MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

How to Pray for the End of LGBT Teen Suicide

What is the best SPIRITUAL response to LGBT teen suicides?

We're shocked and sad and angry every time the news breaks about another tragedy. We share the news on Facebook. We hold candlelight memorials. We speak out against bullying. We donate to The Trevor Project. 

Now, let's also focus our SPIRITUAL POWER on ending this suffering.

Each of us who believes in the Power of Prayer (or The Secret, creative visualization, tonglen, or Ho'oponopono) must now dedicate some portion of our practice to LGBT young people.

What does this mean?

We live in a creative universe. What we think about creates our individual experience, but those of us who believe in prayer also believe that what we pray about effects the world. 

DO NOT PRAY ABOUT LGBT TEEN SUICIDE.

Prayer and similar practices are creative - you get more of what you put energy toward. "Whatsoever you ask in my Name, that will I do." (John 14:13)

So when you do your spiritual work around this issue, do not pray from your grief, your anger, your compassion. Do not pray about the tragedy. Do not pray for this epidemic to stop. These would be negative prayers.

Instead, use positive prayer.

Pray for peace and healing and protection and Light and angels and Love to surround and lift up LGBT youth.

See it in your mind while you practice.

Imagine every LGBT teen laughing, living in joy, receiving love and support from all directions. 

If you can't wipe the memory of these tragedies from your spiritual practice: close your eyes; consciously witness the lost child's experience of bullying or loneliness - like a movie; and then, do it again, but make different choices. That is, imagine what the scenerio would have been if everything had gone right - if they'd found the strength, known what to say, who to tell, where to turn, how to get through it. Focus on this new sequence, and send it out into the universe as the new story of How Things Go. 

And then, BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.

As I have written about before, there are actual concrete things we can do to bring the number of LGBT teen deaths by suicide down to ZERO.

But we have to do it together.

And we have to do it NOW.

 

ANGEL PHOTO: http://drakator.deviantart.com/art/Why-126135568

Is Gay Spirituality Better...?

“Gay spirituality is better than any other” - the reporter desperately wanted me to endorse his belief.  I wasn’t going there. Righteous spiritual segregation is antithetical to the idea of a spiritual journey. So where does spirituality for LGBTQ people connect with the human family and the Holy?

Our normative story usually includes experiencing bullying, fear of coming out, rejection by family when we do, the Holy used by religion to condemn.  We might even be the victims of violence or discrimination. Our journey also contains another story line. It is about courage and love birthed in us. 

A more spacious invitation than the reporter’s belief invites us in. Spirituality in not about a theory, it is discovered in the reality of who we are. I’ve discovered that in the spiritual journey of immigrants, women, people of color and other minorities my own journey is inspired. Many of us fall into several self identifying categories.  

The question is not whether your spirituality or mine is “belter.”  It’s how does your journey create empathy with others?  How does your spirituality get fed by the wisdom of those who are different from you? How does it connect you to oneness with others?

Unlike the belief of that reporter my spirituality is not celebrated as a “better” treasure. I discover a much richer inclusive path in three pathways to celebrate and share the gift that is my life. 

Whoever and whatever tries to define you wants to confine you. It creates an enclosure keeping you from the Holy discovered in your life. In accepting an enclosure you become cut-off from the unique gifts that only you have to offer.  You deprive yourself and the world of them. Allowing yourself to be enclosed can happen subtly over time. The good news is that we have a choice to break out of the enclosure.

When we discover our voice and claim it as an LGBTQ person we are on sacred ground. Instead of listening to the bad advice of those who do not want you to claim your voice, you discover that in the Holy is present in it. Not outside “there” somewhere, but in you.  You begin to be free of a narrow consciousness. Claiming your voice is a spiritual practice taking you to a field of feasting with others.

The Universe needs your story as much as that of anyone else. As you tell your story you discover self-compassion. In the telling you become awake to the sacred in you as an LGBTQ person. As you settle in and celebrate your voice you begin to listen to the stories and voices of others with new attentiveness. They become connecting stories. Through them your appreciation and love for yourself and others deepens. You discover a new way of being alive. 

These three pathways of moving beyond enclosures, discovering and trusting your voice and connecting stories are markers of your authentic experience of being gay.

