I am a cradle Catholic. I attended Catholic schools from first grade through high school. I was involved in my church in college and graduate school. At various times I served in the following capacities: lector, Eucharistic minister, sponsor for persons (5) joining the RCC, sacristan, retreat team member, RCIA team member, music ministry, stewardship committee member, social concerns discussion group member, and liturgy committee member.

What I love most about the Roman Catholic Church is its rich tradition of social justice and the Eucharist.

I became a feminist at the age of ten when I was forbidden to be an altar server; at that time only boys were allowed. My parents, encouraged by our faith tradition, taught me to question.

In 1996 I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to take a job just a few months after Lincoln bishop, Fabian Bruskewitz excommunicated members of several different organizations including Call To Action and Call To Action Nebraska. Call To Action seeks to promote social justice in and outside the Church. I met members of CTA Nebraska almost immediately after my arrival. They were kindred souls. They did not pressure me to join but after a few years of involvement, study, prayer and discussion, I joined the organization. I choose not to acknowledge the excommunication as valid.

While I have grown used to my situation in Lincoln, it is still painful to me to have been turned out by the Church that means so much to me. Especially painful is the fact that almost no one in positions of authority have spoken up for us.

The picture I attached was taken on June 1, 2007 outside the Cathedral of the Risen Christ. That day members of Call To Action Nebraska were threatened with arrest if we stepped foot on church property. We planned to deliver petitions to the chancery and then conduct a prayer service that day. From left to right the people in the picture are Patty Hawk, Rachel Pokora, Rod Diercks, and Dan Daley.