A Year with Women Who Made Space

Some years ask us to stretch. Others ask us to soften. This year invites us to make space—space for our own stories, space for the stories of women who walked before us, space for the quiet work of the Divine unfolding in the midst of ordinary lives.

Women who walked ahead

Throughout 2026, Functioning Faith will journey month by month with women commemorated and celebrated in the Episcopal calendar whose lives widened the world. Some created communities where women could learn and lead. Some wrote their own stories into history when no one expected them to speak. Some tended beauty, some tended courage, some tended hope. All of them made space—within themselves, within the Church, within their communities and culture—for something holy to take root.

Each month, we’ll spend time with one of these women, exploring the particular kind of spaciousness she carried: the listening presence of Harriet Bedell, the fierce hospitality of brigid, the corageous truth-telling of Perpetua and Felicity, the contemplative hope of Julian, the creative fire of Hildegard, the interior honesty of Teresa, the steady leadership of Hilda, and more. Their stories are not relics; they are companions. They open the way for us to imagine what a spacious, grounded, resilient faith might look like.

Living faith in real life

Alongside each reflection on their lives, you’ll find simple spiritual practices—small doable gestures of attention and care. These are meant to help you live the themes of the month, not just read about them. They are intentionally gentle, shaped for real lives despite their historic inspiration and designed to meet you wherever you are in your spiritual journey.

And as the seasons turn, you’ll notice that some months invite a deeper kind of engagement. Times of darkness and courage. Times of renewal and tenderness. Times of reclaiming your voice and telling your stories. Times of listenig, not just tot he stories of others but also to your own. Times of discernment and waiting and holy consent. These seasons will offer opportunities to linger a little longer, explore more fully and shape your days in quiet, steady, faith-filled ways.

A journey for…

This year-long series is for the spiritually curious, the hopeful, the weary, the lonely, the ones starting over or building anew; it’s for women walking their own path—whether partnered or not, certain or anxious, rooted or wandering. It’s for anyone longing for a faith that works for them and feels more like spacious ground and living tradition than a tight container and rules.

As well as walk with these women, may their stories open something in us in large or small ways. May they remind us that holiness often looks like hospitality and faith looks like love. May they help us make space for the stories we are living now.

Welcome to the journey. There is room here for you. Please, walk with us.