Mary Kay Kusner says it was a sense of social justice that drove her to become Iowa's first Roman Catholic womanpriest.
But there was a consequence to her ordination, beyond even the excommunication from the church in which she we grew up, and one she hadn't thought
much about.
"I had never planned to grow a church," she said.
A year later, the 51-year-old Iowa City woman is doing just that. Kusner, a married mother of four, marked the first anniversary after her controversial ordination by leading Mass for about 20 people Sunday afternoon in Coralville.
What started as a small faith group of about 10 people meeting regularly in homes now has grown into a community called Full Circle, with 25 to 30 core members who attend the twice-monthly Masses led by Kusner, and another 50 supporters on the mailing list.
Regenia Nicolosi, a bishop in the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, ordained Kusner in June 2010 at a ceremony attended by nearly 300 people at First Christian Church in Coralville. About two dozen clergy members from churches throughout the Iowa City area were in attendance, Kusner said.
"I can remember having fear and trepidation of what it was going to mean," said Kusner, who works as a chaplain at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
"But actually, it's been a real affirmation that people are really ready for this, that so many people who grew up Catholic are ready for this."
The Davenport Diocese issued a statement in the weeks preceding her ordination reaffirming the church's condemnation of the practice.
Bishop Martin Amos said that any ordained woman or anyone involved in the ordination of women automatically is excommunicated, echoing the Vatican's stance.
More than 100 women have now been ordained in the worldwide movement, which reportedly began with the secret ordination of seven women in 2002 in Germany by Catholic bishops.
The organization says those first ordinations gave its subsequent ordinations legitimacy by following "apostolic succession."
But just last year, the Vatican added the ordination of women to a list of the most serious crimes against the church.
'A difficult leap'
Since August, Kusner has been presiding over Sunday afternoon Masses at New Song Episcopal Church in Coralville, which Full Circle rents out for services twice a month.
For many Full Circle members, the community has become their primary church. For others, it's a supplement to Sunday morning Mass elsewhere.
"I experienced it myself; it's a difficult leap for people to go from a sanctioned, traditional Catholic church to something that is unsanctioned, uses inclusive language and has a woman pastor," Kusner said.
"It's a big jump. So we have some people who actually go to traditional church in the morning, and our liturgy in the afternoon. They're still trying to figure out where they are."
Mary Nappi grew up Catholic, but she said because she is gay, she had been "sort of ushered out" of her church. She has been attending Full Circle services since September and has since become close friends with Kusner.
"The church is a wonderful community that she's gathered," said Nappi, who lives in Coralville.
"I had a double lung transplant in November, and she personally and the community itself has helped both my partner and I get through the surgery and everything afterward. They've been very special to us."
Kusner, who grew up in a devout family in Ohio, said she had long struggled to balance her personal beliefs with the stances of the church.
"I was feeling hypocritical for a long time that I wear this hat of Catholic, but my beliefs are very liberal," Kusner said. "I was certainly raised very traditional, my parents were very traditional, but I always believed that women should be ordained, gays should be able to marry -- things that are big no-nos in the Catholic tradition."
'A long time coming'
Full Circle's Masses follow a format traditional enough to be familiar to Catholics, but with some notable differences.
After her homily, for instance, Kusner engages the congregation in a dialogue about the readings, with Sunday's Father's Day discussion revolving around people's memories of their fathers.
After growing up viewing priests as the final authority on spirituality and people to be revered, Kusner said she takes a different approach.
"Now what I feel like I embody is a very approachable human being who in no way is judgmental or wanting to convey that image, because I believe our God is an incredibly loving, open God," she said. "So if I can embody that kind of a priest, that for me is deeply satisfying."
Jerry and Mary Nixon hosted meetings for the faith group in their Iowa City home before Full Circle began to grow in size, and they were among the members who encouraged Kusner to pursue her ambitions of priesthood.
"We try to be very inclusive," Jerry Nixon said of Full Circle. "God never turned anybody away that I know of, and God has no religion, that I know of. ... I think that's how Mary Kay is, she's very open to people. And I really enjoy her homilies; they're from her heart."
After her ordination, Kusner was braced for negative reactions from critical Catholics.
But with the exception of one email saying she was "doing the devil's work," she said she has been met with acceptance.
"People are deeply appreciative that this movement is happening and that women continue to be willing to take the risk to be ordained," she said.
"People feel like it's been a long time coming, and time is now. What I see in that is people are becoming more and more responsible for their own faith, and that is very exciting."
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