided among the 3 pastors).
In 2017, Jane was elected one of two Bishops in the Western Region. She participated in the development of a new region of RCWP-USA, the Region for Holy Margins, serving as Bishop to its non-geographically situated members, until she retired in April 2026. She and her colleague, Nancy Corran, RCWP, “author” the Comprehensive Catholic Lectionary (CCL), which brings Biblical writings about and references to Biblical women into the Roman Catholic Sunday & Major Feast Day Lectionary. The CCL is available on the Women’ s Ordination Conference website (www.womensordination.org/resources/inclusive lectionary). Jane shares her life with her husband of more than 40 years. They have two adult sons. You can contact Jane through the “Contact Us” link on the MMACC website: www.mmacc.org. Her story and the MMACC story are documented by author Lisa Shapiro in her 2025 book, Empty Shoes in the Vatican, published by Kay Publishing.
Professional Title: Rev. Elizabeth Jane Via, IHM (Bishop emerita)
Location: Jamul, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2004 | Ordained Priest: 2006 | Bishop: 2017
Diane loves people and finds great joy serving Holy Wisdom Inclusive Catholic Community in Olympia, WA. She experienced a call to priesthood when she was very young and answered that call in whatever ways were available to her in parish ministries, as a Jesuit Volunteer, social worker, spiritual director and teacher/ supervisor of spiritual directors. She completed a BA in Religious studies, Masters in Social Work, MA in Ministry and D. Min in Spiritual Direction and continues her work of spiritual direction. She and her husband, Bill have been happily married 42 years and have two adult daughters. Diane enjoys singing, traveling, cooking, taking walks and spending time with family and friends. She believes passionately that all Christian ministry flows from baptism and that her ordained priesthood is the way she has been invited to express that baptismal call to service. Diane invites you to visit their community’s website to meet the wonderful people she gets to do life with at www.holywisdomicc.org.
Professional Title: Rev. Diane S. Whalen
Location: Olympia, WA
Ordained Deacon: 2009 | Ordained Priest: 2010
I was incardinated into RCWP-Region of the Holy Margins in 2023. Prior to that I was ordained a priest by the Old Catholic Order of Holy Wisdom in 2012. I received my priestly training under Bishop John Mabry of OHW, who trained me for seven years. I graduated with a DMin from Wisdom University, in Creation Spirituality. I have an MA in English Literature, BA in Journalism, from the California State University, both with minors in Writing. I was certified as a Spiritual Director from the Mercy Center in Burlingame CA, where I also studied Centering Prayer, the Ignatian Exercises, and leading spiritual retreats. I am a Reiki Master and Healing Touch 4th level Energy Healer. I have worked as a Hospice Chaplain for 15 years with one CPE year.
In addition to my Catholic studies and ordination, I also have Sufi ordinations as a Cherag (minister) and a Sufi Healing Minister. I am trained as a Sufi Spiritual Healing Retreat Leader and Healing Circle Conductor. I am a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, which brings joy into my heart.
Professional Title: Rev. Amina Jessy Wolf
Location: Berkley, CA
Ordained Deacon: 2010 | Ordained Priest: 2012
Incardinated into RCWP-USA: 2023
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