MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

Gay King Wenceslas

There’s good reason to believe that Good King Wenceslas was gay. Yes, the king in the Christmas carol.

Saint Wenceslaus I (907–935) was duke of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The carol is based on a legend about Wenceslaus and his loyal page Podiven. According to the story, it was a bitterly cold night when they went out to give alms to the poor on the Feast of St. Stephen, Dec. 26. Podiven could not walk any farther on his bare, frozen feet, so Wenceslas urged him to follow in his footsteps. His footprints in the snow stayed miraculously warm, allowing the pair to continue safely together.

Many details in the Christmas carol are pious fiction, but the king and his page are both grounded in historical truth. Dennis O’Neill, author of “Passionate Holiness,” shared with me his unpublished research about the loving relationship between Wenceslaus and Podiven.

The earliest accounts of Wenceslaus’ life mention his page -- but not the woman who supposedly gave birth to his son in more recent versions. An account written in the late 10th or early 11th century describes the young man who was a “worthy page” and “chamber valet” to Wenceslaus.

It says that Wenceslaus used to wake his page in the middle of the night to join him in doing charitable works. The page is described as “a youth from among his valets who, of all his servants, was the most trustworthy in secret matters. The saint himself truly loved him during his lifetime.”

Wenceslaus was murdered in a coup by his brother at the door of a church on Sept. 28 in the year 935. The records say that Podiven “was often overcome by grief, sorrowing for days on end.” The brother also had Podiven killed to stop him from spreading stories of the saintly Wenceslaus. Both Wenceslaus and his beloved Podiven are buried at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

The icon above was painted by New Mexico artist Lewis Williams of the Secular Franciscan Order (SFO). It is dedicated to the memory of Father Larry Craig, a Chicago priest known for service to the Latino community and prison ministry. Before his death in 2006, Father Craig used to stand outside the Cook County Jail at night, giving sandwiches and bus passes to surprised inmates who had just been released. He served as the model for Podiven’s face in this icon.

I hope that these facts warm your heart whenever you hear or sing the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas.”

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Image credit: “St. Wenceslaus (Vaclav) and Podiven, his Assistant” by Lewis Williams, SFO. © 2007. Courtesy of www.trinitystores.com (800.699.4482)

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This was written by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as part of the GLBT Saints series at the Jesus in Love Blog.

The Seven (Revised) Principles of Bridge of Light

With special thanks to Kittredge Cherry, for sharing with me her meditations on the chakras and their connections to the colors of the rainbow flag. Her ideas are largely incorporated in these fully revised guidelines for 2009 Bridge of Light rituals.

Bridge of Light is an interfaith and omni-denominational cultural and spiritual tradition originating in 2004 and connected in its inspiration and organization to the Gay Spirit Culture Summit held that year, a gathering of 100+ spiritual leaders and change agents in the gay community. Since then, the annual winter ritual (now in its fifth year) has helped to draw attention to the positive contributions made by members of the LGBT community in the areas of spiritual growth, inner transformation, and religious leadership.

The core of the tradition is a simple ritual of lighting candles, one for each color of the rainbow flag, on New Year’s Eve (or from Dec. 26 to New Year’s, one candle for each day). Each color corresponds to a universal spiritual principle as well as the specific ways that this principle has found expression in the course of LGBT history and in our contemporary situation.

These are the principles of the Bridge of Light in their current (2009) form:

The First Principle

Color: Red
Meaning: The Root of Spirit (Community)
Order: Dec. 26 or first candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the first chakra.

The Second Principle

Color: Orange
Meaning: The Fire of Spirit (Eros)
Order: Dec. 27 or second candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the second chakra

The Third Principle

Color: Yellow
Meaning: The Core of Spirit (Self-Esteem)
Order: Dec. 28 or third candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the third chakra.

The Fourth Principle

Color: Green

Meaning: The Heart of Spirit (Love)
Order: Dec. 29 or fourth candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the fourth chakra.

