Final Post to our Indonesian Journey

My friends,
This blog of our journey to Indonesia ends here. But the reflections go on. Most of all I am left with the power of women’s coalitions in both Jakarta and Yogyakarta. In each place, the organizations that presented us took on with pride our full identities: Kathryn and I-- a 20 year lesbian couple: myself as a Roman Catholic lesbian priest, professor and theatre writer/director, Kathryn as a professor of Global Studies, and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church.

The month before we arrived these same coalitions had presented Irshad Manji, a feminist lesbian Canadian Muslim whose heritage is Egyptian and Gujarati Indian. Her discussions about sexuality were held in private with various Muslim communities. With our journey, these same coalitions built on Irshad’s journey by creating public discussions of sexuality. Appearing on panels with women leaders who were Buddhist, Muslim, and Christian, the message was always the same, pluralism/diversity is both a beauty and challenge to any society or faith. As women creating alliances across our differences, we can model the society and the faith we wish to generate.