MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

Gay Holy Week readings start today

A queer version of Christ's Passion runs in daily posts from Palm Sunday (today) through Easter (April 12) at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Each installment features a GLBT Christian painting and an excerpt from Kittredge Cherry's novel "Jesus in Love: At the Cross."

The eight-day series covers the dramatic events of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and Jesus' arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.  Jesus falls in love with his disciple John and faces religious homophobia in "At the Cross."

The online Holy Week series includes paintings by F. Douglas Blanchard, Gary Speziale and Becki Jayne Harrelson.  More info

Click here to visit the Jesus in Love Blog for today's post

Image credit: "Jesus Enters the City"  (from The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision) by F. Douglas Blanchard

Lesbian poet laureate illuminates life

Kay Ryan, the lesbian poet who is now serving as U.S. poet laureate, speaks in a warmly insightful video portrait from the American Academy of Poets.  In the video, Ryan reads and discusses her poetry -- including an excerpt that was reprinted in the popular cartoon Boondocks.

Ryan, who lives in Marin County, California, was appointed U.S. poet laureate by the Library of Congress last fall.  The official announcement notes her status as a lesbian simply by stating, “Her partner of 30 years is Carol Adair.”

Ryan’s poem “Backward Miracle” offers a food for thought as Easter approaches.  Ryan breathes new life into Christian themes, starting with the cup of wine shared by Jesus at the Last Supper.  She also revisits the multiplication of bread and fishes, the only miracle recorded in all four gospels.  The poem appears in her book “Niagara River” and is posted now at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Visit the Jesus in Love Blog to read “Backward Miracle,” plus more info and links on Ryan.

Gay artist links body and spirit

Sexuality and spirituality unite beautifully in the work of gay artist Stephen Mead of New York. 

Gay angels sleep wrapped in each other’s arms with naked vulnerability in “Angels Sleeping Unawares.”  Angels are usually presented as neutered, asexual beings.  Mead delights the eye and does great service by showing that the messengers of God can be erotically alive. 

Mead’s erotic angel paintings are part of “Blue Heart Diary,” a meditative series about the universality of struggle, both global and personal.  Like much of Mead’s work, it fuses art and poetry.  The actual written work is over a thousand lines long with several hundred images spanning over two decades.  A video sets some of the images to music, creating a meditative experience that is both soothing and thought-provoking.  The angel paintings also appear on his DVD “Captioned Closeness” at Indieflix.com.

Self-taught as an artist, Mead acknowledges that his art has been heavily influenced by both surrealism and expressionism.  His current project is “Swan Songs,” a film series that superimposes live footage over his images while using his own singing voice as a soundtrack.

For more info and images by Stephen Mead, visit the Jesus in Love Blog on glbt spirituality and the arts.

Image credit:  “Angels Sleeping Unawares” by Stephen Mead

watercolor pencil on board, incorporated into the series "Captioned Closeness"

Gay artist takes fresh look at Christmas

“Radiant Baby” strips the Christmas story down to its core:  A child is born.  It took a gay artist -- Keith Haring -- to get to the pure essence of Christmas.  He paints a generic baby.  The child is faceless, without any trappings of race, gender or family of origin.  The only thing special about this baby is its radiance.  Is “Radiant Baby” the Christ child, or every child?  Art historian Natalie E. Phillips makes an excellent case that Haring did indeed consider it an image of Christ in her essay “The Radiant (Christ) Child.”…

Continued at the Jesus in Love Blog, where a series of Alternative Christmas Art is running.

Image credit: “Radiant Baby” (from Icons series) by Keith Haring, 1990.
© Estate of Keith Haring
www.haring.com

12 queer days of Xmas art starts now

AltXmasArt, a groundbreaking exhibit of alternative Christmas art, will be posted online in 12 daily installments today through Dec. 25 at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Nine artists combine Christmas imagery with a progressive vision of gay, lesbian, bi and trans (GLBT) rights, racial and gender justice, and a world without war, poverty or environmental destruction. 

