No organization captures the spirit of the Julia Greeley Home as completely as Endow, which stands for “Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women.”
We are grateful to the Endow instructors who have made presentations to our residents over the years, because their message speaks to the heart of every woman: Your dignity comes from God. It cannot be taken away from you, and that truth should give you the confidence to find purpose and meaning in your life.
Endow began in 2003 when three Denver women – Marilyn Coors, Betsy Considine and Terry Polakovic — sat down over lunch to talk about the writings of Pope John Paul II. He was addressing, what for a pope, was a radical subject — women! No pope had ever addressed the topic of women in the modern world before, or examined what their calling was from God, or dived into the challenges they faced in the modern world.
John Paul was an out–of-the-box thinker whose seminal work, “The Theology of the Body,” was a countercultural challenge to women — and to men — to go beyond the world’s shallow interpretations of women, of male-female relationships and of sexuality, and discover the true and awesome meaning behind “male and female He created them.” John Paul’s work is recognized today as historic, and Endow teachers are trained to communicate his ideas to audiences in a meaningful and accessible way.
John Paul’s foundational theme, to promote the God-given dignity of women, is also central to the founding of the Julia Greeley Home. In his work as a counselor to poor and homeless women, our founder and president, Fr Regis Scanlon, OFM Cap., was outraged that women are forced into homelessness, poverty and the risk of sexual violence and exploitation. “This is not what God intends for women!” Fr Regis is often known to say.
By inviting Endow into the Julia Greeley Home, we hope to inspire our residents to see they can break out of the bleakness of chronic homelessness and personal defeat, and with God’s help, find deeper meaning and fulfillment in their lives.
Today, Endow chapters can be found across the country. What began as a lunch-time conversation in Denver has grown to an international apostolate in over 130 dioceses that has reached over 25,000 women, including residents of the Julia Greeley Home.
