Five Thoughts from #LGBTFaith

As February comes to an end, so does LGBT History Month. This year’s theme has been Religion, Belief and Philosophy. I was lucky enough to share my story in QX Magazine, and attended two panel events talking about faith and sexuality. Here’s five thoughts that I‘m taking away from the month.

1. ‘The Church of England is proof that Britain is a place for diverse theologies’ (Ruth Hunt, Chief Exeuctive of Stonewall)

I don’t want people to apologise for their theological beliefs that same-sex relationships are wrong. But I want us to accept we can think differently, with the same integrity and passion for following Jesus. Learning to ‘disagree well’ won’t happen overnight, but it’s no impossibility.

2. People twist religion into their own hatred

Vicky Beeching was a renowned worship leader living in the heart of America’s Bible belt. Since she came out as gay, she’s faced an unfounded backlash amidst the waves of support. One letter said ‘I used to think you were a role model to my kids, now we’ve had a burning ceremony for your CDs’. That’s not disagreeing well, that’s homophobia.

3. Degrees of hurt are irrelevant when any hurt hurts

Not every story I heard this month was as extreme as Vicky, and sadly some were ‘worse’. Vicky is passionate about her faith but doesn’t regularly worship in one church, because there’s pain. I’ve never been an international worship leader and I didn’t come out in a national newspaper, but likewise I’ve heard Christians manipulate the voice of God to sound hateful and exclusionary. It doesn’t matter if the hurt is spoken softly or angrily. Hurt hurts and it turns vulnerable people, their friends and family away from the Church.

4. You can never tell your story too many times

Within LGBT faith identities, being a gay white male Christian feels privileged, like white males anywhere. I’d shared my story enough times of Facebook, Christian blogs and workplace chat, that I arrogantly assumed everyone knew me as a Christian who is gay. Writing for QX gave me the chance to take my story into a new space and say I’m a gay man who’s a Christian. We - that’s we for society, not just the gays - need people to keep taking their stories and identities into new spaces.

5. There’s change and there’s hope

That change is coming from people sharing their stories and entering into conversations. The Church of England is ‘disagreeing well’ by working with Stonewall to combat homophobic bullying in schools. Sally Hitchiner and Diverse Church are talking with conservative Church leaders to think about LGBT inclusion. My employer, Christian Aid, has a sexuality network.

I can go on dates and go to church. I can get married to another man but not in a church, or if I want to be a vicar, or if I live in Northern Ireland. There’s change and there’s hope.