Saints Archives - Page 11 of 16

“Prodigal Son and his husband,” “Prodigal Transgender Daughter” and other LGBTQ resources on the Prodigal

by Kittredge Cherry | | Artists, March 16-31, Saints

“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...

Queer water carrier led disciples to Upper Room for Last Supper

by Kittredge Cherry | | Saints

A queer person led the disciples to the Upper Room for the Last Supper with Jesus, according to LGBTQ-affirming Bible interpretations. The story of the water carrier will be read at many churches worldwide during Holy Week, but most overlook this gender-variant bit...

Sandra Robinson: Black lesbian MCC clergywoman educated and inspired

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

I celebrate the life of my mentor and friend Rev. Dr. Sandra Robinson of Denton, Texas. She passed away March 19, 2023, from COVID at age 74. She is survived by her wife of 30 years, Janai Buentello. As a clergywoman in Metropolitan Community Churches, Robinson headed...

John Boswell: Historian of gays and lesbians in Christianity

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 16-31, Saints

John Boswell was a Yale professor who revealed centuries of LGBTQ Christian history in groundbreaking books such as “Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality” and “Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe.” John Eastburn “Jeb” Boswell was born on March 20, 1947,...

Gay centurion: Jesus heals a soldier’s boyfriend in the Bible

by Kittredge Cherry | | Dec 1-15, March 1-15, Saints

Jesus praised a gay centurion in the Roman army as a model of faith and healed his male lover in the gospels, according to some Bible experts. The centurion’s story has gotten surprisingly little attention throughout history considering that Jesus himself was...

Marielle Franco: Brazilian LGBTQ activist fought for human rights

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 1-15, Saints

Marielle Franco was a queer Afro-Latina Brazilian politician and LGBTQ activist who fought for human rights. She was assassinated on March 14, 2018. Franco identified as bisexual. She and her partner, Mônica Tereza Benício, were planning to marry later that year....

Symeon the New Theologian wrote queer spiritual imagery

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 1-15, Saints

Symeon the New Theologian was an influential 10th-century monk who used homoerotic imagery to describe human connections with God. His feast day is March 12. He lived in Galatia (modern-day Turkey). Some scholars suggest that he was a eunuch, based on his writings and...

Perpetua and Felicity: Patron saints of same-sex couples, early Christian martyrs and friends to the end

by Kittredge Cherry | | March 1-15, Saints

Perpetua and Felicity are 3rd-century North African paired saints who were executed together for their Christian faith. Some consider them lesbian saints or patrons of same-sex couples. Transgender people also draw inspiration from Perpetua because she had a queer...

Peter Gomes: Gay black Harvard minister preached “scandalous gospel”

by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Saints

Peter Gomes was a gay black Baptist minister at Harvard and one of America’s most prominent spiritual voices for tolerance. He came out in 1991 and used his national celebrity as a “gay minister” to make the religious case for LGBTQ people, even though he reportedly...

Malcolm Boyd: Pioneering gay Episcopal priest who ran with Jesus

by Kittredge Cherry | | Feb 16-29, Saints

Malcolm Boyd is a pioneering gay Episcopal priest, activist and author who died at age 91 on Feb. 27, 2015. His best-known book is “Are You Running with Me, Jesus?” a collection of conversational prayer-poems with a million copies in print. The 1965 classic includes...