I Was Fired From My Job Because I’m Gay

Two women standing next to each other on a staircase.

On March 18, I was fired for the first time in my life, and it had nothing to do with my job performance. I was fired because I’m gay. My girlfriend and I were called, one at a time, into the director’s office at Aloma Methodist Early Childhood Learning Center. We were questioned as to…

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Living Christ’s Love: Would Jesus Turn People Away?

I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus. I believe in doing our best to follow God’s word and make it an active part of our lives. I also believe that every human being should be treated with dignity, respect and love—no if’s, and’s or but’s about it! I am heavily dismayed when I hear…

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Erskine College Releases Anti-Gay Position That Will Inform “Institutional Decisions”

A stone path leading to a park with trees and a lamp post.

In February, the Board of Trustees at Erskine College, a Christian liberal arts school associated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Due West, South Carolina, released a discriminatory statement claiming that marriage is “between a man and a woman,” and that sexual relationships between two people of the same sex are “contrary to the will of the…

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For Little Bay: When Discrimination Impacts Our Children

Three people posing for a photo in an office.

A year ago, when the Rowse-DeBoer marriage equality case was heard in a federal court in Detroit, I joined marriage equality supporters picketing in front of the courthouse. There I was lucky enough to meet Jami and Krista, a lovely same-sex couple who have since become parents and celebrities (but not in a good way).…

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LGBT Catholic Pilgrims Get VIP Seats At Papal Audience

St peter and st peter in front of st peter's basilica.

In what is surely the most official welcome from Church officials that New Ways Ministry has received in its 38-year history, and one of the warmest welcomes the LGBT community has received, a pilgrimage group of 48 LGBT Catholics and supporters led by our co-founder, Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL, received VIP seating at the papal…

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An Open Letter to Pastor Ray Chavez of New Hope Ministries

A fountain pen is sitting on top of a piece of paper.

Pastor Chavez, I’m sure you have received your fair share of letters over the past week or so. Some of them “hate mail,” others, letters staunchly supporting your decision. This letter falls under neither category. Going to any kind of extreme would only alienate you from its simple message. Vanessa Collier was a human being,…

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New Show Sends Dangerous Message

My husband's not gay.

Almost every professional medical association condemns “reparative therapy” as both dangerous and ineffective when applied to changing a person’s sexual orientation. Recently the practice became banned and illegal in California, New Jersey and Washington D.C. with pending legislative actions against its practice in a number of states. I experienced first hand almost six months of…

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My Faith. My Mississippi.

A white church with a steeple surrounded by trees.

I am Denise Donnell. I am an ordained elder in the Mississippi Conference in the United Methodist Church. I have been a member of the clergy for the last eight years of my life. I wish I could tell you that I have always been a friend of the LGBT community, but that is not…

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Dear Pope Francis, Help Save My Vocation

A statue of a man with a cross in front of a cloudy sky.

Dear Pope Francis, In your time as Pope, your commitment to poverty has awakened the world to the evils of globalization, capitalism, and materialism. Many now understand poverty to be a structural sin and social evil. Through your public statements, you have sparked the interest of Catholics and non-Catholics, believers and atheists. The world looks…

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