loved and loving

alex - 21- she/her - butch lesbian - episcopalian

[fiercelywonderful]

Leftist anti-theists/atheists need to remember that not all religions are conservative Christianity and Christianity/religion is NOT a monolith!!

In every faith you will find good and bad people. You will find people of all political stripes. Many people who follow a religion do not believe in everything their faith leaders/institutions say. You cannot assume everything about a person simply because they have a religion.

Also, don’t forget that BIPOC and queer people of faith exist. White supremacy has tried to wipe out our faith, our indigenous beliefs. Clinging onto our religion, or adapting the colonizer’s religion to make space for our own existence, is how we survived. Our faith is precious to us. Our faith is the source of our resilience. And for many, our progressive values.

Do not adopt the white supremacy mentality that there’s only one right way to live and all other ways are inferior. If your atheism makes you believe religious people are all stupid sheep, guess what! You haven’t deconstructed as much as you thought.

If your beliefs or non beliefs are based only on reactionary values and trauma, you need to sit down and reflect and heal more. I am sincerely sorry that certain religious people hurt you. But it does not make it right for you to disparage all other religious people, many of whom are also minorities.

Intersectional solidarity includes religion.

[sacredheart-stigmata]

To those who find themselves unable to fast from food due to eating disorders this Lent and are struggling to be at peace with this:

God does not call for us to fast as a way to hurt our bodies. He calls us to ‘fast’ as a way to make more room for Him in our hearts. But anorexia, bulimia, and other intake restriction disorders do not bring you any greater focus on God. They place the focus on the hatred and destruction of the Holy Spirit’s most personal of temples: ourselves.

Your body is His home, a dwelling place of Divine Wisdom, right beside your heart. He made you, knit you together, and He takes no pleasure in your needless suffering. When your body and mind’s needs are not being met, He doesn’t see a holy sacrifice. He just sees the suffering of someone He loves, deeply. This Lent, if you are unable to fast from food due to your relationship with food, don’t fast. You can show sacrifice to Him this Lent through your love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. Right now, the only fasting He asks from you is feasting.

Love, your recovering sibling in Christ who will be sure to have food on his plate this Lent. Be gentle with yourself, and God bless.

[and-her-saints]

every christian trans girl i know is named Helena Mary after Saint Helena the mother of Constantine I (patron saint of archaeology and converts) and Mary after the Blessed Mother. every christian trans guy i know is named Mahershalalhashbaz.

[f-ndingmyfaith]

If you're a Queer-affirming Christian please reblog this so I can follow you and join you in this journey.

[mercyofchrist]

You should not feel ashamed to be a Christian. You should not feel the need to be shy about your faith. You shouldn't have to say that you "believe but aren't THAT religious". You shouldn't have to feel ostracized for reading the Bible or carrying one around with you. You shouldn't feel bad for asking for Sundays off to go to Worship services. You should not feel embarrassed to praise the name of the Lord in public.

People will try to shame you for being open about your faith and how important it is to you. They'll say you make it your whole personality. But, if your actions of love towards God are just as strong as your actions of love towards your neighbor, then it will not matter what they say. Help others in whatever ways you can, and do it out of love for them, even if they belittle your reasoning.

In the same vein, you shouldn't have to flaunt your faith through clothes or accessories. You don't have to have that cross pendant, that "Jesus saves" t-shirt, you don't have to "prove" your faith with physical artifacts. In fact, you don't have to carry a Bible. You don't have to be loud about your faith, but most importantly you don't have to spend money to prove it to other people.

People will try to flex how "Christian" they are while spewing hate from their mouths. Their "Jesus saves" shirt means nothing if they condemn or hate their neighbors. You don't need to visually prove your faith, because your actions will speak for themselves, if you act in love for God and for neighbor.

In short, you do not have to prove your faith, you do not have to justify it, you do not have to flaunt your faith, and you do not have to be silent about it.

Praise the Lord for His goodness, praise Him that we may act on his two highest commandments of loving Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

In general, I think it's currently really important for progressive Christians to be very loud about being both progressive and deeply religious Christians, and for everyone else fighting for progressive values to be supportive of them doing just that. I know that's like, idk, counter-intuitive or cringe or whatever, but seriously folks, the alternative is that progressive Christians have to be quiet about their faith to be accepted within broader secular and interfaith progressive advocacy, which means that the regressive asshole Christians (a) sound that much louder and (b) dominate the USian religious landscape all the more. That's a problem, for all of us.

We need people pushing back within the faith as well as outside of it, because that destroys any edifice that this is about Christianity and religious freedom.

You can be a devout Christian and also:

Openly, proudly, and without being forced to remain celibate or otherwise limit your full expression of self, identify as LGBTQ+ or be a supportive ally.

Advocate for full reproductive autonomy and comprehensive sex education.

Love and support people of other religious groups, non-religious people and/or atheists, by choosing to believe that a truly loving God would not pursue anything less than universal salvation.

Stand against evangelism and proselytizing as they have thus far been interpreted and used, because there are ways to interpret the Great Commission that don't promote colonialism and cultural genocide.

A steward of the earth, protecting God's beautiful creation and lovingly tending to it as the unique and incredible gift that it is.

A believer in science, rationalism, and human progress as part of God's divine plan for humanity.

A believer in history and someone who understands that the Bible can be both divinely given and open to interpretation (no really)(if you're confused, please talk to a knowledgeable traditional Jew)

An ally to Jews, who stands against supercessionism and antisemitism in the church.

