Voices

A man holding up a sign that says no more names.

Guns Will Not Save Us

By pwsbuilder / November 7, 2017 / Comments Off on Guns Will Not Save Us

I was 14 years old the first time I held a gun. My parents had recently divulged that they owned not one, but two, 9 mm semi-automatic handguns. The thought of guns in my house was scary, even if they were kept in small lock boxes, stashed far in the back of my parent’s closet.…

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A group of people holding candles at a candlelight vigil.

In Our Lifetime

By pwsbuilder / October 26, 2017 / Comments Off on In Our Lifetime

She’s not a regular. I’d been meeting there weekly for almost two months, and I’d never seen her before. It must have been her first time. I was sure I knew all of the unsheltered people. She asked if I had $2. I didn’t. I still don’t. I choose not to carry cash. I walked…

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A black and white photo of two people giving each other a high five.

Harmful Theology Will Not Define Us

By pwsbuilder / October 12, 2017 / Comments Off on Harmful Theology Will Not Define Us

Times are rough. Every five seconds, the news tells us something terrible that Trump and his administration has done. White Supremacists have a renewed, public boldness. Social media feeds are landmines of triggering comments about race, gender, sexuality, and many other issues that make up one’s humanity. On top of all of that, this thing…

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Two women holding up a sign that says black queer feminist christian.

Coming Out As A Pansexual Christian: Because They First Loved Me

By pwsbuilder / October 11, 2017 /

Over the last few years, I’ve been deeply engaged in work and research that centers on cultivating space where people of all faiths, sexualities, and gender identities can seek to both know and be known. I’ve seen so many people experience spiritual, systemic, and interpersonal harm and sincerely believe that fostering inclusive, equitable communities can…

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A group of people posing for a picture on a hill.

Lesbian Priest Persists Under Mississippi’s New Anti-LGBTQIA Law

By pwsbuilder / October 10, 2017 / Comments Off on Lesbian Priest Persists Under Mississippi’s New Anti-LGBTQIA Law

BREAKING: Plaintiffs appeal HB 1523 to U.S. Supreme Court  The world seems surreal when your own government makes laws against you. You feel like you’ve been sent back in time and space to Nazi Germany. Or like you’re stuck in a Twilight Zone episode or a Daphne du Maurier short story. This can’t be real.…

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A group of people holding a rainbow flag in front of a fountain.

Do Unto Others: A Blueprint For Religious Leaders On Global LGBTI Rights

By pwsbuilder / October 6, 2017 / Comments Off on Do Unto Others: A Blueprint For Religious Leaders On Global LGBTI Rights

On Friday, September 29th, the United States cast a vote against a UN Human Rights Council resolution to ban the death penalty against LGBTI people, effectively jeopardizing LGBTI people’s lives around the world to preserve the death penalty at all costs. Though the US joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates…

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We Need More Than Outrage

By pwsbuilder / August 23, 2017 / Comments Off on We Need More Than Outrage

This week has been a challenge. Whenever violence erupts and floods our streets, floods our airwaves, I know I may have to get creative about ways to meet my basic needs and function well enough to hold onto some kind of security in my life. It’s exponentially more complicated because I already occupy tenuous, vulnerable…

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An international conference examining the church and the commonwealth laws.

The Role of Churches in Ending Anti-Sodomy Laws

By pwsbuilder / August 4, 2017 / Comments Off on The Role of Churches in Ending Anti-Sodomy Laws

We once again celebrated Pride month and many LGBTQI people and their allies in the global north revelled in the hard-won advances for the recognition of human rights for our communities. But 73 countries across the world still criminalize private same-gender intimacy between consenting adults, with 11 imposing the death penalty. These so-called anti-sodomy laws…

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A person taking a picture of confetti.

Pride Events Display Disparities In LGBTQ Community

By pwsbuilder / June 8, 2017 / Comments Off on Pride Events Display Disparities In LGBTQ Community

June is Pride Month for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities across the country—and parades abound. While we all rev up each June for Pride so, too, do the fault lines of race and class in the LGBTQ community. With advances such as hate crime laws, legalization of same-sex marriage across the country,…

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Easter Through The Years: My Trans Resurrection Story

By pwsbuilder / April 16, 2017 /

Growing up in an evangelical Christian home, my family was invested in maintaining certain Judeo-Christian holiday traditions. Easter Sunday was no exception; it was a day rooted in chocolate pastels, family dinner, and most notably for me: new accessories. Regardless of my gender assigned at birth, I’ve always loved accessories.  I went through a time…

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