DignityUSA and Dignity/San Antonio mourn the passing and celebrate the life of Nickie Valdez, who passed away December 25, 2020 at her home in San Antonio. Her spouse of 35 years, Deb Myers, was with her.

Nickie co-founded Dignity/San Antonio in 1976 with her beloved friend Bruce Jarstfer. Even long before that, Nickie worked to make a home within the Catholic church for LGBTQI people. As far back as the mid-1960s, Nickie would sit on the steps of her local parish church, making herself available for gay and lesbian people who may have felt excluded by the church. 

DignityUSA Executive Director, Marianne Duddy-Burke said: "She had an unshakeable vision of God’s love being all-embracing. Nickie was involved in so much justice work in San Antonio, nurtured so many Dignity leaders throughout the decades, and pushed the organization to embrace women, people of color, poor people, families, and all who needed us. I am honored to have called her a friend.”

More information Nickie's legacy and funeral arrangements can be found here.

As we ring in the new year, we wanted to express our gratitude to everyone who gave during our 2020 Advent campaign. Its amazing to see folks from across the country come together in support of LGBTQI inclusion.

There's still time to give. We will continue our mission of speaking truth to power – to the Catholic hierarchy, in the halls of government, and across the globe – in 2021 and beyond. Give today to join us in this mission. Your gift of $5, $20, $50, or more will equip us for 20201.

Thank you for your generosity, solidarity, and support!

Is one of your New Years’ resolutions to do more for DignityUSA? We are looking for someone to coordinate the team of those writing reflections for Breath of the Spirit, our weekly scripture reflection newsletter. The role involves assigning reflections and sending links to the weekly Scriptures to team members, ensuring timely receipt of the reflections, reviewing and suggesting edits in line with the Guidelines the authors have been provided, and getting approved reflections to Digital Strategist, Greg McCollum for publication. Assignments have been made through March, so there’s time to learn the cycle before the next set of assignments need to be made. If interested, contact Greg at communications@dignityusa.org.

DignityUSA is committed to embracing diversity, equality, and inclusion for every member of our community. After several months of our own learning and discussion, the Board of Directors is excited to announce the formation of a new caucus for people of color (POC), as well as a resource group for those committed to the work of being anti-racist. Both groups will launch January 2021.

The People of Color Caucus will be a safe space to share and value your intersectionality as a person of color, LGBTQI/Ally, and Catholic. All DignityUSA members who identify as a person of color are invited. Contact Patrick Journet at patrickj@dignityusa.org to join.

Additionally, the Antiracism Resource Group will be formed as a way for non-POC allies to join in efforts to combat racism, become educated on antiracism, and support the People of Color Caucus. Contact Vin Testa at vint@dignityusa.org to join.