And in before regressive Christians come shouting at me that (1) what do I know, I'm a Jew and (2) no lol you can't because of ___ reason:

My source is that I've personally met and talked to Christians of great faith and integrity - people who embody the closest forms of kindness I've seen to what Jesus himself advocated - who are each of these things.

It is 100% possible; you just choose to believe otherwise.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

At this point I think it's time to start preaching and claiming the moral high ground here.

Right-wing evangelical Christians want you to think that they're the moral ones, when they EXPLICITLY defy the word of God. They routinely:

Evade taxes intended to help the poor

Oppress the foreigner

Hoard wealth

Hate their fellow in their hearts

Destroy God's creation that they were entrusted to steward, intentionally and recklessly as well as carelessly

Cast the first stone

Preach idolatry through the prosperity gospel and the American cult of nationalism

Sacrifice their children to Molech through encouraging a culture of gun violence

Commit true sexual abominations, such as rape and pedophilia, and/or cover these things up or engage in apologetics

Encourage actual child and spousal abuse while calling it "traditional family values"

Oppress and demean women, when their main guy uplifted and valued women outside of marginal roles

Smugly quote scripture to satisfy their bigotries and to benefit themselves without caring about the true message

Fail to acknowledge God as the True Judge by substituting their prejudices for God's love and mercy

.......and plenty more. These are not just a few bad actors; this lifestyle is ENCOURAGED by this irresponsible and immoral cult. They are leading people astray into a life of sin and a culture of callous cruelty.

Is this the Christianity you want the world to know you by?

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

[daughteroftherosa-deactivated20]

The Order of Julian of Norwich

[limboliturgy]

A prayer from the church bulletin today

[alex-abundantly]

Omg hi fellow Episcopalian/Anglican here. I have a copper Celtic cross I love from Etsy (can’t remember the store name sorry) but I would totally look for that! It’s a less common metal, pretty affordable, and super cool. You’ll just need to polish it semi regularly but that’s not hard to do tbh. Anyway glad to meet a fellow sibling on here lol best of luck with your cross search

Thank you so much!! God bless you, whoever you are <33

[queerprayers]

big day for girls haunted by the divine (julian of norwich reference in new florence and the machine album)

[sedesapostolica]

[bieshu]

trying to find some queer christian artists to add to a devotional playlist to listen to in my free time if anyone has any suggestions of artists or specific songs ??

[ohholydyke]

The saints manifesting as their patronage

Finding the fiery eyes of St Michael in the freedom fighter, standing in the protest in black bloc and hurling a tear gas canister back at the cops before it can hurt anyone.

Finding St. Paul in the person producing scathing zine after zine, scattering them throughout churches when the sanctuary’s empty and in the streets, filled with long letters criticizing the failures of those who do not love as they ought to love.

Finding St. Hildegard in the chronically ill academic, gifted with extraordinary visions and analysis and channeling it into frenzied work between pouring her heart out in advice to anyone who needs it late at night in the school library.

Finding St. Julian in the old lady at the bus stop who shares a cigarette and tells you that it’s okay, honey, everything’s about love, and god doesn’t judge you for feeling like you’re at rock bottom.

Finding St. Theresè in the nun, the custodian, the lunch lady, the street sweeper, the child who stays behind to pick up after the others before leaving, serving others in love and humility with a smile on her face and moving others to gentleness in return.

Finding St. Francis in the park ranger, in the conservation activist, in the climate advocate, demanding care for the poor and the non human peoples of the world.

Finding St. Joan of Arc in the youth movements for justice, in the young students catalyzing change by refusing to just be seen and not heard, in the community leaders and defenders and your older sibling who teaches you how to hold your head up and punch harder if someone tries to punch you.

Finding St. Dismas in the shoplifter, who meets your eyes before you look away and pretend to not see anything, in the confession booth, in the person shunned by the rest of the parish who lives and breathes devotion

Finding St. Martha in the housewife, the cleaning lady, the waitress, the service worker, who shoulders the weight of responsibility with ease and strength beyond imagination.

Finding St. Mary Magdalene in the death doula, the mortician, the funeral agent who prepare the body after death, and ensure it is properly cared for during and after the burial.

Just….seeing the saints in our human community as well as our spiritual one.

[sacredheart-stigmata]

begging christians to learn to be okay with being called a mythology. to our god being called a myth, to our savior being approached from an academic and historical and mytholographic point of view. to be called a ‘living religion’ in a way that implies we exist only in academia. to be spoken of as having a monotheistic mythos or having the history of our faith dissected and picked apart in a lecture hall or textbook.

just because we believe Christ is real does not mean anyone else is required to, and if we are okay with someone call other faiths ‘myths’, we must be okay when they speak of us that way too.

[luxangelae]

If St. Julian didn’t have revelations until her 30’s, there’s still time for all of us!

[batrachised]

there's no experience quite like walking sleepily up stairs in pitch black night and then suddenly, out of nowhere, hearing Hildegard von Bingen blasting directly in your ears because you absentmindedly pushed a button on your headphones...thought I was experiencing angelic warfare...it was like being on the road at midnight and then suddenly hearing a heavenly semi truck's horn blaring because you're in its path...nearly jumped out of my earthly skin

[ariolimaxxx]

I've been doing these prayers a lot this week and they've brought me some comfort <3

In order:

1: Julian of Norwich

2: Jay Hulme, "Beatitudes for a queerer church" from The Backwater Sermons

3: Hildegard of Bingen

4&5:

6: A version of the collect for St Stephen

((also "cross" is in quotes bc my beads use a heart instead))