Category Archives: Faith & Witness

Man standing beside wall

Fainting at the Sight of Suffering

Listen to this article on The Motley Mystic Podcast Spiritual speaker and author Mirabai Starr lost her 14-year-old daughter in a car accident in 2001. Starr describes it as a profound, shattering loss, and anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one —

Protest signs at Black Lives Matter Knoxville’s Juneteenth Rally and March, 6.19.20

Why Juneteenth Should Matter to LGBTQ+ Christians

Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, holds profound significance for our nation and should be honored and celebrated by everyone, including LGBTQ+ people — and in particular, by LGBTQ+ Christians. Here’s why. For starters, Juneteenth for me as a Christian is

Rainbow buttons with cross

How To Live the Gospel With Pride

In life’s complex tapestry, where prejudice, -isms and misunderstanding can still cast long shadows, the LGBTQ+ community has navigated through storms of discrimination and rejection. And within that struggle lies an opportunity — a clarion call to embody the deepest teachings of love, compassion and

Person wearing a sleeveless top facing the ocean

Camp of the Misfits: Finding Where I Misfit-In

I was a painfully awkward kid. Truth be told, I’m still a painfully awkward adult. Laughing too loud, in the wrong places, at the wrong times. Trying to fit in with the cool kids and failing miserably. Now, though, being older, I don’t really give

Grapes at a winery in Okanagan Lake, Canada

How To Escape the Ego’s Badlands: Stop Being a Sour Grape

Badlands, you gotta live it everyday Let the broken hearts stand As the price you’ve gotta pay| We’ll keep pushin’ till it’s understood And these badlands start treating us good — ”Badlands,” Bruce Springsteen “Badlands” has long been one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs.

Gay and lesbian students kiss in front of a group of anti-homosexual protestors.

Jesus’ Memo to the Haters: Worry About Yourselves

Ever year about this time, when Lent starts and Christians begin a journey of spiritual reflection on their relationship with God, it seems like there’s just something that adds even more fuel to the homo- and transphobic fire of the evangelical Christian right’s vision quest

Little girl running through a grassy field in a sleeveless dress

Taking Delight in My Neighbor

The first weekend of January 2024 was interesting, in a microcosm sort of way. There were two different but strangely related situations. I’ll start with the second one first because it’s shorter due to it not being a story I want to tell publicly in