A Queer Pilgrim

What is "religious freedom?" In the writings and speeches by people who are more politically conservative and part of the so-called "evangelical (political) right," part of the dying portion of American Christianity, religious freedom has become a new way of discriminating against LGBTQIA+ people. It gives those who clamor for so-called "religious freedom" the legal freedom to openly and blatantly discriminate against LGBTQIA+, because LGBTQIA+ people, by just our very existence, are considered an abomination in their so-called religion. These are the same people who promote, "love the sinner, hate the sin," as if one could be extracted from the other.  And what religion are we talking about? It isn't Muslim, Jewish, Buddhism, or Hinduism, to name four of the big five major world religions. It is an American Christianity (largely conservative politics with a little bit of Jesus) that imitates not so much the radical politics of Jesus, but the...

The question that about stopped an interview with a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation I was seriously considering recently was this: "Are you a gay pastor? Or are you a pastor who happens to be gay?" I knew what they were asking. "I'm a pastor who happens to be gay," I said. "Good," said the voice on the Zoom interview. And the one who asked the question smiled. I was a good gay man. I answered the question correctly...for them. Actually, that was the wrong answer on my part. But I froze. I played it safe. I knew what was implied in the question. I got nervous. I didn't want to lose the job right then and there, though I should've hung up on the Zoom connection immediately. The red "Leaving Meeting" button was right there. I should have hit it, and hit it hard. I said what they wanted me to say in this binary set-up, when I should have responded "yes. Yes, I'm a gay pastor  and a pastor who happens to be gay."  To ...

  Elton John beat me to the punch with his Twitter comment this morning: "How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they "are sin," yet happily make a profit from investing millions in "Rocketman"--a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David??" Nicole Winfield of religiionnews.com wrote today in an article, "Vatican excludes gay union blessing as God 'can't bless sin,'" that "The Vatican decreed Monday (March 15, 2021) that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions since 'God cannot bless sin.' The Vatican's orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (which used to be run by Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict), issued a formal response Monday to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions. The answer, contained in a two-page explanation published in seven languages and approved by Pope Francis, was 'negative.' The decreed d...

When I was living in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC, I had a fleeting thought and idea that it would be good to run for an open position with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District. I was interested in running for the open position because I was, a) an educator with background in special education and music therapy, having gone to Princeton, Harvard, and Univ. of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, where I earned by Ph.D. in special education and religious education, and b) because I had children in the school system, and thought I had some new ideas and thoughts to share and contribute to the greater, common, good. And, c) I was an openly gay Presbyterian pastor, who thought my voice in the system would be a good thing, especially in support of LGBTQIA+ faculty, staff, administrators, and students. I even blogged about it on another blog site. That blog posting was picked up by the local newspaper, in which I, as an openly gay parent and pastor, was running for the position. I was soon discussing runni...

 There is an interesting new LGBTQIA+ series on HBO Max: "It's a Sin."  The premise of the show, written by Russell T. Davies (who was behind "Queer as Folk," "A Very British Scandal," and "Dr. Who"), is that it is 1981, and a group of five friends have moved into one large flat together in London. As the 1980s unfolds, we, the viewer, "follow their hopes and dreams, highs and lows, all coming out and coming of age. But a terrible new virus (HIV/AIADS) is on the rise, and they'll need each other more than ever as the fight begins."   What got my attention initially was the title, "It's a Sin." It echoes the language of "sin" and "sinner," which is Christian based. "Sin in the Hebrew Scriptures points to a "transgression" or "going astray.  In Christian Scriptures (NT), it is opposition against things that are of God. Slightly "heavier" than a mere "going astray...