Posts Tagged ‘Love not Hate’
The Hope Of The Resurrection
On Easter Day, I spent some time reflecting on what this holiday is like for those who feel estranged from their church communities because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. For most of us who grew up in church, there was a time when the words “Happy Easter! He is risen” only ever brought…
Read MoreLiving 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…
Read MoreLiberating Religious Liberty
When I went to work in West Hollywood in the mid-1990s, one of my new co-workers took me on a tour of the neighborhood at lunchtime. A long-time gay activist, he knew the local history well. He pointed out a building down the street and told me about the removal of a sign that read,…
Read MoreThat All Might Hear The Gospel And Live
Walking into my parish church August 13, 2014, I took notice of the sun streaming through the skylight in our church commons, gleaming on the water of the baptismal font. It was a bright and warm summer afternoon, typical for August in Indiana. On this afternoon, I had been summoned to a meeting with my…
Read MoreWhen Is “Enough” Enough?
Recently, some African American pastors who came to “heckle” me changed their minds and instead asked me what they could do to move the conversation about moral equality for LGBT people in the Black church forward. I appreciate their honesty regarding the difficulty of this justice shift and the courage of those who will embark…
Read MoreHow One Pastor Broke The Silence About LGBTQ People
As the faith organizer for Equality Pennsylvania, I am honored to work with people of faith across the state of Pennsylvania to end discrimination against LGBTQ people. I meet clergy from across the state who support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. However, many of these faith leaders are afraid to speak up because…
Read MoreSpirit Day 2014: How We Can Prevent Bullying
Four years ago, beginning in October of 2010, we in the United States saw a rash of gay teenager suicides—Asher Brown, age 13, in Houston; Seth Walsh, also 13, in California; Billy Lucas and Justin Aaberg, both 15, from Indiana and Minnesota; and Tyler Clementi, age 18, a freshman just beginning his studies at Rutgers…
Read MoreBeing Gay In A Post-Matthew Shepard Wyoming
We as human beings are constantly seeking our life story while sometimes comparing ours to others. This is my story. I speak on my own behalf, not for all the LGBT people in my state. I live in the big open space called Wyoming, from the small town of Lander. The youngest and only girl…
Read MoreThe Golden Rule
The Golden Rule: a law that teaches when one is harmed we’re all harmed; when one is helped, we’re all healed. It is the base for several religions with versions of it existing in several sacred texts (see below). Recently, I have reflected on how the Golden Rule can help unite us, despite having differences.…
Read More10 Anti-LGBT Things You Can’t Do While Following Jesus
As I say in all of my “10 Things You Can’t Do While Following Jesus” articles, this is by no means meant to be a complete list, but it’s a decent place to start. Also, this is not to say that people are unable to do these things when they are following Jesus, as much…
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