Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Conference of Catholic Lesbians. and Lesbian Catholics Together
- Abstract:
- The group Lesbian Catholics Together was concerned with carving out space for discussion and community specifically geared towards Lesbian Catholics. This collection contains liturgical materials, bulletins, brochures, and retreat information, all which reflect their mission.
- Extent:
- 0.4 linear feet (1 document box)
- Language:
- and Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Lesbian Catholics Together Records (Collection 1951). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection contains promotional and outreach materials for Lesbian Catholics Together (LCT) as well as liturgical and service documentation. Also included are newsletters from the Catholic Conference for Lesbians as well as some materials from Dignity, the organization from which LCT formed.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Lesbian Catholics Together is a group that was formed out of Dignity USA. Dignity USA began in 1969 as an extension of Father Patrick Nidorf's work. It began as a word of mouth, in-house, membership-based ministry organization that has grown into a national educational, religious, social, and political organization striving to work from within the church to change official policy and opinion. Lesbian Catholics Together began informally in the summer of 1986 when a small number of longtime Dignity members started to hold women-only liturgies and services, attempting to ameliorate the low attendance of women at Dignity functions. In the beginning, the goal remained to expand the community of Dignity, introducing women to its services. In 1987, direct association with Dignity ended and Lesbian Catholics Together (LCT) became its own organization. Informally organized, it relied on individual member contributions and volunteer support. With the purpose of "providing a safe and accepting atmosphere in which to socialize, worship and share spiritual journies [sic]," LCT provided monthly liturgies and paraliturgies as well as retreats, monthly support groups, and collaborations with other Catholic organizations and gay and lesbian organizations. In their fourth year, LCT became affiliated with the Conference of Catholic Lesbians.
The idea for a national meeting of Catholic Lesbians was first discussed at a retreat for lesbians sponsored by New Ways Ministry in May 1981. Six months later, members from New York City drew up a proposal for a national conference for Catholic Lesbians, held in November 1982 at Kirkridge Center in Bangor, Pennyslvania. Over 100 women participated in that historic gathering, coming from throughout the United States, Canada, and Argentina. The catalyst for the conference came from the fact that none of the group's participants belonged to women's, Catholic, or gay–encouraged activities or environments, either social or spiritual, that affirmed this unique identity. Shortly after the Kirkridge conference the organizers met to form the Conference for Catholic Lesbians. The original goal of the organization was to act as a clearinghouse of information and resources for Catholic Lesbians. Over time, this expanded to the formation of local groups, bi-annual national conferences, a quarterly newsletter, regional events and retreats, and participation in a number of Catholic coalitions.
- Acquisition information:
-
Provenance unknown.
This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the UCLA Library .
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Stacy Wood, 2011. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Sabrina Ponce in 2017.
The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) and the UCLA Library. These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize, preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.
- Arrangement:
-
Arrangement follows original order of materials.
- Physical location:
- COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Lesbian Catholics Together Records (Collection 1951). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988