Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Nun who loved a countess in 17th-century Mexico City
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th-century Mexican nun whose critically acclaimed writings include lesbian love poetry. She is considered one of the greatest Latin American poets, an early advocate of women’s rights, and some say, North America's first lesbian...
Ethiopian eunuch and Philip: Early church welcomed queers in Bible story
A queer black man was welcomed as an early Christian convert in Biblical times, according to progressive Bible scholars. He was a triple outsider -- a gender-variant foreigner from a racial minority -- and his story shows that the early Christians welcomed all kinds...
Christina Rossetti: Queer writer of Christmas carols and lesbian poetry
Christina Georgina Rossetti was a 19th-century English poet whose work ranged from Christmas carols to sensuous lesbian love poetry. A devout Christian who never married, she has been called a “queer virgin” and “gay mystic.” Her feast day is April 27 on the Church of...
Yook Woo-Dang: Gay Catholic South Korean poet who died to protest anti-LGBTQ discrimination
Yook Woo-Dang was a gay South Korean poet, activist and devout Catholic who took his own life to protest discrimination against LGBTQ people by church and society. He died April 26, 2003, at age 18. “If they send me to hell, Jesus will rescue me,” he wrote in his...
Lesbian Visibility Week celebrated with Christian saints, art, books and resources
Lesbian visibility is celebrated at Q Spirit with lesbian Christian saints, books, art and other spiritual resources for Lesbian Visibility Day (April 26) and Lesbian Visibility Week (April 22-28, 2024). These events were created to recognize the contributions of...
Bangladesh LGBTQ martyrs: Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar
LGBTQ activists Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Mojumdar were hacked to death for being "pioneers of practicing and promoting homosexuality in Bangladesh" on April 25, 2016 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The militant Islamist militant group Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for murder...
Earth Day: LGBTQ spirituality affirms the Earth
On Earth Day queer spirituality affirms that God’s all-inclusive love extends to the Earth itself. Many LGBTQ people join with others to care for creation on Earth Day (April 22). LGBTQ people have been involved in the environmental movement from the start, including...
“Prodigal Son and his husband,” “Prodigal Transgender Daughter” and other LGBTQ resources on the Prodigal
“Prodigal Son and His Husband Receive a Blessing” and “The Prodigal Transgender Daughter” are among new resources that reveal LGBTQ-positive meanings in the well-known Bible story. The parable of the Prodigal child from Luke 15 will be read at many churches worldwide...
Ascension Day: Jesus Returns to God (Gay Passion of Christ series)
Celebrate Ascension Day with a painting of Christ embraced by a winged man in “Jesus Returns to God,” the most controversial image in Doug Blanchard’s gay Passion of Christ series. This year Ascension Day is May 9, 2024. Christian tradition emphasizes that the...
Happy Easter from Kittredge Cherry and Q Spirit! See “Jesus Rises” from new Large Passion
Happy Easter! Christ is risen! Rejoice! May the Risen Rainbow Christ light up your life! A modern Jesus boldly rises from the dead, liberating all kinds of people, in a new Easter painting by Doug Blanchard. A rainbow seems to shoot from the clasped hands of...
Day of Silence Prayer: Stop bullying God’s LGBTQ youth
A prayer by Q Spirit founder Kittredge Cherry is one of the few religious voices supporting Day of Silence, a global student-led protest of anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment. In 2024, it is renamed Day of (No) Silence and set for April 12, 2024. The...
William Dorsey Swann: From slavery to queer freedom in 1880s as America’s first drag queen
Born into slavery, William Dorsey Swann became the first American to lead a queer resistance group, first to self-identify as a “queen of drag,” and first to use the U.S. legal system to defend the queer community. He battled police in a cream satin gown when they...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Eberhard Bethge: Anti-Nazi theologians and soulmates
Influential German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was an anti-Nazi dissident whom a few scholars believe experienced same-sex attraction. Speculation about his likely gay orientation focuses on his love for Eberhard Bethge, who was his best friend and biographer....
All-time favorites at Q Spirit
2024 brings new LGBTQ Christian books and gifts
New LGBTQ Christian books are being published in 2024, including theology, Bible, history, memoir, church life and spirituality by diverse authors. Q Spirit will present summaries of LGBTQ Christian books released this year, plus lists of titles that are coming soon...
Top 23 LGBTQ Christian books of 2023 named
Check out the top 23 LGBTQ Christian books of 2023 — including theology, Bible, memoir, church life and history by diverse authors. The list was announced today by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry at Qspirit.net. “Inflation and book bans didn’t stop readers...
Trans Saints? Early cross-dressing monks and martyrs share similar lives
Early Christian cross-dressing monks are being reclaimed as possible transgender or LGBTQ saints. More than 20 saints share a similar story: They escaped their lives as women and lived as men, joining monasteries or becoming religious hermits. They usually spent the...
Litany of Queer Saints
LGBTQ saints and martyrs are remembered in the Litany of Queer Saints from Q Spirit. The prayer was created by Q Spirit founder Kittredge Cherry. She also wrote a major essay on why we need LGBTQ saints. Both traditional and alternative saints are featured. It is a...
Why we need LGBTQ saints: A queer theology of sainthood
It’s time to welcome the queer saints. Many believe that saints and other souls will visit for Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). The LGBTQ saints are important because people are searching for alternative ways to lead...
Kittredge Cherry: Christianity inspired me to come out as a lesbian
I am celebrating my birthday on Oct. 21 by re-posting this reflection on my coming-out story and life journey as a lesbian Christian. You are invited to donate to Q Spirit for my birthday. Say happy birthday with a contribution and help me promote LGBTQ spirituality!...
Rainbow Christ Prayer: LGBTQ flag reveals the queer Christ
Colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry and gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors the spiritual values of the LGBTQ...
LGBTQ Christian cartoons reveal God’s love for all
God’s love for LGBTQ people is revealed at Q Spirit in an ongoing series of cartoons by David Hayward, known as nakedpastor. Prints and other items are available at the Nakedpastor Etsy shop and the Nakedpastor store. Hayward, a Canadian artist, uses gentle humor to...
Gay Passion of Christ blog series starts Palm Sunday at Q Spirit
A gay vision of Christ’s Passion will run during Holy Week here at Q Spirit. Reflections will be posted daily from Palm Sunday through Easter (March 24-31, 2024). All 24 paintings in the original version of Douglas Blanchard’s “The Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision”...
Queer Nativity scenes show love makes a family
I create my own queer Nativity scenes for the Christmas season. One has two Marys at the manger with the baby Jesus, and the other features two Josephs with the Christ child. I put Mary with Mary and Joseph with Joseph—just like putting two brides or two grooms on top...
Sign up: Free newsletter on LGBTQ spirituality and the arts
You are invited to sign up for a free subscription to the monthly Q Spirit newsletter on LGBTQ spirituality and the arts from Jesus in Love. The e-newsletter covers LGBTQ saints and the queer Christ, with an...