Precious Blood Spirituality Institute: The Table Is Wide

In our post-COVID world, I think it is safe to say that many people have a love-hate relationship with video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. While it can be impersonal, difficult to manage, and simply a pain, at times, remarkable things can happen. Imagine creating a Zoom environment where people feel comfortable sharing their stories, speaking their truths honestly, and naming the challenges of our world. This is what happened on Jan. 28, when people gathered to discuss what it means to reimagine ministry with our LGBTQ siblings.  

Thanks to the facilitation of Fr. Dave Matz, C.PP.S., Sr. Diana Rawlings, ASC, and Justin Telthorst from Empty-Chairs.org, we gathered and celebrated a challenging truth: that God’s table is not narrow, conditional, or guarded by gatekeepers. It is wide enough to welcome every person in their full dignity, complexity, and belovedness. Ministering to the LGBTQ+ community begins not with answers or policies, but with listening — listening to stories of faith, pain, resilience, exclusion, and hope. Our facilitators all emphasized the importance of accompaniment, recognizing it as a sacred practice. To accompany means to walk with, not ahead of or behind. It calls ministers and communities to be present in moments of joy and suffering alike, resisting the urge to fix, explain away, or judge. Accompaniment requires humility, patience, and the courage to let relationships shape us as much as we hope to offer support to others. 

Participants were also invited to reflect on the ways church spaces can unintentionally communicate exclusion. Language, silence, assumptions, and fear can wound just as deeply as overt rejection. Creating a culture of welcome means attending to how we preach, teach, pray, and organize parish life, ensuring that LGBTQ+ persons know they are seen, valued, and needed in the community.  

While all embraced in an honest way the reality that many of our LGBTQ+ siblings do not feel that there is a space at the table for them, there was still hope. Our evening concluded with an invitation to continue reaching out in the spirit of radical hospitality, entering into conversations and relationships with vulnerability and courage. We all recognized that work doesn’t end with one conversation but unfolds over time as we try to create a space where there is a place at the table and no one is asked to shrink themselves to belong.  

Vicky Otto, executive director, Precious Blood Spirituality Institute

Image: The Best Supper © Jan Richardson.janrichardson.com