The Fifth Principle

Color: Blue

Meaning: The Voice of Spirit (Self-Expression and Justice)
Order: Dec. 30 or fifth candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the fifth chakra.

The Sixth Principle

Color: Purple
Meaning: The Eye of Spirit (Wisdom)
Order: Dec. 31 or sixth and final candle of New Year’s Eve
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the sixth chakra.

The Seventh Principle

Color: [THE ENTIRE RAINBOW OF COLORS KEPT LIT] (UPDATED)
Meaning: The Crown of Spirit (Spirituality)
Order: Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day)
Suggested Practice: Meditations on the seventh chakra.

These seven principles are slightly evolved in their meaning, order, and associations since the first draft of my November 24, 2004 op-ed, “Proposing a New Queer Winter Holiday,” was published on the Gay Spirituality blog and in LGBT newspapers throughout the country in 2004 and later published in Soulfully Gay. In their current form, six of the chakra correspondences and meanings were largely suggested by Kittredge Cherry. More information on the 2009 revisions to the ritual's guidelines can be found on my blog, especially my interpretation of how the principles fit into an evolutionary spiritual interpretation of LGBT history.

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Spiritual mentor, author, poet, and scholar. Joe is best known for his 2007 book Soulfully Gay. one of the first memoirs in the tradition of World Spirituality based on Integral principles. Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for World Spirituality, where he works with Director Marc Gafni in providing leadership to the think tank. He also blogs at Gay Spirituality. Arctophile and ailurophile. A little bit country and a little bit "part and whole." Follow Joe Perez Facebook and Joe Perez Twitter.

Lesbian and gay manger scenes: Love makes a family

What if the child of God was born to a lesbian couple… or a gay couple? Because, after all, LOVE makes a family, including the Holy Family.

I made a video of my new gay and lesbian nativity scenes. One has two Marys at the manger with the baby Jesus, and the other has two Josephs with the Christ child.

I put Mary with Mary and Joseph with Joseph -- like putting two brides or two grooms on top of a wedding cake! It’s only 26 seconds long, and I believe it follows the spirit of the Christmas story.

For more info on why I did it, see my post at the Jesus in Love Blog.

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Kittredge Cherry is author of Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer.

Soulfully Gay: Advice to Young Gays, Queers, and Homophiles

Source: samm4mrox on Flickr

Note: Reprinted from Soulfully Gay (Integral Books/Shambhala) by Joe Perez

Today, a friend forwarded me a link to a blog by a young man in his early twenties who describes himself as a Christian and says he’s “turning away from homosexuality and toward God.” What can I say to a young Christian, when I myself have chosen a path outside the institutional religion?

The first thing that comes to mind for me to say to a young man in this situation is that I will not preach to you. I will not tell you that once you learn to accept your gayness you will be happier. I will not encourage you to join a gay Christian church or give any other sort of unsolicited advice. There are plenty of well-intentioned folks who are sure to try to fix the way you are. I don’t think you need to hear another voice encouraging you to just keep your chin up and be happy.

The second thing that comes to mind is to tell you that whatever choices you make about how to express or not express your sexuality, you are a wonderful, beautiful, precious gift to the world. Be the gift that you are. Nobody else can bring that gift to the world except you.

Don’t just think about homosexuality. Feel what comes up for you around your sexuality. Be with your feelings, whatever they are. You can do no good by denying them. You may not know what those feelings are, and some of your deepest feelings may be so deeply buried that they are a mystery to you. Get help to be with your feelings from a therapist you are comfortable with and from friends with different points of view.

A word about friends: you are likely to change your opinions about God, the Bible, Christianity, homosexuality, sex, George W. Bush, and a whole host of other things many, many times. Your true friends will stick with you whether you are conservative or liberal, Christian or ex-Christian, gay or ex-gay. It’s a cliché, but your true friends will accept you for you.

You are on a difficult path—bringing together your spirituality and sexuality—and you don’t have to have all the answers. It’s okay to be frightened, confused, and unsure where to turn. It’s okay to question those who seem totally confident in their beliefs about homosexuality or Christianity. It’s okay to doubt the dogmas of gay activists. It’s okay to question the dogmas of the people in your Bible study group.

