Posts Tagged ‘LGBT people of faith’
How Marriage Equality Is The Answer To Our Prayers
You know the old joke about praying for God’s help? The one where the man in a storm waits atop his roof while flood waters rise, having prayed for God’s help for deliverance? Meanwhile, his neighbor drives off, a boat passes by and even a rescue helicopter hovers overhead. All of which the man refuses…
Read MoreDiscovering Abby & Becoming Myself
It was the day after Thanksgiving 2006. My entire extended family had gathered at my brother’s “cabin” on the banks of the South Fork of the Snake River for a traditional turkey dinner the day before. My mother and step-dad went home to Pocatello after dinner, but the rest of us stayed overnight, sleeping on…
Read MoreWhen God Met Me On The Bridge
Often times we think that we have to walk into the sanctuary, sit two rows back from the altar and just wait for our “aha” moment to realize what our purpose is, but that isn’t always the case. On March 5, 2015, I loaded two overly packed suitcases into one of three vans and headed…
Read MoreThe Price Of Authenticity
They say freedom isn’t free. This is something I know very well. Authenticity is also not free. Lack of authenticity has its cost, as well. The price of authenticity is often added to the cost of living inauthentically and the burden is carried by everyone whose life touches any human being for whom the struggle…
Read MoreInfluenced By Catholic Upbringing, Artist’s “Queer Icons” Offer Windows To God
For many Christians, icons are windows to God. They make the Ultimate accessible through divinely-inspired human artistry. Worldly subjects–almost exclusively holy people and their environments–draw readers outward and upward, beyond what is present, towards what is Holy. Artist Gabriel Garcia Roman’s icons of queer and trans* people of color achieve similar ends for me, employing real people…
Read MoreWill “Third Way” Move United Methodist Church Toward LGBTQ Inclusion?
The body of Christ includes Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) persons. All around the world, and throughout the course of history, the church has baptized queer babies, raised them in the faith, and relied on their many gifts, skills, talents, resources, and passion as it has sought to be food for the world.…
Read MoreWhy The Reformation Project’s Atlanta Conference Will Start With A Racial Justice Institute
In her keynote address at The Reformation Project’s D.C. Regional conference last November, Rev. Allyson Robinson exhorted Christians in the affirming Church to consider and overcome the “temptation to power,” the temptation to think the LGBT issue is the only gospel issue we should focus on. She asked what kind of Church will we become,…
Read MoreLGBTQ Faith Leaders Travel To Cuba To Meet Faith & Government Leaders
President Obama and Cuban leader, Raul Castro, made history in April of 2015 with a handshake. On April 28, leaders of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) will make history by traveling to Cuba at the invitation of leaders of the Baptist LGBTQ group, Abriendo Brechas de Colores, from the Federación de Iglesias Bastistas de Cuba. Leaders…
Read MoreIs The Apology From Bob Jones, III Enough?
Just before Easter, I learned that some of Bob Jones University’s loyal supporters have received a letter containing a very different message from the publicly posted apology that Bob Jones University released prior to BJUnity’s book discussion with author Matthew Vines in downtown Greenville on March 23. The letter says: Dear _______, What kind and encouraging friends you are.…
Read MoreDisciples of Christ’s 2017 Assembly Will Return To Indianapolis
The past couple of weeks have been quite a roller coaster, especially for Disciples and especially for Indiana, the state where our church has maintained our denominational offices since long before we called ourselves a denomination. Certainly you know the basics of the story. The state legislature passed and on March 26 the governor of…
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