Posts Tagged ‘Religious trauma’
Does Your Church Welcome LGBTQ People?
I hold the church personally responsible for any LGBTQ person who walks away from God and Christianity. Every week, I get emails from individuals all across the country who are full of desire to be a part of a church. They want to go on the church-wide mission trip, join the choir, serve in the…
Read MoreBack-To-School Not Welcoming To All LGBTQ Students
It’s back-to-school season for most and stepping back into the scene isn’t easy for a lot of students—especially LGBTQ students. LGBTQ-phobias abound in the hallowed halls of higher learning. Unfortunately, we even have to confront them here in Massachusetts, an A+ queer-friendly state. I pray for LGBTQ freshman students walking into Gordon College. Most will…
Read More5 Ways Churches Can Care For Homeless LGBTQ Youth
For progressive churches in the U.S., there is a “sweet spot” of meaningful engagement in LGBTQ justice that many congregations are missing. While we’re celebrating gains in marriage equality and legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and (sometimes, though not as often) transgender people, we often overlook the most pressing need affecting the well-being and…
Read MoreHelp Us End Discrimination Against LGBTQ People In Ohio
This month, Believe Out Loud will join with people of faith from across the state of Ohio to help end discrimination against LGBTQ people! Register today to join us in Akron, Ohio, from September 26 – September 28 for a leadership training for people of faith working to end discrimination: PRACTICE SPIRIT DO JUSTICE OHIO POWER SUMMIT…
Read MoreA Catholic Nun Devotes Her Life To LGBT Rights
How could Sister Jeannine Gramick have known that meeting a handsome gay stranger named Dominic at a house party on Spruce Street in West Philadelphia would completely change the course of her life? Dominic strode up to her. He was a baptized gay man who had left the Catholic Church because a priest told him…
Read MoreI Was Kicked Out Of My Church For Being Gay—And God Still Loves Me
I was baptized a few weeks before my 19th birthday because of the Book of Romans and its assurance that once you come to Christ, your mind is renewed and you are set free from the bondage of sin. After my baptism, I walked around with my Bible. I told my whole family and strangers…
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 MoreSin vs. Shame—How I Learned To Let Myself Be Loved
As a kid, I was a big reader. My favorite books centered around characters who would take off to live alone in the wild, sometimes with a furry friend for company. Often these characters felt that they were different from everyone else—like they didn’t belong. Many kids grow up feeling this way, and this sense…
Read MoreMy Journey From Christian College To Drag
The one thing about a journey is that while you may have a certain destination in mind, providence has a way of stepping in and setting you on a course you never imagined. Take Dorothy: I’m almost certain she never meant to hook up with dudes sporting straw, tin, and a hairy bush on her…
Read MoreBe A Rainbow In Somebody’s Cloud
As Maya Angelou passed this May, many of my friends and family took to social media to honor her life. One my favorite quotes by Dr. Angelou seemed to be a favorite amongst others: Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud. She stated once in an interview: There’s an African American song that’s 19th century—it’s so…
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