Thanks, Thanks, and Ever Thanks!

We have soooo much to be thankful for! Every year on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., Bondings 2.0 presents a bundle of gratitudes from the volunteers, board, and staff of New Ways Ministry. Below are this year’s selections, reminding us that God is always bountiful in blessing us!

Phoebe Carstens, Blog Contributor: I am grateful for all parents who model God’s abundant love by embracing their queer children wholeheartedly, who model and bring that spirit of love into their parishes and wider communities, and who fight to bring hope for their children’s futures.

Sarah Cassidy, Blog Contributor: I am grateful for those who minister to the LGBTQ+ community and those who provide resources and comfort to the poor. These are the folks that continue to make the world a more inclusive place for all.

Leslye Colvin, Advisory Board Member: I can only be in awe of the Great Mystery as my brain can never fully grasp It. Therefore, I am grateful for those who recognize and accept that the Divine One whom I refer to as the Triune God has always been, is now, and will always be too expansive for a binary box

Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director: If not for the untold number of supporters we have, you would be reaching a blank page right now. The simple fact of the matter is that New Ways Ministry would never have been able to do anything without the prayerful, financial, and moral support of the thousands upon thousands of benefactors we have had over the years. It’s humbling to think of so much goodness!

Deacon Ray Dever, Blog Contributor: I am deeply grateful to my wife and to my adult children for helping open my eyes to the realities and the God-given dignity of LGBTQ individuals. I am a better person and a better Christian because of them.

Jeannine Gramick, SL, Co-Founder: I am grateful for Pope Francis who listened to the stories of an intersex woman, a transgender man, parents of a transgender woman, and a medical doctor who provides gender affirming care. The meeting at Casa Santa Marta on October 12th is a sign of hope and an example to bishops to listen before making public statements about transgender people.

Maureen King, RSM, Advisory Board Member: I am grateful for my new involvement on the New Ways Ministry Advisory Board. The dedication of the Board and staff in moving LGBTQ+ issues forward is heartening to say the least. I am also grateful for the openness Pope Francis has shown to LGBTQ+ people and for his compassion and empathy. I pray that his pastoral leadership is felt far and wide by LGBTQ+ people as a positive sign.

Elizabeth Linehan, RSM, Advisory Board Member: I write first of all in thanksgiving for the gift of hope in dark times. What is “dark” right now does not need explanation. But I am also grateful for one gift that supports my — and, I think, our — hope: that we have a Church leader who is pastoral above all else. To Francis, all are truly welcome. Nothing matters in our ministry as much as this.

Donna McGartland, OSF, Blog Contributor: I am profoundly grateful for all those who embrace those on the margins of our society and church: LGBTQIA+ persons, persons of color, women and many others. All are welcome; all belong! My prayer is that our church and society will celebrate and value our diversity.

Robert Shine, Associate Director: My gratitude this year is for every person who seeks a better world with courage and persistence. I thank God for queer Catholics and our allies who pursue an inclusive church and for so many others: medical providers of gender-affirming and reproductive care, union organizers, climate activists, the Palestinian people, women’s ordination advocates, and more. This gratitude is a prayer, too, for the coming year—may our work courageously persist in a new moment of trial.

Ariell Watson Simon, Blog Contributor: This year, I am thankful for the Catholic media and news outlets that published nuanced and thoughtful responses to Dignitas Infinita and Fiducia Supplicans. They showed their allyship by amplifying the voices and the concerns of LGBTQ+ Catholics directly impacted by these documents.