A Queer Pilgrim

When I was the LGBTQIA2S+ Advocacy Coordinator for the OR-ID United Methodist Church Conference, I spent a glorious night in Twin Falls, ID, at a cafe called “Golden Brick Road Cafe,” with a group of drag queens and a wonderful audience. The theme? Drag Queen Theology. Another minister in the area set this up, and asked me, along with another United Methodist minister to be on a panel, along with a drag queen, in which we would spend time enjoying a drag performance by one queen after another, with question-and-answer period, with questions from the audience written on 3" by 5” cards. What a blast! Kathryn Post of religiounnews.com reported on drag queens and church. Post wrote this in her report:  Clad in heels, lace and a billowy white hairpiece, the guest preacher at Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Idaho  approached the pulpit  last August with markedly more sparkle than the usual cleric.  Bonnie Violet Quintana, a drag artist and queer c...

Though weddings and marriages are not considered sacred rituals or sacraments in most Protestant denominations, there is a sense that, no matter what, it is a sacred moment when two (or three for those in polyamorous relationships), say “yes” or “I do.” Having been married twice--once to a woman and the second time to Christian Halstead--each wedding ceremony was special, remarkable, and memorable, including the build up to the wedding vows and exchange of rings on the day of the wedding. Music; wedding ceremony participants; Order of Worship of wedding itself (I am a minister, after all, and it must have a certain flow); space or place of the wedding ceremony; clothes and rings; and the marriage license, of course. Don’t forget the license! All of this matters, whether it is a heterosexual wedding or same sex wedding. And of course there are the events before the “big day,” as well as the reception afterwards, followed by a honeymoon. And why is it such a big affair? Fir...

It must be hard to be a Pope. Especially Pope Francis. After following the conservative Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, being a more liberal, progressive Pope would be hard. Both John Paul and Benedict put in place conservative cardinals who surprised us all with the election/selection of Francis.   From the outside of the Catholic Church looking in as an out gay Presbyterian minister, I’ve watched with awe and amazement the small, subtle moves that Francis has been making towards inclusion of women in leadership roles, as well as his friendliness towards LGBTQIA2S+ people, especially transgender people in Italy. I was well aware of his gay friends in Argentina, and how they have continued a friendship even when Cardinal Bergolio of Argentina became Pope Francis of Rome. He has withheld judgment towards gays, and defended blessing individuals in same sex coupled relationship, as long as it doesn’t look like a wedding in a church. While he has not changed dogma or doc...

Along with The United Methodist Church jumping into the 21st century in welcoming LGBTQIA2S+ people as ordained clergy, able and willing to be pastors/elders and deacons, along with allowing same sex weddings, and using funds from the pew to support LGBTQIA2S+ people and programs, there are individuals who have stood up and out in the last few weeks that need to be recognized. It is upon their shoulders that the next generation of queer clergy leaders will go and grow in their ministries. First is Rev. Dr. Beth Stroud. This is what David Crary of the Associated Press wrote about the events from last week, after the UMC changed its policies towards LGBTQIA2S+ people a week earlier: "T wenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked as a United Methodist Church pastor after telling her Philadelphia congregation that she was in a committed same-sex relationship. On Tuesday night, less than three weeks after the  UMC repealed its anti-LGBTQ bans , she was reinstated. In a closed m...

Welcome, members of The United Methodist Church (UMC), who, this day, May 1st, 2024, joined the 21st century, affirming the presence and welcoming those of us who are LGBTQIA2S+ people to be ordained, to serve churches, to marry, and to officiate at other weddings of same sex couples. Heck, you can now even use funds from within the UMC to pursue funding programs that assist people who are LGBTQIA2S+ in being and becoming more of the body of Christ through the practices of Methodism. Imagine: You can now focus on other issues that are facing Christendom! Hunger. Poverty. Peace-making programs. Gun control. Global climate. Houselessness. You name it. Praise God. Here’s a link to the news:  https://religionnews.com/2024/05/01/united-methodists-strike-down-ban-on-ordination-of-gay-clergy/  This day was, indeed, a long way in coming. 1972 is when that horrible language was published as part of your Constitution. Richard Nixon was President. HIV/AIDS was not yet an issue.  I’v...

