Chicago Theological Seminary Reading for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 I am grateful to President Thistlethwaite for the invitation to be with you today – and to Dr. Haldeman and the LGBT students who worked with him on the marvelous liturgy that
On Sept 21st, I read in the New York Times that the Vatican, under Pope Benedict, the former Joseph Ratzinger of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is considering the decision to bar all gays, even celibates, from the priesthood. My immediate reaction
The Good Book Cover Stories Learning To Love the Questions By Rev. Candace Chellew Not everyone can live in the ever changing landscape of the questions. People crave certainty because it gives them a sense of security. They want to know that they’re following the
Religion, for me, has more to do with living in the uncertainties, with loving questions, than with answering them. In the end, the hole in the soul is not filled by answers. It is healed only by deeper questions. (Alan Jones, Reimagining Christianity) “If you
A sharp and clearly-drawn dividing line exists between the Christian Right and Left. While the former holds that divine revelation was essentially complete by the end of the church’s earliest centuries, the latter believes that God continues to reveal truth to those faithful enough to
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master,
There is nothing in Scripture that prohibits full acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, and ordaining their unions as sacraments in the Church. Since the Bible is used to justify homophobia, I want to deal with this issue from a biblical perspective, fully recognizing, as with the
All I can say is, “it’s about time!” When I started Whosoever about 10 years ago I did so believing that unless the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community embraced the spiritual elements present in the community it would never, ever win any significant political
I spent the first weekend in August at an inspiring conference – Together in Faith – hosted by the American Friends Service Committee. From the opening reception – put on by the First United Methodist Church of Ypsilanti – through the closing plenary my dreams,
In the 14 years that my wife and I have been jointly dealing with the issues of cross-dressing and discrimination, we have been guided by two principles: 1) Take lots of small steps, and 2) Reach agreement prior to taking any step. As I look