Posts Tagged ‘Faith and Identity’
Painting Grief: Remembering My Fallen Ally
Trigger warning: description of addiction and substance abuse I’ll never forget telling my younger brother that I’m gay. He asked if I was dating anyone. Since he’d recently met the person I was dating, I simply told him who she was. He responded, “Damn, I was planning to ask her out. Well done, Ang.” From…
Read MoreA Response to Rev. Dr. David Gushee’s “Ethical Analysis of the ‘New Sanctuary Movement’”
Hearing Rev. Dr. David P. Gushee speak at The Reformation Project’s 2014 National Conference remains one of the more powerful experiences I have had in my time with our organization. I, a Venezuelan immigrant, sat in the front pew as he spoke a convicting and prophetic word. This word made me weep for my adoptive…
Read MoreCisgender Solidarity With Black Trans Women
You would think that we, those of us belonging to the LGBTQ community of faith would be mourning you and conspiring towards how we can work to protect you and cherish you in our communities. However, the silence around your death, Chyna Gibson, is deafening. As a black queer cisgender woman, I know that pain…
Read MoreIt’s Up to Us (Always Has Been)
One of the most frustrating and emotionally and spiritually damaging aspects of Transgender justice work is the persistent confrontation with silence. There is always a moment when individuals, organizations of all kinds, family members or friends, communities of faith, and government entities have an opportunity to offer care, kindness and compassion into our lives as…
Read MoreAn Open Pastoral Letter To The Trans Community
Brothers, Sisters and Siblings, I see the posts. I see the words of hate people scrawl through the comments section, through the tweets and Facebooks status updates. I see the pictures of trans celebrities that get attacked and misgendered. I see the people standing outside of buildings with picket signs. I see the petitions and…
Read MoreThe Steep Path: How Muslim Allies Can Resist Islamophobia
Originally published in December 2015, this post has particular resonance this week following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to restrict immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. This bans stigmatizes and harms immigrants, refugees, and Muslims, and it is an assault on the values we hold dear, including religious freedom and Christian love. “What will explain to…
Read MoreI’m Transgender & I Don’t Need Your Stinking Mercy
I was a Catholic for over fifty years. I was president of the Altar Boys (how many women can say that?). I was involved with religious groups at my high school. I was a Eucharistic Minister. I played piano at Mass for over 25 years. I worked retreats for high school seniors and ran retreats…
Read MoreBelieve Out Loud To Debut New Training At Creating Change
Next week, the staff of Believe Out Loud will join more than 4,000 attendees in Philadelphia at the 29th annual Creating Change conference, which is hosted each year by the National LGBTQ Task Force. This year, the Believe Out Loud team will debut a new training: Digital Strategies for Faithful Action. This year’s workshop will…
Read MoreTo Be Known: My Journey To Standing Rock
My entire life has been an exercise in chasing after the fulfillment of being known. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela but have lived in the Latin diaspora since I was 3 years old. I have never returned home. I do not know my people, my language, or my birth family. I’m exhausted from chasing…
Read MoreUnafraid to Follow Stars
Tis the season! Those of us in ministry have spent this Advent rallying our minds, hearts, and spirits to find celebratory tones of hope. I fear that much like our march towards resurrection, without wanting to look at the harsh and ugly realities of state and religious violence that took Jesus to the cross, we…
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