excommunication

earlier this year, after the washington state legislature passed, and our brave governor gregoire signed the marriage equality act into law, a movement to gather signatures for a referendum in order to overturn this law quickly.  among the ardent supporters of repealing civil marriage equality was our very own catholic archbishop sartain (recently appointed by the vatican to get those heathen feminist nuns in line).  the archbishop drew up a missive to the parishioners of the seattle diocese asking that all parishes join in the effort to collect signatures for this anti-civil same-sex marriage referendum. i was raised in the church. i served as an alter boy for many years.  i have incredibly comforting moments of traditions and ritual, some i continue to this day.  and while, long ago i began questioning the dogma, i held onto the social justice ideals of those who truly exemplified the idea and modeled the purported teachings of the man known as jesus.

but i lost faith.

i lost faith in a faith that supported the status quo.

i lost faith in a faith that claim righteousness while basking in riches while many died of starvation.

i lost faith in a faith that denied my mother a place at the communion table because of my parents divorce, only to find that the priest who so denied my mother left the priesthood and married a divorced woman.

i lost faith in a faith that called (and continues to call) me and every other gay person "intrinsically disordered."

i got pissed off.  so much so, that i decided to write his excellency a letter.  and over the course of two weeks i drafted mr. archbishop a letter detailing my disillusionment with the church. 

it was cathartic.  

and much to my surprise, he actually wrote back.  i have no faith that my letter will affect the institution of the church. but, after all these years, and all the emotional pain suffered because the church taught me to despise myself - it certainly felt great to get a lot of this shit off of my chest.