Love is the only thing that matters on our spiritual quest. Everything else pales in comparison. I am loved by the Holy for all of who I am. It’s a struggle for many to know and believe it every day. When I love myself and know that I am loved life becomes more radiant. I become more fully human, more alive as I am.

It takes courage to journey through the three pathways. The root word for courage means love. To be grounded in love we cannot avoid being courageous about who we are. Not the lonely isolated warrior courage, but the courage discovered in trusted people to call on along the journey. It’s all part of our spiritual positioning system.

When I’m grounded in these three pathways my encounters with others become sacred ground. Like the Hindu greeting Namaste the light me honors the light in you.

The three pathways are not just for GLBTQ people. Love and courage are not confined to GLBTQ spirituality. They’re each part of our common journey to become fully human -  as we are. We bring to the journey the only gift we can – ourselves.

So what are the markers of your spirituality?

Robert V. Taylor is a speaker, blogger and author. He is Chair of the Desmond Tutu Peace Fonudation in New York.  Visit him at www.wakeupforlife.com or www.robertvtaylor.com

Out Compassion

We are hard wired for compassion. It is part of our spiritual positioning system. It is at the core of our journey to being fully alive and fully human. When I am compassionate I yearn for the well-being of all. I become conscious of my oneness with all things.

In Galatians Paul ends the final chapter with a blessing of “peace and mercy” on those who follow a journey to a new creation; on those who believe that there are no divisions within the human family. In his mind the divisions of his time – male and female, slave or free, Jew or gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised – are all irrelevant. His talk of peace is helpful. His blessing of mercy is arrogant and disconnected from peace.

So what does this mean? Peace is about the social, economic and spiritual well-being of all. It is not about the absence of conflict. When my life is grounded in seeking the well-being of others it leads me to help resolve conflicts that keep you or me from knowing peace.

So what does that look like? Peace is about a way of consciousness that says you and I are part of a oneness that exists between all things and people. I understand that you want to live in happiness as much as I do. When a GLBTQ teenager is bullied for who they are, a Muslim vilified as the enemy, women denied full equality or the race of an immigrant is used to conjure up hate talk I will not be passive.

The blessing of peace is only a blessing when I choose not to be silent. Peace becomes a blessing when I am proactive – in my words, intentions or actions. Elsewhere Paul is clear that the spiritual journey invites you and me to “walk in love” and become like a “fragrant offering.”

I believe that the only criteria for whom we are, how we are and where we are on our path is the intention to love with abandonment. Love defines us. In the world of the ancient Middle East love was a contractual arrangement – a promise to come to the aid of another who was attacked in any way.

So coming to the aid of another who is vilified or attacked is an expression of love that bring us alive and of seeking well-being or peace.

That’s why Paul’s blessing of “mercy” is an arrogant disconnect. Mercy comes with an imbalance of power. It assumes that you have the power to dispense it over another. This is not part of an ecosystem of oneness! It ruptures your spiritual positioning system.

Compassion is the sibling of love. It makes me think of two Jewish names for the Holy – God of the Breasts and God of the Womb. Compassion invites us into nurturing, feeding, sustaining and growing the ecosystem of oneness and well-being for all. Compassion, not mercy, is a way of walking in love that is transformative.

So mercy be darned! Blessings are revealed in our intentions of peace and compassion. How do they co-exist in your spiritual positioning system?

Robert V. Taylor is a speaker, blogger, author and Chair of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation in New York. Visit him at www.robertvtaylor.com or www.wakeupforlife.com

A Prayer for Activists, A Prayer for Myself

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

As I think about what my activism looks like, I come back to the serenity prayer more and more these days. I also come back to the adage "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I used to believe this meant that I should not wait for someone else to step up and change the world, I should change the world.  Instead, today, four years later after I was first introduced to nonviolence, I think that I really get that change begins within me.

I am not called to change the world, I am called to be the change.

It is a sobering moment to pray the serenity prayer and realize that "the things I cannot change" are in fact everything outside of me. That the only thing I can really, truly change is myself. 

