Bishop Durrell's monthly reflections for OutClique Magazine

COMING OUT AND GOING FORWARD https://www.outclique.com/coming-out-and-going-forward/ WHAT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS AND ISN'T https://www.outclique.com/what-religious-freedom-is-and-isnt/ THE EXPERTS SAY THAT WE'RE OKAY https://www.outclique.com/the-experts-say-that-were-okay/ HOLY QUEER OCTOBER https://www.outclique.com/holy-queer-october/ FOR THE LGBTQ SAINTS https://www.outclique.com/for-the-lgbtq-saints/ SACRED MEMORIES https://www.outclique.com/sacred-memories/ IT'S OKAY IF WE NEED MORE CHRISTMAS https://www.outclique.com/its-okay-if-we-need-more-christmas/ LOVE MONTH https://www.outclique.com/love-month/ BECOMING OUR LGBTQ BEST https://www.outclique.com/becoming-our-lgbtq-best/ THE TREES OF APRIL: A SYMBOL OF FAITH, RENEWAL, AND RESILIENCE ACROSS TRADITIONS https://www.outclique.com/the-trees-of-april-a-symbol-of-faith-renewal-and-resilience-across-traditions/

Don't Blame LGBTQ - We Voted Against Cruelty & Injustice in Huge Numbers

 "LGBT voters, a larger share of the electorate than ever, shift away from Trump Vice President Kamala Harris led President-elect Donald Trump 86% to 12% among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voters, according to the NBC News Exit Poll Desk."

Bless my tribe.

"Harris’ performance among LGBT voters was stronger than that of any Democratic candidate in the last five presidential elections."

That for real makes me proud.

LGBTQ voters doubled since 2008.

I'm Interested in Jesus' Love Life BECAUSE I Love Jesus

I love Jesus (not in the imaginary friend way of my childhood, but I love searching for him in history and I love how I come to life when I make certain discoveries...my christology is rooted in a 1st century flesh and blood revolutionary more than in a cosmic Olympian type figure). 

Because I love Jesus I am very interested in his revolutionary, anti-imperial politics, in his work as a healer/exorcist/lay philosopher, in his risk taking, in his intimate/personal connection with the God of his understanding, in his insistence on flouting cultural taboos, in his willingness to rethink and dialogue with interpretations of his inherited scriptures and traditions, in people coming to believe he might be the messiah (and his possibly coming to agree with them), with people’s continued experience of him (or his memory or his values) beyond his execution, and I am interested in his personal relationships...
his closeness to a beloved disciple, his friendship with Peter, his place in a chosen family in Bethany, his interesting relationship with a woman from Magdala, his repeated encounters with a mysterious young man in Mark’s gospel, what it meant for him to look at him “and love him”, what it might mean for him to be called “son of David” (whose love for Jonathan was notorious)...

Because I love Jesus I love exploring his life, his intimacies, his sexuality. Like his ancestor David, he might have been bisexual, or he may have been gay, or he may have been straight, or he might have flowed up and down the continuum. 

Because I love Jesus, I want to know more about him. Just as those who love me must love the Queer me (because that’s the me there is), to love Jesus is to try to know him, and the him there is to know might be gay or bi...its definitely Queer (regardless of the attractions he felt). 

My soteriology is about “wholeness”...and since Jesus is part of the way that I found my path to wholeness (which includes my sexuality), I want to know the whole Jesus (as much as is possible with the years and myths that lie between us) which includes his sexuality. I don’t care if he was celibate or not, that’s none of my business, but he had human feelings and connections and covenants, and those do matter to me a great deal.

PASTORAL RESPONSE TO “MASTERPIECE” SCOTUS DECISION

PASTORAL RESPONSE TO TODAY’S SCOTUS DECISION
(Re: Colorado Baker refusing to make same-gender loving wedding cake)

Dear Friends,

Same-gender loving and gender non-conforming people have been bullied on playgrounds, harassed in classrooms, physically attacked in parking lots, preached against in pulpits, abandoned by their families, mocked in entertainment, and had their rights to full citizenship debated, voted on, and fought over in courts. The ongoing demonization and dehumanization of LGBTQ people is demoralizing to us.

And so, today’s SCOTUS ruling in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a gay themed wedding cake for a same-sex couple is troubling to us, but it is too soon to let ourselves be overly discouraged.

The ruling, apparently, was specific to the one case and does not settle the debate about religion giving one the right to deny service to same-gender loving couples. That conversation will continue for a while and will probably be very hurtful at times to those of us who remain a topic of debate.

But here is what I know:

+ALL people have sacred value.

+Religion has too often been weaponized; however, many of us have discovered that a life of faith can offer hope, joy, compassion, courage, and peace and we are committed to offering a counter-narrative to weaponized religion.

