Posts Tagged ‘Affirming Christian Theology’
For Believers of All Stripes
I was 13 and sitting in the basement of my childhood home in the Amish-laden countryside of Pennsylvania. “Crystal, are you a lesbian?” A Twizzler stuck in my throat. What a pointed thing to ask. In my youth, I didn’t quite grasp the magnitude of the question, especially coming from a gaggle of church-schooled teenage…
Read MoreAnd We Rise To The Top
My grandmother sat on green rocking chairs, in South Dallas Porches, singing songs like “Cheerios, Cheerios, push them to the bottom of the bowl and then they rise to the top.” My grandmother sat on green rocking chairs, in South Dallas porches, right in front of the drug dealers, in the midst of gun shots,…
Read MoreOut Under The Rainbow
Have you ever looked into a person’s face and felt truly needed? Sometimes, I look into the face of another person who definitely needs me in some way, but the need itself is unspoken, unfamiliar, uncomfortable—or out of tune with the time and place—and instead of addressing it, I move on to what’s next, feeling…
Read MoreWondrous Confusion: How My Gender Shimmers In The Fluidity Of Being Bi
“I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). It’s easy for me to sympathize with people who express confusion when I share with them that I am bisexual. My sexual orientation confused me for decades and continues to do so occasionally, even now. Like many, I thought the question I was answering for myself was,…
Read MoreAll Saints Day: Why We Need LGBT Saints
LGBT saints are important because people are searching for alternative ways to lead loving lives. Churches have tried to control people by burying queer history. The LGBT saints show us not only their place in history, but also our place—because we are all saints who are meant to embody love. We can tap into the…
Read MoreFull Of Grace & Truth
I was a junior in high school, it was a week after Christmas, and it was bitterly cold. On St. Stephen’s Day a blizzard of Biblical proportions blanketed Massachusetts in a chrysalis of snow. Peripatetic winds had buffeted those icy banks, sculpting them into miniature topographical masterpieces, complete with condensed peaks and vales. I worked…
Read MoreChristians Affirm LGBTQ Youth This Spirit Day
This Thursday, October 17, is Spirit Day, when millions of people will wear purple to stand against bullying. Many Christians are responding to this call to support LGBTQ youth by participating in Spirit Day. Believe Out Loud is joining with GLAAD and a number of faith organizations as we turn our logo purple on our…
Read MoreCome Out, Queer Prophets!
Coming out just doesn’t hold the same intrigue for me anymore. The act is neither filled with the trepidation of earlier years or the sense of boldness it carried in the years after the trepidation subsided. Coming out sometimes serves as a tool for liberation—oftentimes quite successfully. Resisting the shackles of silence and the imposition…
Read MoreHospitality: Our Christian Mission
As a progressive Christian, I am hesitant to admit how dearly I wanted my college buddy to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Clearly it was a desire for intimacy on my part, but I also wanted him to know how dearly loved he was. If he could never be told of my…
Read MoreWashington National Cathedral Stands With LGBT Youth
Find your own welcoming & affirming congregation today. It has been fifteen years since Matthew Shepard’s death this October, and Washington National Cathedral is taking time to observe it. The anniversary helps our nation to remember a watershed moment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth. The anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death is equally important…
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