This book traces the gender inequality in the church since the time of the early church fathers as well as the 1917 Code of Canon law, the Second Vatican Council and the 1983 Code of Canon law. The author explores the consistent pattern of women being unnamed and unnoticed. Yet there are incredible accounts in the Old and New Testament of women as teachers, prophets, judges, healers and deacons. Yet the passages proclaiming them are either excised from the lectionary or left out altogether. This author declares that it is now time to acknowledge and celebrate these forgotten women and to challenge one another and our church to also count them as equally effective leaders in the church. Men and women together are needed in order to live out the true message of equality and inclusivity which has always been the message of the Gospel.

All too often, the complex society forces us to take sides between political parties, religious denominations, sport teams, and more. But how can we be sure we've chosen the right side? Is there a way to overcome the divisiveness and hostility that often accompanies choosing one side over the other?

This book offers a unique look at choosing the side that really matters-the side of kindness. In a series of sometimes humorous, always thought-provoking reflections, Sister Sandra Makowski reminds us that we can always choose the side of kindness, even in the smallest decisions of daily life. Our conversations, tone of voice, and even the way we dress can be shaped by kindness. Together, those small decisions can make a great difference in our broken and fragile world.

The Forgotten Women of the Bible begins with the retelling of the Gospel account of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the miracle most familiar to Christians. Mark's account adds a phrase that changes the whole story. Five thousand men were fed, not counting women and children. This is where this book takes off. Page after page presents us with the incredible fact that women throughout scripture and church history went unnamed and unnoticed. But the women are there in incredible numbers in the Old and New Testament, in miracle accounts, in stories of bravery and wisdom. They are teachers, prophets, judges, healers, deacons. Yet the passages proclaiming them are either excised from the lectionary or left out altogether. It is time that they are named and proclaimed.