NEW FRANKEN, Wis. - After 35 years of service for her small Wisconsin church, Linette Servais received an ultimatum by her parish priest: quit her home-party consultant job or lose her position as church choir director and organist. Although 50-year-old Servais spent her entire adult life working within St. Joseph Catholic Parish, she chose to continue her sales work with home-party company Pure Romance.
"After I got over the initial shock, I prayed over this a long time," Servais told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a recent interview. "I feel that Pure Romance is my ministry."
Ten years prior, Servais was diagnosed and treated for a benign brain tumor that left her sexually dysfunctional. When she confided in friend who also was fighting breast cancer about these issues, she realized "it wasn't just me that was broken," Servais told the Sentinel.
Shortly after Servais' friend lost her battle with cancer, she attended a Pure Romance party and told the party consultant about her dysfunction. The consultant then introduced Servais to products to help rekindle her sex drive. Servais since has joined Pure Romance as a consultant and told the Sentinel she was called as a Christian to help women-particularly those dealing with sexual dysfunction caused by cancer.
It wasn't until after Servais brought some spa products to a parish trade show in fall 2006 that the Rev. Dean Dombroski posed his ultimatum, followed up by a letter to all the members of the congregation outlining an official opinion.
The Sentinel published part of Dombroski's letter to the parish: "Linette is a consultant for a firm which sells products of a sexual nature that are not consistent with Church teachings," Dombroski wrote. "Because parish leaders are expected to model the teaching of our faith, once this matter became public she and I met and she was given a choice. Either she could stay on as the choir director/organist or she could continue to be a consultant but she could not do both."
Racine County editor for the Sentinel, Michael Juley, said Servais was blindsided by the priest's ultimatum and the letter stating the church's official position on the matter. "He took the issue to the entire parish in the church bulletin," Juley told AVN Adult Novelty Business magazine. The letter reached about 300 people in the parish-10 percent of the town population. "She was so taken aback by it that she responded with her own letter, which she personally mailed to every one of the parish members."
Pure Romance found out about the situation when Servais introduced herself to founder Patti Brisben in January at a company's training event and gave Brisben copies of both letters. "Patti was beside herself, she was so upset," Pure Romance Public Relations Director Kim Sheridan told ANB. "Linette has 100 percent of our support."
Pure Romance is uniquely suited for Servais, as its website features not just product information but sexual health information, including help for women surviving cancer and its treatments. The company started "Sensuality, Sexuality, Survival," a resource to help educate and connect with women who are dealing with cancer diagnoses and treatment, as well as The Patty Brisben Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports and enhances health services for women.
"Pure Romance parties provide a safe environment for women to explore their sexuality, ask questions, and hopefully have fun," said Sheridan. She told ANB she thought the parish should have learned more about the Pure Romance company before making a decision.
"Father Dean made it sound so sinful," Servais told the Sentinel. "There is so much more to this business than toys. It's about empowering women and helping them strengthen their relationships."
Dombroski declined to comment, citing personnel privacy issues.