A Queer Pilgrim

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:  “...