Once an unspoken and nearly unseen taboo within the black community, the topic of homosexuality has repeatedly resurfaced in recent years as many black churches and community leaders have struggled to address issues concerning a lifestyle often demonized, misinterpreted and exclusively seen only through the
I was talking to a brotha the other day (we’ll call him James), and the conversation we had was very interesting. See, this brotha is young, intelligent, beautiful, and goal oriented. He has a plan for his future and is on his way to success
I was “raised in the church” and as a child reveled in the type of religious community where everyone knew your name, adults looked out for you, and everyone praised your academic and social progress. My schoolteachers, my barber, my mentors and friends of my
Strange fruit The word ‘fruit’ has, in the context of this article, three meanings. Billie Holiday’s haunting 1939 rendition of the song “Strange Fruit” gave voice to a nation’s anguish over the lynching of African-Americans. [1] Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the
For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (New King James Version) This scripture is part of the second pastoral letter Paul writes to his colleague
WASHINGTON – Union United Methodist Church in Boston made history by voting to become the nation’s first black Methodist church to officially welcome and include gay and lesbian worshipers. “This is a courageous, precedent-setting decision that blazes a new trail for other churches who want
There is a spirit of sadness rampant in the community of black gay / homosexual / same-gender-loving men. It can be recognized underneath the many beautiful faces and wonderfully sculpted bodies of brothers in bars and clubs. It was evident in the August 1998 issue
To know Jesus with all my heart and to seek his blessed face with my soul; to understand his life and how he lives in me; to be pleasing before his sight; and for him to one day call me home and say, “well done,
From the Louisville Courier-Journal, Thursday, April 10, 1997 I have said ugly things about gay people, and I’ve laughed at gay jokes. I, who am female and black, and who know firsthand the sting of contempt, and how bigotry can suck the light right out
City of Refuge United Church of Christ, San Francisco, Calif. Theos/logos God words or words about God are not etched in granite…they metamorphosise with time. All of us see things a bit differently than how we saw them ten years ago, and certainly our theology