Volume 9: Issue 4
January/February 2005
Transformation
Table Of Contents
Cover
Story: Transformation:
A New Diet for New Year
--By: Candace Chellew-Hodge
The diet I intend to try is a transformation diet
- a diet that promises not so much to transform my body, but to transform
my mind.
I Can See Clearly Now
--By: John H. Campbell
Spiritual
growth is to me, at least, an ongoing process - one that is never
ending as we grow closer to God in our lives. We may not actually
change (at least, the core of who we are and who it is that God made
us to be) as people, and I do not feel that God changes nor do I feel
that God has ever changed. What I think undergoes a metamorphosis
and transformation is our understanding of God, which constantly evolves
as we are open, seeking, and finding new wisdom that God blesses us
with if we remain open to it.
A Prodigal Daughter's Tale
--By: Lori Heine
Most people
consider it transformative simply to let go of past mistakes. Some
prefer to outrun them, hoping they won't chase them right into a brand
new year. I let mine catch up with me. I had feared this might undo
me. Yet at the threshold of this New Year, I find myself breathing
rare, clear air.
Transformations:
Love the Enemy--Because They May Learn to Love Us!
--By: Steve Pearson
Just because
the people in our churches can't accept us as Christians now doesn't
mean they will never accept us. If we hold to the statement that God
is completing the work God began within us, then we can trust that
God is doing the same in the lives of everyone else in the Church.
In Pursuit of Holiness
--By: Rev. Vera I. Bourne
The world in
which we live transforms us from the outside in. God transforms us
from the inside out.
Transformation
--By: Jo Ellen Kanne
Am I giving
and sharing all that I have with those who have less than me? Am I
loving and caring for each life in the world, many far from home?
These are questions I ask myself every day. To be seen by people,
not by the public. To have people be proud of me, rather than simply
admire what I do. This transformation has been a daily journey.
Homospirituality:
Be A Queer for Four More Years
--By: Rev. Dr. Penny Nixon
Many
of us are disappointed, depressed, even devastated by the outcome
of the election. We cannot imagine four more years and where we will
be at the end of the four years. We look back, but only long enough
to learn from our mistakes. We may be discouraged for the moment,
but we live on hope.
Fractured Faith
--By: Rembert Truluck
All of the progress in human rights and civil rights during the past
50 years is being threatened and attacked by the growing power and
authority of religious and political separatism and division at every
level of family, social, business, political, educational and religious
life. We are not so much a nation divided as we are a nation fragmented.
Gay, Christian and Proud
--By: Shane K. Andersen
I
hear folk who claim to be loving and understanding Christians saying
all the time that an active homosexual is an abomination to God and
themselves, taking verses out of the bible which suites and strengthens
their arguments against me, and all I can say to them is "Wake up
and smell the roses!"
Enough is Enough!
--By: Archbishop Bruce J. Simpson, OSJB
The
Roman Catholic Church is fueling bigotry, discrimination and death
by its constant impassioned calls for a Jihad on the gay community.
Standing up to Big Mama:
A Black Gay/Lesbian Requirement
--By: Herndon L. Davis
We
can no longer allow out of reverence, the older black generation to
continue their spiritual abuse and spiritual murder of gays/lesbians.
Letter to a Seeker
--By: Gareth Fenley
I
wrote this letter to a gay man who e-mailed me and asked me to recommend
books that would help him in his struggle to reconcile a personal
relationship with God after growing up in a church that vigorously
condemned homosexuality.
He is Gone
--By: Forrest Nettleton
A
year ago this past March my partner of 10 years passed on. The time
since has been a real rollercoaster ride.
Features:
Confessing Christ in a World of
Violence
--By: Jim Wallis
Faithfully
confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when
its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.
Time to March Again
--By: Dr. Robin Meyers
I
join ranks of those who are angry, because I have watched as the faith
I love has been taken over by fundamentalists who claim to speak for
Jesus, but whose actions are anything but Christian.
Solutions
--By: Nathan Bierma
Brown
condemns what he calls "the culture of Right Christian Living" for
its easy answers and efficient methods to achieve a better life. This
presents knowing God as the route to a stronger marriage, more charming
children, a bigger congregation, and political influence.