Click here for the announcement with all 12 images in small format.  Large images will be posted daily with seasonal meditations.

“We hope that people will visit AltXmasArt daily for progressive inspiration in the 12 days leading up to Christmas,” says lesbian art historian and minister Kittredge Cherry, curator of the show.  “Many people feel left out of the traditional Christmas scenes, but AltXmasArt breaks the stereotypes and shows Christ for ALL of us -- gay and straight, male and female, black and white, rich and poor.”

The series offers a superb fusion of high-quality art, deep spirituality and socio-political commentary.  Surprising variations on the traditional Nativity scene include black madonnas, lesbian madonnas, father-and-son scenes of Jesus and Joseph, and a multi-racial trio of female Magi.  The AltXmasArt series starts Sunday, Dec. 14 and ends on Christmas Day.

“Christian rhetoric is used to justify hate and discrimination these days, but AltXmasArt frees people to think differently.  We hope to stimulate dialogue and consciousness of love,” Cherry says.  It’s important to imagine the Christmas story in new and different ways because it empowers people to grow in their relationship with each other and with God.” 

The sometimes controversial art was created by a diverse group of nine artists, including openly gay or lesbian artists such as Keith Haring, Swedish photographer Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin and Becki Jayne Harrelson of Atlanta. 

Artists who dare to picture Jesus’ mother as a lesbian have faced censorship and even death threats, but now their liberating images can be seen and celebrated.  Explicitly queer Christian imagery in AltXmasArt includes “Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, in which a gay angel gives a lesbian couple a test tube for insemination (pictured here), and “Madonna, Lover and Child” by Becki Jayne Harrelson, where lesbian parents cuddle the baby Jesus.

Each image in the series will be accompanied by Cherry’s seasonal reflections on its artistic, political and spiritual significance.  Cherry is the author of “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.”  She holds degrees in journalism, art history, and religion.  She served as national ecumenical officer for Metropolitan Community Churches.   

Artists in AltXmasArt are:  Joseph Giuliani, Keith Haring, Becki Jayne Harrelson David Hewson, Robert Lentz, Armando Lopez, Janet McKenzie, William Hart McNichols, and Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin.

The show includes artists working both inside and outside the church.  Five of the artists are also featured in “Art That Dares,” which is filled with color images by 11 contemporary artists from the U.S. and Europe.  The artists tell the stories behind their images, including censorship, and a lively introduction puts them into political and historical context, exploring issues of blasphemy and artistic freedom. 

The Jesus in Love Blog promotes artistic and religious freedom by supporting spirituality and the arts for GLBT people and their allies. 

The schedule for the AltXmasArt series is:
Sun, Dec 14: “Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin (pictured here) www.ohlson.se
Mon, Dec 15: “La Anunciación (The Annuciation)” by Armando Lopez
Tue, Dec 16: “Mother of God: Mother of the Streets” by Brother Robert Lentz
Wed, Dec 17: “Black Madonna - Mitochondrial Eve” by David Hewson
Thu, Dec 18: “The Holy Family” by Janet McKenzie
Fri, Dec 19: “San José (Saint Joseph)” by Armando Lopez
Sat, Dec 20: “Joseph and the Christ Child” by Father John Giuliani
Sun, Dec 21: “Mary Most Holy Mother of All Nations” by Father William Hart McNichols
Mon, Dec 22: “Pacha Mama Healing the Earth” by David Hewson
Tue, Dec 23: “Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie
Wed, Dec 24: “Radiant Baby” by Keith Haring
Thu, Dec 25: “Madonna, Lover, and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson

The Best Holiday Gift for 2008? Your Best Self!

In this MyOutSpirit.com exclusive, gay prosperity coach, Joselito Laudencia, tells us how to feel wealthy in the midst of the economic crisis: by being your best Self.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I ventured into San Francisco’s Union Square shopping district with thousands of other shoppers.

Yes, I know, it was a crazy idea. But I just had to be a part of this American phenomenon called Black Friday. Black Friday got its name because it usually marked the day when retailers started to make their annual profit.

