Part One of a series of essays concerning the struggles of married life as a gay man. This essay covers life before marriage, and the pressure to be involved in heterosexual relationships many gay teens face growing up in a fundamentalist culture. Early childhood was
I’d been raised a Roman Catholic, but when I came out at the age of 17, I assumed that God and I would go our separate ways. After all, the Catholic Church is infamous for its shabby treatment of homosexuals, both in the lack of
There is a lot of prejudice against gays in the church. Society also has used gays to explain things that go wrong. Especially when things happen and there is no ready explanation. Just as the Nazis blamed the Jews for the ills of society, so
This message is intended for those wondering if their sexual orientation is keeping them from being a child of God. This, indeed, is a time of harvest and many of us wrongly assume we are unable to be harvested. The main thing that prevents us
From out of their isolation and stumbling in the glare of the sun they came, those deemed unclean and therefore unable to live within ordinary society. The authorities had condemned each of them to death, the slow death of physical and spiritual separation. Society chose
A recent court decision regarding the legal rights of one of the American citizens found living among the terrorists in Afghanistan reminded me of the difficulties, legal and emotional, we still face in dealing with those who would betray our country. But it also reminded
We’re home after a most extraordinary week of events in Washington, D.C., and I’m sure that none of us has totally processed all of this as yet. But I do want to put down some initial thoughts coming off of the trial. First, let me
“Then it suddenly struck me how much of my religious life had been centered on reading and writing about God, while very little of it had been spent waiting silently in God’s presence, and virtually none waiting silently with other people.” Diogenes Allen — Spiritual
Another year goes by, and most of us choose to observe the time-honored tradition that accompanies the passing of the year we have just completed into a fresh beginning: That of the “New Year’s Resolution(s).” Some resolve to set, keep and maintain goals for physical
Traditionally we pause as we approach year’s end and review all the events that have impacted on our lives. We have met different people and said good-bye to some old friends; at times we have rejoiced, while at other times we have sorrowed; we have