+No court ruling at any time will determine (or limit) our dignity.

+We are each a child of God. No matter who uses God’s name in vain to deny that truth, we will always boldly proclaim that we ARE the beloved children of God.

+Sunshine Cathedral remains committed to celebrating, blessing, and affirming the Rainbow community. LGBTQIA+ have always been lifted up at Sunshine Cathedral as God’s miracles and not God mistakes, and that will continue no matter what.

Today’s SCOTUS decision may have been disappointing to many of us, but remember, it was a “narrow” ruling and hasn’t settled other issues. And, as Jesus said, the kin-dom (the non-kingdom, the anti-empire, the commonwealth, the beloved community) that we belong to is not limited to this world’s systems.

The kin-dom of God is an idea that Jesus held, preached, and died for...a vision of a world of justice, peace, generosity, hope, compassion, goodwill, and equality. We continue to hold the vision of the Kin-dom of God, and we will continue to work to make that vision a reality. “Thy kin-dom come!” Amen.

There is more work to do. We are the laborers to do it. And I affirm that God’s blessing is upon us today and always.

Yours in shared service,

Durrell Watkins, MA, MDiv, DMin

Senior Minister, Sunshine Cathedral

SunshineCathedral.org 

Happy Brthday MCC

Oct. 6, 1968: a young, gay, defrocked, Pentecostal minister (Troy D. Perry) held a worship service in his living room. 12 people showed up (a powerful symbol). The coffee table became the communion table/altar. An album of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir provided the service music (adding a bit of camp and irony to the momentous occasion). Gay and straight, male and female, Christian and Jew were some of the labels of the people in the room. More than 9 months before Stonewall, this worship experience meant to welcome and affirm and celebrate LGBTQ people (known by various terms over the years) occurred and launched an ecumenical, body positive, sex positive, LGBTQ affirming, joyous, justice seeking, ridiculously optimistic, evangelical (and sometimes charismatic), Eucharistic, over time theologically progressive (which only makes sense as it began by challenging old assumptions) religious movement known as Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC).

MCC is not the powerhouse it once was, but it’s still around, and many churches are now welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ folk and their allies and loved ones.  But before they got there, MCC was doing the work. 

MCC’s early, provocative, and courageous witness led the way for mainstream churches to become more accepting and appreciative of the Queer children of God. MCC was also a leader in the inclusive language movement and was way ahead of most churches in compassionately responding to the AIDS crisis. 

Whatever becomes of MCC, the world will always be better because Troy Perry started a movement that said the LGBTQ members of the human family were part of the divine diversity of creation and were fully embraced and loved by God, and that movement helped change hearts and minds and bring hope and healing to countless lives. 

Many of us in ministry today are in ministry because of MCC. When we didn’t have other options, MCC was an option. MCC blessed our unions, performed our funerals, visited us in hospitals, debated the fundamentalists, spoke to city councils and state legislatures, and prepared and ordained us for ministry. In time, for a variety of reasons, some of us left MCC for other communities, some of us embraced dual or even triple affiliations, remaining in MCC but not exclusively. But wherever we ended up, we know MCC gave us our start, and for that, let us always be grateful. 

49 years ago, a prophet was raised up, and he spoke the word of God’s all-inclusive and unconditional love, and the Church and the world would never be the same again. God bless you Troy Perry!

Will & Grace as Good Medicine in the Time of Trump

If what W&G was meant to do was recapture a bygone moment, then it was not quite successful. If it was meant to help a generation reconnect with old icons, it came closer to the mark. But, if it was meant to provide a catharsis in a devastating, depressing, dystopian moment in American history, then it may prove to be the most important television offering of the Fall. 

When a group is hurting, feels powerless, and is routinely dehumanized, an age old coping mechanism is to fight back with fantasy, with camp, with humor, and with burlesque. If we can laugh at pain, we can endure it. If we can wink at hopelessness, we can resurrect hope. If we can imagine the Beast being defeated, we can transcend some of our fear of the Beast (the monster, the ghosts, the demons, the little green folk with ray guns, etc.). 

Transgender folk in military targeted? Mention Caitlin Jenner in charades.

DOJ suggests gay folk are not protected by civil rights laws? Jacks makes out with a Secret Service agent.

45 cozies up to the homophobic religious right? Grace leaves a Make America Gay Again hat in the Oval. 

The struggle will be long and arduous; a little laughter and self affirmation will help us endure it...and will also remind us what the struggle is for and why we cannot give up.

Comedy reboot = B minus.

Social Commentary = A minus.

Much needed healing catharsis = A PLUS.

Thank you Will & Grace (& Karen and Jack)!