On this day, stores across the country usually open way early before roosters get a chance to get in their morning coffee-doodle-doo. And they offer “doorbuster” specials, meaning prices for the latest, hottest items are so low that people will bust the door to buy them (which literally happened at a WalMart in New York, this year).

With coupons in hand that gave me an extra 20% off, I rummaged through piles of clearance sale clothes. I played with the digital picture frames. I heard shoppers talking about the $1,000 espresso machine that was a steal at 40% off.

I mentally went through the list of who I needed to get holiday gifts for.  My partner, my best friends, my mom, my aunt, my uncle, my three sisters, all their partners, all their kids, and it went on and on. And then the thought arose..

When did holiday “giving” become an obligation?

In the midst of all this, news headlines around the world clamor about the dire economic crisis – home foreclosures, bank bailouts, the failing U.S. auto industry, credit crunches, downsizing and massive layoffs. And economic “pundits” say we’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.

For the past few years, I’ve started the holiday season with the same question to my partner: “What if we made chocolate chip cookies this year and gave those out as presents instead of buying gifts?” In the end, we always opted to buy gifts. But this year that question seemed more tempting (and delicious, too!).

This particular holiday season is tough for a lot of people, maybe including you. People are asking themselves, “How do I survive in this economic climate? What can I give during these holidays when I’m doing enough to just get by?”

The answer lies in how you look at the question.

Is this the new Stonewall Rebellion?

Thousands of same-sex marriage supporters stormed the Mormon Temple near Beverly Hills after the election. They targeted the Mormon Church because it raised most of the money for Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage.

I was shocked at the protestors’ rage when I saw the protest on the local news here in L.A. I found the news video to post here because the written news reports fail to capture the deep rage of the glbt community. I’ve never seen a mob of queers storm a church before. This may be a turning point, like the Stonewall Rebellion that launched the gay rights movement in 1969. That historic moment was barely reported at the time. This may be a turning point.

This protest was not like the old days where we used to sing, “We are a gentle, angry people.” Now we are an angry, angry people.

P.S. For those who wage war with words, click here to visit WOW Report’s info on how to report the Mormons to the IRS to get their tax-exempt status revoked for violating the separation of church and state.
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Kittredge Cherry is a lesbian Christian author who also blogs at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Queer artist warns of god politics

As the U.S. election nears, it’s time to consider a queer artist’s warning against mixing religion and politics.

Words appear in the sky as if written by God, but their creator is actually a queer feminist activist/artist in a major international art show in Singapore now.

“Beware of the god” is projected into the clouds by Australian artist Deborah Kelly. Her stated goal is to warn against the influence of religion on politics.

The words were projected over the Singapore Harbor recently as part of the Singapore Biennale 2008, a big exhibition of international contemporary art.  The show lasts from Sept. 11 to Nov. 16, although Kelly’s projection ran only for the first week.  In recent years, Kelly has worked the same magic in the skies above Sydney where she lives.

As a lesbian Christian, I find Kelly’s light projection to be a beautiful and mysterious reminder of God’s presence and our unfortunate human tendency to turn God (capital G) into our own many gods (small g) -- idols that express and feed human ego.

When I visited Kelly’s website, www.bewareofthegod.com, I was surprised to find that some of her work is a much bolder -- a direct attack on homophobia and misogyny in the church (and outside the church, too).  Sometimes she may go too far.  But we need our warriors, too.

Her “Beware of the god” series includes sticker postcards that are free for the asking.  Her own explanation is on the back.  It begins, “ Pop the sticker somewhere that’s plagued by holy rollers,
God botherers, or bearded blokes wielding vengeful-deity theories…”  Click here for the full text and more.

Images are "Beware of the god" by Deborah Kelly of GBK Gallery

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(Cross-posted at the Jesus in Love Blog by Kittredge Cherry, author of Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.  She edits the Jesus in Love Newsletter on queer spirituality and the arts.

