{"id":785,"date":"2018-02-19T11:46:55","date_gmt":"2018-02-19T16:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/?p=785"},"modified":"2018-02-19T12:11:55","modified_gmt":"2018-02-19T17:11:55","slug":"still-a-heretic-hopefully-gracious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/still-a-heretic-hopefully-gracious\/","title":{"rendered":"Still A Heretic, Hopefully Gracious"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In an unabashed plug, my memoir,\u00a0 A Gracious Heresy: the queer calling of an unlikely prophet,\u00a0<\/em>will be published soon. \u00a0I am at the stage of seeking permissions for works I quote in the text and that is where my story begins.
\nI asked a poet for permission to use his two line poem which sums up the unexpected confrontations, joy, and challenges that Godde sets before me. It took me a while to track him down because I didn’t know the context in which the poem was published. I did what all good researchers do: I googled him. I discovered he taught at a Catholic university somewhere in West Virginia so I called him and asked for permission directly, assuming he would tell me what publisher to contact.
\nWe had a lovely conversation in which I told him I had written a spiritual memoir and was hoping to use his poem. He said he could give permission and was glad to do it. We talked further and he asked if he could read my manuscript. I was delighted and agreed to send it as an attachment. Here is what followed (redacted to protect the guilty):<\/p>\n

Dear XXXXX<\/strong>,<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Thank you so much for giving me permission to use your poem,\u00a0XXXX,\u00a0<\/em>in my memoir. I have attached a copy and hope you find it worthwhile.
\nWarmly,
\nConnie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Before too long I received this reply:<\/p>\n

\n

Connie,
\n<\/span>Although I certainly wish you every success, I think we might have a problem here.\u00a0 The University I teach at is (like me) orthodox Catholic.
\nYou seem like a good person, and so I feel kind of bad to ask you, but could you use a quote from someone else?
\nWe all have to try and be faithful to the Jesus we know.
\nI\u2019ll pray for you and you pray for me!
\nAgain, I wish you the best.
\nIn Jesus and Mary,
\nXXXX<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear XXXX,
\n<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Of course, I am deeply disappointed. I suppose I could have avoided your conflict by not sharing my manuscript but I choose not to prevaricate or mislead about my life and faith. Rejection in the name of doctrine is not a new experience for me though I did not expect it here. I will not use your work since you have withdrawn your permission.
\nYour poem, XXXX<\/em>,\u00a0<\/i>speaks deeply to my absolute joy in God. Perhaps because of this, I am surprised you do not see the Spirit in the\u00a0eggplant that is me. Be assured, I am not a good person but I am a child of God and a follower in the Way of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Without rancor I concur: I pray for you, you pray for me… we are all a part of God’s body.
\nIn Christ’s love,
\nConnie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

To which he responded:
\nThank you, Connie, although I wouldn\u2019t say that I don\u2019t see the Spirit that is in you.\u00a0 We all need mercy; we all struggle.
\n(I wouldn\u2019t be at all surprised if you were doing better than I am.)
\nAnd thanks, too, for the prayers!<\/p>\n

\u00a0I only regret that I didn’t expect this. There is no question that this person is warm in spirit and seeking to be faithful. \u00a0What is clearer than ever is that I have absolutely no struggle with who I am, only with systems of oppression, especially those in the name of Godde. In the relative scheme of things this is not a big deal but it is an important reminder of the reason I need to tell my story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 In an unabashed plug, my memoir,\u00a0 A Gracious Heresy: the queer calling of an unlikely prophet,\u00a0will be published soon. \u00a0I am at the stage of seeking permissions for works I quote in the text and that is where my story begins. I asked a poet for permission to use his … Continue reading Still A Heretic, Hopefully Gracious<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,7,13,24,22,17,21,25,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":788,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785\/revisions\/788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}