Last Updated on December 24, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
and dwelt among us,
full of grace and truth.
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Kittredge Cherry,
Q Spirit and the Jesus in Love Blog
wish you and your loved ones
all the joys of the season!
Merry Christmas!
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This year’s Christmas image, “Rainbow Herald Angels” by gay British artist Tony O’Connell delivers good news for all — symbolized by the overlay of rainbow colors representing the LGBTQ community.
Carrying a banner inscribed with “on earth peace to people of good will” (“Terra pax hominibus bonae” in Latin), the angel echoes the Biblical Christmas story where angels announce the birth of Jesus to shepherds (Luke 2:14).
“Peace on earth” is an especially comforting message for queer people and their allies in today’s world. Even angels themselves embody a certain queerness as spiritual beings beyond traditional concepts of gender and sexuality.
In a statement for Q Spirit, the artist explains how the artwork grows out of his queer religious journey:
“For me angels, like saints, are an intermediary between ourselves (who have often, as queer people been made to feel judged and rejected by people claiming to speak for God) and God themselves, so I often find the angelic instructions to “Be not afraid!” and offer “glory to God in the highest” inclusive and comforting. The Latin script takes me back to my childhood Catholic upbringing and reclaims it in a cathartic way. It is a lifetimes spiritual work to recover from perceived rejection.”
Based in Liverpool, O’Connell was raised in the Roman Catholic church, but has been a practicing Buddhist since 1995. His artwork has been displayed at a variety of galleries and museums in the United Kingdom, including the Prescot Museum and Kirkby Gallery, and the Horse Hospital arts venue in London. He taught art at City of Liverpool College for 20 years and now runs the Liverpool Indie Art School.
His images of queer saints appear frequently on Q Spirit and are available at his Hallowed Prints Etsy shop.
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“Peace on earth and goodwill to all” — and all means all
LGBTQ Christmas cartoons affirm “All means all”!
Gay shepherds ask if they are included when the Christmas angel announces “peace on earth and goodwill to all” in a cartoon by David Hayward, also known as nakedpastor. Indeed, all means all! A star shines rainbow light over the Nativity scene in his “LGBT Christmas: Merry Christmas EVERYBODY.” More info and cartoons
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LGBTQ Christmas links
Queer Nativity scenes show love makes a family
Queer cheer for Christmas: Make the Yuletide gay
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Top image credit:
“Rainbow Herald Angels” by Tony O’Connell.
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Calendar series by Kittredge Cherry. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, events in LGBT and queer history, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
