Posts Tagged ‘LGBT people of faith’
The Gay Christian Network Conference: A Glimpse Into The Future Of The Church
Four years ago I didn’t think it was possible to be both Gay and Christian. Those identities were diametrically opposed in my mind. To be gay was to have adopted a false identity rooted in sin and to be Christian was to find one’s identity in Jesus Christ alone. So any attempt to mesh these…
Read MoreGod Made Me Transgender, And God Does Not Make Mistakes
It is always a tragedy when anybody takes their own life, doubly so when they are so young. This week Leelah Alcorn took her own life. In her note, she mentioned various reasons for her course of actions, from not thinking she would be able to pass as female to the lack of acceptance from…
Read MoreThe Best Christmas Gift Of All
2012 was the worst Christmas I could ever remember. I had just begun what would become an arduous and painful journey into coming out as a transgender woman. I had lost my job six months prior to a start-up web company. I was barely making ends meet and renting a one-room flat with an air…
Read MoreSeason Of Waiting: A Queer Catholic Advent
Advent for, many Catholics, is a time of patience and reflection, a time of wonder and amazement. This Advent for me is a lot different than the last. Last Advent I was struggling to tell my family that I was transgender, struggling to voice how unhappy I had been. But since that last Advent I…
Read MoreFinding Home For The Holidays
The Christmas season is a difficult time of year for me. I am always bothered by our culture’s egregious forms of commercialism—and its either lack of or its anemic recognition of other forms for religious holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, and the celebration of the winter solstice during this season. Over the years, as I…
Read MoreA Response To Non-Affirming Christians
Several weeks ago I was interviewed for a piece in the Huffington Post about LGBT Christians. While I’m no stranger to the push-back that being both gay and a drag queen elicits from many religious folks, I was struck by the hateful manner in which many people attempted to mask their bigoted thoughts in pseudo-Christian comments as…
Read MoreCatholic Bishops In United Kingdom Open Dialogue Before Synod On The Family
The news of a slate of mostly conservative bishops being elected to represent the U.S. Catholic Church at the Synod on the Family in Rome next October was disappointing. Across the Atlantic, news about the synod preparatory plans of the bishops of England and Wales are much more optimistic. According to The Tablet, these British bishops are going…
Read MoreBelieve Out Loud Hosts Level Ground Film Festival In New York City
“A drag queen, a lesbian rocker and a Catholic nun walk into a church…” This might sound like the opening line of a joke, but on November 14, 15 and 16—that’s exactly what’s happening in New York City as Believe Out Loud joins Level Ground Film Festival to bring the Road Show to New York…
Read MoreNaked Pastor Publishes Cartoons For The LGBTQ Community
David Hayward (aka the Naked Pastor) recently published a new book: The Art of Coming Out: Cartoons for the LGBTQ Community. As an artist who is often featured on Believe Out Loud, we asked him a few questions about his cartoons and advocacy for LGBTQ equality. 1. Why did you write a book for the…
Read MoreAriana Grande Is (Another) Wake Up Call For Faith Leaders
Dear religious leaders: When you tell people that God doesn’t love them as they are, they believe you. And then they act accordingly. Namely, leaving your faith community. In an interview with The Telegraph, pop superstar Ariana Grande shared that she left the Roman Catholic Church after her gay brother shared with her that God didn’t love…
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