[God] is like an empty pitcher,
Poured from, but never drained.
Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things.

[God] blunts the sharp,
Unties the knotted,
Shades the bright,
Unites with all dust.

Tao Te Ching
[From God As Nature Sees God by John R. Mabry]

At orientation for seminary this past week, we were taken on a tour of several sites in Atlanta. Before leaving we were asked to think about where we saw God present in places and people and where we felt God was absent.

I immediately had a problem with this assignment. It is impossible for God to be absent from anywhere. God is the source of all things, an empty pitcher that is infinitely deep, poured from daily, but never drained. All people and things have God as their common denominator.

Certainly there are places and people that are disconnected from God. This disconnect can be intentional or unconscious. But a disconnect does not equal an absence of God.

The places where I saw a disconnection from God were in some of the run down areas of the city. The slums have sometimes been called "God-forsaken" areas. In reality, it may be the other way around. The people have given up hope in nearly everything, even God. It's the people who may have forsaken God.

I see my job as a seminary student to renew the hope within a hurting and lonely people. My special mission is to renew the hope in gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people who have been disowned by the church. In that act of abandonment, they find themselves abandoning any sense of faith.

I liken this restoring of hope to the gentrification of the slums. When hope returns to an area, the area begins to show the signs of renewal and revitalization. People come in and open businesses, fix up homes and improve the roads and landscaping. They create a spiritual place of hope and love out a place of desolation and despair.

As gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, we sorely need some urban renewal in our desolate and despairing souls. The first step is to remember that there is no place where God is absent. God is always here, waiting to be recognized as the source of all things. When we realize God is all around us then the sharp things are blunted, the knots are untied, the shades are turned bright and we are ultimately united as one.

Blessings,
Candace