Our Mission
Sophia Rising is a worker-owned network of Christian priestesses and spiritual leaders creating a hub of community, creativity, and collaboration. We reclaim and share the wisdom and embodied presence of the Divine Feminine in and beyond the Christian lineage for the healing and liberation of all creation.
Our Vision
We envision a world of harmony between the feminine and masculine through restored relationship with and embodiment of Sophia, a revelation of the Divine Feminine.
In this renewed earth:
Human beings re-member their place in the Web of Life and embrace the cycles of nature.
All beings have what they need to thrive, are empowered to live into their full potential, and express their unique gifts for the good of the whole.
Our Commitments
We unapologetically affirm the inherent dignity and worth of trans-expansive and queer people. Read our full Affirmation of Gender Statement.
We seek to make our organization a space where BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) folks can truly belong as beloved members of the Body of God created in the divine image. We acknowledge our limitations as an organization led by white / European-descended women. We are listening and we are learning. Read Our Commitment Towards Anti-Racism & Decolonization.
Our Herstory
The original owner-members of Sophia Rising began gathering in 2018 for ritual, prayer, and mutual support on our paths of priestesshood. Over time, we began discerning what Goddess was calling us to do in the world together. We found inspiration in the work of Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, and we longed to see something similar in our own tradition. One of Kohenet’s founders, Taya Mâ, lovingly and fiercely challenged us to create what we were seeking.
Over the last several years, our individual and collective paths have felt like overlapping spirals. We journeyed together in prayer and fellowship, calling ourselves The Christian Priestess Collective. In this dance, we uncovered harmful patterns we had each internalized from trying to “go it alone” as women in ministry. We found support, healing, connection, and a clarified sense of call.
Over the summer of 2020, Erin Duffy-Burke spent two months in the mountains of Wyoming, in deep solitude and listening to the call of the Mother. She had been receiving messages for months from a presence identifying itself only as “Love.” At the end of August, right before she was to return to St. Louis, Love said, “ Stay close to Mother. Stay close to sisters. Trust path of beauty way. Quest into beautiful heart of Sophia Christ. She will bring you home. Queen of Heaven comes to earth through Beauty Way. Start Sophia Rising ministry now. Participate fully in great love.”
After that clarity, the women of Sophia Rising began to coalesce around this central mission– to remain in the heart of Sophia Christ and begin a ministry from that place, to be and share Sophia Rising. Through the weavings of Spirit in the summer of 2021 we connected with a sister priestess, Hannah, and her partner Adam, who generously offered us space in their building to house this emerging ministry at 3022 Cherokee St. Sophia Rising was launched December 17, 2021 with a liturgy around a fire under a winter sky, bringing together community to bear witness and midwife the life to come.
2022 was a year of stepping out, experimentation, and individual and communal discernment. We searched for a business model that would hold this community and dynamic vision. The co-operative model energized us. It empowers members to take ownership and provides ways to push against competition and capitalism by sharing energy and resources. As a co-op, we envision a growing community of priestess and collaborator members who share this heart for Sophia’s Rising. Learn more about our current members and membership here.
This living, breathing community has developed with the support of many ~ some for a moment, some for a season, some for much of the path. We give thanks to the various members, teachers, midwives, and companions of Sophia Rising and this priestess path. Each one of you has revealed a piece of the Mystery of Sophia, and each of you has helped to shape the co-operative community and ministry we now offer as Sophia Rising.
Sophia Rising 