The season of LGBT Pride is just around the corner and today I watched a TED Talk by Andrew Solomon that I just had to share with you here. The entire talk is deeply inspiring and I have included a portion of the transcript here that resonated deeply with me. “We don’t seek the painful experiences that hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences.” “I would have had an easier life if I were straight, but... Read more
According to a post over at ThinkProgress… Common Core may not be a well-intentioned set of improved educational standards, as supporters would have you believe, but instead a trojan horse designed to turn every schoolchild in Florida, if not America, gay. This ominous warning came at an anti-Common Core event in March courtesy of Florida State Rep. Charles Van Zant (R). Speaking at the “Operation Education Conference” in Orlando, Van Zant warned that officials implementing Common Core in Florida are “promoting... Read more
Sooooo, last night I read a funny little diddy where some “Christians” in Mississippi are all in a lather because they WON the right to discriminate against gays and lesbians. Wait, why on earth would these silly ignorant people be miffed vitriolic about WINNING the right to be ugly hateful. Weellll, as it turns out other citizens of their fair state have shockingly come out to bully and abuse these Christians by calling them abominations, refusing them the right to get married and have families and even claiming... Read more
So the other evening I posted a somewhat cryptic status update on Facebook that simply said “Dating is weird.” I received a lot of likes and a slew of comments ranging from “Dating is wicked weird” to kind notes of sympathy (even though I just said weird, not bad) to even a slight rebuke claiming that posting about it on Facebook makes it worse (to which I replied “I figure if Anne Lamott can can write a whole blog post for... Read more
Deborah Arca, who I lovingly (and maybe and maybe a bit delusionally) call my editor here at Patheos invited me to participate in this month’s book club featuring Matthew Vine’s new book God and The Gay Christian. Before I even opened the book I had an odd feeling about the task at hand. The very title God and The Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships seems both intriguing and ridiculous to me at this post-Christian juncture in my journey.... Read more
A friend of mine, Karen Stephenson Slappey, reached out to me the other day to ask if I would still be willing to share a word or two about a community making project that she is working on in Atlanta. Shem along with some friends, have launched Beer and Hymns, reminiscent of the much beloved sessions at Wild Goose Festival at Manual’s Tavern in Atlanta. I had offered to help get the word out a couple of months ago before my journey... Read more
My lived experiences, combined with a wide open soul, create in me conflicting responses to any sort of religious dialogue, especially when the conversation involves challenges to and denial of my humanity based on “truths” extracted in specious snippets from an ancient text that has been smudged by the messy hands of humans from the very beginning. Some days I lead with an ugly side that is slick with snarky superiority and other days (most I hope) I try to... Read more
First remind them that people are not issues, they are children of God. Then go all snarky on their ass and answer with a few questions of your own. What is your stance on eating bacon wrapped shrimp? Have you visited poly-cotton blend factories to talk about the will of God lately? Do you wear pads or tampons when you attend church while menstruating? What is the balance of time you think you put into discussing new carpet for... Read more
One of the most important reasons I am struggling with shedding the label Christian is that I remove myself a step from my beloved tribe. According to a press release dated April 28, 2014 written by Connie Larkman of the UCC. “The General Synod of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has filed suit against the State of North Carolina, arguing that the state’s marriage laws violate the First Amendment rights of clergy and the principle of “free exercise of religion.”... Read more
May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. – Traditional Irish Blessing I recently returned from a week-long trip to Ireland. I traveled around the country alone for the majority of the trip until my daughter who has been in France for... Read more
Kimberly Knight
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