As The United Methodist Church prepares to meet for the 2020 worldwide Quadrennial/General Conference meeting (it is being held in 2024 because of COVID, etc.), there was this article in Religiousnews.com, by my friend Yonat Shimron about the disaffiliation going on in the UMC within The United Methodist Churches (UMC) of NC. Yes,  the great dissolution and schism (call it what it is) of the UMC is finally taking place. Phew! They kicked the can down the road as long as they could, hoping that they wouldn’t be like every Protestant denomination when it came to LGBTQIA2S+ people in terms of schism. But, in the end, reality set in, and the schism is happening. The UMC in the state of NC is an interesting story unto itself. It is a microcosm of all that is happening throughout the country and world in the UMC. NC has two annual Conferences of the UMC: The North Carolina Conference, which is the eastern half of the state, and the Western NC Conference, which is the western ha...

I’ve been ordained for over 40 years. I’ve served 14 churches in various roles, from senior pastor, to simple pulpit supply, from MA to NC, WA to FL, NC to OR, and now NM. I’ve read too many books and articles to count about church growth. And none of them, zero, and no author has advocated excluding people as a way of growing a church numerically, let alone in the faith. And yet individual churches and denominations do this as a whole, and then wonder why they aren’t growing. This includes The United Methodist Church (you’ve changed nothing so far), to the Christian Reformed Church, Southern Baptists, Church of Christ. Include, of course, Church of God and the Roman Catholic Church, along with Orthodox churches. All of these churches are losing members and churches. And if they wonder why, one big reason is because of their exclusionary practices.  The first story is about the Church of God, based in Anderson, IN. A smaller denomination, it tends to be conservative theologically a...

I read this article on advocate.com, by Trudy Ring, about an assistant professor on the faculty of Calvin University, who was fired from his position at Calvin because he officiated at a wedding of a same sex couple. The by-line? " Joseph Kuilema lost his job with Calvin University after officiating a queer couple's wedding. He's disgusted that the school discriminates in the name of God. ” That about says it all. Yes, the University is discriminating against LGBTQIA2S+ people and allies. I don’t get it. There are a lot of  smart, creative, insightful people at Calvin University. They don’t have to “buy” into the conservative politics of the Christian Reformed Church, of which they are connected. They are an institution of higher education. Surely, they can see discrimination when it is around them in the Grand Rapids area.  But apparently they are all right with openly practicing discrimination among themselves, especially when it comes to LGBTQIA2S+ people.  F...

  In Hebrew Scriptures, there is the story of Daniel in a den of lions, in which Daniel survives being in and among those who are natural enemies of humankind. In advocate.com, there was this story by Christopher Higgins about Chaplain Dahron Johnson, a transgender activist, who recently spoke in the Tennessee House of Representatives, the first transgender person to do so. This is the very state Republican House of Representatives that is trying riding a rising tide of anti-LGBTQIA2S+ sentiment in TN. Dahron Johnson is a modern day lioness who had the courage to walk into and talk to some of the most hostile people (Daniels) towards her and the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the TN Republican-controlled House of Representatives. State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democrat from Davidson County, played a pivotal role by inviting Johnson to lead this legislative body in prayer, which not only highlighted Behn’s commitment to LGBTQIA2S+ rights but also symbolized a significant moment of...

  In advocate.com, Trudy Ring reminds us of anti-LGBTQIA+ bias in one of the many Orthodox churches in the world. Along with the Greek Orthodox Church, which as horrified that the Greek Parliament approved same-sex weddings and adoption of children, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church gets the “loser of the month” award for being horribly anti-LGBTQIA+. The church removed a medal given to a gay soldier. Why? Because he is gay. As Ring reports:  Viktor Pylypenko, a medic who’s served in   Ukraine’s   effort to turn back Russia’s invasion, had received a medal from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv for “sacrifice and love to Ukraine,” along with other members of his division’s medical corps. He posted on Facebook that he was grateful for the medal. “I also deliberately assumed that the church has changed its attitude towards LGBT, since it rewards an openly gay activist for protection--in theory, I thought, this is a sharp reversal of the church to humanity, a ...