Stroud to file appeal of church trial
decision
--By: Linda Bloom
Irene
Elizabeth "Beth" Stroud has decided to appeal the Dec. 2 decision
by a United Methodist trial court to revoke her ministerial credentials.
A Cry in the Wilderness: Is Anyone Listening?
--By: Archbishop Bruce J. Simpson, OSJB
Make
no mistake about it: Most Churches, the Vatican, and the entire Bush
administration have declared war on the gay community. They will attempt
to roll back every right under the Constitution that we have gained,
and drive us back into a world of dark fear and repression. It is
time to get serious about the fight we find ourselves in by now joining
our political organizations, our social organizations, along with
churches that support the true meaning of Christianity, and present
a united front to this nation.
An Open Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury
from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
--By: Rev. Richard Kirker
Homosexual
people continue to be deeply offended by the actions of many parts
of the Communion where our existence is not even acknowledged, where
our voices are strangled before we can be heard or seen as part of
the family of God brought into being by the Word.
The Missing 32nd Screwtape Letter
--By: David S. Roberts
Do
not be alarmed by your patient's recent foray into so-called conservative
Christianity. Perhaps it is only a fad; these silly humans are ever
looking for external certainty in an uncertain world. But if it is
not, splendid! You can use this extremism to your advantage.
Letters To The Editor
Same-Gender
Marriage:
How the Grinch Stole Marriage
-- By: Mary Ann Horton, Lisa and Bill Koontz
Every
Gay down in Gayville liked Gay Marriage a lot...
But the Grinch, who lived just east of Gayville, did NOT!!
Presbyterian Minister Faces Charges
for Performing Same Gender Wedding
-- By: Press Release
On
November 19, 2004, the Presbytery of the Redwoods in the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), the regional governing body of the 2.1 million member
denomination, filed a disciplinary charge against the Reverend Dr.
Jane Adams Spahr, Minister Director of That All May Freely Serve.
Transgender Spirituality:
Christians and Cross-Dressers
-- By: Rachel Miller
Instead of two-headed
perverts, I found that the world of cross-dressers was populated with
mostly very ordinary people. Eventually I was able to understand cross-dressing
and balance it with the other aspects of my life. While working out the
issues, my wife and I realized that it would be valuable to share what
we had learned.
From the Pulpit:
Joy
--By: Rev.
Beth Stroud
In the midst of suffering
and disappointment, laughter wells up from the depths of a person's heart.
In times of terrible losses and setbacks, a person nevertheless discovers
a song in her heart.
Get Real -- Read the Book
--By: The Rev'd Canon Lesley Northup
I say it is time true Christians - and by that I mean people who believe
in and follow and actually live the teachings of Jesus - it's time true
Christians reclaimed the name "Christian" and stopped being co-opted by
persons who have little knowledge, understanding, or practical application
in their own lives of Christian principles.
In All Things Give Thanks
--By: Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge
This today, is our calling - to renounce hatred and blood and instead
move forward in the world with our hand outstretched and our heart exposed.
Holy Family, Batman!
--By: Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge
I think Batman makes for a fitting hero for the gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender community.
Bible Study and Inspiration:
Lepers, Loons and Losers
Part 8: The Shepherds
--By: Tom Yeshua
Whether as small figurines in
a home nativity scene or as a bathrobe-clad participants in a church Christmas
pageant, the shepherds are brought out each year for their moment in the
sun. Surrounded by cute, fluffy sheep, the shepherds gaze in wonder and
serenity at the newborn squirming in the manger. But who were these people?
Righteousness and Justice
--By: Elaine
Is God's great commandment of love being equitably administered? No. Most in the church could care less if a gay person has sworn their life to Christ and has made God first in their life (thus fulfilling the first commandment of love). Nor do they care if our relationships are rooted and grounded in love (thereby fulfilling the second commandment of love). All they can see is that we are gay!
Holy
Humor!
Theology, Kid Style
Leroy and the Little Red Bike