I want desperately to change the world. I want to stop bullying, and prevent suicides, and create jobs, and ensure everyone is well fed. I want to make my friend's parents understand and accept his gender and I want to make a different friend's parents see how truly wonderful she is, to pay attention to her.  I want everyone to have fulfilling employment and adequate healthcare. There is so much I want to do for the world.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.

I know the day my parents' attitude toward my queerness began to change: it was the day I told them I was ready to loose them forever. I could not change my parents. So I took care of myself. I had friends who loved and supported me. Some of them had parents who gave me mints before dates and asked how I was doing emotionally. Heck, Golden Globe nominee Stephanie Zimbalist even asked if I was planning to go vacation with my boyfriend! Somehow I managed to realize I could not change my parents, that I would need to make my own serenity. I am thankful for that wisdom (and I am thankful that my parents changed and are wonderful, affirming parts of my life today).

God grant me the courage to change the things I can.

When all that I can change is myself, changing the things I can is scary stuff. It is uncomfortable to change myself. To change myself means I might have to admit failure and wrongdoing. I like to believe I'm perfect.

Help me to truly change myself. To be willing to look at the unearned privilege I receive everyday: as a white person; as a man; as someone who is cis gender; as an American citizen; as typically abled; as debt free.

Give me the courage to give up the unearned privilege I receive daily in ways big and small, privilege which allows me to step on or over or past others. Give me the courage to seek out answers to difficult questions, to do my own homework and to educate myself. Give me the courage to step off the platform and allow someone else to step up. Give me the courage to refer interviewers or guest post requests or speaking engagements or book deals to those who know more and who are more affected by the issues.  Give me the courage to listen. Give me the courage to learn. Give me the courage to change myself.

If I want to be the change I wish to see in the world, if I wish to change the things I can, I have a lot of work to do.

Give me the courage to judge myself not on how many debate points I score, rallies I attend, speeches I write, decisions I influence, or hearts & minds I change. Give me the courage to judge myself on how thoroughly I examine myself and my motives, how justly I act in the world, how interconnected I am willing to be with others.

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

 

Brian Gerald Murphy is the founder of a web design and media consulting firm, Be Gee M: Design & Media, and manages the branding and marketing of several diverse online ventures. He is also the co-founder of Sanctuary Collective, an organization that inspires, empowers, and supports young LGBTQ adults and allies living and organizing for justice in Christian communities. He was a participant in the Soulforce Equality Ride in 2007, where he and a number of other young adults visited colleges and universities across the Western United States. Brian was raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, and graduated from the University of Southern California with degrees in cinematic arts and religion. Connect with him online via twitter @begeem or at www.briangerald.com.

Image source: Indi Samarajiva

Jim Swilley, I Was Wrong

{by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}

 There is nothing worse for a pastor than finding oneself on the wrong end of a gospel story.

A few days ago, when news broke that the founding pastor of “THE CHURCH IN THE NOW,” Bishop Jim Swilley, had come out, I was not particularly kind. On my Facebook page I made the following status update: “[Rev. Paul Turner] is thinking Rev. Swilley is NO gay hero. He finally comes out after he has fathered 4 kids, was in a sham of a marriage...and how many young folks took his hypocritical teachings to heart and ended their life? I am sorry there are those of us who have stood in the line of fire for a long time and took the hits while he was...Thank you Rev. for getting a conscience, let's see what you do now that you are out.”

Really generous and Christ-like, right?

Then I re-read the story of the “Prodigal Son.” One can find the complete story at Luke 15:11-32 (The Message). Needless to say I found myself on the wrong end of this gospel story.

For as many times as I have told this story over the years and how it is a wonderful affirming story for the LGBTQ community, I found myself convicted tonight by the end of the story.

"All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast because he has him home safe and sound.' The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' “His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"

I found myself standing in the place of the older son. For a guy who has been preaching an inclusive gospel for 25 years this is an embarrassing and humbling place to find one’s self. Of course when one reads this story from Jesus, it is easy to see and understand the Father’s response.

However, the more difficult part of this story is we never get the interaction between the older son and the younger. Did they ever work things out? When the party was over did the older and younger brother reconcile? Did the younger brother ever know the older one was unhappy and why? Did the older brother ever stop and listen to the younger brother’s story and how he came to do what he did and make the choices he made?

