A short story of erasure in my family [Trigger warning: mentions suicide]. Setting: 1955, Los Angeles We moved to the projects in Los Angeles when I was about four years old. Me, my mother, my father, and my five siblings. We couldn’t afford to rent any other place. Since my father served in the Navy, … Continue reading La Ballona Creek
Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com My professor said to our class this semester, “You don’t participate in the sacraments because you know completely and understand what they mean. You participate in them to learn what they mean, within the context of your identity”. This is so counterintuitive to everything I was taught growing up. … Continue reading Who Do I Say I Am? By Alysha Laperche
Photo by Josh Sorenson on Pexels.com In loving memory of Rachel Held Evans: "Rachel Held Evans/Mourning" "Screams of Rebirth" "Galaxy" Lauren is my friend and colleague at Brave Commons. She is an incredible person and I am lucky to work alongside her and to know her. I hope you find Lauren's poetry as soothing and … Continue reading Selections of Poetry by Lauren Ileana Sotolongo
One of the many things I love about Erin is her passion for helping people see the Bible differently––not as a weapon that is used to oppress identities, but as a tool to bring healing and restoration. In the LGBTQIA+ community, that work is vital to us existing as Queer Christians. The work being done … Continue reading Queer Women Pastors and Transforming the Church-with UMC Pastor, Bailey Brawner
Photo by Vlad Bagacian on Pexels.com "Any theology that fails to accept the finitude of its categories, speaking instead as if it knows the whole truth and nothing but the truth, is guilty of blasphemy of an ideological distortion of divine reality."James Cone, God of the Oppressed
One of the most controversial verses in the New Testament regarding whether or not same-sex and Queer relationships are affirmed by God comes from Matthew 19. It's a sneaky verse not often considered a "clobber" passage, but to engage in responsible dialogue surrounding LGBTQ persons and faith, this is one we need to be able … Continue reading Jesus and “Homosexuality”
