Connecting the dots: June 24, 2013

These collections may seem random, and yeah they are a bit, but over time, as we work together to connect the dots it is my hope that a picture of compassion, justice, peace and faith all scribbled in with love and a little silliness will emerge for us all.

These are just a few of the items that struck me deeply last week.  What have I left out? Maybe you saw a post you’d like to share too.

When hate-mongers give you lemons, set up a lemonade stand…
The story of Jayden, a 5 1/2 year old girl, who sold lemonade on the front lawn of the Equality House right across the street from Westboro cult.  Between her lemonade stand and the subsequent online funding efforts at crowdrise she has raised over $22,000 which, according to reports, 100% of proceeds from the sales will go directly towards the work of Planting Peace.

Unless you were taking a digital sabbath you likely heard at least a little of the kerfuffle around the apology from leaders of Exodus International, an ex-gay “ministry”.  Here are  few bloggers and their reflection on what this means.

John Shore rightly invites us to take a closer look at what was said, what was not said and what this likely really means.

“But (as opposed to them being “in need”) I never heard you say that it’s okay for people to be gay. You didn’t come close to saying anything like it. What you said—though one must resolutely gaze into the haze of the great many other things you said before this critical message of yours clearly emerges—is that your new house, Reducing Fear, will be built upon the same dark foundation upon which the ruins of Exodus now sit.”

David Starbuck Gregory, organizer and pastor of Spirit of Peace UCC shares his experiences as a survivor of the ex-gay abuse here and here.
Jane Brazell over at the Reconciling Ministry Blog shares why she and other survivors believe the Exodus International apology simply represents harm repackaged.

“I wanted to hear that he sees LGBTQ people as holy, that our relationships are holy, that we are in fact beloved children of God and that nothing will separate us from that love. I wanted to hear that he recognizes the courage it took for us to come out and live wholly before God and the world. I didn’t hear that; Alan Chambers’ ministry did not affirm me.”

Ed Cyzewski explains why he hates the word “inerrancy”

“I do not affirm the word inerrancy because it compromises the Christian faith to the standards of secular scientific thinking. It takes our devotion and worship away from Christ and substitutes a second-rate god that breeds fear and paranoia, threatening to crumble our faith in God with every scientific report, literary device, or historical discrepancy.”

Believe Out Loud blogger Holli Long shares a wonderful post about her journey to becoming an LGBT ally.

“For me, my coming out as an LGBT ally has been inextricably intertwined with my experience of justifying grace.”
An odd and interesting post addressing the complex issue of suicide.

Don’t kill yourself, your dentist will miss you.

“I found myself in the embrace of a near-stranger who was overwhelmed with joy just because inconsequential, strange, and silly little me had lived to see another day. I surrendered to her startling affection and took part in the impromptu celebration of my own beating heart.”

Ooooo, and David Hayward, the brilliant artist many of us know at nakedpastor, launched a new Podcast called the Lasting Supper.  Check it out and let me know what you think.
A fantastic new website sharing pictures of interracial families that was built as a response to the mind boggling hatred that percolated up around the Cheerios Ad.

An Amnesty International Video that is over a year old but new to me in a breathtaking way.

And finally, a serious and seriously funny blog post (an oldie but a goody) from sharp Atlanta author Hollis Gillispie.
Goodbye, Old Friend: Trading in the lush life for the good life

“And believe it or not, I didn’t mean to stop drinking altogether. I just went through a time when I was busy and boozing got dropped from my schedule, and by “schedule” I mean my life in general. Plus it was fun to be the only sober one, and by “fun” I mean I got to be the holder of such knowledge as why my friends kept waking up from a drunk to find those little mystery bruises all down their arms. But after a while even those jollies subside, and the luster wears off of bar scenes, and by “bar scene” I mean a bunch of blobbering booze-tards with their tongues out trying to hook up with each other.”