I have never met the Bishop and only know of the Church he founded by driving by it on I-20 several times and thinking each time…there is another one of “those” places. It was a mega-church; an evangelical church and we all know how they feel about the LGBTQ community right?

So of course I sat and listen to the Bishop’s coming out sermon to his congregation tonight from beginning to end. I then found his blog and read what he had to say. In his latest writing, “Making it Plain” he said:

“I at least have not had to work through any credibility issues, or do any damage control concerning my message. I have never one time in nearly 39 years of preaching said a derogatory or condemning word about people with same-sex attraction. An in-depth search can be made through my books, or through decades-worth of tapes, CDs, DVDs, or manuscripts of my sermons, and there will be no evidence of the preaching of condemnation found.

“I think it's important to point out that my main message is and always has been one of love, grace, and tolerance. Church In The Now has been a multicultural/multi ethnic/ecumenical community since its inception, and, as such, has established a long-standing reputation as being a bridge builder among belief systems and people groups. It is neither a white church, nor a black church - it is a church for all people - so it will not become, now or ever, a "gay" church. CITN is inclusive because we believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, demands that we be...and that Gospel is simply the Good News that GOD IS LOVE, demonstrated through the Christ, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that the lifestyle demands made by the Gospel are summed up in two basic and proactive commandments: (1) Love God (2) Love people. That's all. Church In The Now will always be a place that embraces the truth of the real Gospel, and the simplicity that is in Christ.”

I had done what I have so long preached against…I made lots of judgments and offered my friends and family a knee jerk reaction. Like the older brother in the story, I felt jealous of all the attention the Bishop was getting for coming out at 52 when I was out at 13. One can read my previous blog to get the full story on that.

I felt like as an openly gay pastor and progressive person of faith I had taken the heat, buried our people, held the hand of the oppressed, fought the fight, stood on the front lines and taken the bullets of hate, ridicule and disrespect.

In fact, I could think of many of us pastors who have barely been able to make ends meet because we took the opportunity to be out, proud and free.

Of course so has the Bishop:

“Concerning any negative things written about me online, which are mostly done by conservative Christian or Evangelical groups or watchdog organizations, I can only say that it comes with the territory, and I'm used to it. I have no desire to defend myself, or to argue the Scriptures with those who would not be open to anything I would have to say. Integrity can't be proven, it must be discerned. I've been discussed on blogs and websites for years because of my inclusive theology. In the last few days I've been called both a hero and heretic. I don't believe that I am either. At the end of the day, all that really matters to me is what God thinks and says about me, and that is between Him and me.”

So why write this? Why admit to the community I was a jerk in the way I responded to the story, that I was childish and immature?

First, because words have power and as we have seen with the bullying issue words can have a devastating impact both in the short term and the long term. My open and public words were no better than any bully. For this I am deeply embarrassed and sorry…May God have mercy on me.

Second: two words, being authentic! At Gentle Spirit Christian Church it has been taught for years that we “walk the talk”. So not to admit publicly I was wrong after public words of judgment would be hypocritical at minimum and anti-gospel at the worst.

Finally but not least, each one of us travel this life and for the most part do the best we can with the cards that are given to us. The Bishop is right on the mark when he says there are only two things that really matter: (1) Love God (2) Love people. I know tonight, my Facebook words did neither of those things…God have mercy on me, a sinner.

Bishop Swilley, welcome home and may God bless, protect and encourage you in the days ahead.

Homophobia, An Efficient Killer

{by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}

 I guess it has been about 2 years since the Rev. Al Sharpton stood in the pulpit of Tabernacle Baptist church and gave this little gem concerning black clergy and the church:

“They preach homophobia from their pulpits Sunday morning and cruise the parks at night!”

I also remember after that service was over; this statement was stuck in my head.

Talking with some of my colleges and friends in the black community, I was informed not only was that statement true but also in fact there were any number of black clergy in the city of Atlanta who were an exact fit. “In fact, Pastor Paul, there are some pretty big and powerful preachers in the black church for whom Rev. Sharpton hit the nail on the head.”

I was dumbfounded.

I am sometimes naïve when it comes to the real world. I know a lot of politicians who would sell their own mother if it meant them getting elected and then lie about the sale, but pastors are and should be different right?

