Posts by Believe Out Loud
Tips For Getting Through The Hard Holidays
The holiday season is rough for many people in the LGBTQ community. Extra expectations, financial strains, and social isolation cause depression rates to rise. Many people have tensions with their loved ones over their sexuality and gender expression. When that’s coupled with the extra religious observances that take place in the holiday season, it can…
Read MoreReview: A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth by Cody Sanders
When I read Rev. Cody Sanders’ new little gem, A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth, I get the feeling that I’m sitting with a very smart and very compassionate friend. He knows that I am eager, but a little intimidated. He knows that I have questions, but I’m not sure how to ask…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Metropolitan Community Churches Leadership in Support of Rev. Elder Darlene Garner
We write as friends of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) who have been watching with growing concern as MCC embarks on its restructuring plans.
Read MoreI’m Planning a Wedding in a State with a License To Discriminate
As a girl, I never dreamt of marrying in the church, yet I will be doing just that in May. Growing up Southern Baptist in my hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, I received the message early on that gay people were not Christians, and did not love God or family. When my attraction to women became…
Read MoreClose The Door, Or Open to All?
I was excited to take my now husband to the city I had considered home for many years. It was going to be his first time in New York City, having lived his whole adult life in the Pacific Northwest. I had lived in New York City for several years before moving to Washington State…
Read MoreStanding Up Against Discrimination
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear a case about whether religious beliefs give businesses that are open to the public a right to discriminate. The case is about David Mullins and Charlie Craig, who visited Masterpiece Cakeshop in 2012 to order a cake for their upcoming wedding reception. The bakery…
Read MoreBearing the Light of Advent with Holy Women Icons
As much as we want to share gratitude during the season of Thanksgiving, prepare for the hope of Advent, or celebrate Christmas, it’s difficult because the holiday season can be tough for queer folks. Disproportionately estranged from family means we often must create our own family. While these chosen families can be tremendously life-giving, it’s…
Read MoreTerror & Togetherness: The Tensions of Thanksgiving
My mother called me a few weeks ago and asked what I was doing for the holidays. I shared that I would be flying back to New York to spend time with her and the rest of our family for Christmas and would head back to Chicago right before New Year’s Eve. “But what about…
Read MoreTrans People Are More Than the Violence Done to Us
I’m not a big fan of Trans Day of Remembrance. It’s a hard day for me and many other trans people. Marking a day to “remember those we’ve lost” feels like a misnomer. Most of us never forget the violence and abuse that our community members have experienced—largely because it is happening, right now. How…
Read More4 Reasons NOT To Host A Transgender Day of Remembrance Service At Your Church
“Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day for stories to be told and scripts to be rewritten. It’s a chance to reach out and come together against the dehumanizing violence that haunts our communities. Love is a call as well as a response, but most of all love is an action.” –Angelica Ross As Transgender…
Read More