That Anniversary Just Slipped By

That would be, the anniversary of my coming out to the congregation I serve as their minister.
May 13, 2009. Ten years and ten days ago.

For years I'd marked it.

It was the anniversary of the day I started breathing deeply again.

It was the day I stopped being afraid.

(Even though, my job was far from safe-- the denomination in which I serve had not yet repealed its anti-LGBTQ legalese, the infamous "Amendment B," put on the books, I think, the year I became a Presbyterian... back when I was married to my college sweetheart, a man). 

It was the day I started mentioning her name to people I'd come to love over the previous eighteen months.

("Her name is Sherry," I said, and they said things like, "We're so happy you have someone special in your life." And, "Now we feel even closer to you." And, "When can we meet her?")

I was one of the lucky ones. When I told my session (church board), they barely blinked. They looked at one another and said things like, "This doesn't change anything." And, "You're our pastor." There was no movement to toss me out, though one soul, when it came to a vote (the question of whether I should stay), indicated that I shouldn't receive a salary any longer.

I was incredibly lucky. Most of the people who had theological or scriptural questions about having a gay minister welcomed me into their homes, prayed with me, and told me they loved me.

I suffered more in the anticipation of the event, than I did in its aftermath.

I was, to put it succinctly, blessed. And protected. And cherished. And wanted.

That is not every lesbian minister's story. But it is my story.

And the years since, years of happily serving Jesus together here in our little corner of the church universal, have been remarkably peaceful.

So maybe it's not at all odd that, this year, I completely forgot about it.

Though, my daughter and I have been listening to the Indigo Girls all week, and fangirling over their wonderfulness by text and phone.

I suppose that's a pretty good way to celebrate.