Pink Highlights and Church Education

So, I COMPLETELY FORGOT about my hair until yesterday morning when I was thinking of church. (for those that don’t know, I help out at church by arranging for those who being up the gifts, collection as well as being a Eucharistic Minister and Lector and I usually always read the Prayers of Petition). Now, the mass that I go to is the college mass . I had graduated from the college in 2000, so I’ve been going there for 10 years now, so when I walk in with the Pink highlights still VERY pink, I realized that I wouldn’t be filling in as a lector or Eucharistic Minister. I told both the priest and the woman who does the organizing for mass, that I realized and had forgotten about the hair until that morning. They both mentioned that they would like to talk to me after mass to talk about how to deal with the transition. So I got nervous, but still arranged for collectors and gift bearers and did all my behind-the-scenes stuff that I usually do and got really nervous about the conversation.

So mass ended and I sat down first with the priest (the woman was still taking stuff down from the choir). It seems that he thought that taking hormones was a short process and that I would be going for the surgery within a few months (like within the next 6 months). Once he learned that it is much longer, the woman had joined us and we discussed how to make this a learning experience for the community. Which really surprised me. I thought I was about to get the “We appreciate the help, but it might be time for you to not do so much anymore” speech. Instead it’s going the other way around. They did mention that with such a change as going to happen would mean that there would be some concessions on my side and there would be some concessions on the congregations side. Which I think, makes sense. But it’s where I am in my life and I did make sure that the priest, as a church authority, would be okay with me still being an active member and he said that he definitely would and he is going to double check Church policy to make sure that we don’t contradict anything.

As part of the education component, we are going to meet after mass in two weeks (I’m not going to be there for Superbowl Sunday), and decide how we actually introduce it to the congregation. I’m a little nervous about it, but that’s cause I get nervous before ANY type of presentation.

I’m just relieved and excited because I was nervous that I would get kicked out of being an active member of the mass that I go to, and instead, it’s getting turned into almost EXACTLY what I would want it to be.