Posts Tagged ‘Ministry’
Why I Stopped Pursuing Ordained Ministry
In November of 2014, I decided to discontinue my efforts to be a certified candidate in the United Methodist Church. I’ll never forget that day. It was unseasonably warm, so I worn a white tank top and some black basketball shorts. I looked like I was prepping for a track meet, or at least for…
Read MoreLGBTQ Mental Health Care In The Black Church
Back in the day, Girlfriends was one of my favorite sitcoms to watch. To see the interactions between strong Black women on television that mirrored what I was exposed to in my family always left me joyful and anxious to watch the next episode. The cast of the show was Joan, Lynn, Mya, William and…
Read MoreMarried at Last!
Wade Jones and I were married here in Atlanta by the Rev. Dr. Erin Swenson during a private ceremony last week on my 65th birthday, a few days shy of our 15th anniversary, a week before his 55th birthday, and one day after the 10th anniversary of my ordination in the Metropolitan Community Churches. Wade and I met between my 50th and his…
Read MoreWhy Being Bisexual Makes Me A Better Pastor
Last month, I attended the More Light Presbyterians Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a powerful experience to reconnect with LGBTQ and ally colleagues in ministry and to dream together about what the future of the church looks like beyond just queer inclusion. A particular highlight of the weekend for me was staying with a…
Read MoreBringing The Margins To The Center In Our Churches
I have a friend named Felipe who frequently attends worship celebrations at our church. Felipe was raised in the Valley—Brownsville, Texas—in a firmly Christian home. His father was Pastor of a Latino congregation with a vibrant outreach ministry to local youth whose poverty, a circumstantial product of their race and of living in a border…
Read MoreA Crowd Of Witnesses
From the outside, and our need to simplify, especially in the media, key figures seem to be responsible for movements. Sometimes they are suffering scapegoats and sacrificial lambs, sometimes charismatic leaders and compassionate saints. But from my vantage perspective of more than four decades devoted to the LGBT movement, I repeatedly realized that our movement…
Read MoreThe Life & Times Of The ‘Gayest Catholic Parish’ In The United States
The National Catholic Reporter’s Tom Fox greatly helped the burgeoning movement of gay-friendly Catholic parishes in the U.S. by publishing a five-part series examining the life of one such parish, Most Holy Redeemer (MHR), San Francisco, which he notes is often referred to as “the gayest Catholic parish in the nation.” Fox’s series on this parish should be read by…
Read MoreMy Faith Is Bigger Than the Church
Throughout my first year of seminary, I often had conversations with a good friend living overseas. While our conversation topics ranged from politics to cultural differences to vacation locations, one of our most popular subjects to discuss was religion. We came from two completely different backgrounds-he is a white straight British male who is no…
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 MoreCelibacy Shouldn’t Be The New Ex-Gay Ministry
Embracing celibacy as an appropriate religious calling to be a God-abiding LGBTQ Christian is now on the rise. And I didn’t know my sexual orientation was still up for debate—no joke. Progress has been made on federal and state levels concerning LGBTQ civil rights, but many churches, especially in certain religious conservative circles, are far…
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