June 2018: Pride Month

Q Spirit Newsletter LGBTQ spirituality and the arts

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Supreme Court denies gay wedding cake on religious grounds LGBTQ rights and the religious freedom of LGBTQ Christians were set back today (June 4) when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a conservative Christian baker could refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. The decision sets a dangerous precedent by allowing discrimination and ignoring the existence of progressive Christians. More info (Credit: "Let Them Eat Cake" by David Hayward)

Rainbow Christ Prayer: LGBTQ flag reveals the queer Christ Colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the Rainbow Christ Prayer.  It begins, "Rainbow Christ, you embody all the colors of the world." Kittredge Cherry and Patrick Cheng wrote the prayer based on his book "From Sin to Amazing Grace." More info The Rainbow Christ Prayer is  translated into 14 languages -- four new translations added in 2018.

Joan of Arc: Crossdressing warrior-saint and LGBTQ hero Joan of Arc was a cross-dressing teenage warrior who led the medieval French army to victory. This queer icon and girl-power hero was killed for wearing men's clothing by the church that later made her a saint. Joan's belief that God was the source of her gender-bending queerness makes her an inspiring role model for LGBTQ people of faith. More info (Credit: "Saint Joan of Arc" by Katy Miles-Wallace, available at Queerly Christian Etsy shop)

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Jesus returns to God with homoerotic hug Christ receives a homoerotic embrace in the controversial Ascension Day painting from Doug Blanchard's gay Passion of Christ series. Churches emphasize that Jesus ascended to heaven bodily -- in the flesh -- so it's appropriate for the painting to have a physical, erotic component. More info

New children's book: "A Church for All" “ A Church for All” by Gayle Pitman is a rare LGBTQ Christian book for kids. Charming, cheerful pictures and short text show a church that embraces people regardless of age, class, race, physical ability, gender identity, and sexual orientation. For pre-school to age 8.

Julian of Norwich praises Mother Jesus Julian of Norwich is a medieval English mystic who celebrated "Mother Jesus." It's not known if she herself was queer, but her genderbending ideas were. "As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother," Julian wrote more than 600 years ago. More info

Trinity: Holy Spirit blesses same-sex couple An angelic figure blesses a gay couple in "The Trinity," the last image in Doug Blanchard's "Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision." The painting is a meditation on the Christian Trinity: one God in three persons . More info

Gloria Anzaldúa: Queer feminist Chicana scholar of spiritual activism Gloria Anzaldúa was an influential queer Latina feminist scholar. She died on May 15, 2004 at age 61. One of the first openly lesbian Chicana writers, she grew up in Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. She challenges binary thinking by writing about the marginal, mixed cultures that develop along borders -- and with her devotion to folk Catholic female icons. More info

New book: "Transfaith" covers pastoral care “ Transfaith: A Transgender Pastoral Care Handbook” by Chris Dowd and Christina Beardsley with Justin Tanis. This resource helps congregations welcome transgender people. Chapters cover terminology, church writings on trans people, theological and pastoral reflections, Bible studies with discussion points, extensive bibliography, and liturgies such as a rite for preparation for surgery and a renaming ceremony. Published by DLT Books.

Pentecost: Holy Spirit brings LGBTQ visions Pentecost celebrates the Holy Spirit, an important aspect of God for LGBTQ people. The Spirit brings flaming gender fluidity and inspires change in the church. Pentecost is celebrated at the Q Spirit blog with queer art and literature. More info

Uganda Martyrs raise queer questions  Tough questions about religion and LGBTQ rights are raised by the Uganda Martyrs. Forty-five Ugandan male pages refused to have sex with their king after they converted to Christianity in 1886 -- so he executed them. They were canonized, leaving some truths hidden by their halos. More info

Rosa Bonheur: Crossdressing painter honored "androgyne Christ" Rosa Bonheur, the most famous female painter of the 19th century, was a queer cross-dresser who honored what she called the "androgyne Christ." She had long-term relationships with women. Bonheur's gender-bending lifestyle has been covered extensively, but her spirituality has received much less attention. More info

Harvey Milk Day celebrates equality Equality for all is celebrated May 22 on Harvey Milk Day, the birthday of LGBTQ rights pioneer. He was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the USA when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk was responsible for passing a tough gay-rights law in San Francisco before his assassination on Nov. 27, 1978.  More info

Dear Friend I’m proud that my reflection on “Sacred Resistance” is in the new Catalyst, the magazine of Pacific School of Religion. Here's a quote: “Sometimes faith in God’s order calls all Christians to act in ways that may seem disorderly because they disrupt the social order established by human society.” Happy Pride Month and may the Rainbow Christ light up your life! Blessings,

Kittredge Cherry Founder, publisher and editor Q Spirit and Jesus in Love

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Set on a Sunday morning, A Church for All, a children’s picture book from Albert Whitman & Company, highlights an inclusive church that embraces all people regardless of age, class, race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The text, though simple, captures the lovely quotidian nature of the day.

A debut poetry collection that explores faith and sexuality. Humming with inspired metaphors and everyday relevance, these poems are gems. - Kirkus Reviews (starred)   This is the eye of a poet looking to her work for redemption and grace. Mosaic of the Dark is a beautiful book. - Jericho Brown

The Holy Women Icons Project launched a 7-Day Online Queer Spirituality Retreat as an opportunity to subversively queer your spirituality, and for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate our spirituality without having to translate it through the lens of heteronormativity. It features seven different queer women of color.

Artist Trudie Barreras will do pet portraits in pastel, or watercolor sketches of your home or favorite scenes, for a $25 gift to Kitt for Q Spirit /Jesus in Love.  Click here for details on pet portraits. To see samples of Trudie's work, visit her website, schuylerart.com.

CAN GAYS AND LESBIANS BE TRUE CHRISTIANS? See the " Gay and Christian" website! It shows that a person can be both a Christian and a loving, sexually-active gay man or lesbian.

Finding Your Own True Myth: What I Learned from Joseph Campbell Toby Johnson’s spiritual autobiography of learning the real nature of religion and finding the spiritual qualities of gay consciousness.

Advertise in the Q Spirit Newsletter   Reach a highly targeted audience of more than 1,500 subscribers with interest in LGBTQ religious and spiritual books, art and history. $25 a month for multiple ads or $30 a month for one-time ads. Click here to buy ads or get info

Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, And More By Kittredge Cherry Packed with color art by 11 contemporary artists "An amazing, disconcerting, and sacred book"

Q Spirit and Jesus in Love promote spirituality with LGBTQ history, art and books. Created by Kittredge Cherry, they foster religious and artistic freedom by teaching love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

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