“It is with joy and appreciation that we welcome her to this important new role,” the church announced. “Judie will be the first woman from Minnesota ordained as a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church.”

Both services will to be followed with brunch in the church parlors.

Jodi Christenson said she “feels grateful to have discovered Sunday services at the Liberal Catholic Church of St. Francis.” She was received as a church member on Oct. 8, 2000, and admitted to the minor order of Cleric on June 5, 2004. “It is a unique and special privilege to participate with the Liberal Catholic community,” she said.

Rev. Judie Cilcain has been a member of the Church of Saint Francis for nearly 40 years and has served on the Altar for the last 20 years. Judie views herself, in the words of her former Rector, Bishop Newton Dahi, as a “karma yogi,” doing whatever job needs doing. When she was first asked to deliver a sermon in 1989, she stepped up to the pulpit. Judie has long believed that no church should refuse any help that it is offered, and that a woman may serve as faithfully and in as dedicated a manner as a man.

Bishop James A. Zinzow will officiate at these two ordinations and is pleased to be able to raise both of these women to their new offices. He assumed the role as Bishop for the Midwest Diocese of the Liberal Catholic Church in the United States of America on March 29, 2008, and resides in Waukesha, WI.

Saint Francis Liberal Catholic Church, an open communion church, is located at 3201 Pleasant Ave. S., Minneapolis. For more information, call 612.823.4276 or visit www.StFrancisLiberalCatholicChurch.org. Information on the global Liberal Catholic Church can be found at www.TheLiberalCatholicChurch.org

An allergic reaction to an antibiotic left my world a place of desperation and despair. I was immersed in a world of chaos and confusion. Every aspect of my life had to be examined and redefined. This life-altering event took me to the very core of my inner world to experience the most amazing miracles and gifts of spirit from across the world. I was sent on the most amazing path of discovery of the mystical and magical. I traveled the road of suffering and was able to transform my spirit into the lotus of ascension.

I was raised in the Catholic faith, but I always knew there was more, that somehow a piece was missing. This crossroads in my life allowed me to expand my awareness and define what spirituality meant to me. I was deep within my illness and there was little hope for recovery. A friend approached me with a prayer card for St. Therese the Little Flower. It is said St. Therese answers your prayers in the form of roses. I began to use the prayer card each and every day, asking that my health be restored and the gift of roses would be sent to me.

One day I went to our pastor and told him of my journey and my belief in St. Therese. He expressed his relief that I had not used the word "miracle." Instead I used the phrase healing path. He then told me of his trip to Italy. It was the 100th anniversary of St. Therese. and a special Mass was being celebrated. He had no intentions to attend and didn’t even have tickets for the event.

I left that day feeling like I had not been heard. Upon his return from Italy, he came to me before Mass. I sat down and he explained this incredible experience he had in Italy.

To his unexpected surprise, he had found a ticket in his room for the day of the Mass. He then discovered it was for a seat in the fifth row from the altar. Tickets for this very special Mass were impossible to find. The most astounding part of this story was that at the end of this Mass, fresh rose petals were dropped from the ceiling, just over the first five rows. He then thought of my story and picked up a few petals to bring back to me.

This experience offered me a bridge to travel from mainstream religion to discovering the mystic within. My experience was like a spark of light. If I could experience this miracle in my life, what else could be accomplished?

I grew so hungry for answers outside my limited view and of other religious practices. I explored the I AM presence that is within each of us. My journey through this portal created a new world for me to explore and create.

I began to wonder, "How does our spirituality define us in a new world?" It is our path to be in joy and peace. It is a blend of ancient teachings and new thoughts and ideas. We can create a sense of spirituality based on our hearts and inner sanctuary. Being in spirit and finding the true connection to the oneness of our hearts is the first step. This then allows us to continue on the journey to remembering who we are.

I have discovered that the true essence lives within each one of us, and it is our greatest gift to find it within. It is our relationship with source that defines us. The inner temple of our own lives is where the greatest mystery lies. Spirituality is not held within one practice, for it is omnipresent in all that we do. As we move through this next stage of enlightenment, our spirituality can be the place we find refuge in the eye of the storm. As we watch the old world fall away, we can find comfort and peace in the knowing we will be safe. Together as sovereign beings of light, we can come together and create a new world and a new age of miracles.