Posts by Believe Out Loud
One Size Does Not Fit All: Pastoral Care For LGBT Seniors
I’ve found myself a part of people’s lives in a profound way while providing spiritual care as a chaplain for the past three years. While working in hospice and hospital settings, I have been privileged to be invited into the most delicate and precarious of times. I’ve held the hand of the dying, I’ve comforted…
Read More“ADD 4 WORDS”: LGBT Civil Rights Vigil at MLK Jr. Memorial in DC
A new LGBT equality campaign backed by over 245 organizations will officially launch with an LGBT Civil Rights Vigil at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in D.C. on Monday, June 30th, at 8:30pm. The event will have renowned African American faith leaders and LGBT activists, featuring song, prayer, speeches, and the resounding call to the…
Read More10 Reasons We’re Proud To Be LGBTQ Christians
10. We are made in the image of God: 9. We are a witness to God’s radical love: 8. God promises us eternal life: 7. Our faith is miraculous: 6. We are called to transform the world: 5. God journeys with us: 4. Our experiences teach us how to love authentically: 3. God has freed us from shame: 2. Embracing…
Read MoreA Sanctuary Of Rainbows
I have never in my life heard a Pentecost sermon that began in total honesty. A Holy Week homily can easily start with “It is finished.” And who can resist the back-and-forth that begins Easter Sunday sermons around the world: “He is risen!” followed by an emotional “He is risen, indeed!” The Pentecost story gives…
Read MoreSpreading Hope At Spokane’s Pride: A Pastor’s Testimony
Photo (l-r): Rev. Deb Conklin, Rev. Liv Larson Andrews, Rev. Chris Snow, and Pastor Jan Shannon It is the evening after the 23rd Annual Spokane Pride Parade and Festival, and I’m tired. For 23 years, Spokane’s LGBTQ community have bravely taken to the streets in a march for inclusion and respect, and for 23 years, there have been Christian…
Read MoreReligious Institute Brings Visibility To Bisexuality In Faith Communities
An interesting thing happened to me when I came out as a lesbian. Because I was in a relationship with a man at the time, there were many in the lesbian community where I lived who asserted that I wasn’t “really” a lesbian, but rather bisexual. And they made it clear that that they were…
Read MorePresbyterians Embrace A Table for All
This past week, I have sat at the Table. Not just any table, but the Table of Christ, around which I have gathered since I was a child. This week, however, the Table looked different than I have ever imagined. It didn’t look like the well-worn wooden piece—over laden with bread and chalice and liturgy—that…
Read MorePlanning My Pilgrimage To Laramie
Next month I’ll be taking a vacation to visit friends in Boulder, Colorado. I’m excited to be seeing the area, as I’ve only just changed planes in the airport before and never actually visited. But as I researched my trip, I couldn’t help but notice that Laramie, Wyoming, is just a two-hour drive north of…
Read MoreHistory Made: Presbyterian Church (USA) Approves Same-Sex Marriage
Detroit, MI – Today, the 221st General Assembly of the nearly two million member Presbyterian Church (USA) made history as it affirmed the marriages of same-sex couples. The Assembly voted 429 to 175 to update the language about marriage from a “man and a woman” to “two persons” in the PC(USA) constitution. It will only become…
Read MoreWalking With God: Meeting My Hipster Pastor On The Streets Of Brooklyn
I went for a long walk recently. I woke up early, and I was all ready to be idle in front of the computer for hours when I heard a voice say, “Get out, it’s beautiful.” This winter was brutal, and I could’ve paid my rent for a few months if I had a dollar…
Read More