Finding Aid for the Lesbian Catholics Together Records, 1986-1992
Processed by Stacy Wood, 2011; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
© 2013
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: Lesbian Catholics Together Records
Date (inclusive): 1986-1992
Collection number: 1951
Creator:
Lesbian Catholics Together
Extent:
1 document box (1 linear ft.)
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 and brochures as well as retreat information
that reflect their mission.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Language of the Material:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. 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.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
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.
Processed by Stacy Wood, 2011.
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.
[Identification of item], Lesbian Catholics Together Records (Collection Number 1951). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles
E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
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 home, 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, 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 groups 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.
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.
Arrangement follows original order of materials.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Lesbian Catholics Together --Archives.
Conference of Catholic Lesbians.
Lesbians --Pastoral counseling --Archival resources.
Catholic gays --Religious life --Archival resources.
The Religious Archives Network houses a virtual archive containing predominantly published articles from their newsletter
Images from 1986 - 1996. They are in the process of donating their organizational papers to Marquette University. The collection
can be accessed through the website of the Religious Archives or through the website of Conference for Catholic Lesbians.
Container List
Box 1, Folder 1
Box 1, Folder 2
Box 1, Folder 3
Box 1, Folder 4
Box 1, Folder 5
Box 1, Folder 6