A Queer Pilgrim

To be human is to desire to be in community with others. Close, personal relationships are part and parcel of being human. We were created to be in community with one another, starting with the families in which we were born into, to the series of relationships we celebrate for the rest of our lives, to the moment of our death. One of the constants in life is community. I especially think that we are drawn to communities-of-meaning, communities that tell us who and whose we are. As a Christian theologian and pastor, I would add that it appears that, according to some, being a part of a religious or faith-based community also seems part and parcel of being human. A church is a community-of-meaning, telling us who and whose we are. The educator Howard Gardner, in his research on multiple intelligences, thought that "spirituality" was a kind of intelligence, but settled on "nature" as a kind of last intelligence that he focused on in his work. If this is true, then LGB...

While the Epistle writer Paul said we are all equal, sacred worth in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12), LGBTQIA2S+ and non-LGBTQIA2S+ people, the Church universal has not caught up yet with this theological truth. We are all "first class" citizens of the body of Christ.  However, in today's church politics, we who are LGBTQIA2S+ continue to be second class citizens in our various denominations.  To begin, there's no doubt that, until there is an amended/revised version of The United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, that denomination treats LGBTQIA2S+ people as second class citizens, if not worse. "Homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching," and the ban of out LGBTQIA2S+ to be ordained, or same sex weddings being allowed in their sanctuaries, or funds being used from the pew for LGBTQIA2S+...enough. Of course, there are more conservative Wesleyan groups that treat LGBTQIA2S+ people as less-than second class citizens in the body of Christ, s...

The baptismal vows and promises made at baptisms are incredibly powerful words, shaping how we are to live out our lives, shaped by these baptismal words. For example, in the United Methodist Church, the question is asked of the one being baptized or by parents/guardians of those about to be baptized: "Do you resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?" In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the questions are: "Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God? Do you renounce the way of sin that draws you from God?" And finally, the Presbyterian Church (USA): "Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?" In sum, we are to resist, renounce, and turn away from evil, injustice, oppression, and sin in this world, turning always to God and trusting in the graciou...

In the struggle for equal rights for LGBTQIA2S+ people in the US, in which the struggle was with leaders who are older members of government or hierarchy of the Church (universal), there has been the refrain that people knew that there would have to be some "good deaths" or "good funerals" before there was progress. Why? Because the older leaders were not going to change their minds or leadership actions around LGBTQIA2S+ people. They were "set in their ways," to use another appropriate aphorism. We would simply have to wait for the next generation, a younger generation, a generation which was more "progressive" to step into place and have the authority to bring about "good change," even if it means causing "good trouble" (Rep. John Lewis). Last week's notice of Pope Benedict Emeritus' death was, for me, a reminder of this aphorism. Some times you need some good deaths in order to bring about change, and the abdication...

I was hoping to end the year with a kind of summation of where we "are" in the LGBTQIA2S+ community and the world in which we live. However, opening up Oregon Public Broadcast (OPB) latest news on their website, such was not the case.  Elizabeth Miller of OPB wrote the following: " A new survey of LGBTQ youth across the country finds 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in 2021, the year survey responses were collected. At the same time, 60% of youth who wanted mental health care were not able to get it." "In Oregon, 44% of  LGBTQ youth surveyed  have “seriously considered” suicide in the past year. That figure is only slightly lower in Washington, where 41% of  LGBTQ youth surveyed  considered suicide." "Ninety percent of Oregon LGBTQ youth say recent politics have harmed their well-being “sometimes” or “a lot.” That number is 89% in Washington." This is scandalously high. Having worked in non-profits who house LGBTQIA2S+ young people...

With the backdrop of the passage and signing of the Respect for Marriage Act, today's blog post has to do with faith. Faith and living in a faith community is part of marriage for some of us in the LGBTQIA2S+ community. For example, in my wedding with Christian, and subsequent marriage, faith is central to who and whose we are. We attend church worship services weekly because I'm a Presbyterian pastor working with two faith communities: Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church and Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship. But staying in the institutions which individual faith communities are part of has not been easy, especially when these institutions--like the Presbyterian Church USA and Evangelical Lutheran Church of America--were keeping us not only out of the ordained ministry and denying marriage, but also fostering conversion therapy and supporting ministries that hurt and denounced LGBTQIA2S+ people.  As I tell people, while the institutional church attacked me, Brother ...

The LGBQIA2S+ community and faith communities have been in the news this week, with some fantastic news alongside news that is meant to challenge our meant to the core of our very being. While I started to want to report on one story one day, the next day there would be another story that was attention grabbing, too. And then there was another. On the one hand, there is the story from the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS). It involved the case of Colorado-native Lorie Smith, a humble website designer, who said that, because of her Christian faith, she could not and would not design a wedding website for a same sex couple. The problem was that in the state of Colorado, as a business, you cannot refuse to discriminate against anyone in a business transaction or "public accommodations," like on the basis of sexual orientation. What was even more interesting and bizarre is that Lorie Smith has never been asked to design such a website. She just doesn't want to do it in case sh...