I am what I am...which is a lot

I am Queer. I am on the gender continuum (two spirit). I am an Anglican Universalist Humanist New Thought Christian Pluralist. I am by both accident of birth and full participation an American citizen. I am fully human (this will be news to certain kinds of religious extremists and politicos). I am a person who benefits from unearned white privilege who is trying to dismantle racism (society's and my own). I am a person who has lived with HIV for decades. I am married and there are two Y chromosomes in my marriage. For some reason, TODAY, I felt the need to be crystal clear about all of that.

We Must Not Be Silent

My dear friends,

 

By now you have undoubtedly heard about state legislatures once again dehumanizing and demonizing same-gender loving people and people who do not fit into false gender binary constructs. It is heartbreaking.

 

It was naïve to think that peddlers of bigotry would quietly accept the SCOTUS marriage equality ruling and it was myopic of LBGT organizations to not prepare us for such eventualities. Nevertheless, we cannot be silent as states continue to devalue their LGBTQQIA citizens.

 

To the councils and legislatures of municipalities and state halls of government, we must raise our voices with the prophet Amos to say, “Let justice roll on like many waters!”

 

To houses of worship and those who preach a pugnacious piety rather than a liberating gospel, we must raise our voices with a contributor to the Book of Isaiah to say, “Sacred space is to be a house of prayer for all people!”

 

To the holders and keepers of power and privilege who use every means at their disposal to enforce bigotry, division, and oppression, we must raise our voices with a legendary liberator to say, “Let my people go!”

 

To those who use religion, tradition, and sacred texts to demean and diminish the Queer children of God, we must raise our voices with an early church writer to say, “God is love and WHOEVER lives in love lives in God and God lives in them.”

 

Dozens of anti-LBGT laws and ordinances have been proposed in the last several months in multiple states and municipalities. These laws claim to protect religion (though people remain free to worship wherever and however they choose), privacy (while publicly demonizing LBGT people), and personal safety (portraying LBGT people as predatory, violent criminals lying in wait to harm innocent victims); but in truth, these laws are little more than attempts to legalize discrimination against people who have suffered throughout history for simply being different from the majority. These hateful laws do not advance liberty but deter it and people of conscience and character, courage and conviction must resist these attempts to oppress Queer people.

 

Of the many proposals to legalize and legitimate discrimination, North Carolina takes the lead in passing what is widely regarded as the most sweeping anti-LBGT legislation in the US. Justice workers are calling the new draconian law a “hostile takeover of civil rights.” Mississippi recently passed similar anti-LBGT legislation as did Georgia, but unlike North Carolina and Mississippi, Georgia’s governor vetoed the reprehensible bill.

 

We are currently in a climate where Muslims are routinely slandered, women are frequently insulted, immigrants regardless of documentation status are viewed with suspicion, transgender people are portrayed as a threat, and gays and lesbians are continually called “sinful” for their love and attractions. What is worse is that this despicable climate is encouraged by various political and religious leaders. It would be absolutely immoral for us to be silent in this growing climate of hatred.

 

Some political leaders, some religious leaders, some business leaders, and some community leaders are speaking out, and God bless them for it. It is now time that we all speak out. With our charitable giving, our spending, our speech, our votes, with every tool at the disposal of decent people, we must try to turn the tide of hatred and honor our national pledge that affirms “liberty and justice for ALL.”

 

I can promise you that the leadership of Sunshine Cathedral will not be silent while LBGT people and others are constantly vilified and attacked. We will with as much fervor as ever affirm the sacred value of ALL people, and we will declare boldly and consistently that religion used to promote discrimination is misused. We will not passively allow religion to be the weapon used to oppress LBGT people or anyone else. 

In the name of all prophets, preachers, and poets of Justice, we will not be silent. Your continued, faithful, prayerful support of Sunshine Cathedral will help our collective voices be heard. Our work is not yet done...

 

Your fellow laborer in the vineyard of justice,

 

 

 

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral 

Hate the Sin of Homophobia, Not the Homophobic Sinner

We knew that those who oppose marriage equality would not just go away. Legislatures and political candidates are calling for laws and constitutional amendments that would attempt to continue to dehumanize, demonize, and demoralize same-gender loving people.

The evil of state mandated discrimination should horrify all good people, but what is as bothersome to me is when the extreme Religious Right has the temerity to claim that denying them the opportunity to discriminate is somehow discriminatory toward them!

Religious people do not have to welcome LBGT folk into their congregations (decency would demand that they do so, but no law requires it). Religious people are free to even teach their children to hate LBGT people (again, decency is trampled upon in such a case, but not the constitution). Both freedom of religion and freedom of expression entitle one to be a jerk, but those freedoms do not extend to denying LBGT people full citizenship and full equality.

Now, in response to the Queer community demanding full and equal citizenship, the far Right will accuse us of being “intolerant.” What a bizarre argument! If we do not thank them for their intolerance, then we are intolerant of their intolerance, which, they insist, makes us intolerant. That would be, by the way, a prime example of nonsense.

