While I am excited beyond words that marriage equality is now the law of the land, from sea to shining sea, let me assure you that Gentle Spirit Christian Church is not in any danger of becoming a Vegas-style wedding chapel. In fact, the only thing that will change for us is that we will […]
Our Policy on the Sacrament of Marriage Read More »
Remember the Arab Spring? Fueled by social media, the people of several Arab nations started taking to the streets five years ago to demand a different way of life, a change in the relationship they have with their governments. Now granted, the Egypt, Libya and Syria of today may not look exactly like what we
American Spring: Marriage equality and the arc to justice Read More »
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) The name Emanuel means “God is with us”. And as if one needed any more evidence that God is with the grieving survivors of Dylann Roof’s rampage at Emanuel African Methodist
Calvary in Charleston: How forgiveness overcame guns, flags and hate Read More »
Today we are all Charlestonians. As the people of the Holy City grapple with the senselessness of what happened at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, the rest of us struggle along with them to make sense of the tragic murder of nine souls in a place where they fully expected to be safe from the
Prayers for Charleston Read More »
Time for an (almost) summer-school pop quiz: Of the following, which would you say is the most important to the average person on Atlanta’s streets right now? Answer key: #4, Basic human dignity. In this exercise, #4 is the “all of the above” answer, because the other three answers are contained in it. When we
Summer School in the Streets of Atlanta Read More »
As Christians we’re commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. And for the most part, we have a tendency to focus on the first part of that command without really thinking about what the latter half actually means. In an individual sense, I believe it’s just as important to God that we master the art
Keeping Up With Caitlyn Read More »
This Sunday we will turn our church inside out, head toward downtown Atlanta, and let the people who live on its streets teach us the Gospel. We do it once a quarter, and we call it something along the lines of “hygiene kits ministry” or “homeless ministry”. But the real ministry is happening in reverse.
What the Homeless Will Teach Us This Sunday Read More »
Harvey Milk, who was born today 85 years ago and assassinated at age 48 by a fellow member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, had that same combination of fatalism and hope that MLK had — that is, despite a strong sense of his own mortality, he also was an irrepressible fountain of hope
Our National Pastime Isn’t Baseball – It’s Demonization Read More »
A trendy district in Tokyo makes Japan the first east Asian nation to legally recognize same-sex partnerships. Cuban same-sex couples participate in mock weddings blessed by priests in downtown Havana. A human rights activist completes a 7,450-mile bike ride from Cairo to Cape Town, having met with local LGBT activists along the way. And that’s
The Movement for Equality is Truly Global Read More »
As we prepare to honor mothers everywhere this Sunday, may I suggest that we take at least a moment to imagine God’s love in the same way that we imagine a mother’s? This is not a new thought. In fact, it’s a major thread in a 14th-century book called “Revelations of Divine Love,” (also the
Mother God and Mother Jesus Read More »