GILLETTE (AP) -- A lesbian couple who were married in Canada have been told they can't receive communion at the church they've attended since 1998, in part because they publicly opposed a bill that would have barred Wyoming from recognizing gay marriages.

Leah Vader said she received a letter last week from the Rev. Cliff Jacobson, pastor of St. Matthew's Catholic Church, that read in part, "because of your union and your public advocacy of same-sex unions, that you are unable to receive communion."

Vader and Lynne Huskinson have attended St. Matthew's since 1998.

Earlier this year, when the Legislature debated a bill that would have barred Wyoming from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere -- the state already had a law barring same-sex marriages from being performed in the state -- the couple called it "discrimination." The bill ultimately failed in the House.

Jacobson said the Cheyenne Diocese joined in the decision, and that the women's advocacy was one of the reasons the church took action.

"We're not the bedroom police. That, ultimately, comes between the person and God," he said. "But it puts it in a much different light with a public nature."

Jacobson said the Catholic Church reaches out to homosexuals, "but within that are the moral norms of the church."

Vader said she still saw the move as discriminatory.

"This is just so easy," she said. "It sends a big fat message to gay people."

And, she said, she was disturbed that the news was delivered in a letter, and that it came when it did, denying her communion as Lent and Easter approach.

"This is the one food we all need," Vader said. "Of all the sacraments, it's the one that should be taken frequently."