DignityUSA is thrilled to welcome Maggie Kelly to our staff! Maggie Kelly is our new Communications and Digital Strategist.

Maggie Kelly is a Boston native who began digital marketing for start-ups and nonprofits in Boulder, CO, in 2018. She is a trained Craniosacral therapist, who loves homeless outreach, contemplative prayer, and the mysteries of grace within the Catholic faith. As a queer woman and sister of two gay brothers, she is passionate about LGBTQI+ inclusion within the Catholic Church. Maggie is currently pursuing a Master's in Mental Health counseling and is thrilled to step into the Digital Strategist role and connect more with the DignityUSA community.

Outgoing Digital Strategist Greg McCollum would like to express his gratitude to the whole Dignity community for the time he's had as Digital Strategist. He is thankful to all the people and community members he's had the chance to work with in this role.

Maggie can be reached at communications@dignityusa.org. Welcome Maggie to DignityUSA.

Along with other members of Catholic Organizations for Renewal, DignityUSA is part of an effort to encourage Catholics to speak out on the letter the US Conference of Catholic Bishops is developing that could lead to President Biden and other pro-equality, prochoice Catholic politicians being denied Communion. We believe that the Eucharist should NEVER be used coercively, or as punishment for someone’s sincere beliefs.

We want to hear from you. What does the Eucharist mean to you? Have you ever been denied Communion, or witnessed this happening to someone else? Tell us your story, in writing, in imagery, or by video. You can tell us what Communion means to you here.

The DignityUSA Virtual Gathering is less than a month away! Join us online September 11 - 12th online to experience inspiring messages, thought-provoking panels, community discussions, and exciting music. Save your spot and register now.

We wanted to pass along a few new details to help you enjoy the Virtual Gathering. First, be sure to use Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge as your web browsers to have the best experience on HopIn, the web platform hosting the Virtual Gathering

Second, if you can't attend the Virtual Gathering live with us, be sure to register to access the panels, the speakers, and messages on-demand after the event.

We hope to see you there! Be sure to register now to save your spot at the Virtual Gathering. Sliding-scale ticket pricing available.

The Dignity Young Adult Caucus will be hosting their next Zoom Game Night for people under 40 on August 31st. Learn more and RSVP today. 

Mark Your Calendar. The Young Adult Caucus will be holding meetings the last Tuesday of each month. Follow DYAC on Facebook to look ahead.

The Antiracism Resource Group met on Tuesday evening, Aug. 10, and had a very engaging discussion on Safe Spaces vs. Brave Spaces. Please reach out to Vin Testa if you’d like the resource used to guide that discussion.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 21, at 7:30 PM ET. To guide the discussion, please read the following article: https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/the-real-world-homecoming-rebecca-kevin-racism-fight-episode.html. If you are interested in attending, please reach out to Vin Testa (vint@dignityusa.org) to receive the Zoom link.

The People of Color Caucus Group has met via telephone in the past months. We've been sharing ideas and practices that POC have used to cultivate a sense of belonging and to help their Dignity communities be more inclusive.

We'd love your input! We are few and we encourage more POC to engage. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, you are the most perfect you there is. The POC Caucus provides a space for safe sharing which is anxiety free and has only promoted a true sense of well-being overall.

"What's in it for me?" -the ultimate question.... I invite you to participate to discover and learn more on August 26, 2021 8:30pm Eastern Time.

Call 1-515-604-9733, Passcode 968465. Questions? Contact Patrick Journet at patrickj@dignityusa.org.

Breath of the Spirit is our weekly reflection newsletter bringing pastoral, liturgical, and social justice moments to your inbox every Wednesday. Each week we hear from different voices from Dignity communities across the country. Subscribe today.

Miss a week? Check out the Breath of the Spirit archive to look back at previous reflections.