So let me respond publicly to this troll DM because I get this kind of thing a lot.

The fact is, I do spend a lot of time talking about God - in the context of my work as a priest and with people with whom I have built a relationship of trust. 1/7 The more I come to know God - by which I do not mean other people’s thoughts about God - but *know* God as a living, deeply mysterious yet knowable divine presence - the less inclined I am to speak of God, b/c I know how far from adequate anything I can say of God will be. 2/7

Lent is not about what we do for God.

It is about becoming mindful of and grateful for all that God has done and continues to do for us.

Lent is not about suffering for God. It is about being honest about and turning away from the ways we make ourselves and one another suffer. Lent is not about “spring cleaning” to make ourselves a fit home for God.

It is about clearing away and letting go of those things obscuring your view of the God who already dwells with us.

I don’t want a Christianity that cannot acknowledge the cycles of nature, the reality of birth, death and suffering, and the presence of evil in the world, without losing its mind over “devil worship” because some people still observe harvest festivals and dressing up. St. Teresa, having faced the Inquisition, wisely said “I fear those who fear the devil more than the devil himself”.

She also counselled the best way to deal with the devil is to mock him.

Yet so many evangelicals do the exact opposite.

So I got this DM last night. I told the person I would respond on my feed without identifying her.

I want to do it here because this comes up a fair bit: me “showing my being gay” in peoples faces.

So here’s my response to her: I notice you mention your husband and three wonderful children in your bio. I also notice plenty of photos of your family on your feed.

“I’m happy for your successful marriage and that you have a lovely family.”

See how easy that was?

“You call anyone who disagrees with you a bigot!”

No, I don’t. For instance you’re not a bigot just for posting this tweet.

I call people bigots when they unfairly deny the same rights and freedoms they have to others based on their own prejudices against that group. For instance, I find I often have a dislike for many evangelical Christians because of how I see myself and others treated by them based on religious ideology. But I don’t deny them their right to exist, to identity as they wish and to exercise the same freedoms I have.

Ok this makes me furious.

The word homosexuality didn’t exist in the 12 C so Hildegard would never have used it.

Hildegard may herself have had romantic feelings for a fellow nun and was certainly criticized for jealousy and possessiveness over her. 1/4

https://twitter.com/sanothomas/status/1691786453427331210

She never condemned homosexuality. What she DID was give sanctuary to a novice monk who was sexually abused at his monastery. When he died in her care, she buried him in the convent cemetery. Anything she wrote against sex between men was in the context of condemning rape 2/4

Mary Magdalene (feast day: July 22)

Magdalene is assumed by most Christians to refer to Mary's hometown of "Magdala" but there were actually several places in Judea with the word "magdal" as part of their name, and no specific place has ever been verified as Mary's hometown. Magdalene comes from magdal (aramaic: "tower") so may have just been a nickname, as "Peter" (the rock) was given to Simon, or "Boeranges" (sons of thunder) was given to James and John. That Mary alone among the women is nicknamed indicates a preeminence among the disciples

For every DM from a troll I post, I get another (which I don’t share publicly ) from someone who, because of my posts and those of other loving Christians I engage with, are beginning to not be afraid of God; are falling in love with the Gospel and are willing to trust Jesus. I get messages from parents rethinking their rejection of their LGBTQ kids; or pastors in conservative churches looking for support as they wrestle with a theology they can no longer uphold.

I get DMs from people who reach out to ask if it’s possible that God doesn’t hate them

So, @desktopmetaphor rightly pointed out a few things in a tweet about The Little Mermaid:

The original story was written by a gay man.

The lyrics for the animated film were written by a gay man who died of AIDS.

The character of Ursula was based on drag queen icon Devine So while the Gospel Coalition’s hysteria over Little Mermaid being a nefarious attempt to push a trans agenda is more indicative of their prejudice and hate than it is the intentions of the creators, it is still important to recognize….

The church I grew up in wasn’t perfect, but I didn’t live in fear of the rapture. I knew Catholics were Christians. I didn’t think people of other faiths were going to hell. When I realized I was gay I never prayed for God to change me - just the homophobic world we live in. I was taught that to love and serve my neighbour was THE highest calling for a follower of Jesus; that my neighbour was anyone God put in my path; that men and women were equals; that science and faith were not automatically opposed to one another; that Jesus was Jewish.

