imagodei-romans13-10-blog

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (7)

“One of the most hurtful experience was when I came out to the campus ministry leader.  By senior year i had known her for over 10 years.  She was my 3rd grade teacher, my rainbows group leader (a catholic program for kids whose parents are divorced or passed away) and in 7th grade she was a confidant for me when I was going through a rough time at home.  I had started the school year volunteering every 7th period in her office.    It was basic stuff,  file this,fold these letters,  etc.  She would be there almost daily and we had a great working relationship.   The day i came out to her, she looked me in the eye and said "my brother is gay too and you both will burn in hell."  I had no idea what to say i just stared at her as she got up and left.   The rest of the year i would still show up for 7th period,  but she never did.

I think what was most surprising is that none of the students treated me any differently.   It was the adults who made comments of "gay is a choice and your making the wrong Choice "  "God doesn't accept homosexuality "  they would selectively quote scripture (leviticus of course! ).  I never stoop up to them, i just kept quiet and counted down the days til i could leave that place.”

-how this made them feel-

“Sad, sad that these adults,  most of whom have known me and my family for years. As the catholic school system is quite small, you know the same people, families,  etc for a long time.  So these adults knew me, knew how good of a person I am, and chose to ignore all the good and focus on what they perceived as the bad.  The year before this, i was awarded K3 county volunteer of the year, i had won another service award that only 2 people in the state recieves each year.  My senior year i was student council president and president of a volunteer club,  i was active in school life.   They couldn't stop praising me junior year, senior year i get the snub. I didnt change as a person,  i grew and finally accepted who i was, but that led them to disregard me“

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (6)

“So my current and very large church woes stem from the fact that my pastor refuses to understand that intersex is a very separate thing and would instead file us under other labels like "transgender lesbian".  On top of this, we were also told that our faith was not sufficient enough to have our daughter dedicated in the church, despite our good membership status. Clearly, to be so clearly pushed out with an unofficial dismissal is a very political move, and very disappointing.  Our personal faiths have been tested enough by dealing with an intersex pathology and the forced transition that it brought.  Fighting a pastor who would refuse to listen to scripture is the thing that's most damaging to us.  When the dogmatic use of the manual is all you see over a clear interpretation of scriptures provided to you, there becomes a point where you see the separation between faith and religion.”

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (5)

“I'm a 5th generation Nazarene. There's a long family history of "we don't drink, smoke, cuss, or chew or go with those that do"... Because you know, that's the measure of your faithfulness.

Annnnyway..    all that to say that my parents/family were the representation of the church to me. The CotN for sure. My mother's first words to me were "is this something you want to be healed from"

That was 12 years ago

Being hurt by the church. Reactions. Responses. There are no short answers or easy journeys for the LGBTQ+ folks in the CotN; especially those that grew up in it during the Billy Graham/Focus on the Family evangelical conservative takeover of the 80s & 90s. Our pure heterosexual identity was our worth, especially as females. I was to save myself for my husband... Except, none of that really made sense to me. Especially as a young teen.

I made my peace with what biblical reference had to say in the process of coming out to myself. My attitude became more disappointment and distaste for modern "christianity". Capitalization is purposeful here.

How can a people called to love suddenly be so unwelcoming?”

How can a people called to love suddenly be so unwelcoming?

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (3)

“I’ve never told my grandparents and the majority of my extended family that I’m bi/pan because I imagine how awfully they’ll react.

(Like just the ways that they’ve talked to me about other people who are lgbtq.)

It makes me feel real shitty that I know for a fact a large majority of my extended family wouldn’t love the real me the way they do as the person I am around them.”

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (2)

“When my parents found out I was gay, they didn’t know how to respond, and unfortunately that resulted in them sending me to my grandparents’ house for a weekend. While I was there, I was full of fear and dread, thinking that everything was over for me. When I came back home, we never talked about it, apart from my dad telling me to “not do that again, because that really upset your mom” and that we would just “treat this as a fluke.” What exactly he meant by “that” I will never know. 

 The climate against queer people in the church caused me to suppress my sexuality in very toxic ways. When I was 15, I dated a girl for a year, hoping that 1) my parents would think I was straight, and 2) because I had hoped that I could change my sexual orientation. After three months, I realised that the latter was not coming true, and so I actively sabotaged the relationship to get her to break up with me (and it was very important that she ended things, because I did not want my parents to suspect that I broke up with her because of my sexual orientation). It caused a lot of hurt to her, and I was also left very emotionally exhausted by it. It was the worst year of my life, undoubtedly.”

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

LGBTQ Story (1)

“I identify as lesbian and I'm married to a woman. I grew up with a Nazarene pastor for a father and heavily involved in church. I am not all of the way out because even just when rumors began circling, my job was thrown in jeopardy (at a Nazarene college). My Naz pastor was not affirming, so I would not be able to continue serving in ministry, due to my visible sin. I have struggled sense with a lot of anxiety and some periods of depression. My family relations are severely damaged. I do not currently attend a church, as I really believe in the Nazarene faith but do not feel wanted or welcome. It is a painful thing, at the moment”

[imagodei-romans13-10-blog]

Jesus was a friend of all. He stood by those who did not have a voice. He showed love to everyone regardless of their disposition. This is the God I serve, the God of love. We, as Christians, are called to love. Love God, and Love Others, in doing this we fulfill the sum of the law. We are to love everyone, regardless of their sin. Many Christians believe that being LGBTQ is sin, others do not. The Bible isn’t as clear on this subject as it is with others, so some Christians fall in a grey area and don’t know what their stance is, Either way, we are to love people in the LGBTQ community just as we love everyone else.  They are each made and loved by God, therefor we are to love them as well.