The long wait of Advent is over – Christmas is here! We wish all our readers a wonderful Christmas today! Though Advent is over, we still wanted to share our reflections on the fourth week of Advent, which has been all about love. Many things are said and done to the LGBTQ+ Christian community in the name…
This week’s Advent theme is JOY. (If you haven’t already, check out our last two weeks’ Advent posts on hope and peace.) Coming out as an LGBTQ+ Christian can be a very difficult process, but it can also bring unexpected moments of overwhelming joy. We asked our community members to describe one of the most joyful…
About a month ago, Wendy appeared on Context with Lorna Dueck on a panel with Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family. They discussed emotional health, conflict, and forgiveness, especially in the context of families with LGBTQ+ members. Watch the 8-minute segment here – it starts around the 7:15 mark.
The theme of the second week of Advent is Peace. Peace can be an elusive feeling for those of us who are LGBTQ+ Christians and are in the midst of processing our sexuality and gender identity. It is often a long journey toward peace with ourselves, peace with God, peace with church, and peace with our…
This month, we’ll be posting some thoughts from members of our community on the four themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy, and love. This week, we’ll be focusing on HOPE. Hope can be a loaded word for LGBTQ+ Christians. Many of us have spent our lives hoping and praying that God would make us straight and cisgender, and now realize…
“Do you support same-sex marriage for LGBTQ+ Christians or not?” With a question so divisive in the church today, it can be hard to know how to answer. “What will they think if I say “yes”? What will they think if I say “no”? What assumptions have already been made about me? What assumptions have I…
After we come out of the closet, we often experience strain or breakdown in some of our friendships. Sometimes we’re not even sure exactly why these friendships are fading away. Caitlyn Spence, one of the members of our Vancouver Generous Space group, wrote about one such friendship in the hauntingly beautiful piece below. We’re grateful for her permission to share it here, and we hope…
Meet Josh and Reed, an engaged Christian couple who appeared on the popular reality show “Survivor” last year. They attend Hillsong church in New York. Hillsong leaders recently released a public statement clarifying that they welcome LGBTQ+ people but will not allow them to hold positions of leadership. Josh and Reed were asked to step down from their…
The terms we use for minority groups are not just about political correctness. I believe they are of spiritual consequence. If we use words that dignify people’s (often painful) journey toward self-understanding and authenticity, we can actually bestow honor on them, affirm them as image-bearers of God, and show them hospitality. When we impose our…
Several members of the New Direction community face daily battles with depression and other forms of mental illness. The rejection, marginalization and isolation they often experience as LGBTQ+ Christians can exacerbate these realities. One of our hopes at New Direction this year is to talk more about mental illness and de-stigmatize it. Together, we can learn how…