About 25 years ago, Grant Henry had one of many come to Jesus moments.
And that moment led eventually to who he is now — owner of the popular bar, Church, located on Edgewood Avenue in the Old Fourth Ward.
It is at Church that Henry’s alter ego Sister Louisa hangs her hundreds of religious-themed paintings, while a mannequin dressed as a nun, representing Sister Louisa, swings from the ceiling with her junk peeking out of her underwear.
But back to the mid 1980s.
Last month, five gay couples lined up at the DeKalb County Probate Court to ask for marriage licenses. In a poignant protest, all were denied, as Georgia law bans gay marriage.
A handful of local LGBT and allied clergy were on hand as “peacekeepers” for the protest, part of the “We Do” project organized by the Campaign for Southern Equality.
As the couples and a crowd of about 50 supporters marched to the courthouse, they were led by Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, who wore her clerical collar. Before entering, they gathered in a prayer circle on the lawn.
My mentor of blog writing says one should never repeat a blog, but in view of some of the emails we received from young people this week at the church, I really feel a need to give this witness again.
The pain and anguish expressed in some of the messages give me pause and the recognition that despite vast improvement for our LGBT community, it is still devastatingly hard to grow up gay.
Members of the Soulforce Equality Ride were arrested yesterday at Colorado Christian University for allegedly trespassing onto the school's campus.
Four Equality Riders were arrested alongside a local Denver activist, according to the Associated Press. The group posted video of the arrests on its Facebook page earlier today.
Soulforce says that the Equality Riders were attempting to host a “Bible study” on the school's campus.
Inclusivity and religion, inclusivity and Christianity — I know those two words in today’s world seem to reside side by side. We know in our heart one can't have one without the other.
However what we experience with inclusivity and religion and/or Christianity, in this day and age, are often diametrically opposed ideas. Creeds and belief systems of every sort compete for the souls of humankind, and often the competition results in building high fences and excluding those of other creeds.
If there is one thing which characterized the ministry of Jesus on earth, it was his inclusive approach for those who were seeking, not just for those who agreed with him.
A few years ago, a good friend of mine, who also is a pastor, lamented to me that he wished the gay community would not be so “in your face” about its issues. We had a pretty loud conversation, fight and argument that ended with me stomping out of his office, slamming the door as I went.
I had ended this hot debate saying, I was actually screaming through my tears, that he, the straight guy, didn't have to spend his every waking moment justifying his very existence as an accepted child of God.
I was so angry that even this friend didn’t seem to get that the forces of the church were against us in such a way it was a fight every day to continue to see a reason to live. To be fair, he later came to my office opened the door and simply said, “I get your point” and we having been fighting this stupidity together ever since.