Heeding the call for healing The 2026 observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day marks the 41st observance of the holiday. Its theme — “Mission Possible 2: Building Community, Uniting a Nation the Nonviolent Way” — already felt challenging in a politically polarized era. With
Love the ‘sinner,’ period If there are two phrases often lobbed at LGBTQ+ people that really get my blood boiling, they’re that old chestnut “Love the sinner, hate the sin” and any version of “Loving you doesn’t mean I have to like or accept you.”
In with the new, but out with the old? It’s just a New Years’ saying that affirms that what’s coming up is, we hope, better. But the sentiment in much of our culture sees “old” as even dreaded enough to say more broadly, “out with
The dawn of a new year presents LGBTQ+ people with so much more than just a new page on the calendar: We have a profound opportunity to turn the page on religious narratives that have been wielded against us as tools of exclusion rather than
The signs are all there. Liberal church bodies are fighting back. Every so often in the past they did so, but now the open, unholy marriage of extreme right-wing bigotry, its political proponents, and right-wing religionists seems to have put denominations and religious leaders on
Remarks delivered at the Dakota OutRight Capital Pride 2023 Multifaith Worship Service. The Golden Rule. A maxim revered in some similar form in almost every ethical tradition. What do these words mean? Who is our neighbor? How do we live with open ears and open
Let’s start with polyamory Several years ago, for reasons that are unimportant, I took an Uber from Atlanta to Jackson, Ga. The driver was a kind and curious young man who was very interested to hear that I was going into the Christian ministry. He
This moment in American history calls for courage Brave spiritual leaders spent the last 100 years presenting our case for LGBTQIA+ affirmation, ministering to LGBTQIA+ people, helping religious institutions overcome ingrained bigotry, and publicly standing up to injustice in our communities. Countless books and articles
Straightness is a construct that seems here to stay It’s apparently been wishful thinking that I thought our culture was moving beyond the straight role that was necessary to keep patriarchy going in the U.S. When I wrote Scared Straight: Why It’s So Hard to
In recent years, transgender people and LGBTQ+ people as a whole have faced increasing challenges at the hands of governments, right-wing think tanks, internet influencers and hate groups as wrong-headed ideologies fuel the ongoing violence against those whose gender expression violates artificial norms. It’s why,