A woman who had been a devout Christian for decades has said that she was sacked from her position at a religious school after falling in love with a woman she met at church.
Sydneysider
Steph Lentz, now 31 years old, believed her life was going according to plan when she married her now-ex-husband at age 23.
She only realized thereafter that marriage was not the ‘fairytale’ she was offered in church.
“I was taught that marriage is a representation of Christ’s relationship with the church.” That Jesus’ unconditional love and the church’s service to God are represented in the bond between husband and wife,’ Ms. Lentz added.
After years as a devout Christian, Steph Lentz (above) ended her marriage and fell in love with a woman from her church.
“I was also taught that men and women are created equal by God but have different duties, and that these roles are mirrored in certain hierarchical orderings of life in the church, the family, and frequently in broader society as well,”
Ms. Lentz stated that she had persuaded herself she was doing the right thing by marrying a guy, despite the fact that it felt incorrect at the time.
She remarked, “I was so embroiled in the complicated self-deception that many LGBT people suffer that I simply did what I believed I was meant to do and what I believed was correct.”
I suppose that, based on my religious beliefs, I believed that God would eventually compensate me for any sorrow or sacrifice that was entailed.
Ms. Lentz’s marriage ended only four years after her wedding, when she fell in love with a lady she met at church.
“Our marriage failed for a variety of complicated reasons, but my sexual orientation is certainly a major one.” So yes, she is now divorced,’ she stated.
Ms. Lentz stated that she had convinced herself that marrying her now-ex-husband was the proper decision, despite the fact that it seemed wrong at the time.
Ms. Lentz grew up in a religious home but discovered her own faith in a local Anglican church as a teen.
She subsequently began teaching English at her nondenominational Christian school.
She stated, “At the time, and to some extent to this day, I believed it was possible to be an evangelical Christian and affirm LGBTQ individuals and their relationships.”
I also attempted to make this case to the school in an effort to keep my job and to advocate for and represent those kids and families at the school who may be LGBTQ+ or have LGBTQ+ family members and who also identify as Christian and belong to a Christian community.
She explained that she wanted to come out to the school about her sexual orientation because she was weary of “hiding.”
She stated, “I was weary of hiding and being dishonest with myself and others, and I desired to live a life that was more open and genuine.”
Ms. Lentz (above) claimed she attempted to persuade the Christian school where she worked that the LGBTQ+ and Christian communities can coexist, but was fired for her relationship with a woman.
‘I am also aware, and was aware at the time, that there are gay students at that institution, some of whom I know and others who haven’t, possibly come out.
Because of who they are or how they behave, they feel invisible, excluded, and sometimes even victimized.
Ms. Lentz was fired from the school in January 2021, and in November 2021, she revealed in an editorial for the Sydney Morning Herald that she had been legally let go.
The story and Ms. Lentz’s legal dismissal generated a nationwide discussion, with the Anglican Church claiming that Ms. Lentz was fired not because of her sexual orientation but because she was unable to sign the school’s “statement of belief.”
Ms. Lentz now describes herself as “post church, post Christian” because she no longer attends church but is still on a spiritual path.
Ms. Lentz will share her experience on Tuesday night’s episode of SBS’s ‘Keeping the Faith – The fight for Australia’s soul,’ which asks, “With so many people abandoning religion, who’s still holding on?”