When all feels lost, see what God is doing in Acts

Apr 21, 2025

Casey Stanton, co-director of Discerning Deacons, champions the role of women in the diaconate and fosters community within the Church. She emphasizes the importance of the Book of Acts during Easter as a guide for contemporary challenges. Casey challenges listeners to engage in collective faith, especially with marginalized voices, as society grapples with fear and uncertainty. Her insights inspire a call for deeper community connections and advocacy, making a powerful case for the transformative spirit of togetherness.

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INSIGHT

Acts Rekindles Common Life

The Acts of the Apostles offers a pathway to recover a lost sense of common life together in communities.
This text invites us to find direction amid overwhelm and uncertainty through communal study and connection.

INSIGHT

Disciples Embody Jesus' Life

Early disciples embodied Jesus' life by healing and speaking boldly despite persecution.
Their faith empowered large crowds and demonstrated the Spirit's active presence in communal witness.

INSIGHT

Musical Unity in Acts

The Greek word homothumadon means 'rushing along in unison' and describes early community harmony.
This musical metaphor reflects Christians as instruments playing wondrous signs in unison through the Holy Spirit.

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The emboldened disciples in Acts 5:12-16 perform signs and wonders of the risen Christ to a crowd gathered at Solomon’s portico in Jerusalem. Witnessing the good news of the Resurrection for the first time, astonished onlookers bring the sick and wounded for the apostles to heal through the power of God. “I just hope people feel some desire to get together with other people in their community and do a little Bible study on the Acts of the Apostles,” says Casey Stanton, co-director of Discerning Deacons, a project helping the Church listen more deeply as it discerns the role of women in the diaconate. “The church has given us this gift of a text that offers us a way to recover something that feels lost right now: a common life together.”

Joining host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., on this episode of “Preach” ahead of the Second Sunday of Easter, Casey connects the first reading to the current situation facing many immigrant and migrant Christians in the U.S., who live in fear of deportation and detention. “What will our testimony be in this generation in our time?” she asks. “We are called to be in community, especially with and as those who are called criminals. Those who are deemed unworthy, those who think they do not have a right to speak, those whose land is being stolen, whose waters are polluted, whose lives are under siege, who struggle for life and dignity.”

Casey Stanton has spent over a decade in ministry working on social concerns in parish settings, as well as engaging with broader faith-based networks focused on justice and inclusion. She lives in Durham with her husband Felipe and their three children—Micaela, Teddy and Oscar. Her work is rooted in Pope Francis’ call to a synodal Church—a Church that listens, walks together, and follows the lead of the Holy Spirit.

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