Posts by pwsbuilder
On Leaving Religious Life: Why I Cannot Be A Roman Catholic Priest
Last fall I finally had enough. Enough of hearing the Roman Catholic Church romanticize the materially poor. Enough of watching the Roman Catholic Church fire married gays and lesbians from public ministry from high schools and churches. Enough of trying to defend the Roman Catholic Church’s practice of ordaining only celibate men to the priesthood.…
Read MoreSaying “Yes” To Life
Etched in my memory on a daily basis these days are the Black men who have been killed over the last several months by people whose task it was to protect and serve them. As a black, queer trans-identified male, who is also aware of the violence too often inflicted upon queer and Trans bodies…
Read MoreFinding Home For The Holidays
The Christmas season is a difficult time of year for me. I am always bothered by our culture’s egregious forms of commercialism—and its either lack of or its anemic recognition of other forms for religious holidays like Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, and the celebration of the winter solstice during this season. Over the years, as I…
Read MoreA Response To Non-Affirming Christians
Several weeks ago I was interviewed for a piece in the Huffington Post about LGBT Christians. While I’m no stranger to the push-back that being both gay and a drag queen elicits from many religious folks, I was struck by the hateful manner in which many people attempted to mask their bigoted thoughts in pseudo-Christian comments as…
Read MoreCelebrating International Human Rights Day & The Jakarta Declaration
It was an idea whose time had come. For two decades, Rev. Dr. Stephen Suleeman, lecturer at Jakarta Theological Seminary, held fast to a dream for an LGBT-affirming faith conference in Indonesia. His dream was realized with the International Consultation on the Church and Homophobia, November 23 – 26 at Jakarta Theological Seminary. When Stephen…
Read MoreWhy Racial Justice Matters To Believe Out Loud
On November 24, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown. Believe Out Loud laments this decision and the continued devaluation of black lives in the United States of America. Unfortunately, our community’s response to two posts we shared about the verdict in Ferguson…
Read MoreLove-Based Activism
If my purpose is to create change, to help bring about the end of legalized discrimination against LGBT people, my actions should be such that they are effective at bringing about that change. If I want to help people understand what it is like to be transgender, I need to present a message that more…
Read MoreTrans Day Of Remembrance Is Over: Is Your Church Still Trans Inclusive?
Being visibly trans or gender non-conforming in the world means you have the privilege of dealing with a lot of people’s feelings about your presence more than you care to. Folks often want to tell you how they feel about your clothing choices, the way you are “successfully” or “unsuccessfully” portraying your gender and more…
Read MoreWhat Calvin Taught Me About God
This is an abridged reprise of a column I wrote for the September, 1995 issue of the More Light Update, the publication of Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (now More Light Presbyterians) edited by James D. Anderson. Total attentiveness. Unconditional love. Limited judgment. Irresistible grace. Providential play. T.U.L.I.P. This is what Calvin has taught…
Read MoreStories Of Resilience From Queer Christian Women
After coming out in her evangelical church, Rachel Murr searched for others who have held onto faith after coming out in non-affirming Christian environments. Using memoir, research, and interviews, she wrote Unnatural: Spiritual Resiliency in Queer Christian Women. Here’s our interview with her: 1. What prompted you to research the experiences of queer Christian women?…
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