Last Updated on December 7, 2020 by Kittredge Cherry
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you
is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ.— Luke 2:10-11
A rainbow flag wraps an androgynous Madonna and Christ child in a painting by Richard Stott, a gay Methodist minister and artist in Britain. The dignity and tenderness of the image express the holiness of LGBTQ families.
When Jesus was born, God became flesh. It was a total, shocking identification with all people, including the whole rainbow spectrum of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Stott had been commissioned by the Canterbury diocese to do a series of paintings, but last week the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury cancelled it after seeing some of his gay spirituality work such as “Intimacy with Christ.” He was part way through the commission when the instruction came from Lambeth Palace to “disengage” his services. Now Stott is looking for another place to exhibit his art.
