Posts by Believe Out Loud
How To Be A Trans* Ally
My feelings about “allies” to the transgender community are complicated. Sometimes this “ally” concept seems really powerful to me, and other times, it just seems like another shallow label. Sometimes the way we talk about “allies” feels insightful and important. Sometimes our language feels rigid and inadequate. In transgender communities, allies are very important—hugely important.…
Read MoreThe Misnomer Of Safe Space
The majority of life boils down to one of two relational spaces. There’s the surface-level presentation of self, best reserved for exchanging pleasantries with the man next to you in the grocery line or during the meet and greet at church. I like your necklace and did you see the game last week? How’s your…
Read MoreSteadfast Love
“I’m going to love you till I don’t love you no more…” So sang a song from the speakers in The Sports Connection, my gym when I lived in West Hollywood. I found the words funny, but when I laughed about them with a fellow weightlifter, he thought he was joining in the joke when…
Read MoreWhy I’m Going Purple
I read an article the other day about how a high-school student, near the end of his rope, went to talk to his school counselor. He felt safe because he saw a rainbow flag on her door. Today he is the president of the student government at a major university. Based on that article, you…
Read MoreChristians Affirm LGBTQ Youth This Spirit Day
This Thursday, October 17, is Spirit Day, when millions of people will wear purple to stand against bullying. Many Christians are responding to this call to support LGBTQ youth by participating in Spirit Day. Believe Out Loud is joining with GLAAD and a number of faith organizations as we turn our logo purple on our…
Read MoreCivil Rights For All: The Making Of “The New Black”
Here is perhaps the most salient lesson I learned in making the documentary The New Black. What goes unspoken–and unheard–in our national conversations is equally as important as what is said. When, in 2008, an erroneous CNN poll laid the blame for the passage of Proposition 8 squarely at the feet of California’s black voters,…
Read MoreTop 10 Reflections On Coming Out & Christianity
In honor of National Coming Out Day, here are ten of our favorite blogs on Coming Out & Christianity! 🙂 Come Out, Queer Prophets! by Rev. Cody J. Sanders—Ph.D. Candidate, Brite Divinity School You Are Not Alone by Candice Czubernat—Licensed Mental Health Counselor, The Christian Closet Coming Out Of The Wilderness & Into The City by Rev.…
Read MoreComing Out Again: Embracing The Full Truth Of My Bisexuality
An often told story in my family, even now, is about a time we took a trip to see my grandparents in Alabama. On the drive back to Atlanta, when we were still at least an hour away, I sat up and stated with a sense of importance, “I think I’ll have a glass of…
Read MoreCome Out, Queer Prophets!
Coming out just doesn’t hold the same intrigue for me anymore. The act is neither filled with the trepidation of earlier years or the sense of boldness it carried in the years after the trepidation subsided. Coming out sometimes serves as a tool for liberation—oftentimes quite successfully. Resisting the shackles of silence and the imposition…
Read MoreCelebrating The First Year Of My Amazing Lesbian Marriage
On a cool Saturday—October 6th, 2012—I took a walk, holding the hand of my best friend, my soul-mate, and the love of my life. I stood in front of my friends and family, and hers. There were passages read, and homilies were presented. Underneath a natural chuppah of leaf and limb, God’s presence became visible and felt in light and gentle Autumn breeze. …
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