Advent season is upon us! In my latest piece for Believe Out Loud, I share my reflections on the attentive waiting that shaped the Advent seasons of my childhood and how it informs my outlook today, especially as we celebrate a year of incredible progress for the LGBT community. Here is an excerpt from the […]

Jesus spoke of His followers as a family. He saw us as brothers and sisters and we certainly have our squabbles as all families do. What we seem to have lost is an ability in the church to call upon the healing powers of a family in order to remain the Body of Christ when we disagree. This is the church family I yearn for and feel called by God to work toward. I hope your mind and heart are touched by this podcast recording of a talk between my brother in Christ, Dave, and me. We’ve known one another for decades and had many conversations about our different perspectives on the place of LGBT in the church and in God’s eyes. As we speak together here, Dave and I are hoping that you will join us with your reflections.

What a moment! Let us rejoice that the Supreme Court has astounded many and affirmed equal protection under the law. With this week’s decision, federal benefits will be granted to legally married same-sex couples. Not only that, but same-sex marriage was also upheld in our most populous state, California. For this, we rejoice with a resounding “hazzah!”

Believe Out Loud: Wholeness is what I experienced when I found the way to accurately understand my whole self as well as to describe myself to the world. My years of confusion and questioning about my sexual orientation were very much a Lenten journey through the land of my soul. Realizing who I am—a bisexual—was as freeing and life giving as Easter.Continue Reading

Believe Out Loud: For those who have been confused, I have regularly shared the story of discovering who I am and sharing that news with my husband in 1998 – after 17 years of marriage. Alvise knew how important our wedding vows were to me. He articulated better than I could what my being bisexual meant to him (and also to me). He put it this way: “What you are saying is you love me out of all possible people on the face of this earth, not just half. Actually, that makes me feel very special.” Continue Reading

Creating Change is the annual organizing conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce. It is big, refreshing, challenging—great for running into old friends and making new ones—and generally awesome. Creating Change shot me home like the ball out of a cannon. Let me try to inspire similar enthusiasm in you by sharing some reflections on my experience there.

The carol associated with Epiphany, “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” is probably my favorite song of the whole Christmas season. Since I was very young, I could feel the sway of the camels who carried the wise men day and night while they kept their eyes fixed on the star leading them ever onward to Jesus.

After reading Archbishop Tutu’s letter I was moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to try and continue this important conversation. I could only imagine how busy the Archbishop is, so when I asked him to join me in the regular conversation series I host on www.TimeToEmbrace.com, I was surprised and deeply humbled when he agreed to my request.

“Reflecting God’s Heart” was the theme of the More Light Presbyterians’ national conference held last weekend in Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY. From start to finish, the worship, receptions, meals, workshops and evening movie time were all geared to fulfill the prayer from the last verse of the poem of our 17th century Pilgrim ancestor, John Robinson: “Enlarge, expand all Christian souls to comprehend your love.”

A few months ago, President Jimmy Carter took religion to task for contributing to discrimination against women around the world. From my perspective, President Carter’s comments definitely struck home. But it led me to also ask the question: What does religion, and specifically my faith, Christianity, really have to say about gender?