How do GLBT folks fit into Buddhism?

A lesbian Buddhist friend recently asked me for tips on how to “fill the void” between Buddhists and lesbian and gay people when she gave a speech at a Buddhist conference.

Her impression was that the Buddhists had little connection to GLBT folks.  It's true that GLBT Buddhists are not as visible as gay, lesbian, bi and trans folks who follow Christ. 

GLBT Christians have had to come together and speak out because conservative Christians are directly attacking us, singling us out as the worst sinners, using the issue of homosexuality to raise money, etc.  It appears, at least within American Buddhism, that Buddhists are more tolerant about homosexuality.  However, reality is more complex. 

OUT Magazine Asks: Has MANHUNT Destroyed Gay Culture?

The September 2008 issue of OUT Magazine features a powerful article of interest: "Has MANHUNT Destroyed Gay Culture?" by Michael Joseph Gross.

Gross' article focuses on Manhunt.net, a site for men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) and the fastest growing gay website in the world, with over 1 million members and more than 400,000 unique visitors per month, all  in the USA alone - and the site serves some 100 countries. 

More importantly, the article considers how online cruising has changed gay urban social life by, for example, driving human interactions from physical spaces to virtual ones and encouraging the "pornification" of gay self-expression.   

Apparently, one UK study found that in 1993, 2.3% of gay men found their first male sex partner online; by 2003 that number had risen to 61.2%.  OUT quotes Jeffrey Klausner of the San Francisco Department of Public Health: "It means that gay men who were once socialized in brick-and-mortar establishments, surrounded by other people, are now being socialized online."

The question for conscious, spiritual LGBT people then becomes, "Is that virtual socialization creating a community of healthy, self-actualized MSM?"  The answer seems to be an obvious "No."

As Gross puts it in OUT, "If you were asked to design the perfect weapon to exploit this vulnerability as it manifests in attractive, urban gay men, you'd want something that would intensify our isolation, exaggerate our propensity to objectify ourselves - by encouraging us to believe that our purpose is to look good and have lots of sex."

Isolation.  Objectification.  Lack of genuine communication and community.  These should be issues of real concern to spiritual LGBT people, especially to LGBT-affirming body/mind/spirit resource providers like those listed on MyOutSpirit.com. 

So much of our work is about affirming that LGBT people (in this case, MSM) are so much more than just bodies - that we are not only physical/sexual, but intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual beings.  The hardest part of the job, it often seems, is convincing LGBT people themselves of that truth. 

Gross writes, "The most powerful secrets we keep on Manhunt aren't the ones we keep from the outside world.  The most powerful secrets on Manhunt are the ones we keep from ourselves.  Practically every gay man has his own version of this secret, which we learned to keep while growing up in the closet: the secret fear that, if we were truly known, we would never be loved.

"...When you came out, you did it because you wanted something," Gross continues. "Part of what you wanted was sex, but part of what you hoped for was the possibility of being loved as your true self." 

As always, online or off-line, we are choosing between Love and Fear, living fully or shrinking from our potential, shining our light or hiding it under a bushel.

I won't ruin the whole article - there's a lot more there ripe for discussion and consideration, and I hope you will choose to leave your comments on the article at OUT.com as well as in response to this post. 

With the near ubiquity of online cruising among MSM, it's important that conscious LGBT people like the readers of this Gay Spirituality Blog look directly at the problems that virtual socialization may cause and how we can remedy them before it's too late.  That said, we also have to be realistic - online social networking, cruising...these things are not going away.  We need a BOTH/AND solution, not an EITHER/OR solution.

"We need to put our heads together and try to figure out what we want normative social life to look like.  Whatever the answer turns out to be, it will involve creating social structures that serve and gratify our desire to have sex with each other and also promote and support the possibility of developing and sustaining intimate relationships."  I would add to Gross' call for our attention: whatever the answers are, they must consider the development and well-being of the WHOLE person, not only sexual and romantic.  And frankly, there's no time to waste.

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