Apparently I am still somewhat of a heterosexist. Sure, there might be the whole hetro adultery thing going on in churches, but why would these very conservative, anti-gay preachers really take the risk of doing what they so virulently preach against - especially in such a small, talkative community?

Do they not understand if you beat us up long enough eventually we will expose you for who you really are?

Further, why would this small talkative community simply turn and take on the persona of “don’t ask, don’t tell?”

I have come to believe it is because homophobia is alive and well and more dangerous than ever.

“Homophobia” is the unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality.

Which is why in a homophobic culture there is nothing worse than to be a homosexual or to practice homosexual behavior.  But strangely, the community seems to hold a different standard for black preachers as compared to white preachers. 

One might survive if they use drugs, one might survive if they misuse church funds and they might even survive if they are caught playing with the deacon’s wife. One survives these transgressions because “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God!” 

Remember the good Rev. Stanley of Peachtree Baptist? All was forgiven and forgotten. Bless his heart. Those who are part of the United Methodist Church know if a preacher is caught playing around in the congregation, come annual conference time the preacher is simply moved to another church. There is a long list of black preachers who are divorced or were divorced during their time in the pulpit and have survived rather nicely.

Yet, to cross the homosexual line and express homosexual behavior is the sin of all sins. This sin is the worst thing a person can do. One’s career, calling and respect in the community will be lost if they dare cross this line and get caught. 

There is nothing which will get the news Medias attention faster than a black male preacher who is caught having sex with another man. They jump on it with all the alleged details and leading statements of how horrific this person is. In very short order it becomes the subject of national news with powerful people weighing in with their knowledgeable (really lack of facts) opinions and attitudes. 

Of course if the accused person is anti-gay and is rather famous for attacking the LGBTQ community, then this just adds fuel to an already hotly burning fire.

Bishop Eddie Long ha been an ardent opponent of the LGBTQ community, even to the extent of having an “ex-gay” kind of ministry as a part of his mega church and who lead a huge march against gay marriage.  And now, Bishop Long has been accused not by one but four young men of stepping over the line into the sin of sins.

Now, I have to say for the sake of being honest, I have never been particularly impressed by the Bishop. Having Bentleys parked in one’s driveway, owning a private jet, and such excess has never struck me as the ministry of the gospel, but rather a ministry of prosperity and over-indulgence.

At the same time, his church claims 25,000 members! Damn, that is 9,000 more people than the town I grew up in.

If we do the math this also means conservatively speaking there are probably 1200 plus LGBTQ people associated with this ministry. 

Anyway, I digress. As I mention a few blogs ago the “victims” are already being blasted by the Bishop’s supporters. They are being called everything in the book and I would imagine before it is all said and done they will be painted as the predators of a powerful preacher. As I said before, this simply is the roots of homophobia rising to the surface…cause; well you know all gays are criminals.

Reports on the story have not said if the four young men themselves are gay or not. Before people write me and say this is not important…yes it is. Why? 

It would change the dynamics of the story from abuse of power to the possibility of a really messed up love triangle. There may be abuse of power but it would be a whole different animal at that point. A full day before the story broke, I got a heads up from a friend, “By the way, stay tuned, a very prominent local Bishop is about to be outed by his secret lover in a lawsuit.”

Now, please - if the way this story has been covered doesn’t prove how evil, how nasty, how un-repented and how dangereous homophobia is, then we are asleep.

It is true the Bishop set himself for a huge fall and made himself a target of people just dying to prove he is the ultimate hypocrite. 

Yet, the real problem here, the reason this story is so devastating is because of the homophobia that is intertwined all through it. This Bishop made a huge mark for himself with a ministry designed to destroy my (our) community. As a friend Craig Washington wrote in a column for “the Root”:

“Whether or not Long actually committed the acts of which he was recently accused, this much is true: He is assuredly guilty of engendering fear and hatred of LGBT people among thousands. He has convinced countless numbers of gays that they are sinners whose salvation rests on becoming 'reconditioned' into heterosexuality. Such toxic teachings reinforce the stigma that compromises HIV-prevention efforts as well as our mental and physical health.”

