A little more about my story...

So to pick up where I left off a few posts ago...In my journey to self-acceptance and reaffirmation of my faith, once I knew that neither the Bible nor church tradition had anything authentic to say against loving same-sex partnerships, I also knew that I needed to go back and rethink some decisions that I'd made. Although I had sincerely committed to serving God in ordained ministry, one part of that commitment--the vow of celibacy--was not something that I had entered into freely. Rather, because I thought the kind of relationship I'd always longed for was somehow wrong, I never allowed myself even to 'go there.'

So because I had never given myself the chance to consider these questions, I knew that I needed to pray through them again, this time knowing that it was okay to choose either way. After a period of prayer and discernment, I knew that I was called to continue to serve and minister and to live out the commitment to God that I'd made but also to do so in the context of a loving relationship with another person. For that reason, although I can no longer officially serve in the Roman Catholic Church, I know that I can do so in the way that matters most--through ministry in whichever communities of faith affirm my call to serve.

Many thanks for allowing me to share more of my story here and I hope that my experience might help others--perhaps you or someone you know--to come to full personal self-acceptance and to affirm the call to serve that each of us has received from God.

Peace and blessings,
P. Chuck