Posts Tagged ‘LGBT people of faith’
Rainbow Christ Prayer: LGBT Flag Reveals The Queer Christ
Colors of the rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer I wrote with gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. Rainbow flags are flying around the world in June for LGBT Pride Month. Rainbows are also an important symbol in many religious traditions. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors…
Read MoreCrossing The State Border: From Married To Single In An Instant
I want to begin my musing with a little history. In June 1958, two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a Black woman, and Richard Loving, a White man, were married in the District of Columbia pursuant to its laws. Shortly after their marriage, the Lovings returned to Virginia and established their marital abode in Caroline…
Read MoreMy Roots: Reflections On Metropolitan Community Church’s PAD Conference
Whenever I think about my experiences over the years at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) Conference for People of African Descent, Our Allies and Friends (PAD), I can’t help but think of the Tree of Life. Perhaps you’ve encountered this tree (pictured above) before and just didn’t know it. Remember Rafiki, the old and wise mandrill from The Lion King,…
Read MoreA Confession Of A Bisexual Granted Straight Privilege
Eternal God, I confess I have sinned against you in thought, word and deed; By what I have done and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart. I have not loved my neighbor as my self. Holy Week invites us to engage intensely in examination of our…
Read MoreLove Actually
Until recently, I had never really thought about being straight—if you asked me who I was, I would tell you I was someone who adored books, talked a lot, wanted to move to Europe, and enjoyed gourmet cooking long before I even thought to mention that I liked boys. I experience straight privilege—I am allowed…
Read MoreThe Revelation Within
I remember a conversation I had soon after I left the monastery. I’d been a monk in a Roman Catholic religious order for a few years, and once I was back in the real world, a family member asked me what I wanted to do with my life. “I guess I’d like to be a writer,”…
Read MoreThe Double Feature
There are movies that I can watch again and again with pleasure because they conjure up for me the “olden” times of my life. The Birds and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? take me back to a quaint California of the early 1960s, my native state. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Heart Is a…
Read MoreCatholic School Contracts Are Unfair To LGBT Community
About a century ago, Catholic job-seekers were routinely confronted with signs reading, “No Catholics need apply.” Now, it seems administrators in some Catholic schools are prepared to post signs that say, “No gay people need apply.” LGBT people have worked for the Catholic Church probably for as long as the church has been around. For…
Read MoreJames Rowe Named New Director Of Believe Out Loud
Intersections International is pleased to announce the appointment of James Rowe as the new Director of Believe Out Loud. Prior to his new appointment, James served as both the Community Outreach Director and Acting Director for Believe Out Loud, working closely with faith leaders, movement organizers and welcoming churches across the country to advance LGBT equality…
Read MoreBeing Gay In A Bible Belt Congregation
I’ve been in church since I can remember. I was baptized as a baby in the first Pentecostal church that was ever built in America—Keelville Pentecostal Church—in a tiny community in southeastern Kansas. When I was a kid in the early to mid-eighties, our congregation ran somewhere between 60 and 80 people, two-thirds of which…
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