I speak for this couple before us to say “Welcome” to every one of you here at this important occasion on this special day. We are here to witness these two people who are not only in love but who have chosen to love one
This past Valentine’s Day, I pay homage to W. E. B. Du Bois’s 1924 novel Dark Princess because it highlights the least talked-about subject then and now: Black love. Two activities converged for me during COVID-19: When not officiating funerals, I read romance novels and
Are you as tired as I am of all the hocus-pocus used to attack LGBTQ+ people by those who are just plain prejudiced? Are you sick of all the pseudo-science bigoted people spout to project their own issues on LGBTQ+ human beings? Then you’re not
It starts with something called ‘human flourishing’ Every morning, we wake up with an incredible opportunity before us. Whatever else the day holds, we know we will have the chance to choose love over hatred, kindness over cruelty, generosity over selfishness and greed, hospitality and
Translating the triggers: A handy primer Of course, we want to believe that everyone means what they say. We’d love to believe that more educating and presentations of the facts convinces people. We think that explaining ourselves repeatedly and spending a lot of energy to
What’s it like to develop an entire identity around the sexual sin you desire? (Twitter user “Dave”) I’ve often thought about what it means to be human and to step into the person I’ve been created to be. However, we often don’t think about what
Spoiler: Your average affirming church might be resting on its laurels With every passing moment, it becomes increasingly less revolutionary for a progressive Christian congregation to label itself as some combination of open, affirming or welcoming. Denominational schisms notwithstanding, more and more Christians are saying
Every culture has them. And we know what ours are. They’re the stereotypes, the popular definitions, the expectations, the images of what a lesbian, gay man, bisexual person, transgender person, queer person, or any of the others in that alphabet are supposed to be. They’ve
[The passing of former Pope Benedict XVI] marks what is, I hope, the end of a long, painful era for LGBTQIA+ Catholics, our families, and the entire church. (DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke) Pope Benedict XVI, who served as pope from 2005 until his historic
Please don’t rehab ‘God’s Rottweiler,’ who pushed cruelty Pro tip: If you subscribe to a faith system that isn’t centered around loving and caring for other human beings, then you’re not really religious, you’re just in a hate group. (Text of a popular Internet meme)