MILWAUKEE (WI)
Where Peter Is [Beltsville MD]
February 26, 2024
By Sara Larson and Paul Fahey
[Includes link to the podcast.]
I first connected with Sara Larson last summer. She reached out to me after listening to the interview we had with Dr. Marcus Mescher about moral injury and clerical sexual abuse. Since then we’ve had several conversations, and every time I walk away feeling understood and with a little more hope.
Sara is the Executive Director of Awake. Among other things, Awake provides support groups and retreats for survivors. They also host excellent online events where survivors can share their stories and experts can educate about the reality of abuse in the Church.
I’ve talked here on the podcast before about a concept a friend of mine, Monica Pope, articulated: that is the need for a “third space” for people harmed by the Church. Often, the responses that people who have been harmed by the Church hear from others when they share their experience is either A) defense of the Church or B ) a “burn it all down, you never needed it anyway” mentality. But that leaves no space for people who have been harmed but who still desire to be a part of the Church. I believe that Awake occupies that Third Space.
As much as I value the work Awake is doing, the thing I appreciated most about this conversation with Sara was the way she talked about how her faith and relationship with the Church has changed because of her relationships with survivors. Sara’s story demonstrates her willingness to let the truth move her heart and form her conscience, even when doing so isn’t without risk.
It was a privilege for me to have her on the podcast and hear her story and the work she is doing in the Heart of the Church.
The episode is available on Youtube and in your podcast feed!
On this episode, Paul speaks with Sara Larson, the executive director of Awake, a Catholic nonprofit that supports and advocates for survivors of abuse in the Church. Sara talks about the history and mission of Awake and the great work it does in and for the heart of the Church. Sara also shares how working with survivors of abuse has changed her own faith life and relationship with the Church.
Sara Larson is the executive director of Awake, an independent Catholic nonprofit organization working for awakening, transformation, and healing from the wounds of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. She also lifts up the voices and stories of abuse survivors in her personal blog, In Spirit and Truth.
LINKS
Awake’s website:
https://www.awakecommunity.org
Sara’s In Spirit and Truth blog:
https://inspiritandtruth.substack.com
Upcoming Courageous Conversation:
https://www.awakecommunity.org/courageous-conversations
Letter to Survivors:
https://www.awakecommunity.org/sign-the-letter
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