You can't condemn people and say that is your religious right to do so, and then say those who resent being condemned are intolerant of your religion! Religion is about how YOU relate to the God of YOUR understanding; it is not about YOU deciding who is unworthy of dignity and respect.

Yes, gays will no longer tolerate being bullied. Yes, gays will insist they are fully human and deserve equal rights. Yes, gays will call out homophobia and bigotry no matter how much one insists that such hatefulness is faith-based. No one wants to deny anyone their religious experience; we simply deny that any religious experience is a good enough excuse to oppress the LBGT community.

Finally, those who swing religion like a club will say, “We hate the sin but we love the sinner." I don’t consider being called a sinner terribly loving, but also, that phrase is ridiculously misused. “Hate the sin, not the sinner” or “hate the sin, love the sinner” are derivatives of something Gandhi said. He was referring to the "sin" of colonization. Gandhi, in his non-violent way, was telling people to hate oppression without hating the oppressor. The Religious Right has stolen that phrase to justify their prejudices, cheapening their own religion and dishonoring Gandhi's intent at the same time. The truth is, fundamentalists don't wage war on every "sin” but have a couple of hot topics they focus on and when called out on it, then refer to that old, tired, trite, misunderstood sound bite to justify their prejudices.

I suppose in response to their hateful, myopic attacks on the LBGT community, we should hate their sin of homophobia without hating the self-righteous perpetrators of that sin, but even without hating them, we must resist their attempts to marginalize us.

Durrell Watkins is the senior minister of

Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale.

Sunshine Cathedral is a “different kind

of church.”

Holiday Wishes for the LBGT Community

The Holiday Season is meant to be joyful.

During Hanukkah, we recall the story of a limited amount of oil keeping Temple lights burning for eight days in a row. The Hanukkah miracle reminds us that during our times of uncertainty, there is an inextinguishable light of hope within us.

During Christmas we imagine the innocence of baby born in humble circumstances but celebrated by angels; that baby reminds us that we are each a child of God.

Kwanzaa honors African heritage and celebrates the gifts, skills, and contributions of descendants of the West African Diaspora. Kwanzaa challenges us to affirm and appreciate our diverse global family.

And the New Year is a time for releasing the past and looking with hope and expectation toward the possibilities that lie ahead.

No wonder the holidays are filled with gift giving, feasting, prayers for peace, and songs of wonder and joy. It is a sacred season.

However, for LBGT people, it can also be a lonely season. We’ve made many advances in recent years and we’ve overcome many obstacles, and yet there are those who do not celebrate our legal and cultural victories with us. The Right Wing of both politics and religion threaten at every turn to do all that they can to reverse recent advances for LBGT rights and equality. Christian fundamentalists have doubled down on their anti-gay rhetoric. Municipalities have proposed ordinances that would deny many people the protections they need if LBGT folk are included in the mix. And some families, influenced by the worst of politics and religion, have abandoned their LBGT family members, or told them they are welcome home for the holidays only as long as they don’t mention their sexual orientation.

For LBGT people, the holidays can bring up old wounds, or subject them to new insults, new experiences of rejection, or fill them with remorse for not having supportive, loving families that embrace them for they are.

So, to LBGT people who have formed strong, healthy families of choice: Congratulations and Happy Holidays! You are demonstrating the healing power of love.

To LBGT people who remain in the closet, or attempt to return to the closet at least in part in order to spend time with relatives during the holidays, my heart goes out to you and I beg you to affirm your own sacred value. You may never persuade your relatives that you are who are meant to be, but please don’t let them persuade you that you are not. You are part of the beautiful rainbow diversity of humanity.

And to all allies of LBGT people, loving parents and siblings, cousins and friends, aunts and uncles, grandparents and godparents who love your Queer family member not in spite of who they are, but who love them exactly for who they are, let me tell you that you are heroes and your love and compassion will enrich lives and touch hearts in profound and life-giving ways.

The Holidays are meant to fill us with hope, joy, and goodwill. As LBGT people often need those very blessings at this time of year, my wish for our entire community is that the best of the Season will fill our hearts and bring healing to our world, or at very least to our experience of it.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins is the Senior Minister of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale.

This column was originally written for the Florida Agenda

October Calls Us to be Angels in our World

Holy October

             October has become a month that encourages us to celebrate human potential. October challenges us to remember heroes so that we might discover heroic qualities in ourselves. October even calls us to work for justice where justice has been denied. October is a very special month!