Cecilia Gentili, a transgender activist, actor and legislative lobbyist, was  honored  at a Feb. 15 funeral packed with mourners in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the  mother church  of the Archdiocese of New York.  According to reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain of religionnews.com, "Cecilia was a transgender activist born in Argentina. S he moved to the U.S. in 2000, experiencing homelessness and addiction while she supported herself as a sex worker. Later, Gentili worked at a health center and for Trans Equity Consulting, where she worked with HIV+ people, trans people, sex workers, incarcerated people and immigrants.  On Feb. 6, 2024, at the age of 52 years old, she died of unspecified causes.  According to press reports, she successfully sued the Trump administration when it tried to roll back the Affordable Care Act and lobbied for the New York State Gender Expression and Discrimination Act. When Gentili died, she had been working to decriminalize sex work...

Today, Feb. 15, 2024, the Greek Parliament approved a bill that would allow same-sex civil marriage! It is the first Orthodox country to legalize same sex-marriage. It is a landmark victory for supporters of LGBTQIA2S+ rights, which was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children, and comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBTQIA2S+ community for marriage equality in the socially conservative country (Who knew!?). It was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300 seat parliament, and will become law when published in the official government gazette. Members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, but there were enough people on the left, liberal side to vote for it, despite a tense debate. Why am I reporting/blogging on this momentous occasion that seems on...

  In my work with the OR-ID United Methodist Church Conference, along with my friendship and participation with many local organizations of LGBTQIA2S+ people, I often find a mixed reaction to when people find out I am an out Presbyterian pastor. While there are those who express a history of being raised in a church, there is a strong indication that being part of and self-identifying as part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community caused a certain trauma in the lives of those people who are out. Some would even call the period of their post-lives of having left the church as a PTSD period--post traumatic stress disorder. Trauma at the hands of a religious community. Having been denied tenure at one religious institution of higher education, and denied a few called-installed positions in a church in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I can relate to having experienced or still experiencing some trauma of being refused for tenure or a called-installed position, simply because I’m gay...

Not that I should be surprised, but I am about the amazing number of Gen Z people who self-identify as members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. From Axios (as reported on Joe.My.God): "About 28% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQIA2S+, compared with 16% of millennials, 7% of Generation X (born 1965-1980), 4% of baby boomers (1946-1964), and 4% of the Silent Generation (1928-1945).” Not only that, but Gen Z adults are less likely than older generations to join an established religion, while more likely to identify as LGBTQIA2S+, and generally are less likely to be Republican. “Gen Z adults--who now make up about 1 in 6 of the Americans eligible to vote--are more politically left (Democrats) than older Americans, with 43% of them identifying as liberal.”  It is also reported that Gen Z adults are accelerating Americans’ move away from Christianity and toward being unaffiliated with any religion. Here’s a link to the article on Joe.My.God.:  https://www.joemygod.com/202...

My husband, Christian, and I have found some incredible shows on various streaming services that involve LGBTQIA2S+ people. For example, one of our favorites was “Fellow Travelers” with Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey on Prime Video, highlighting the horrendous way LGBTQIA2S+ people were treated in the 1950s to the 1980s within the federal government, including the story of Roy Cohn and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The other show that got our attention was a documentary on Hulu, “We Live Here: The Midwest.” The documentary follows LGBTQIA2S+ couples in various midwest states, like Kansas, Minnesota, and Ohio, to name a few. Many of these couples have others members in the family, either from previous heterosexual, married relationships, or other means of pregnancy. While many of the couples were well-accepted in largely rural settings or conservative cities, there were the stories of couples not being accepted and facing alienation from one part of their community or another. Of ...

