Advent 2021: Regenerating and Renewing
When I was asked to join Re/Gen and Call To Action, I was both excited and nervous. I’ve long been an advocate for LGBTQI+ inclusion in the Church despite my own identity as an ally, and my experience with my local college parish instilled a strong belief that social justice has an important role in Catholic and Catholic-aligned spaces. As a person with a disability and an adopted Asian-American, I bring a unique perspective to lived experience and liturgy, inclusion and barriers, and our past and future.
Yet I was also worried I’d be too White, too traditional, too centrist, too straight. I was worried that my own privileges as a straight male from a European-American family would make it difficult to connect with both the Local and POC cohorts. I was right to be excited. I was right to be nervous. For I am all of these things: a passionate writer and orator who sings and works for justice and equity, I am also a straight male from a White background. No amount of cerebral palsy or Asian-ness can conceal that. I have not experienced so much of what our Cohorts struggle with both spiritually and institutionally each day. And for those reasons, I felt shame. Shame for being part of the problem, for not being progressive enough, or maybe just enough.
I want to thank my colleagues and now friends Callie, Jordan, and NJ for helping me walk through this shame and insecurity, and for allowing me to be broken and raw and unsure of myself. The Detroit Local Cohort and POC family lift me up, and through both word and deed, I hope to support them as well. In learning about our differences and disagreements, I believe we have come to embrace our diversity and each others’ strengths. I am not the strongest planner on the team, nor the most fiery, but I have found my own voice in CTA with the support of my friends. I love, deeply and without reservation, and it is from this well of love that my own commitment to justice surges forth. Like a river, I find passion for change pour out of me, and that tide rolls stronger each time we meet.
In a sense, this is Advent. This season of expectation brings hope, but also anxiety and uncertainty. My own CTA journey has continually assessed my readiness for change, renewal, and hope. Spurred on by the example of my Cohorts, I am more prepared to become “the voice crying out in the wilderness.” I am more ready to light the candles of expectation and joy, and these light a path for justice and hope for all who have been hurt or marginalized. To use a song, my soul in stillness waits, and I am much more excited than nervous to embark on the next part of our journey together.
