Posts by Believe Out Loud
Catholic Church: Listen & Learn On LGBT People
With any discussion involving the family, a diversity of views must be taken into account. This begs the question, should the Catholic Church maintain the status quo or attempt to learn more about the gifts and qualities LGBT people have to offer? Due to the uplifting words and actions of Pope Francis, more Catholics are…
Read MoreA Challenge From LGBTQ Fly Over Country
Today is the beginning of Bisexual Awareness Week. There are courageous people, like Faith Cheltenham, Robyn Ochs, and Eliel Cruz, who are called to serve God as activists for the wellbeing of bisexual people. I am also a bisexual person. I am the B in LGBTQ. There have been seasons when I speak up about this and seasons when I don’t. I speak up…
Read MoreRead This Gay Catholic’s Letter To Pope Francis
In response to the silencing of LGBTQ people during the World Meeting on Families, it is critical that we share our own stories to tell Pope Francis that LGBTQ families enrich our lives and the Church. Join me in writing letters of faith and family to Pope Francis during his historic visit to the United…
Read MorePope Francis Is Coming: Help Us Break The Silence
Help us Tell Pope Francis: Our LGBTQ Families Matter As the United States prepares to welcome Pope Francis next week for his historic visit for the World Meeting of Families—the excitement within the Catholic and non-Catholic communities is palpable. Since becoming elected just two years ago, Pope Francis has offered hope to many. Pope Francis…
Read MoreIn Their Own Words: LGBT & Ally Catholics Explain Why They Stay In The Church
Even with recent years’ positive steps in the church, remaining Catholic can be deeply challenging for LGBT people and their loved ones. Sacramental denials, harsh rhetoric, and church worker firings are simply the surface of the harm that some church officials, perhaps unintentionally, inflict. The question of “why to stay?” remains real and relevant. Thankfully, for Catholics, this question, and…
Read MoreLaunch Of The LGBT Institute At The National Center For Civil & Human Rights
On the evening of September 2nd, over 250 people poured into The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta for the premiere of a new exhibit. The LGBT Institute at the Center was launched during the premiere of this exhibit, “Forward Together: A Look at Atlanta’s LGBT History Since Stonewall.” The mission of The National Center…
Read MoreMaking Trans People The Enemy Was Another Vatican Mistake
The Vatican recently announced that it is “impossible to allow” transgender people to be godparents. In the warped logic of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, identifying as transgender “reveals in a public way an attitude opposite to the moral imperative of solving the problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one’s own…
Read MoreHow I Found The Courage To Be Myself
I think one of the hardest, trickiest, most admirable things to do in this world is to be yourself. I grew up in central Indiana in a town called Anderson. Anderson was a small-ish town just outside of Indianapolis. I’d like to say we were suburb-of-Indy status, but we weren’t. From a very early age I…
Read MoreBringing The Margins To The Center In Our Churches
I have a friend named Felipe who frequently attends worship celebrations at our church. Felipe was raised in the Valley—Brownsville, Texas—in a firmly Christian home. His father was Pastor of a Latino congregation with a vibrant outreach ministry to local youth whose poverty, a circumstantial product of their race and of living in a border…
Read MoreComing Out As A Lesbian Mom
Facebook often sends me photos of past events I’ve posted. Kind of like a nostalgic, hey remember all the fun you had 5 years ago?! The last “reminder” really got me. The reminder came just days after what I affectionately call “The Breakdown.” The day of The Breakdown ended with me sitting on the kitchen floor, holding both my babies (we have twins) as they…
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