Blogs
Greater NW Pride: Who's Going to Get It Right?
2/18/2019
Who’s Going to Get This Right? Something amazing is going on concurrently involving the LGBTQ community and the Church. More specifically, something is going on this week in both the Roman Catholic Church and the United Methodist Church and their respective relationship with LGBTQ people, having to do with the matter of including and integrating us into their largely cisgender and straight faith communities. In the Roman Catholic Church, columnist Frank Bruni of the New York Times focused on...
Greater NW Pride: Valentine’s Day in the LGBTQ+ Community
2/14/2019
Valentine’s Day in the LGBTQ Community My partner Christian and I celebrated Valentine’s Day early this year because he was going to be in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Valentine’s Day, and I was going to be in Portland. It was also our first Valentine’s Day as a couple! I surprised him with chocolate, red wine, a card, and an orchid, and he gave me a card last week, along with numerous gifts of shirts, meals out, and love! The card was huge, as he said to me after I opened his card to me, “I usually ...
Greater NW Pride: Inclusion, or Who is Including Whom into Which Community?
2/6/2019
Inclusion, or Who is Including Whom into Which Community? “Inclusion.” Noun. Mirriam-Webster on-line dictionary defines inclusion as the act or state of being included. “Include” is a transitive verb. It means to enclose; to shut up; to take in or comprise as a part of a whole or group; to contain between or within. In the previous blog, I focused on the act and art of hospitality, of welcome. To act hospitable, or to welcome is the first move towards inclusion and, finally, integration. ...
Spirit Alive: The Things We Do Together
2/2/2019
Spirit Alive is a twice a month blog that looks at different aspects of mission and ministry throughout the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and beyond. February 5, 2019 With Heart, Soul, and Mind: Out of Many, One.... "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3 "Live in harmony with one another." Romans 12: 16 Unity, harmony, and love toward each other are at the heart of Paul's letters. In fact, he addresses the subject of unity of spirit in a ...
Greater NW Pride: Hospitality: Welcoming People with Disabilities and LGBTQ+ People in the Church
1/31/2019
Hospitality: Welcoming People with Disabilities and LGBTQ+ People in the Church In the Rule of St. Benedict, we read that “all guests who arrive (are to) be received like Christ, for he is going to say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matt. 25:35), and to all let due honor be shown, especially to those who share our faith (Gal. 6:10) and to pilgrims…In the reception of the poor and pilgrims, the greatest care and solicitude should be shown, because it is especially in them that Christ is...