It’s okay to flip-flop in your attitudes toward homosexuality—one moment thinking it’s awesome with a hot man’s body pressed against yours and the next praying to God to make you straight. It’s okay to wonder if your faith (whether in God or the dogmas of gay community) is genuine or if you’re just kidding yourself.

What’s not okay is to latch on to certainties that promise to make your life easier if you will only deny a little bit of reality. What’s not okay is to just keep repeating something over and over again to yourself, figuring that if you just keep with it, you will eventually start to believe it.

It’s okay to not know what to think about your homosexuality or God or the Universe. I heard Thomas Moore say recently that he doesn’t know if everything in life happens for a reason. He said, “What I don’t know, I don’t know.” I liked the sound of that. Enter deeply into the profound mysteries of life. Don’t deny them. It’s not always necessary to try to figure them out. Just try to accept the state of unknowing.

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Spiritual mentor, author, poet, and scholar. Joe is best known for his 2007 book Soulfully Gay. one of the first memoirs in the tradition of World Spirituality based on Integral principles. Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for World Spirituality, where he works with Director Marc Gafni in providing leadership to the think tank. He also blogs at Gay Spirituality. Arctophile and ailurophile. A little bit country and a little bit "part and whole." Follow Joe Perez Facebook and Joe Perez Twitter.

Top 10 Signs That Your Spirituality Might Be "Integral"

By Joe Perez 10. You don't find yourself easily offended by slights to your ego, subculture, or group identification; therefore "political correctness" has little appeal to you (though you intuitively tend to avoid causing others unnecessary pain through your words or deeds).

9. You have come to a compassionate stance with regard to religious fundamentalists and conservative zealots because you recognize that their own stage of evolution may be less than your own. You pick your battles for justice carefully and strategically, not by reacting out of anger or fear.

8. It doesn't much matter to you what labels other people call you: "gay," "homosexual," "LGBT," or whatever. You wear all signs of identity lightly and strive to avoid compartmentalizing your sexual and overall sense of identity.

7. You don't look for "explanations" of homosexuality as exclusively the domain of biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, social historians, or theologians, but seek comprehensive approaches that include individual and collective dimensions in subjective and objective perspectives.

6. You are non-judgmental not because you want others to like you or you because you seek to avoid being judged by others, but because you recognize your own "shadow" in everything you judge. Nevertheless, you are willing to make value judgments and rankings when it's necessary and practical towards contributing towards your own or another's holistic development.

Read the full list...

Note: In this post, I am using the term "Integral Spirituality" in a way informed by the AQAL Integral Theory and overall philosophy of Ken Wilber and the spiritual teachings of Dr. Marc Gafni, whose understanding of Unique Self (explained in Marc Gafni's TED event) have been of great value.

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Spiritual mentor, author, poet, and scholar. Joe is best known for his 2007 book Soulfully Gay. one of the first memoirs in the tradition of World Spirituality based on Integral principles. Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for World Spirituality, where he works with Director Marc Gafni in providing leadership to the think tank. He also blogs at Gay Spirituality. Arctophile and ailurophile. A little bit country and a little bit "part and whole." Follow Joe Perez Facebook and Joe Perez Twitter.

1,000+ Reasons for Marriage Equality

“What are we really protecting? We have a wedding channel. We are giving away husbands on a game show.” – Senator Savino

There is a list of more than 1,049 benefits and protections available to heterosexual married couples. These range from federal benefits, such as survivor benefits through Social Security, sick leave to care for an ailing partner, and tax breaks. They also include things like family discounts, obtaining family insurance through your employer, visiting your spouse in the hospital and making medical decisions if your partner is unable to. Civil Unions protect some of these rights, but not all of them.  If you receive a marriage license, it is recognized in any state. If you want to have a Civil Union, then it will only be honored in the state that provided it and does not hold the same protections.

The United States Constitution guarantees equality for all. Marriage and civil unions are not the same. Creating equal access to marriage is the only fair way to ensure equality for gay and straight couples alike.

