The Family Secrets In My Grandmother’s Bible

An open book with a picture of jesus on it.

My grandmother’s Bible is in remarkable shape, considering it’s spent almost 20 years shuttling between cardboard boxes, garages, and basements, and traveled more than 1,000 miles from Florida to New York. Its soft leather cover is free of cracks, its maroon handles show no strain, and its zipper opens smoothly. But the book inside is…

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The Double Feature

A man and a woman sitting on a couch.

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…

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Ash Wednesday For All

A group of people standing around on a city street.

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. For Christians it marks the beginning of the Lenten season—a season of preparation leading to Holy Week and Easter. For the second year in a row, I went with members of the Not So Churchy community and the folks from Presbyterian Welcome to New York City’s Union Square to impose ashes on any passersby who…

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Believe Out Loud Presents At The Level Ground Film Festival

A logo for a film festival.

Today marks the start of the 2014 Level Ground Film Festival, the world’s first faith-based, LGBT film festival, in Pasadena, California. Believe Out Loud is excited to announce it will be one of the presenting sponsors participating during this groundbreaking event. The festival will run from February 20th through March 1st, and will feature an eclectic…

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Russia And The Olympics: It’s Not A Game!

The olympic rings in front of a stadium.

An Italian advocate for transgender rights and former member of parliament was detained at the Olympics for unfurling a rainbow flag with “Gay is OK” on it. Russian officials denied it, but the Italian foreign ministry activated its crisis protocol for Italian travelers in trouble. Russian President Vladamir Putin showed up last week at a celebration party for…

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Two Films Inspiring Social Change Toward LGBT Equality

Two young men posing for a picture.

During the 2013 Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, I caught two films that highlight the impact religious bigotry plays in the actual lives of LGBT individuals. In the film Bridegroom, Designing Women creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason crafted a full-length documentary out of Shane Bitney Crone’s viral video “It Could Happen to You.” Recorded on the…

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Sochi Olympics: Spiritual Art Supports Russia’s LGBT Rights Struggle

A man in a suit is being escorted by police.

Image Detail: “De Profundis” by Tony O’Connell Artists are using spiritual imagery to draw attention to LGBT rights in Russia as the Olympics begins in Sochi today. The holiness of the Russian struggle for LGBT equality is emphasized in two new artworks. These pieces are “De Profundis” by queer British artist Tony O’Connell and “Postcard to Putin”…

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