Vandalism continues.  In the last few weeks, our flag, posted in front of the church parking lot, that says, “Abide No Hatred,” with a background of rainbow colors (though not the rainbow flag of the LGBTQIA2S+ community) has been torn twice in the last few weeks. It was torn soon after we replaced it, covering over the message or passage from Romans 1:18-32 that was scrawled in blue spray paint. Thanks to Tim West, who put up the wooden sign post that the flag is posted on, he put grommets around the sign, so it is harder to tear. Thankfully, others have placed an order and sent us more signs.  If interested in sending us a flag, here’s the link:  https://bsgeneralstore.com/products/abide-no-hatred-flag. Though it says it is currently sold-out (!) I’m sure they will re-stock. Our church address is La Mesa Presbyterian Church, 7401 Copper Ave., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108. Or feel free to go to lamesapresabq.org, and go to our donatio...

Love being part of a church that blesses so much. We have house blessings; blessings of pets and other animals; blessings upon a new car; blessings for people in political office. And now, officially, there are blessings of same sex couples and our relationships by both the Church of England, and in the Roman Catholic Church, thanks to Pope Francis. Of course, that doesn’t change any of the theology, dogma, or doctrine, especially in the Catholic Church. For a refresher course: In the Catholic church, homosexual acts are considered acts of grave depravity and are intrinsically disordered. A blessing of a same sex couple--while wonderful, romantic, holy in context, stupendous, lovely, fantastic, and super-duper--is not the same thing as a marriage of a same sex couple. It just isn’t. There is nothing in the US that says I can pick up a “blessing certificate” as I can a marriage license, pay my $60 (Oregon), and be married. To be married is to have a signed contract, betwee...

On Nov. 27, 2023, I celebrated my 40th anniversary of my ordination as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I first celebrated this on Facebook, and now here. I’m smiling as I typed it in as text, especially as an out gay pastor, one of four in the state of New Mexico, which was the similar status as when I lived in Oregon. I was one of three out gay and lesbian Presbyterian pastors. We are still a novelty, but hopefully growing number. In 1983, I was a younger 28 year old pastor. I was a student at Harvard Divinity School (ThM), and called to serve First Presbyterian Church of East Boston, MA as an Assistant Pastor. I was married to a woman. No children yet. I had graduated from Princeton Seminary (M.Div), and my job at the church was to sit on many boards that were around the geographical area, serving the needs of the Laotian community who were far from home, and Italian Bostonians who had fled South Boston because of the rise of tourism. I was clea...

My friend and colleague in ministry, Laura Norvell, had a cool flag that she and her husband Matt displayed from their house outside of Baltimore, MD. The sign, with rainbow-like colors in the background, said, “Abide No Hatred.” I thought it was a cool sign, and thought it would be great for our church, La Mesa Presbyterian Church, in New Mexico.  Here’s a link to the church website:  https://www.lamesapresabq.org So a member of the church bought the flag, and other friends of the church created a sign post for it. We posted the flag on the corner lot of the property, in a prominent cross road area. You couldn’t miss the sign. One neighbor drove by when we were putting up the sign and honked her approval, and stopped, rolled down the window of her car, and said, “That’s an awesome message! Thank you!”  This was on Oct. 8, 2023. On Nov. 16, 2023, the rainbow sign had been stolen, torn off from the sign post, and replaced with the lettering, in blue spr...

I’m back in the “writing saddle” again after a wonderful break in Chile with my husband, Christian Halstead, his sister and brother-in-law, and Christian’s best friend. One of the news items that popped up recently and wasn’t picked up by many in the mainstream media had to do with a meeting between Pope Francis and Sr. Jeannine Gramick of New Ways Ministry.   New Ways Ministry began in 1977 with Sr. Jeannine Gramick and the late Fr. Robert Nugent. New Ways Ministry advocated for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA2S+ people in all parts of life in the Roman Catholic Church. The previous Pope, Pope Benedict XVI, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, was opposed to this group and its ministry. This comes as no surprise for anyone who knows Cardinal Ratzinger. For Ratzinger, being gay was a sin, and your gender was fixed at birth. While the two had been in correspondence for awhile, the meeting was very emotional, probably for both. The meeting lasted 50 minutes. Sr. Jeannine wrote:  “...