Submit Your Story for Easter

An Open Call to Celebrate Queer Catholic Joy

We Gave up Toxic Masculinity for Lent – Now We’re Embracing Queer Catholic Joy for Easter

Over the past several months, we have been unpacking toxic masculinity within Catholicism through our series here on Substack and exploring queerness and Catholicism through our podcast Whiplash with Maxwell Kuzma. As we gave up toxic masculinity for Lent, now we are envisioning how we can embrace queer Catholic joy for Easter—a celebration of resurrection and embodiment. And as many Catholics exalt Christ the King for Easter, we are also embracing Christ as Queer for one of the holiest days of the Catholic year.

Throughout our masculinity series and on our podcast, we have invited you all to contribute in different ways—in the comments on Substack, on the videos we posted on Instagram and Tiktok—and now, we are asking you to respond in a new, intentional way. As we approach Easter, we are planning to highlight queer Catholic joy through short meditations from trans and queer Catholics about joyful experiences.

What are we looking for?

We invite individuals for whom queerness and Catholicism resonates to craft recorded meditations (filming yourself on video) of about 150-400 words contemplating what queerness and Catholicism means to you, an experience of queer Catholic joy, and/or why Easter is a critical time to celebrate queer joy and empowerment. 400 words need not be the limit but we acknowledge that with time growing short, we want to ensure as many folks can participate as possible without needing to submit longer, more considered work.

How do I submit?

Please submit your meditations as recorded videos through this Google form. If possible, please record yourself in a horizontal format, but if not possible we still welcome all submissions.

You will also be asked to submit your first name, pronouns, and a profile photo that we may use to feature your quote in written format on a social media post.

How will my submission be used?

Your submission may be used in 4-5 different ways throughout Easter Week.

1) The primary goal for the video content is to create one montage video full of quotes from everyone who has submitted, to show a variety of experiences of trans and queer Catholic joy. This will likely be posted directly on Easter Sunday through social media (@maxwellkuzma everywhere) and on this Substack.

2) Leading up to Easter, we may feature Queer Catholic voices through a written transcript of your video on this Substack as a mediation during Holy Week and the Easter Triduum

3). During Easter week, we will be highlighting transgender Catholic voices specifically with daily written transcripts here on Substack of the meditations on transgender Catholic joy

4). At the end of Easter week (on the Monday, April 28th), we will be releasing a podcast episode that will include both the audio and video that you recorded on the topic of your experience of Queer Catholic joy. These stories will be a key piece in our podcast episode released that day exploring the importance of queer joy and celebration at a time of resurrection.

5) With your provided photo, first name, and pronouns, we may also share pieces of these stories on social media to raise awareness about the longer form project and to continue celebrating Queer Joy for Easter across social media.

Can you give me an example of what I could say?

Yes!

Hi, my name is [First Name], and I use [Pronouns].

I’m a [brief identity—e.g., queer Catholic, transgender Catholic, nonbinary person raised in the Church, etc.], and today I want to share a reflection on what queer Catholic joy means to me.

[Choose one or more of the following prompts to respond to in your own words:]

• For me, queerness and Catholicism come together in this way: [share a thought or personal story].

• One moment I’ve felt queer Catholic joy was when… [share a joyful, affirming, or meaningful experience].

• Easter is a powerful time for queer joy because… [connect to themes of resurrection, embodiment, renewal, etc.].

• I imagine Christ as queer because… / I find Christ’s queerness in… [reflect on how you see Christ through a queer lens].

• What I’m celebrating this Easter as a queer or trans Catholic is…

[Optional wrap-up example to end with a message of hope:] Thank you for listening to my story. This Easter, I’m holding onto the hope that our joy, our bodies, and our love are sacred. I’m grateful to be part of this tapestry of queer Catholic voices rising up together. May this season remind us that resurrection is real—and it belongs to all of us. Happy Easter, and may your joy be abundant and unashamed!

Submit here:

Please send your meditations, first name, pronouns, and a profile photo through this Google Form. You can also submit questions about the process through the Google Form. If your video is too long, we can provide you an email address to send the video to.