No Barriers to Christ | LGBTQ+ Outreach Ministry
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Gathered with Mary as one family in the Eucharist, we are called to live the love of Jesus by…
Acknowledging that God created us all in His image, each one of us rare and special and wonderfully unique. Then He sent His son to teach us to care for and love one another as we love ourselves.
Celebrating that Christ places no conditions on His love for us, and as such, we should place no artificial barriers between Christ and those who seek to know Him, love Him and serve Him through his Church.
Affirming that, in keeping with Christ’s teachings, and as Catholics and faithful followers of Christ in this our Holy Name of Mary parish congregation, we will joyfully do the following:- We publicly invite all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, their children and families looking for a home church to make Holy Name of Mary their spiritual home.
- We promise to create a loving and welcoming environment for all where Christ’s love is a living and breathing force.
- We will work diligently to provide on-going education for our congregation and our community on LGBT issues.
- We will seek to assist parents and families of LGBT children struggling to reconcile their faith and their love for their children.
Please know that you don’t have to choose.
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Prayer to Remove Barriers to Christ
Divine Creator and all all-encompassing and loving Christ who created us all with equal and sacred worth, we give You thanks and celebrate our wonderful diversity. Give us the confidence to accept ourselves as You created us, in Your image, special, unique and perfect in every way. Grant us the grace of healthy pride to follow our own inner light. Be with us in all our struggles against those who would harm or denigrate us for our differences. Give us the strength to stand against the ignorance that promotes condemnation and grant us the patience to return hatred with love.
We believe that no one exists outside of the heart of God, and we believe in Your heart’s transforming power. We pray that You touch, bless, and change the hearts of our families and our clergy who still struggle with the acceptance of our differences. We ask that you bless our Holy name of Mary Parish and this ministry, and make it an instrument to lead You people who have left back to you. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of our holy mother, Mary. Amen.
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Meeting Dates
Currently we are meeting the 3rd Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm.
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Click the Outreach logo to direct you to the new LGBTQ Catholic resource filled with an abundance of wonderful & helpful information. Learn what Outrech is all about & explore the site by reading articles, viewing videos, and so much more! We invite any LGBTQ Catholic, family, friend, ally to frequent this page because there's always current news being shared around the world for the universal church!
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Remember, God loves us all, just the way He made us, just the way we are.
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Contact Us
If you'd like to receive emails sharing any important news or upcoming events, please reach out!
Email: [email protected]
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My name is Jenny Naughton. My husband, John and I have been parishioners at Holy Name of Mary since the summer of 2015. I facilitate No Barriers to Christ, the LGBTQ Outreach Ministry at the parish. I am a member of the Parish Council at Holy Name. I am on the Evangelization Committee with Fortunate Families and the Leadership Committee with the Los Angeles Archdiocesan Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons.
Johnny, our only child, came out to his father and me at 2:30 in the morning on his 19th birthday. While my response was “Honey, I know!” His dad’s response was quite different. John needed some time to adjust to this new knowledge of who our son is. This is what planted the seed for me to get involved in this ministry. If I could help one person to accept who they are or one parent go through this process of acceptance of their LGBTQ child, I would be pleasing God, who created all children in God’s image, Imago Dei.
What we hope to give to others is a place to share our stories, pray together and share our love and concern for all God’s children and open the eyes of those who need to see that God created all of us to love him and serve him, not to judge, fear and hate what we do not understand. I believe that sharing our stories is the first step in healing and acceptance. Our group meets monthly, and is attended by LGBTQ persons, parents, and allies. We are active in several parish events and host special outreach events throughout the year. The group is open to everyone.
The group has attended the Long Beach Pride parade. As people see us coming down the parade route, we can see the expression on their faces change as they read the banner and start to realize it is a Catholic Church group. They direct their friends to look our way, they cheer us on and want to take photos with us. Photos they will be sending to parents who have rejected them because of their faith.
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Jamie Alarconjamiehnmparish.orgYouth & Young Adult Coordinator
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Hello and Welcome!
My name is Jamie Alarcon and I am part of the staff here at Holy Name of Mary. I have been a part of the No Barriers to Christ LGBT Outreach Ministry for several years now and I can honestly say this ministry saved my faith and my life. From a teenager to now as a young adult, I struggled with my identity and my relationship with God and others. It’s been quite a journey and I am beyond blessed to have such a loving and supportive parish community. If you identify with the LGBTQ+ community in any way, I want you to know that you are not alone and that you are so loved. Wherever you’re at in life, please know that you are safe with me and HNM. I hope and pray you’ll join us at any of our future events and meetings. Until then, may the peace of Christ be with you!
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No Barriers to Christ for me is not only a place to go and feel comfortable being who I am but also a place to help those struggling with emotions of their own or seeking support for loved ones.
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When our 15 year old son told us he was gay.. we went through a lot, we were lost, scared & very confused as Catholics.
Finding Jenny, Father Rich & No barriers to Christ ministry was life changing.. truly a blessing.
Our eyes & hearts were opened & we felt our son was accepted & loved by God no matter what..
We Thank you No barriers to Christ ministry ❤ ️for the unconditional love, acceptance & support!!!!
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Our story begins with the coming out of our son eleven years ago, at first we felt out of control, because we did not know what we had to do with this, but providentially, We found this group at Religious Education Congress. Back then We thought our son was condemned by God and consequentially from the Catholic Church too. But since We started attending this group, We understood that not just God accepts our Son, but he loves him as every one of His Sons and Daughters as all are part of His creation. We learned that if we love and support our Son as he is, he will succeed in life, and he is now doing his Doctorate at UCI. I want to thank all the love and support to our family and many other families, boys and girls who we met in your group. Thanks God for this Ministry, and thanks to Jenny for leading it.
Patricia and Miguel Quirarte
Proud parents of Miguel Angel Quirarte MA
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When I first heard of the LGBTQ+ Ministry at Holy Name, I thought it would be a social Ministry for the LGBTQ community in our church. It turned out to be so much more. While it gave me a chance to meet other like-minded parishioners, it also gave me a chance to hear and feel of the challenges and triumphs of both gay Catholics and their family and friends.
I grew up in this area. I attended and graduated from Damien High School and then attended the Catholic University of San Diego. I was lucky that my family never received the memo that gay men were destined for hell. I also was thankfully never bullied nor did I face discrimination and I am able to lead a happy, productive, spiritual, and gay life.
Everyone is not so lucky; many are confused, disparaged, and disliked. I discovered that our parish is blessed with an accepting, welcoming, and Christian spirit and I am so honored and proud to be part of this ministry. I am also thankful God put me in a place where I can be both helpful and helped, and be myself with my partner of 27 years, and my best friend of 33 years. Thank you Holy Name of Mary!
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