Posts by Believe Out Loud
Called To Faith & Compassion
Faith is a journey that reveals the new and unexpected everyday. That’s a core belief we have at Believe Out Loud. We challenge ourselves, and others, to walk a mile in the shoes of those around us in an attempt to grow and strengthen our common humanity. That’s why we’re committed to working with Christians…
Read MoreWhy Can’t This Mister Be A Sister?
My relationship with the Catholic Church has been a tricky one, to say the least. It has been joyous, uplifting and sometimes even humorous. It has also been intimidating, unwelcoming and downright scary. But through it all, being Catholic has always meant something very special to me. Yet when I came out thirty years ago,…
Read MoreMy Coming Out Was An Easter Experience
It is always a joy to emerge from the forty days of Lent with its emotional climax of Holy Week into the light and life of Easter. During Eastertide, my heart lifts with every greeting and response of “Christ is risen—He is risen indeed!” As I have rested this year in the promise of new…
Read MoreExpanding Christian Covenant
There are two possible narratives Christians can embrace related to the contemporary demand of gays and lesbians for social and legal recognition of their committed relationships: a narrative of moral decline, or a narrative of moral commitment. Most traditionalist Christians believe a narrative of moral decline; I believe a narrative of moral commitment. Or at…
Read MoreTaking Scripture In Stride
Our family recently moved back to my home town in upstate New York. After the long, exhausting and tedious process of unpacking, we discovered a few items that we could part with, so I placed an ad in one of our local papers. A few days passed when I received an email asking if we…
Read MoreA Different Kind Of Baptist: Countering Westboro Baptist Church
Two weeks ago, I stood face-to-face with Westboro Baptist Church outside the Supreme Court. I was one of many Christians attending the rally for marriage equality who gathered nearby to counter their offensive rhetoric. Some stood for hours to shield LGBTQ people and their allies from Westboro’s comically hateful version of God. With rainbow banners and…
Read MoreLGBTQ Camps Make Youth Feel Safe and Welcomed, Promote Solidarity
Junior high and high school are tough years for us all: learning how to be a student, trying to claim some independence, and watching our bodies change can make the best of us feel two inches tall. For LGBTQ youth, though, these years are uniquely challenging. Like an ever-looming rain cloud, insecurities and questions about…
Read MoreGay Man Delivers Catholic Diocese Over 18,000 Signatures, Diocese Refuses To Meet
Nicholas Coppola, the gay man who was stripped of his involvement with his local Roman Catholic parish, delivered 18,603 signatures with GLAAD to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, requesting to be restored to full engagement with his local parish. The signatures were gathered through the social justice organization, Faithful America, in less than…
Read MoreIf The Catholic Church Is Serious About Welcoming Gays…
In an Easter morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the archbishop of New York, spoke words that some gay and lesbian Catholics thought they might never hear. Asked by the host, George Stephanopoulos, what he would say to people who felt excluded from the Roman Catholic Church because of their sexual orientation,…
Read MoreGay Evangelical Christians Lift up Rick and Kay Warren in Prayer
On Friday night, April 5, twenty seven year old Matthew Warren, son of Pastor Rick and Kay Warren of Saddleback Church took his own life. Suicide is always a tragedy as so many lives are impacted. Todd Ferrell, president, The Evangelical Network explained that compassion must come first during difficult losses like this, Ferrell said,…
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