Last Updated on June 26, 2023 by Kittredge Cherry
Q Spirit founder Kittredge Cherry is included on a new list of the top 12 progressive Christians compiled by Sunshine Cathedral, which bills itself as “the world’s largest progressive queer church.”
“When I say or hear ‘Christian,’ I don’t think of nationalists or fundamentalists; I think of these bright lights of progressive, inclusive, affirming, joyful, intelligent, uplifting faith,” wrote Sunshine Cathedral pastor Durrell Watkins when he shared the list image on Twitter. He also posted it on Facebook with a longer reflection stating, “These are some of the best representatives of the Christianity that I know.” He discusses each one individually in a mid-day prayer video announcement.
The list includes a dozen internationally renowned bishops, seminary professors, activist pastors, theologians and authors. Sunshine Cathedral Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cherry actually met about half the people on the list, and keeps in touch with those who are still living. “I am thrilled and honored to be among these spiritual powerhouses! They are beacons of light who inspire and illuminate me too. It’s stunning to see my own face among them,” Cherry said.
Here are their names with her memories of their interactions:
Barbara Harris (1930-2020), the first woman bishop in the worldwide Anglican communion. “I got to meet Barbara Harris in my role as MCC ecumenical officer,” Cherry recalled. “I was the only woman in the MCC delegation that made an official visit to the Episcopal conference in the early 1990s. All the MCC men were eager to meet her, and I kept quiet while they pushed ahead of me to shake her hand and introduce themselves. I was flabbergasted when Bishop Harris ignored the men, looked right into my eyes, and asked me to introduce myself! I sensed that she knew firsthand how hard it is for a woman to get ahead in the church. What a moment of grace!”
Chung Hyun Kyung (1956-), South Korean theologian who teaches at Union Theological Seminary. She caused a furor by combining Christian and indigenous traditions in a speech at the 1991 World Council of Churches Assembly in Canberra, Australia. “One of the most memorable speeches of my life was when I heard professor Chung speak at the WCC Assembly,” Cherry recalled. “Everyone in the audience, myself included, held our breath as she read from a scroll inviting a seemingly endless litany of all angry spirits who died unjustly throughout world history to come join us in making justice. When she was done, she stunned us by lighting the scroll on fire and burning it onstage. Unforgettable! Those spirits have never completely left me. I was so impressed that I made an extra effort to get to know her later.” She is the author of “Struggle to Be the Sun Again: Introducing Asian Women’s Theology.”
Troy Perry (1940-), who founded Metropolitan Community Churches in 1968 as a denomination that affirms LGBTQ people. “I worked closely with Troy during my years on staff at MCC headquarters,” Cherry said. “We shared countless experiences together — from major public triumphs like the time I stood on stage with him as he addressed the 1993 March on Washington, to private moments like when he showed me his hymnal from before he founded MCC.” His autobiography is “Don’t Be Afraid Anymore: The Story of Reverend Troy Perry and the Metropolitan Community Churches.”
Carter Heyward (1945-), pioneering lesbian Episcopal priest, theology professor and one of the “Philadelphia Eleven,” whose irregular ordination in 1974 pushed the Episcopal Church to recognize women as priests. “When I was in seminary in the ‘80s, everyone was enthralled with Carter’s book ‘Our Passion for Justice: Images of Power, Sexuality, and Liberation,’” Cherry recalled. “I was blessed to meet her on several occasions, but the most memorable was when she spoke during a blizzard at the conference for CLOUT — Christian Lesbians Out Together.”
John Shelby Spong (1931-2021), Episcopal bishop, LGBTQ-rights advocate and author of many bestselling books such as “Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism.” He ordained the first openly gay male Episcopal priest in 1989. “I was in the crowd that went wild for him when he preached at an MCC General Conference in the early 1990s,” Cherry said.
Others on the list are:
Pauli Murray (1910-1985), human-rights champion, civil-rights pioneer, feminist, author, Episcopal priest and lawyer whose legal arguments were used in landmark Supreme Court decisions outlawing racism and sexism. Murray wrote an award-winning memoir titled “Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage.”
James Pike (1913-1969), Episcopal bishop who promoted LGBTQ rights, civil rights and women’s ordination.
Delores Williams, Presbyterian theologian who developed womanist theology based on black women’s experience with books such as “Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk.”
John Dominic Crossan, former Catholic priest and DePauw University religion professor who emphasized the humanity of Jesus through the Jesus Seminar and books such as “The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant.”
William Barber II, Protestant pastor and social activist through the Poor People’s Campaign, Repairers of the Breach and books such as “We are Called to be a Movement.”
Nadia Bolz-Weber, Lutheran pastor and public theologian advocating for marginalized people and new sexual ethics in books such as “Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People.”
Kittredge Cherry, founder and publisher of Q Spirit, Metropolitan Community Churches clergy, lesbian Christian and historian who writes about LGBTQ spirituality in books such as “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.” It may be surprising to find Q Spirit’s own Kittredge Cherry grouped with religious superstars who have much more fame and status. But Watkins, who compiled the list, has studied her work in depth and did a major video interview with her in 2020 for Sunshine Cathedral. He showed great understanding of her impact when he introduced her on the video:
“Kittredge Cherry has a quiet ministry, but it informs the ministries of so many other people, including my own. She’s a queer historian, art historian and religious historian, and she blends sacred art and sacred history and queer history all together and helps us discover queer people throughout religious history and also religious works featuring them. It’s a very powerful ministry helping us realize the sanctity of our queer lives as they have played part of religious unfoldment for millennia. So God bless Kitt Cherry!”
The list sparked enthusiastic comments on social media such as these words from author/artist Trudie Barreras: “This is really an impressive posting of twelve modern apostles!”
The video announcement of the list concludes with a powerful prayer:
“With this great cloud of witnesses behind me, let us pray. God of many names, Mystery beyond our naming, we are thankful for progressive witnesses, for those who don’t use religion or the name of God to abuse or exclude or create fear and division, but instead use holiness and divinity and spirituality and sacredness to lift people up, to heal wounds, to draw people together, and to remind them of their sacred value and innate dignity. Thank you for these witnesses and all such witnesses. Thank you for the times that we live into being such witnesses.”
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Top image credit:
Progressive Christians list by Durrell Watkins, pastor of Sunshine Cathedral MCC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This article was originally published on Q Spirit on Oct. 4, 2022, and was most recently updated on June 26, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
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Congratulations Kittredge Cherry, in your addition to the top 12 progressive Christians.
Please review the year of John Shelby Spong (1931-1921), it should not say 1921…
Thanks for catching that! I corrected his date to 2021. Rest in power, Bishop Spong!