If the accusations are correct, there is a price to pay for such devastating hypocrisy. If the facts turn out to be something else, how will we deal with that?

While it is easy to be critical of how people live their lives, if these accusations turn out to be factual, will anyone ask or see how homophobia drove the Bishop to this moment. How, even knowing he had a gift to preach, he had to hide who he really was to pursue his career and calling?

Will the black congregations ever discuss their complicity in this drama, because the worst thing their preacher could do was be a homo?  Will the black church confront the ways it lives out “don’t ask and don’t tell” to the destruction of its young men every day.

If it turns out these accusations are really about something else, will my community stand and say to Bishop Long, “Hey we are really sorry we jumped the gun, cause you know you are such a jerk when it comes to our issues…well, we just wanted you to fall hard…sorry”.

Regardless of the outcome of this story, will we spend some time seeing how the devastating tentacles of homophobia wrapped themselves around the Bishop, the Bishop’s family, his friends, our community and as the outrage was expressed choked our any thought of compassion, understanding and love?

My friends this is a sad and heart breaking story, because it is really not about Bishop Long. The author of this story no matter how the facts turn out, no matter the drama unfolds, is Homophobia. It is a killer, it kills those who practice it and it kills those who internalize it. It sometimes kills those who fight it.

I think that may be why my friend Elder Tony Jones had this to say on his Facebook status:

“I reflect on Bishop Eddie Long and this recent matter, I am reminded of this one thing: Regardless to the outcome, unconditional love is still appropriate and necessary.”

My prayer is we all take heed; we all take a deep breath and take the Elder’s words to heart. For if we do, there is an opportunity here to begin to dismantle the destruction of homophobia and begin to heal.

{by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}

Please support our advertiser, Sounds True:

"Oh, Rubbish, You have No Power Here"

As I sit here writing this blog, I cannot help but feel the intense emotion of pride for our LGBTQ community. Sometimes we mess up and get ourselves over reactive to situations brought to our community. Yet, not this time...this time we did it correctly. This time we allowed our enemies to put their sizable feet right into their mouths.

As every one knows “The National Organization for Marriage” (NOM) found their way to our little part of the world. To say the rally they held was a complete and utter failure is to understate how bad it really was for them.

As has been reported by various sources they were lucky if the number of attendees reached 20 (this is minus reporters, speakers, entertainers, and the Capital police).

Meanwhile across Washington Street, 300 plus of the LGBTQ community and straight allies showed up to give witness to the fact we are diverse, wise and a gentle people.

I say diverse because in that crowd were straight, gay, queer, trans, black, white, Latino, Asian as well as many other ethnic groups.

I say diverse because there were punks, Goths, suburbanites, college students, employed, unemployed, people of faith, people of no faith and there was even a gnome.

I say wise and gentle because when it was first announce NOM was headed this way, leaders in the LGBTQ community got together and discussed, argued, and struggled with how to respond to these bullies.

This process was a beautiful example of how creative the LGBTQ community can be when we decide to act as opposed to re-act.

Call for queer spiritual art

Art about queer spirituality and activism is needed by May 24 for Tikkun, a national magazine on progressive politics and spirituality.

My goal is to help match LGBT-affirming artists with people who want to see queer spiritual art. So I am posting Tikkun’s “urgent call for art” in whole below.

I can personally vouch for Tikkun because they recently published my article “Take Back Jesus: The Queer Christ Arises for the Good of All.”

____
Tikkun Magazine’s July/August issue will have a special section on LGBTQ spirituality, politics, and activism.

Please help us find good photos and art to use as illustrations!

You can send all JPGs, links, and ideas to art.tikkun@gmail.com.

We are a nonprofit with a limited art budget and ask for artists’ most charitable rates.

Here's what we're looking for:

* Any kind of fine art that evokes something about spirituality and queerness. This is an INTERFAITH magazine, and we need art related to Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Goddess religions, and more.

