What's Happening

July 13, 2026, Detroit – “My hope is that the Church will become ever more open to the voices, leadership, and gifts of women, and that it will continue to grow as a community marked by justice, compassion, inclusion, and fidelity to the Gospel. I hope we will courageously follow where the Spirit is leading us for the good of the whole Church.”

Those are the words of Sister Janice Brown, OP, in response to her attendance at the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC). Held at the Marygrove Conservancy in Detroit over the Memorial Day weekend, the anniversary event continued the exploration of women’s roles in the Catholic Church begun in the original conference, held in Detroit in 1975.

Sister Janice attended the anniversary event with Adrian Dominican Associate Carol Hofer and Adrian Dominican Sisters Janet Stankowski, OP, Cheryl Liske, OP, Judy Friedel, OP, and Durstyne Farnan, OP. The conference included keynote addresses, workshops, and lively liturgies, including the closing Pentecost Mass.

Sister Janice noted that Adrian Dominican Sisters were among about 1,000 participants who, encouraged by the changes that the Second Vatican Council brought to the Catholic Church, came to Detroit for the first Women’s Ordination Conference. “I believe it is important for the wholeness of who we are as people created in God’s image to continue this conversation,” she said. “I wanted to be part of discerning authentic responses to the Spirit, who continually guides the Church toward greater truth, justice, and inclusion.”

Carol, who attended the first conference – but in the overflow room because the number of participants exceeded expectations – said the recent conference “was special, but a source of grieving to come together once again half a century later … with a bit of progress seen in some Church policies but with the same tired responses given to block women from ordination, even after careful research shows the prohibition does not make sense.”

Carol attended some presentations that focused on women in the Bible who served in higher capacities as deacons in the Church. “The Church later decided who would work in this capacity, but the very early Church shows evidence of women as leaders, as priests.”

Sister Cheryl, who has been active in the Discerning Deacons organization, says the call to ordain women to the diaconate is related to the WOC movement. She noted the difference between transitional deacons – men who become deacons as part of their formation to become priests – and men, sometimes married, who are ordained as permanent deacons. Both the WOC and Discerning Deacons “are raising up in their own way how silly it is to purposely bar women from active ministry when we know that women are already called.” 

Sister Durstyne was impressed by two speakers, Natalia Imperatori-Lee, Associate Professor of Systemic Theology at Fordham University, and Teresa Delgado, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University in New York. “They are both women of color, the only women I know of who can say some of the things they said,” especially about colonization and its effect of excluding women of color in conversation and decision-making, Sister Durstyne said.

Noting that Dr. Delgado had said she felt called to be a priest since she was 6 years old, Sister Durstyne encouraged women religious to stay open to the possibility of women’s ordination. “We have experienced the call to religious life,” she said. “We need to honor in some way the women who feel called to be ordained a priest.”

Although some participants felt a degree of sadness that women are still not allowed to be ordained, they also were inspired by their experience of the anniversary event. “Meeting women and men from diverse backgrounds who share a love for the Church was inspiring,” Sister Janice said. “I appreciated hearing personal stories, engaging in thoughtful dialogue, and experienced a sense of community rooted in hope and faith.”

Sister Janice also left the conference feeling even more strengthened in her conviction that “women have much to offer the Church in ordained ministry. [The conference] reinforced my belief that this conversation is not only about roles, but about recognizing and affirming the gifts God has given to all people.” She added that, while change in the Church often comes slowly, “I was encouraged by the commitment, wisdom, and faithfulness of those who continue to engage in this issue with love for the Church and trust in the Spirit.”

Sister Cheryl added: “Hope isn’t a prediction. It’s something that keeps us alive. As Dominicans, we’re called to preach and serve, and that’s what the ministry of the Church should be.”
 

Caption for above feature photo: Participants in the 50th anniversary Women’s Ordination Conference are, from left: Sisters Janet Stankowski, OP, Janice Brown, OP, Judy Friedel, OP, and Durstyne Farnan, OP; Associate Carol Hofer; and Sister Cheryl Liske, OP.

July 13, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Julie Barst became the Director of Weber Retreat and Conference Center on June 29, 2026, succeeding Sister Janet Doyle, OP, who served in that role since 2016. 

Julie served as Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs during the last academic year of Siena Heights University. She sees her new role at Weber Center as an extension of her involvement with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for the past 14 years at Siena Heights University. During those years, Julie worked with many Sisters, both at the University and at the Motherhouse. 

“My first semester here at Siena, I joined the anti-human trafficking task force that Sisters Thérèse Haggerty and Jean Tobin started,” she said. “I have developed over 14 years such a deep respect for the Sisters and the Dominican Charism, and the opportunity to keep contributing to that mission was very exciting to me. It felt like a natural extension of a lot of the work that I’ve been doing at Siena.” 

A native of St. Charles, Michigan, in Saginaw County, Julie grew up one block from M-52, which leads circuitously to Adrian. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting major at Central Michigan University. She also holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in literary studies, both from Purdue University. 

Julie began her career in accounting but realized that field was not fulfilling, so she reconnected with an earlier desire to be a teacher. “One of my passions has always been reading and talking to other people about fantastic books,” she said. “I love what you can learn about what it means to be human from reading other people’s stories, and you can step into someone else’s shoes.” 

After earning a PhD in 2009, she began her career in higher education at South Dakota State University as Assistant Professor of English. In her third year, she read about an opening at Siena Heights University, researched the school, and saw it as a good fit. She began her career at Siena Heights in 2012 as Assistant Professor of English, then moved up to Associate Professor, Professor, and Chair of the English Department. Later, she was named Chair of the Humanities Division and Assistant Dean of Academics before stepping into the Provost position in August. 

This past year – the last academic year of Siena Heights University – has been “very challenging but also very rewarding,” Julie said. As Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs, she worked with students to figure out their next steps. “One of the key priorities for my office was collaborating with other institutions on teach-out agreements for students unable to graduate this year,” she said. A teach-out is a legal document between Siena Heights University and another college or university, guaranteeing that the other institution will accept Siena Heights students’ credits, keep the same timeline for graduation, and waive application fees and residency requirements, she explained.  

“Because the Sisters gave us the gift of honorable closure that included a full academic year of operations, we were able to graduate our seniors and secure 20 teach-out agreements and 53 transfer pathways for our remaining students,” Julie said. 

Julie is looking forward to her new role at Weber Center. She brings much of what she learned at Siena Heights to this new role. As founder of Siena Heights’ Ethnic and Gender Studies Institute, she organized speakers, film screenings, and special events. Julie hopes to function as a teacher at Weber Center. 

“I’m excited to think of the programming I could bring in, and the audiences it might serve,” she said. She also hopes to add a course on current events in race or gender studies and to fulfill the role of hospitality, welcoming Sisters and the broader community to Weber Center. 

“I feel honored to have been chosen to continue the mission of the Weber Center,” Julie said, “and my hope is to build on the amazing foundation that Sister Janet and the others before her have created.”