Posts by Believe Out Loud
Thongs Galore: Taking On My First Pride Parade
When I woke up on the morning of Seattle Pride 2013, I was not ready for “Thongs Galore,” and that bothered me. In my mind, going to the annual Pride Parade was just an item on the list of things queer kids did. Also on the list were listening to Lady Gaga, loving Rent, and…
Read MoreAWAB Joins Federal Lawsuit Challenging North Carolina’s Marriage Laws
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (AWAB) joined the General Synod of the United Church of Christ vs. Cooper as a plaintiff in the pending Federal District Court lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s marriage laws, including Amendment One. Among the suit’s charges is that North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage restricts the rights of clergy to…
Read MoreWeddings Gifts From Allies
On the way to my wedding shower, I received a picture of a gift someone had dropped off at my parents’ house for the event. Yay, our first gift! It had been neatly wrapped in a pattern covering every square inch of the box—in bride and grooms. Teeny tiny men in tuxedos and women in…
Read MoreRainbow Christ Prayer: LGBT Flag Reveals The Queer Christ
Colors of the rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer I wrote with gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. Rainbow flags are flying around the world in June for LGBT Pride Month. Rainbows are also an important symbol in many religious traditions. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors…
Read MorePresident Obama Proclaims LGBT Pride Month
President Barack Obama has issued a proclamation declaring June 2014 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. In this proclamation, President Obama traces the origins of the LGBT movement and names the injustices we still face today, urging Congress to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to protect LGBT workers from discrimination based on their…
Read MoreMulticulturalism Cuts Both Ways
“A People of Many Faces” is one of the more intriguing sections of Pope Francis’s The Joy of the Gospel, having to do with cultural incarnations of Christianity. “We would not do justice to the logic of the incarnation if we thought of Christianity as monocultural and monotonous,” he writes. Earlier he states, “The history…
Read More“More Than A Single Story”: The Unheard LGBTQ Voices of Wheaton College
Sitting on the front steps of Wheaton College’s Edman Chapel in the middle of winter amid a hundred fellow students calling attention to there being “more than a single story” was one of the most life-changing experiences I have ever had. I was holding a sign that read “I am a feminist, a LGBTQ ally,…
Read MoreAdvancing Equality In Love And Marriage
Love is one of the things that makes us, as a people, thrive. We love our families. We love our friends. We grow to love those in our communities. We love those in our church. And we even love those who are in our schools. Love is a matter of the heart. Most persons who…
Read MoreLove Without Condition
I want to invite you to take a walk down imagination alley with me for a minute. You’re trying on shirts for a friend’s party when one, in particular, catches your eye. You pick it up, read the tag, and immediately throw it back into the pile. The moment you realize it is made of…
Read More“Room for Me?” Spotlights LGBTQ Christians In The Reformed Church In America
I see God alive as the church continues to widen our embrace for all people, especially for LGBTQ people of God. God is moving, I have no doubt of this. In the denomination in which I’m ordained, the Reformed Church in America (RCA), I see more churches choosing to follow the way of Jesus and…
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