            There is a national holiday in October: Columbus Day. However, we now know that it is problematic to celebrate Christopher Columbus as the “discoverer” of North America, since Leif Ericson reached our continent 500 years before Columbus did, and the continent had been inhabited by indigenous people for thousands of years. So, Johnny-Come-Lately Columbus was the second European to visit a long inhabited continent. Worse than the inaccuracy of calling Columbus the discoverer of North America, is Columbus’ own brutality. When Columbus landed in the Bahamas he and his crew were treated well by the native residents. Columbus rewarded their decency by seizing their land and enslaving them.

Now many of us call what has been known as Columbus Day, “Indigenous Peoples Day” to honor the peaceful people Columbus first encountered and soon betrayed and tormented. Indigenous Peoples Day reminds us to honor the peace lovers, to value kindness and generosity, and to speak out against injustice.

October is also LBGT History Month where we celebrate heroes from our beautiful and diverse Queer community. We honor such luminaries as lesbian Jane Addams (co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union and first American woman Nobel Peace Prize winner), Miriam Ben-Shalom (discharged from the Army in the 1970s for being gay but she won a long court battle which resulted in her being reinstated in the 1980s), bisexual Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall-of-Famer Clive Davis (who helped the careers of such superstars as Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson, and Carlos Santana), Arthur Dong (Academy Award nominee, Peabody Award winner, gay film-maker who features gay and Asian themes in his work), Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox (transgender actress, producer, and activist), and Richard Blanco (the youngest, first Latino, and first openly gay U.S. presidential inauguration poet – Blanco read one of his poems at President Obama’s second inauguration). We should be very proud of the many achievements that members of our community have shared with the world!

October also gives us National Coming Out Day which encourages us to leave behind closets of fear and shame and to live out loud as the gifted, wonderful members of the human family we are. October 6, 1968 is the founding date of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC). October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, reminding us to honor those who battle cancer, to remember those who lost their battle, and to wish and work for a cure. And sadly, October is the month in 1998 when Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard died from being attacked simply because he was gay.

October gives us a lot to think about, and opportunities to renew our commitment to make a difference. So, I call October holy, because in many ways it reminds us that we can be and ought to be angels of healing in our world.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins is the Senior Minister of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale.

written for the Florida Agenda

The Q Word

Someone asked today when "Queer" became an acceptable word. Of course, it happened organically and over time, but it has been used in a positive context for well over 40 years in academic, political, and even progressive theological circles, but has even been mainstream for half or more of that time.

Depending on memory alone (God help us), I offered the following response to the questioner:

In social science, queer theory emerged in the early 90s out of the queer studies and women's studies disciplines as a post-structuralist critical theory. Queer theory "queers" (or spoils or reads against or challenges) gender binaries and heteronormativity.

Politically, I remember as far back as the 80s the word being embraced/reclaimed by people to make it a word that instills pride rather than shame, a word that was ours to use happily rather than allow it to be a weapon used against us to victimize us, and to include all segments of the community...gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight allies, transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex, questioning, etc. Lots of ways to be queer, but an (ideally) unified, Queer community.

In theology, Queer Theology uses religion and sacred texts to affirm and empower same-gender loving people and people all along the continuum of gender and to challenge and deconstruct the ways religion has been used/misused to promote homophobia and intolerance.

So, as an academic, political, and theological term, Queer has been in use for 40+ years. As a 48 year old Queer person, it has been my identifying word of choice for most of my adult life.

Changing the World

I was born in 1966. Shortly thereafter, the LBGT movement in the U.S. was energized as never before and began to change the world.

In 1968, the Metropolitan Community Churches were born as a movement by and with a primary affirming outreach to same-gender loving people and their allies. Today, there are several Christian and Jewish denominations that affirm the sacred value of same-gender loving people, but in 1968 such an affirmation was rare.

In 1969 the Stonewall Riots occurred and the Gay and Lesbian community would never be silenced or completely hidden ever again.

In 1970 the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a gay rights resolution and the first Gay Pride parades were held in major US cities.

In 1972 the world’s first LBGT synagogue was founded, as was PFLAG.

In 1973 homosexuality stopped being considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association.

In 2000 Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to offer “civil unions”, a near-equivalent to marriage for same-gender loving people.

In 2003 Sodomy laws were struck down.

In 2004 Massachusetts became the first state to recognize same-sex marriages.

In 2011 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed.

In 2013 a key part of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” was defeated.

And in 2015 the U.S. became the 19^th country to have nationwide marriage equality. Marriage is now an equal right rather than a heterosexual privilege.

In my life so far, gays have gone from being considered “criminal” and “sick” to being mainstream (in the U.S.), recognized as part of the normal diversity of life, and deserving of equal protection and opportunity (even if we have not yet fully achieved equal treatment in every area and function of society).

            In addition to these hard won and well deserved gains for lesbian and gay folk, the falseness of gender binaries are being discussed openly today and we are learning that not only do we contribute to the world’s diversity, but our own community is more diverse than some ever imagined.