* Photos or paintings of queer or genderqueer or trans or same-gender-loving folks in the context of traditional religious spaces that they grew up in or are now part of (maybe holding hands or kissing outside or inside a synagogue, church, ashram, mosque, sangha, etc., or religious leaders with rainbow stoles or kippot or queer people engaging with religious texts or holding ritual objects)

* Photos or JPGs of paintings, prints or other sorts of fine art that evoke something about the socially transformative power of queer theory and LGBTQ political activism

* Photos of LGBTQ spiritual/religious events (i.e. people engaging in rituals or gatherings that have come out of different sorts of queer and trans theologies)

* Photos or paintings/drawings/prints of activists doing exciting work grounded in some mixture of queer politics, anti-racist commitments, and ideas of the intersectionality of oppressions.

Please pass along this call to your networks. All materials and questions should go to art.tikkun@gmail.com.

We need to receive art submissions ASAP -- by Monday, May 24, ideally.

___
That’s the end of the official announcement. If you do plan to submit your art, please leave a comment to let me know that this post was useful.

You might enjoy visiting Tikkun’s online art gallery.

(Image credit: Jennifer R., Wikimedia Commons)

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This was posted by Kittredge Cherry, author of “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.” She blogs regularly at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Kuan Yin: Androgynous spirit of compassion

Buddhists are celebrating the birthday of Kuan Yin on the day before Easter this year -- a holy synchronicity.

Renowned gay author Toby Johnson writes that Kuan Yin is wonderful for LGBT people and our allies because he/she unites male and female.

Click here for his post about Kuan Yin at the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts.

(Image credit: “Olga’s Kuan Yin” by William Hart McNichols © www.fatherbill.org)

Gay Holy Week series runs online

A queer version of Christ’s Passion will is running in daily installments this week through Easter (April 4) at the Jesus in Love Blog.

Each daily post features GLBT Christian art and an excerpt from “Jesus in Love: At the Cross,” a novel about a bisexual Christ by lesbian author Kittredge Cherry. Jesus is in love with his disciple John and faces religious homophobia in the selections from “At the Cross.”

The eight-day series covers Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, and Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection. The dramatic events of Christ’s Passion happen in the context of a gay love story between Jesus and John. Jesus has today’s queer sensibilities and psychological sophistication as he reveals experiences that may have led to the first Easter.

“I’m doing the Holy Week series to make Christ more accessible to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and our allies,” said Cherry, founder of JesusInLove.org. The website promotes artistic and religious freedom by supporting spirituality and the arts for GLBT people and their allies.

“Christ’s story is for everyone, but GLBT people often feel left out because conservatives use Christian rhetoric to justify hate and discrimination,” she said.

The online Holy Week series includes art by F. Douglas Blanchard, Becki Jayne Harrelson, William Hart McNichols, Corinne Quinones, Gary Speziale and Dirk Vanden.

Some conservatives labeled Cherry “a hyper-homosexual revisionist” because of the gay love story between Jesus and John. However, her books follow the Biblical text and standard Christian doctrine while speculating on Christ’s erotic inner life.

“I get hate mail with warnings such as, ‘Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ!’ This kind of religious bigotry is exactly why the queer Christ is needed,” Cherry said.

Meanwhile, secular literary critics and progressive Christians affirm the Jesus in Love series as “profound,” “spiritually mature” and “beautifully written.” Gay spirituality author Toby Johnson praises it as “a real tour de force in transforming traditional myth to modern consciousness.”

The Bay Area Reporter called it “revolutionary religious fiction” and Mel White, founder of Soulforce, says, “Kittredge Cherry has broken through the stained-glass barrier… a classic re-telling of the greatest story ever told.”

“At the Cross” grows out of Cherry’s own spiritual journey and her experiences as a minister in the LGBT community. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as national ecumenical officer. One of her primary duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (USA) and the World Council of Churches. Her previous books include “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More,” “Equal Rites” and “Hide and Speak.” The New York Times Book Review praised her “very graceful, erudite” writing style.

The Holy Week blog series includes art from “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision,” a compelling set of 24 paintings by New York artist F. Douglas Blanchard. The controversial “faggot crucifixion” by Atlanta artist Becki Jayne Harrelson is also featured, along with drawings by New York artist Gary Speziale. They are among 11 contemporary artists from the United States and Europe who are profiled in Cherry’s book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.”

To view the series, visit www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com

(Image credit: "The Crucifixion of Christ" by Becki Jayne Harrelson, www.beckijayne.com)