According to Lambda Legal Defense, more than 1,400 legal rights are conferred upon heterosexual married couples in the United States. On the website, http://lesbianlife.about.com/od/wedding/f/MarriageBenefit.htm, they list twenty-five:

1.    Joint parental rights of children

2.    Joint adoption

3.    Status as "next-of-kin" for hospital visits and medical decisions

4.    Right to make a decision about the disposal of loved ones remains

5.    Immigration and residency for partners from other countries

6.    Crime victims recovery benefits

7.    Domestic violence protection orders

8.    Judicial protections and immunity

9.    Automatic inheritance in the absence of a will

10.  Public safety officers death benefits

11.  Spousal veterans benefits

12.  Social Security

13.  Medicare

14.  Joint filing of tax returns

15.  Wrongful death benefits for surviving partner and children

16.  Bereavement or sick leave to care for partner or children

17.  Child support

18.  Joint Insurance Plans

19.  Tax credits including: Child tax credit, Hope and lifetime learning credits

20.  Deferred Compensation for pension and IRAs

21.  Estate and gift tax benefits

22.  Welfare and public assistance

23.  Joint housing for elderly

24.  Credit protection

25.  Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans

Just last week, my home state of New York, denied Marriage Equality by a vote of 38-24. It seems strange that after 15 years of being in a loving relationship with my partner, I am denied the rights of someone who could apply for a marriage license without hesitation as long as they are heterosexual. Senator Savino said it best in her testimony, “We have nothing to fear from love and commitment."

Many of us have been made to feel less than at one point in our life because of the color of our skin, because we are women, because of our age. We all have a voice. Now is the time to speak up for Marriage Equality. I am committed to my life partner through sickness and health, for richer and poorer, until death do us part. How committed are you to equality?

If you were denied your right to collect your spouse’s social security benefits, would you sit and do nothing? If you had to pay taxes on your spouse’s health insurance benefits, would you sit and do nothing? If your spouse lay gravely ill in the hospital and the hospital denied you rights to make medical decisions, would you sit and do nothing? If you and your spouse adopted a child, but you were denied joint adoption rights, would you sit and do nothing?

Would you say it was just not the right time for these basic rights to be given to you? Tell me what date, day, and time will be the right time and I will be there. In the meantime, now is my time.

Mary Anne

For a clear picture of Marriage Equality, please listen to New York State Senator Savino testimony.

 

Mary Anne Flanagan is an intuitive Shamanic Practitioner and Teacher, Life Coach, workshop facilitator, inspired speaker, and creator of Toning the OM™. Her passion is in assisting people to live life with conscious habits and patterns which support them on their path to abundance and fulfillment. She has a private healing & coaching practice in New York City. Mary Anne Flanagan/Toning the OM™: toningtheom@yahoo.com or 917.238.9726. Visit www.toningtheom.com to register for shamanic circles and workshops.

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Liberate Yourself

MyOutSpirit.com member and founder of the Bodhi Spiritual Center in Chicago, Mark Anthony Lord, is producing a huge conference to heal LGBT people of internalized homophobia/transphobia and help them reclaim their gay spirituality.

"LIBERATION 2010 is a weekend long spiritual conference designed to empower LGBTQ people friends, family and fans to come out of the closet spiritually. It is created to heal the limiting false beliefs that our orientation is somehow a mistake or an accidental curse…so that we can get on with what we are here to be – powerful and free.

"As a result of religious persecution, many of us have separated our spiritual selves from our sexual selves and it’s time we bring these glorious parts of ourselves together and to heal the impacts of homophobia from the inside – out! LIBERATION 2010 was created to help us all do just that!"

Keynote Speakers: Byron Katie; Gay Hendricks; Malidoma Some; August Gold; and, Mark Anthony Lord.

Liberation 2010, April 8-11, 2010, JW Marriott, Los Angeles, California, USA

www.Liberation2010.com

MyOutSpirit.com is the media sponsor for the conference.  Enter promo code "mos50" to save $50 on your registration!