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

The intensity felt during the two days of Supreme Court hearings concerning the freedom to marry may be fading from our minds, but we cannot let it fade from our hearts. The week of March 25^th, for all the conversations it prompted both inside and outside the courtroom, will be remembered as a historic moment when the arc of history bent closer to justice for LGBT people. Here are 5 of my favorite tweets from the days following the Supreme Court hearings. What were your favorite posts?

Who can deny that the heart of marriage is the love and commitment between the partners? Can you? So, it makes perfect sense to me that public opinion in the United States has moved inexorably toward supporting marriage for same-sex couples. Many who are joining a growing number of Americans in support of the freedom to marry have moved there by knowing couples like my friends, Ralph and Van.

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

On December 16, 2012 my Uncle John died. It is only recently that I have slid comfortably into calling John “uncle.” John was, from before I was born, the beloved “friend” of my father’s oldest brother, my Uncle George. Uncle George passed away in 2000 at the age of 89. They lived in California, so growing up, I knew them only from visits to Pittsburgh – mostly in the fall to enjoy the change of seasons. I have spoken of them often, but not by name. As they have both gone on to Jesus, I think I can now.

A fresh wind seems to be blowing these days. We see it in the decisive election of President Barack Obama to a second term and in the confirmation of marriage equality in Maine, Maryland and Washington state, along with the defeat of a restrictive constitutional amendment on marriage in Minnesota. We also see it in my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), as we adjust to the opening of ordination to all qualified and called members (including our LGBT faithful) and in the first-ever discussion of same-sex marriage at our bi-annual General Assembly.2012 has certainly served up the potential for a momentous 2013 even as we recognize that there are still formidable challenges before us.

Though the use of “men” for “people” has become archaic, the yearning expressed here to love and serve Christ with joy is as present to us as our next heart beat. And those things that hold us back are terribly familiar. This prayer asks God to lift those impediments so that we may courageously respond to the “call to better things.”

As I recently marked the 34th anniversary of my being ordained to the office of pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I can say that I have witnessed my fair share of troubles in the church. All of this has prompted, from me, this meditation upon Christian love, informed by Paul’s reflections.

The whole point of the revised ordination requirements is this: Love. God’s love is not a new thing, of course. When asked what God’s greatest commandment for us was, Jesus replied: Love. Love is Jesus’ Truth about God that He lifted up, emphasized, and established through His words and actions in the world, including His death on the cross.