Catholic Schools Week

The Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Executive Director, LOVEboldly

Quote

“Untilled ground, however rich, will bring forth thistles and thorns; so also, the mind of [humans].”

St. Teresa of Avila

Devotion

Catholic Schools Week begins today. This week, an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States and is often celebrated in Catholic elementary schools and high schools with “spirit” events—“Crazy Hat Day” was always my favorite.

Not only did I grow up Roman Catholic, I attended 13 years of Catholic education and also worked at Catholic colleges for seven years. I like to think that Catholicism is in my rearview mirror, but I remain deeply rooted in Catholic education and the Catholic intellectual tradition. Friends who grew up in other traditions are often shocked to learn that Catholicism has a rich academic tradition including the father of genetics, Gregor Mendal, who was a priest, and the formation of the scientific method in the work of Roger Bacon and William of Ockham, both of whom were Franciscan friars.

Yet, more than the traditions and the achievements of Catholic intellectuals, there’s something special about Catholic education that I continue to find compelling. No doubt Catholic education is far from perfect and often ascribes to a more conservative pedagogy than I’m comfortable with as an educator, but Catholic education gave me the space to develop as a person and to ask tough questions about the world and about faith. That education set me up for success in college and in my education to this day.

I never really lived as a Queer Catholic. I came out already mostly out the door and so I sometimes romanticize my experience in Catholic education. I recognize and lament the reality that many Queer couples find less-than positive situations, if not outright rejection, in Catholic school communities when they enroll their students. I also know that Catholic schools vary greatly in their politics, their theology, and their acceptance of students and families. That said, I choose to celebrate Catholic schools and pray they continue to live up to their missions and the best of their values.

Reflection

1. Did you attend Catholic schools? How was that experience for you? How do you still experience dynamics of your time attending Catholic schools?

2. What does religious education mean to you?

Action

Whatever kind of schools you attended, reach out to one of your teachers and thank them or let them know the impact they had on you.

When Liberation Begins in the Hard Places

Sunday, January 18, 2025

Lis K. Regula, PhD

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote

“So, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what God, God of the Hebrews, has said: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Send forth My people, so they may serve Me! For if you refuse to send forth My people, I will bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. They will cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the ground. They will consume the surviving remnant of vegetation that was left for you after the hail, and they will eat away all your trees that grow in the field. Your houses and all your courtiers’ houses and the houses of all the Egyptians will be filled with them—something that your fathers and your fathers’ fathers have never seen from the day they appeared on earth until this day.’” And with that they turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.”

~Shemot 10:3–6

Devotion

The sages teach that in every generation, we must see ourselves as if we personally came out of Egypt. But I find myself wondering: What does it mean to leave Egypt when Egypt refuses to let you go? What does it mean to insist on liberation in a world that keeps narrowing the terms of our freedom?

In Parshat Bo, God sends Moses back to Pharaoh with a command that has already been repeated many times: “Let My people go.” Yet God adds something else—this struggle itself will become a story for future generations. Liberation here is not instant; it is formed through repeated acts of courage in the face of repeated refusals.

Midrash invites us to linger in that space.

Pharaoh asks Moses a deceptively simple question: “Mi vami haholchim?”—“Who are the ones going?”

I imagine Moses looking around him:

the children who have only known labor,

the elders who remember the world before oppression,

the women whose quiet acts of resistance sustained life,

the shepherds, the dreamers, the weary, the hopeful.

And Moses answers with clarity and conviction:

“We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, with our flocks and our herds.”

In other words: All of us.

Not some. Not the strongest. Not just the men.

Not only the people Pharaoh finds convenient.

This is the Torah’s first great lesson in equity:

A liberation that leaves anyone behind is no liberation at all.

Pharaoh attempts to bargain, as systems of power always do.

“You can go,” he says,

“But leave the children.”

“Leave the women.”

“Leave your animals.”

“Leave something behind so I still control you.”

Oppression loves partial liberation.

It loves the illusion of freedom without the substance of it.

It loves to decide who counts.

But Moses refuses each bargain.

Midrash imagines him saying:

“If one child remains in bondage, none of us are free.

