[Magdalen] Ginny Wilder called to St. Anne's, Winston Salem

[Marion Thompson]

Ginny has seen a bright light and that light shines in her.  May she and 
St. Anne's be a blessing to their community.

Marion, a pilgrim


On 8/7/2017 8:42 AM, Ginga Wilder wrote:
> Forgive me for a bit of psychological waxing.
> I am, of course, 'proud' of each of my children and grandchildren.  Pride
> in a person is a dangerous thing, if that pride reflects a need to 'take
> parental (relational) credit' for the life the object of one's pride.  That
> sort of pride says, "you do what you do well and that reflects well on me
> as parent, partner, friend, etc."  I work somewhat successfully at trying
> to keep that kind of pride in check.
>
> Rather than that sort of selfish pride, I want you to know that I feel joy
> and gratitude for the life Ginny (and my other children) are living.  I
> rejoice that she was ordained a priest after years of struggle with
> God/Church after being rejected by a part of the Church when she understood
> herself as a gay person with a call to the priesthood.
>
> This story may seem incredible, but save possible lost details from my
> fading memory, the story is accurate and true.
> One afternoon in 1976, as I prepared supper, Ginny, who was 4 at the time,
> came bounding down the stairs, into to kitchen.  Her eyes were opened wide,
> she looked at me and proclaimed, "God wants me to be his priest!"  She had
> been playing in her room when she heard God's voice call her and set her on
> this course.  We did not pay much attention to a preschooler's
> proclamation.  We did not make much ado over it and yet, I never forgot
> it.  I did speak with our priest, almost in jest, and his response was that
> we needed to take her to the pediatrician to determine what might be going
> on in her brain.
>
> Ginny struggled in high school with her need to come out.  She asked to go
> to a boarding school for her senior year of high school...in order to sort
> herself out.  At Easter break of that year - 1991, she confided in us that
> she was a lesbian.
>
> In the next few years, Ginny experienced great rejection from the parish
> and diocese in which she hds been a respected youth of leader.  She was
> told not to apply for her job as a staff member at Camp St. Christopher;
> she chose to study youth ministry at a VERY conservative college in
> Swananoa, NC - when they learned she was gay, they did a witch hunt, trying
> to find her in compromised situations.  The laid hands on Ginny whenever
> some of the authorized students saw her, asking her to tell them she was
> not gay.  For the second semester at that school, they told her she could
> not live on campus, although she could continue to attend classes.  Rather
> than telling John and me about these things, Ginny investigated another
> college just down the mountain from the conservative college.  She applied,
> was accepted and told us she would be attending Warren Wilson College now.
> She shared a tidbit of her experience at the other school but not much.  It
> was enough for John and me to support her choice to change schools.  Warren
> Wilson is a work, study, service school...Ginny's service was serving as a
> youth minister at an Episcopal church in Asheville, NC.  She did maintain
> this connection to God, but she ran like hell for 10 or so years from
> God/Church.  She reports that one day when she was driving through the
> mountains, she heard from God again...this time, "Go to Church."  And, the
> rest of the story is her recommitment to God and her journey to ordination.
>
> So I rejoice in Ginny's journey and also that she will be rector of St.
> Anne's, Winston Salem, NC. As stated in my original post, St. Anne’s
> Episcopal Church was established during the Civil Rights era in response to
> the congregation’s robust call to support social justice ministry as a
> faith community.  Their website says, “…St. Anne’s continues to be an
> energetic and welcoming faith community seeking to live into the Gospel by
> loving one another and accepting people where they are regardless of
> identity, labels, and backgrounds.”  Let us rejoice and pray for St. Anne’s
> and for Ginny Wilder as they join together to hear and follow Christ.
>
> I am also very proud of my daughter for stepping along her journey where
> the light of Christ is shone.
>
> Blessings,
> Ginga Wilder
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 6:09 AM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Good Catholics pray for vocations every day,
>> and nothing gives such a sense of relief and pride
>> as raising a son or daughter who is a priest or religious.
>>
>> A strong part of my childhood, full of power and mystery.
>> -M
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 6, 2017 at 10:08 PM, Mahoney, W. Michael <wmmah at stoneledge.net
>> wrote:
>>
>>> It's odd, you know.  I am not sure why one should be any more proud of a
>>> family member of friend becoming a priest than one becoming something
>> else,