Pride Month: Church Of The Village Prays The LGBT Way Of The Cross

A watercolor painting of jesus carrying the cross.

The way of the cross is an ancient tradition that retraces the steps of Jesus, remembering his suffering but also remembering the love, hope, and promise into which we are invited to enter. During Pride Month, the United Methodist Church of the Village is following this tradition by reflecting on the ways Christ has suffered in the…

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“I Am Loved Right Where I Am”: Ensuring Our Children Feel Belonged

A rainbow painted on a piece of paper.

I am a certified special education school teacher who has taught various grades and subjects in the states of New York, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. Prior to teaching I was a youth counselor for many years, where I worked with youth diagnosed from moderate to severe intellectual disabilities, behavioral and emotional challenges, autism/Asperger’s syndrome, and…

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Southern Baptists Underestimate The Love Of God

I grew up Southern Baptist, but I left the church when I entered college because I could not reconcile the unconditional love of God with the narrow and exclusive theology of my childhood denomination. On Tuesday, this exclusion surfaced once again when the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution condemning transgender people. Vivian Taylor, the…

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“Sorry” Seems To Be The Easiest Word

A man in a blue shirt is smiling at a microphone.

I live under a pop-culture rock, and it is only because of his inner-orbit position on the Six Degrees of Channing Tatum that I even know Jonah Hill’s name. But his recent run-in with a paparazzo, culminating in him angrily calling the man a derogatory term for a gay man and commanding him to perform…

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Urge California Archbishop To Cancel Appearance At Anti-LGBT March

A priest giving a speech at a march for marriage.

While 57% of Catholics now support the freedom to marry and many Catholic leaders, including Pope Francis, have made affirming statements about LGBT people, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone is planning to march alongside some of the most hateful anti-LGBT extremists in the nation at the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) rally in Washington,…

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The General Assembly Is Not God

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will soon make headlines, one way or another. The decisions we make at our 221st General Assembly will be reported across national media outlets through words loosely connected to what we actually experience together as a denominational family. (Prayers for you, reporters!) Amongst other decisions, we will vote to clarify the definition…

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Pride & Pentecost

A stained glass window with a dove in the center.

The fact that Pentecost is occurring on the same weekend as DC Capital Pride, one of the largest Pride events on the East coast, isn’t lost on me. Pentecost is a weird spoke in the wheel of the year, but it’s an amazing one all the same. As the Orthodox hymn for the feast goes, “Blessed…

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Thongs Galore: Taking On My First Pride Parade

A woman with a rainbow painted face is posing for the camera.

When I woke up on the morning of Seattle Pride 2013, I was not ready for “Thongs Galore,” and that bothered me. In my mind, going to the annual Pride Parade was just an item on the list of things queer kids did. Also on the list were listening to Lady Gaga, loving Rent, and…

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