You’re invited to New Ways Ministry’s upcoming webinar about LGBTQ+ church workers, “Cornerstones: A Conversation with Editors and Contributors,” which will be held on Zoom on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 7:30 – 8:45 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time.
The webinar features editors and contributors from Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions, an anthology published by New Ways Ministry earlier this summer. The book features twelve stories of faith, sacrifice, joy, and pain by LGBTQ+ people who have been employed by Catholic parishes and schools, including those who have been fired by and those who have remained at such institutions.
The upcoming webinar will include Ish Ruiz and Mark Guevarra, who are the editors of Cornerstones, , alongside three of the book’s contributors: Kristen Ostendorf, Margie Winters, and Miguel Ochoa. Each panelist will offer their experiences of faith and employment, and the webinar includes a time for questions and answers.
To register for the webinar and learn more, click here
Editor Ish Ruiz explained the timeliness and importance of these testimonies in the book’s Introduction: “Over 100 employees in the U.S. alone have been fired or were forced to resign from Catholic institutions since 2007 for reasons pertaining to their LGBTQ+ identity or for supporting someone who identifies as LGBTQ+. . . . We know, anecdotally, that many more have been fired but, for a variety of reasons—including fear of harm—they have kept their stories private.”
Bishop John Stowe, OFM, Conv., of Lexington, Kentucky, endorsed the book, saying it contained “powerful stories of those who have experienced rejection and trials for their LGBTQ identity while working for the Church that has handed on the faith they are rooted in and profess.”
Click here to register now for “Cornerstones: A Conversation with Editors and Contributors”
“Cornerstones: A Conversation with Editors and Contributors” is also timely as the Synod on Synodality’s conclusion nears this October. In the book’s concluding chapter, Editor Mark Guevarra highlighteded the connection between the Cornerstones anthology and synodality: “As we strive to become a synodal church, that is, a church that listens to the Holy Spirit speaking among all people and allows itself to be guided by her, we hope this collection of sacred stories informs communal discernment in dioceses, parishes, and school communities, and leads to pastoral conversion.”
For information on all of New Ways Ministry’s publications, click here.
—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, August 31, 2024
