There’s still a difference between accepting and affirming Last month, United Methodist Church delegates voted to repeal the denomination’s long-held exclusionary stance toward its LGBTQ+ members in church doctrine, polity, and social standing. The news was received with mixed feelings — cheers and tears. “We
Is this just a blunder, or has the Pope revealed his true colors? Pope Francis sent global shock waves when the news broke that he used the highly offensive F-word frociaggine (“faggotness” in Italian) in a closed-door conversation at the Italian Bishops’ Conference. During a
Picture this: It’s the year 1077 in Canossa, Italy. A German king stands outside a papal castle barefooted and dressed in beggar’s clothing for three days, begging the Pope for an audience so he can be restored to his kingdom and re-admitted into the Church.
Every Black History Month, there is always a tribute to the Black church and its gospel music. The contribution of LGBTQ+ singers to the canon of gospel music, however, is never front and center in celebration of its history. Every churchgoer — straight and gay
For three weeks in October, Catholics from around the world came to Rome for the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to discuss a range of topics confronting the present-day Church as it prepares to govern itself in the future. Among the many Catholics
It’s a rare opportunity to meet the pope. It’s even rarer if you’re a transgender Catholic. However, on November 19, in Torvaianica, Italy, a community of transwomen, many whom are sex workers, were welcomed and seated in a vast auditorium with over a thousand other
LGBTQ welcoming, accepting, affirming. What’s the difference? People often ask me what the difference is between welcoming, accepting and affirming churches. This little infograph will give you some idea. Some churches refuse to go on the journey. Some began the journey, then got stuck, afraid
There is a great ethical difference between same-gender and opposite-gender sexual relations, whether they be in a committed marriage, living common-law, or a one-night stand. The difference is reflected in the moral commandments of the Bible and Christianity before the mass apostasy of AD 249-251,
Should you stay, or should you go? It continues to be one of the major crises for religious believers today. What should we do with “these people” whom our denomination has marginalized for centuries? For some it’s LGBTQ+ people. The United Methodist Church, for example,
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