So much change in less than a half a century is staggering; it is little wonder that some people are frightened by the long and growing list of significant changes (a plethora of Right Wing blogs document the angst that many still have about our community). And while I have (some) compassion for those who find their impending loss of heteronormative privilege frightening, I dare not believe that we have achieved enough, that our work is done, that Queer youth no longer need positive role models, that adversaries of equality will accept the changes graciously, that more protections aren’t needed, or that LBGT people beyond our own borders don’t need allies and advocates. We have worked miracles in just a few decades, but we must not become complacent. Our achievements should remind us that we can (and must) collectively continue to change the world.

Originally written for the Florida Agenda for the bi-weekly column, "Dr. Durrell's Spiritual Prescriptions"

Another prayer for Marriage Equality

All-inclusive, unconditional, divine Love,

Eternal Mother, Father, and Friend,

Goddess of justice/Lord of liberty,

Source of peace, hope, and joy,

Omnipresent spirit of life,

Heartbeat of all people,

Field of all possibilities,

Song of the universe,

Pure consciousness,

Infinite compassion,

Inward light,

Over-soul,

All-in-all,

We pray today for marriage equality in the United States. It exists in many states, and in some nations, and now we dare to hope that it will be a reality throughout this country.

We pray that all loving, adult couples who wish to marry will have the opportunity to do so, that they may love and care for each other within legally recognized unions.

The US Supreme Court will hear a case and in the weeks or months that follow will make a decision that could make marriage be an equal right rather than a heterosexual privilege. And if they do so, that will be very good news for same-gender loving people all over the world.

It might inspire other countries to legalize marriage regardless of the gender identities of people in love.

It might give LBGT people hope and courage as they struggle for safety and equality in their various homelands.

And it will send a message to same-gender loving people of all ages throughout the US that the blessings and responsibilities, security and opportunities of marriage can be theirs, complete with every legal protection they deserve.

We stand at the threshold of a great, new day.

Let the sacred value of all people be affirmed.

Let the dignity of every person be recognized.

Let the goodness of mutual love be celebrated.

Let there be liberty and justice for ALL.

In the names of lovers and healers, justice workers and peacemakers,

in the names of those who have been vilified, marginalized, persecuted or oppressed simply because they were gay or lesbian,

in the names of all who have dared to speak out in favor of justice-love and equality,

in the names of all who have “come out”,

in the names of those who longed to “come out” but somehow could not,

in the names of those who refused to give up religion even when religion seemed to give up on them,

in the names of every loving couple who formed a spiritual marriage even though the state would not recognize it,

in the names of those who never gave up hope that marriage equality would come to pass and that love would prevail,

in the names of all helpers of humanity we pray.

Amen.

Fundamentalists, Please, Just Stop

I can't stand it! Would the hateful fundies of the world just crawl into a hole somewhere, please! First of all, read a book for crap's sake! You don't get to call same-gender love and attraction a "destructive lifestyle"...overeating is a destructive lifestyle, not exercising is a destructive lifestyle, drinking to excess is a destructive lifestyle, but getting weak in the knees at the sight of a sweaty muscle man (or sweaty muscle woman for the lesbians) is just life; and falling in love with anyone, regardless of gender identities, is just damn special - a wonderful blessing! No credible mental health organization would agree that same-gender attraction is disordered. So, mean ol' fundies, you're just making shit up and please quit it.

And secondly, "the word of god" that is supposed to settle the matter in favor of your bigotry also tells us that Noah's family with their limited gene pool repopulated the entire earth (after creating a floating zoo big enough for every species), that a chatty snake fooled a naive couple into eating magic fruit which somehow screwed up the whole world, that a 90 year old woman got knocked up (don't get me started on pregnant virgins), that some dude lived inside a fish for half a week (as so often happens), that angels seduced a bunch of women (and their off-spring were diabolical giants), that Lot had incest with both of his daughters after offering them to a rape gang (and that story is supposed to be one of the "proofs" that god hates gays!), that pork chops and shrimp cocktail are sin-food, that Jesus snatched his pal Lazarus out of heaven just because he missed him...

The point is...NO ONE takes everything in the bible literally (even the most marginal sanity would forbid it), so to pretend that your misreading of half a dozen verses that are 2000-3000 years old "proves" that gay is naughty just makes you look ridiculous. Enough with the biblical gay bashing (and every other kind). Seriously, just freaking enough.

Slow exhale...

Will Right Wing Christians Support "Religious Freedom" Based Discrimination When They Are Its Victims?