Poor little guy. I always find it so bizarre that people who seem to be concerned with the purity and righteousness of Christianity will do things like message strangers to call them "faggot".

Dear Hysterical Over Rainbow Flags claiming that "The LGBT cult has stolen the rainbow from God", some history....

Since at least the late 15th Century the rainbow symbol has been used by religious and social activists to draw attention to their causes.... In the 16th Century it was used during the German Peasants’ War to signify the promise of social change.

In the 18th Century, Thomas Paine, author of "The Rights of Man" advocated for the adoption of the rainbow flag as a universal symbol for identifying neutral ships at sea.

It's strange, how often someone identifying as "Christian" will end a tweet to me with "Repent!"

True, Jesus begins his ministry with a general call to repentance. He does denounce entire cities for failing to repent. He does pronounce "woe" on some religious leaders, but... ...not once in the Gospel accounts (with the sole exception of the adulterous woman in John - which was a later addition to the text) does Jesus ever reprove sinners directly. He eats with them. He gets to know them. He engages them where they are. He does not scream "Repent!"

Whether you’re a woman standing up to misogyny and patriarchy; a member of the LGBTQ+ community facing down homophobia and transphobia; a person of colour calling out and opposing racism; a member of any disempowered community fighting bigotry and demanding Justice and equality… …know that every time you refuse to hide, lessen yourself, or be silent; every time you show up, speak up and refuse to shut up; every time you are simply and unapologetically yourself despite condemnation and threats against you for being who you are….

Christian Nationalism ≠ Christianity. The majority of Christians do not support its political /cultural aims.

More of us need to speak out (and vote ) against Christian Nationalism and those who promote it. What could be more Christ-like than standing with and defending the oppressed while willingly rejecting political and cultural power offered to us by the rulers of this world for the well-being of others?

If that doesn’t sound like something Christians do - THAT’s the problem.

Oh, I’m “repulsed by sin” Greg…

https://twitter.com/gregleopold/status/1646508160356630528

I am repulsed by sin Greg: the sin of racism, colonialism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and religious bigotry that says others are lesser because they differ from me.

I am repulsed by corporate greed that makes billions while refusing to pay workers a living wage….

Friends, most churches have a single pastor with p/t admin help and a small volunteer choir (if any). We do our best to do as much of Holy Week liturgies as we can, as well as we can.

Please stop reminding us how wonderfully St. Magnum Opus on Main St. does it. It's awesome they have live donkeys on Palm Sunday.
It's amazing they do a full Tenebrae AND Vigil.
It's incredible they do the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday with live actors.
It's really great that they have SIX Easter masses Easter with full orchestra and a dove release.

Took communion to a parishioner. Afterward, waiting at the elevator, a short, elderly man came whistling down the hallway, saw me, stopped and said "Top of the morning to you Padre!"
Me: Good morning!
Him: Good to see a nice young man in ministry.
Me: Oh I don't know about that. Him: Which word do you object to: nice, young or man? Haha!
Me: Well...I do have a lot of colourful frocks in my office wardrobe.
Him: Haha!! That's it! The Lord has spoken! I've been thinking of going to church on Easter but couldn't decide where to go. Now I do! Your church!

One of the things that has always struck me about the Raising of Lazarus story is Jesus’ final instructions to those standing around to “unbind him, and let him go”.

On one level, it’s an obvious request. Lazarus, raised from the dead, must be freed from his burial wrappings… But on a deeper level the One who has the power to raise the dead is saying to the community - you have a role to play here in allowing this person to truly live.

Lazarus didn’t wrap himself in the burial cloths and until he is unbound, he cannot move or fully “come out”.

From this religious person’s perspective, feminism and queer equality movements - so often labelled as the “destroyers of relationships and society” - are actually part of God’s plan to liberate people of all genders and orientations from structures of hierarchy and abusive power LGBTQ couples no longer in hiding and women refusing to adopt submissive, unequal roles within partnerships, calls into question the dynamics of a heterosexual male/ female relationships as defined in traditional, patriarchal society.

So yes, they’re a threat…

When Jesus quoted Isaiah in defining his ministry: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free”
He meant to do so *now*. A theology which only promises good news, liberty, healing and justice “in heaven / the next life / after death” denies the Creator who intended this life as “good”; the Incarnate One who lived in this world to save it; and the Holy Spirit, that moves where it will, bringing life