If one elder is left behind, our celebration cannot begin.

If anything, that sustains us is held hostage, then we have simply traded one Egypt for another.”

Many readers struggle with the idea that God “hardens Pharaoh’s heart.”

But midrash gives us another possibility:

Perhaps God is not hardening Pharaoh so much as strengthening the people.

Perhaps the repeated refusals teach them persistence.

Perhaps liberation needs rehearsal—

the building of spiritual muscle memory in the face of stubborn power.

Equity is learned not in ease, but in the places where resistance seems futile, yet we speak anyway.

And Moses becomes a model for every movement since:

Keep showing up. Keep speaking. Keep insisting on the wholeness of your community, even when the world says you’re asking too much.

Every generation has its Pharaohs: systems that narrow dignity, policies that decide who is worthy, leaders who ration freedom.

Today’s Egypts include attacks on LGBTQIA+ youth, restrictions on reproductive freedom, disparities in safety and healthcare, and ideologies that insist some lives matter less.

And every generation has its Moseses: the advocates, teachers, parents, and communities who say, “We will all go.”

When the rights of Queer youth are threatened, Moses says, “All of us will go.”

When reproductive freedom is restricted, Moses says, “All of us will go.”

When the vulnerable are asked to wait their turn, Moses says, “All of us will go.”

The midrash for our time is clear: Half-freedom is another kind of bondage. Our liberation must be collective.

Reflection

1. Where am I accepting partial liberation? Where am I tempted to leave someone behind?

2. Who is my Pharaoh—and who is my Moses?

3. Whose freedom must I tie my own to, so none of us are left in Egypt?

Action

I would be remiss in my duties as co-chair of Ohio Equal Rights if I did not highlight the importance of building a tent in Ohio by protecting our rights at the state level. Ohio Equal Rights is working alongside the Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity to pass a total of three citizen-led ballot initiatives- 1) the Ohio Equal Rights Amendment incorporating broad ERA language into Ohio’s Constitution and providing a path to recourse regardless of the status of federal protections; 2) the Right to Marry Amendment overturning the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage equality to align with current federal protections; and 3) the Protecting Ohioans Constitutional Protections Amendment restricting the ability of governmental employees’ ability to avoid consequences when they cause harm while on the job. If you haven’t yet, sign those petitions and reach out if you’d like to learn more.

Action Alert - City Club Actions in Cleveland - January 16, 2026

A big “Thank You!” to LOVEboldly’s friend and supporter, Lisa Vahey, for curating this list of actions.

Context: The City Club of Cleveland is hosting Aaron Baer, the president of the Columbus-based Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) on January 16, 2026. CCV has been previously designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. For more information checkout out a timeline of events from The Buckeye Flame.

Lavender in Solidarity: LGBT Center Cleveland is inviting staff and the community to participate in a visible, non-disruptive show of support. Lavender has long symbolized queer resistance and survival, so by wearing, we hope to affirm LGBTQ+ dignity and safety against harmful rhetoric. Wear lavender in person or post online. Tag the LGBT Center and use #LavenderInSolidarity

ACT UP Cleveland: The local chapter is organizing an action outside the City Club entrance. They will be holding a planning meeting at the Center on the evening of Thursday, January 15.

Learn more from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Act-Up-Cleveland-61575661469126/

From Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actupcle/

The Rainbow Brigade: Organized by Paula Kampf and others, this group will arrive at 10:30 AM to create a “flood of solidarity” along the sidewalk using 50+ rainbow umbrellas to greet participants and passersby.

More details + sign-up: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRIMItNIhS6WtBmNKgV4NXXubmgFr34_VZ8mgXSY5kfJt7sQ/viewform

Love at the Plaza: Fairmount Presbyterian and the Ecumenical Queer Union for Action and Love (EQUAL) are hosting a joyful counter-event across the street (1340 Euclid Ave). This “Public Celebration of Queer Faith” will feature music, affirming theology, and personal testimonies to offer a different perspective on faith and inclusion.

More details here: https://www.fpccle.org/event/love-at-the-plaza-a-public-celebration-of-queer-faith