Celebrating 31 Years of Ministry in the LGBT  Catholic Community!

Womenjourney Weavings

A project in support of lesbian women religious and their communities

Excerpts from "Out of Silence God Has Called Me"

©2008 New Ways Ministry
4012 29th Street - Mount Rainier, MD 20712
Tel. 301-277-5674
info(at)newwaysministry(dot)org

     ..."Early in my sexual journey, perhaps because this was an area where I found myself quite alone, I realized that there was no “crowd” to fall back on. Rather, I had to go alone to activities and events; I had to make decisions on my own and be willing to live with the consequences of those decisions. This led to a second learning. I had to find a balance between my often naïve and unrealistic desires to end centuries of tyranny and make the world a better place for people like me, and my need to be true to who I am, with my abilities and my limitations. I could not do everything and I had to act prudently even as I took some risks. I could not go it alone like some sort of Superwoman or Lone Ranger. It was foolhardy to come out, let alone to try to take on the hostility and ignorance of others, without a solid and loving base of support. Thus the need for ongoing discernment in prayer and in dialogue with others took on new importance for me. While I felt free to do some things without consultation with my community, there were other moments when it seemed important to make known what I was thinking of doing and ask for advice and response from friends and those in leadership."

     ..."I think the sharing we do around sexual issues also needs to be informed by the words and spirit of Jesus in the Gospels. I am convinced that our lesbian sisters’ stories (indeed all of our stories) are an untapped source of spiritual richness, and that we would be enlightened and empowered by hearing them. We might benefit, for example, from hearing how lesbian members have coped and often blossomed in such an unfriendly environment. One aspect of their strength is a rich spirituality acquainted with suffering and steeped in the interplay of body and spirit. Many lesbian sisters I know are deeply prayerful women. Their prayer, relationship with God, and understanding of Scripture have often been shaped by their struggle to understand and accept their sexuality as a blessing rather than as a handicap."

     ..."Let me begin with a brief retelling of my own journey out of silence.  It is indeed a challenge to compress twenty years into a few paragraphs and to say something that will give a helpful picture to you. I first came to know and accept my lesbian identity when I was in my 40s and a member of my community’s regional leadership team. The event that precipitated this turning point in my life was having another member of our community come to speak to our team about her lesbian identity and her desire to participate in a retreat for gay and lesbian religious. There followed for me an intense and frightening several months when I suddenly knew that I too was lesbian. For years I had tiptoed around this reality, too afraid to name or explore it. I’d commented on it in my journal but never dreamed of mentioning it to another person."

     ..."I would venture to say that lesbian sisters are perhaps the most silent and hidden subgroup in the gay and lesbian Catholic community. For many women religious this creates the illusion that there really aren’t any, or only a very few, lesbian sisters and that this is not an important issue among us. Not only are the lesbian sisters among us hidden, so also are resources that might help them and other members of our communities. Many leaders, in spite of their desire to assist and support lesbian members, have no idea of available resources geared to the needs of religious women. It is often only by accident or by anguished and isolated searching that lesbian sisters themselves find out about people, groups, or written materials that can answer their questions and help them integrate their sexual orientation."