Creating queer-affirming campus ministries
When I first arrived at my Jesuit university as a freshman, I had little idea of what “Catholic” meant, or what it meant to attend a Catholic institution. With competing internal narratives as both a budding queer/trans person and as a newly-minted Christian, I wanted to find a way to not only honor and grow both these identities, but to integrate them into a more whole sense-of-self. Through time and stumbling along, I came to not only integrate these parts of my identity, but to understand them and fundamentally inseparable from one another in how they influenced my life and made up my very being; I cannot have my queerness without my understanding of God and Creation, just as I cannot fully encounter the Divine without seeking to embrace who They formed me to be.
Throughout this journey, though, I continued to find myself hesitant of my university’s campus ministry office — I attended the large freshman retreat, and even led a small group for it the next year, but largely held the office at arm’s length. What little I did know of Catholicism at this time was steeped in homophobia and transphobia, amongst much other hefty baggage, and seeking community there seemed to be begging to get my heart wounded. Without any outward-facing indications that I would be embraced, I opted to stay at a distance for some time…
That is, until something switched — looking back, I can’t really speak to the exact moment, but it began blossoming with a staff member (who I hadn’t even realized knew who I was) not only accepting my trans identity, but celebrating it as a gift and as a valued perspective others could learn from. Suddenly, with almost no warning, this community became a central space in my life, to the extent that I would be hired as a student employee in retreat ministry before my senior year. My faith bloomed, and with it my understanding of my queer self and how God was moving in my life. In all honesty, I felt safer and more cared for as a trans person in that office than I did in our university’s LGBTQ+ union meetings. And it all started with someone taking a step to make sure I was welcomed, personally and fully.
This of course isn’t to say that everything was perfect and without concern or oversight; however, the key was that both the staff and many of the students were not only open to consider how to make our ministry more open and affirming, but excited and hungry to — they either didn’t know what step to take next, or sometimes hadn’t realized how the existing ministry structures could be challenging for queer students to navigate. Before I had even left my interview to be a student employee, the professional staff were already eager to discuss how we might reimagine student small groups — which were, at the time, gender-segregated small groups led by volunteers and formed without consideration of whether LGBTQ+ members were matched with leaders who would be affirming — into spaces that could be open to the needs of our queer students of faith. As part of our retreat coordination, I was able to sit in discernment with our team as we evaluated the benefits and concerns regarding gendered retreat experiences, and how we might open the experiences to be both safe and fulfilling for those who, like me, fell outside typical assumptions of gender experience, expression, and/or identity. Because this team was ready to imagine new ways of doing ministry, we were able to engage in these challenging but ultimately fulfilling forms of discernment together to envision how to move forward.
From this has stemmed my Re/Generation project: a collection of resources for ministry spaces ready and wanting to begin on the path to actively embracing the gifts and experiences of God’s queer folks, but perhaps aren’t sure where to begin. While it began with university ministry spaces in mind, it has grown to be informed by the needs and nuances of Catholic high school ministries, youth and young adult parish ministries, and even non-Catholic Christian ministries. These resources are intended to stretch from outward-facing resources that can be provided to students and those seeking ministry, like prayer resources and literature rooted in queer experiences, all the way to internal resources for professional staff and ministers to reflect on the experience and ministries they offer, including tools for discernment, FAQs, best practices for inclusivity (both interpersonally and in procedural necessities like paperwork), or understanding the unique challenges faced by queer Catholics.
My hope is for these resources to exist as a living collection that can grow and learn, just as the folks it seeks to support and serve. They will be hosted in such a way that not only can they be frequently updated and added to, but easily shared between the people who will find them useful. I pray that, more than simply support ministries, this collection can connect ministries and communities across distance to create stronger bonds of solidarity, understanding, and care, to further open the celebration and recognition of the gifts queer people bring to our Catholic spaces through the gift of their radical embrace of who they are called to be.