This is a response to someone who defended the "religious freedom" bills that are meant to allow discrimination against LBGT people. He insisted that same-gender coupling was "sinful" (I strongly disagree) and said that while we should always be polite to people, we shouldn't be forced to participate in same-sex weddings (as if selling flowers or cakes or tuxes to people was "participating" in their nuptials). He further stated that while Jesus associated with "sinners" he probably didn't pay prostitutes for sex or steal people's donkeys. I responded with one of my more verbose rants. It follows:

Actually, the Palm Sunday story features Jesus having his disciples steal a donkey. But, there were so many Messianic figures in the first century that was a common practice...in case the next Messianic claimant was really the one, if they asked for an animal to ride, one usually just let them have it...though, the stories don't show the disciples asking, just taking, and when they are caught and asked, "what are you doing?" only then do they say, "The Teacher has need of it." But, Jesus wasn't the literalist that many of his later followers pretend to be.

Secondly, Jesus may not have paid for sex (though we can't know), but his ancestor (Tamar's father-in-law) certainly did (with Tamar, who is listed in Jesus' genealogy)...in fact, ALL of the women in his genealogy are associated with Taboo activity (Tamar and Rahab were prostitutes, Ruth was a pagan Moabite, Mary was an unwed mother)...that Matthew makes a point of showing Jesus' less than pristine lineage shows that Jesus comes from earthy stock...of course the men were pretty gritty too...Solomon with 1000 sexual partners, David who was a murderer and a rapist, Boaz who seems pretty gay to me, etc.

Thirdly, these scriptural and theological discussions are IRRELEVANT for civil law. We aren't a theocracy. All citizens should have equal opportunity and equal protection. Religion shouldn't even be part of the discussion. We already have religious freedoms...we can worship anywhere in anyway or not at all. We are at choice. But religion can't be an excuse to discriminate against others in public life (and business and politics are public life). We settled the issue of if diners could refuse service to people because of race long ago...can they now refuse service to Muslims, atheists, gays, single mothers, non-citizens...NO. 

If Christian Business Owner doesn't agree with abortion, then she shouldn't have one, is free to pray for unwed mothers, donate money to anti-abortion "counseling" services, but is not free to say "I won't sell you my product because i heard you had an abortion." When you open a business, the social contract is that you will serve the public without discrimination. You don't have to agree with Hindus, but you can't deny them service. You don't have to understand that sexual orientation is innate and not chosen, but your ignorance of sexual diversity isn't a reason to refuse service to LBGT people. You can think atheists are on a fast train to hell, but you can't humiliate them by denying them service in this life. If I sell you flowers or cake or a veil that you will use at your wedding that i don't understand or like, that doesn't imply that I agree with you, only that I don't use my personal prejudice as an excuse to humiliate or dehumanize you. You have a business, gays want to support your business (but if they know how you feel about them, I wonder why they would), and that's that. YOu aren't allowed to use your business to force your religious values on others (or to punish them for now sharing your beliefs).

You can even let the Bully Some Homos for Christ Club put posters advertising their next meeting in your window, but you can't refuse to do business with someone just because they are the target of the BSHFCC.

These onerous and odious "freedom" bills are a petty backlash against marriage equality. In the end, they will be ruled unconstitutional (and are already proving to be vastly unpopular) and those who wish to marginalize same-gender loving people will have to find new and more novel approaches to do so. 

One final point: Sauce for the Christian goose is sauce for the non-Christian gander. Will the Christians who assume these new bills give them a blank check to dehumanize same-gender loving people, be as supportive of the laws when Muslim business owners refuse to do business with "Christian infidels", when Wiccan shop-keeps refuse service to anyone driving an Earth harming SUV, when Christian Science teachers won't send your injured child to the school nurse, when Gay Christians won't serve homophobes...If religion is the legal excuse to deny service, then any religion can be used to deny service to anyone...will Right Wing Christians support the law when it is used against them?

Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) As You May Not Have Heard Them Before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM0OaP_rn9k

Restoring God’s Good Name (Feb 22^nd, 2015 – Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgPMxyBFT-c

Renewing Our Strength (Feb 8^th, 2015 – Elijah)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pk5L4-1ukw

A Love Story Too Seldom Told (Feb 1^st, 2015 – Jonathan & David)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGnBZ_0gVAc

Turn that Mutha Out (Jan 25^th, 2015 – Jonah)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkHphHqIX-E

Song of Songs (July 6^th, 2014 -  Song of Songs or Song of Solomon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGeZp0-jpxY

Moabite Pride: Rethinking Homophobia’s Favorite Biblical Story (June 23^rd, 2014 – Sodom & Gomorrah)

Making Progress, But No Time to Rest

I worry that people are so tired of fighting (especially those who otherwise would be enjoying unfettered white & male privilege) that they will become complacent and allow gains we've made to be reversed. We can't take anything for granted. We must always work for fairness for all, and even if we were to get everything we deserve, we must remain vigilant for those who remain marginalized. Marriage equality isn't the end (as we see in AR where pre-marriage equality protections were just snatched away and in TX where the A/G is doing everything possible to protect majority prejudice over equal rights); justice work must be our life's work!

