Posts by Believe Out Loud
Lenten Friendship: Reflecting On The Life Of Oscar Romero
As we journey through this reflective time of Lent, reflecting on love, sacrifice, transfiguration, pain, fear, and redemption, we also take the time to ponder our friendships, especially around death. March honors the legacy and witness of Archbishop Óscar Romero, a prophetic voice who called for change in church and society—a voice for peace in the midst…
Read MoreThe Lynchings Haven’t Stopped
On March 6th, in Galveston, Texas, a city outside of Houston, a young African-American lesbian couple was killed and dumped near a dumpster. Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson (pictured left) were 24 years old and out to their families, yet the main suspect for this crime is Cosby’s father. These two women shared the same age and race…
Read MoreA Prayer For Fred Phelps
In the wake of news that Fred Phelps—famed for picketing funerals with signs of hatred toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people—died, I want to take this opportunity to release this statement of prayer for Fred Phelps and his family. Members of the Metropolitan Community Churches do not celebrate the death of Fred Phelps.…
Read MoreJames Rowe Named New Director Of Believe Out Loud
Intersections International is pleased to announce the appointment of James Rowe as the new Director of Believe Out Loud. Prior to his new appointment, James served as both the Community Outreach Director and Acting Director for Believe Out Loud, working closely with faith leaders, movement organizers and welcoming churches across the country to advance LGBT equality…
Read MoreMy Loneliness Led Me To God
Simply writing the title makes me feel over-exposed. Just now walking our dog, Hobbes, I found myself contemplating my lifetime need for God. I felt extremely lonely as a child. Hard to believe in a loving household of a family of five with pets living in a small tract house with a single bathroom, sharing…
Read MoreBanned: A Prayer For St. Patrick’s Day
By now many of you will have heard that the organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston and New York have banned LGBTQ folks from marching “openly” in the event. I’m not sure if this would please Patrick one bit. When he brought the Irish nation to Christ, I do not remember any reference…
Read MoreHow One Epiphany Helped Me Grow As A Christian
On Independence Day 2006, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ presented a resolution to hundreds of delegates to affirm same-sex marriages. It was a very hot, sunny Atlanta, Georgia afternoon with temperatures reaching beyond 100 degrees. However, it felt good inside the large auditorium, as cool air from powerful fans and air…
Read MoreAn Act Of Love: A Documentary Inspired By Rev. Frank Schaefer
Like a lot of you, I first heard about Rev. Frank Schaefer from the news. I read an article back in November about a United Methodist pastor who was in the middle of a church trial. Six years earlier, Rev. Schaefer had performed a small wedding ceremony for his son, Tim, something countless pastors have…
Read MoreA Kiss Of Solidarity
A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Recently, I learned just how true that is. I’ve written thousands of words over the past several years about how the Church has failed our gay and lesbian family members, friends, and neighbors, and why I, as a minister of the Gospel, seek to welcome and…
Read MoreBeing Gay In A Bible Belt Congregation
I’ve been in church since I can remember. I was baptized as a baby in the first Pentecostal church that was ever built in America—Keelville Pentecostal Church—in a tiny community in southeastern Kansas. When I was a kid in the early to mid-eighties, our congregation ran somewhere between 60 and 80 people, two-thirds of which…
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