Progressive, Positive, Practical Religious Webcasts

SHARING THE LIGHT WEBCAST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9SvRqRX-1U

Affirmative Prayer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnU5c7A7lnM

Ancient Wisdom-New Thought

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HF5NcQZKVE

Can We Follow Jesus Without Worshiping Him?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbWs2e7OGaA

Celebrating Same Gender Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQhosYQSroM

Do Progressive Christians Believe in Jesus?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_fGE05nzz8

Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXIIHnglPq4
Doubt As Part of Faith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHZvL4FQSmA
Gay By God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgTpz2wa4ms

God In and Beyond Religions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOzWWhWm5EM
God Within-What Do We Mean?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpwknJifB-8
Healing From Fundamentalism

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KelbEBJZA3Y
Is Christianity the One True Religion?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K35kOAbRnjI
Is Christmas Relevant in the 21^st Century?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTWJLhc47Ro

Is Jesus Relevant for LBTG People?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGsWYAE10JI

Is There a Science to Prayer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-yfsvyOhuY&feature=youtu.be

Prayer & Healing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YmzECgXbZw&feature=youtu.be

Prayer & Prosperity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPbXkwKxLFg

Spirituality of Free Thinking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnbtFgkwe-g
The Danger of Biblolatry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcRxH9jA6_Y
The Truth About Santa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MHEolRsbWQ

Where Do We Go When We Die?

SERMONS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5K4Z_EK054

Face Everything And Rise (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpJiG-Nte4g

God Bless the Child (Rev Cindy Lippert)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXTbSfPCxBE

Hoping, Waiting, Working (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDZDkkgfrCk

Messages from the Pool Man (Rev Cindy Lippert)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGeZp0-jpxY

Moabite Pride: Rethinking Homophobia’s Favorite Biblical Story (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4nQfoz1W_g

Our Reason for Hope (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVK0CiMP03o

Rethinking Fire Insurance Religion (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2uBFCdhND0

We Are Captains of our Souls (Rev Dr Durrell Watkins)

The Need For Queer Activism Remains: We Have More Work to Do!

There is a myth floating around that LBGT people are mostly accepted, have been fully integrated into larger society, and the need for special efforts to affirm Queer folk is at an end.
FALSE.

Things are better, and they are better because our activism, outreach and education have been unrelenting. But there is so much more to do.

About half of all same-gender loving people live in the US live in states that offer marriage equality now. That progress has been faster than most of us ever imagined. But let us not forget that half of all same-gender loving Americans do NOT live in places where they can be married and that means there is more work to do.

Even though the best science and social science has told us that homosexuality is not in and of itself disordered (sex, regardless of the genders involved, can be healthy and joyous or abusive and harmful, but love and attraction are themselves good, or at very least morally neutral), many continue to teach that homosexuality is a sin or a sickness. Yes, these homophobes have chosen their ignorance; they have said that the best science and scholarship cannot persuade them that it is their bigotry that is a problem and not the genders that make up a relationship, but these homophobes are legion still. Many of them have pulpits and positions of political influence. Many of them have children whom they are teaching to hate gays, and who are teaching their gay children to hate themselves. That means we have more work to do.

Even today, well into the 21st century, not only do an alarming number of people believe in an after-life hell (a notion that is ridiculous but no less terrifying for those who have been threatened with it) but they believe that same-sex love and attraction could be what would cause souls to suffer never ending torment. They honestly believe, as foolish as it sounds, that Divine Love would reject human souls because of human bodies sharing affection if those bodies also shared a gender! That oppressive theology would be comical if it hadn't destroyed so many lives and families. We have more work to do.

Younger people are generally more tolerant and accepting than previous generations, and that is a good thing; but gay bashing has not completely disappeared and gay teens are still more likely than others to suffer abuse, rejection, and bullying. We have more work to do.

If today, this very day, 90% of all homophobia were to be stricken from the laws and the attitudes of the American population, the homophobia the West has exported to Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean would still be killing people and ruining lives. In our global community, we must care about our neighbors and we must realize that the whole world is our neighbor. We must also realize that a lot of the homohatred in the world came from American politicians and preachers. So, we must help our global neighbors who will continue to suffer from the hatred we exported. We have more work to do.

And FINALLY, Transgender/Gender Non-conforming people are getting more positive recognition and advocacy; but there remains a lot of ignorance around the reality of gender fluidity. We have more work to do.

I am so glad that in many ways things are better; but let us never be tempted to believe that they are good enough. Lives still hang in the balance and as long as that is true, we have more work to do!

Rev Dr Durrell Watkins

Senior Minister

Sunshine Cathedral