#centerpeace

[sallygary]

What the CenterPeace Conference is All About

What the CenterPeace Conference is All About

Two months from today we’ll be gathered for the CenterPeace Conference! It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we were able to be together in-person – and yet we’re so grateful for the technology that allowed us to connect virtually in 2020. But we missed the comfort of hugs and the reassurance of smiles, the fellowship  over cookies and conversation around meals, and just…

View On WordPress

[sallygary]

A Rare Soul.

"At the height of the AIDS crisis when so many of our sons and brothers were dying, having been kicked out of families and ostracized from churches – this church was different.  ...Because their preacher was different."

For the last 20 years I’ve been collecting stories. Primarily the stories of people who have wrestled with resolving their faith and sexuality. Some because it was their own personal journey, others because of the close-up experience of their own child or of a beloved family member. Then there are the few rare souls who have come to see on their own that our questions of faith and sexuality our…

View On WordPress

[beautyinthislife]

Fall Centerpiece

[sallygary]

Dropped my brother Kent Bogle off at his condo in Fort Worth after a beautiful weekend hosting parents of #LGBTQ+ children at a #CenterPeace retreat at Watchtower Ranch in Strawn. We’re tired, but it’s a really good tired! #PeacePrints https://www.instagram.com/p/BqD2FjvgU0S/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=mngmstyl239o

[sallygary]

Coming to Terms...

Keeping up with LGBTQ+ language: the trouble with "same sex attraction"

When I came out nearly 22 years ago, the concept of “same-sex attraction” was very new to me. The only words I knew to describe the feelings I had been experiencing for quite some time weren’t anything I wanted to be called.

Obviously there were the slurs and degrading terms that I’d heard as long as I could remember. And the only word I knew from a Christian perspective was “homosexual.”

From…

View On WordPress

[sallygary]

Fridays With Fathers

"Be the person your preacher, elder, leader can come to." A pastor speaks for dads who can't.

  Pat Bills, welcoming guests from all over the country to the CenterPeace “e3” Conference at Highland Oaks in Dallas, October 2016

Our last post of the summer series with parents comes from my pastor, Pat Bills, from the Highland Oaks Church in Dallas. Pat truly cares for the LGBTQ community and our families, particularly families who don’t yet have a voice. In this post, Pat shares his heart…

View On WordPress

[sallygary]

Fridays with Fathers

So what does Authentic Christianity look like from me? I’m being called to be a Dad.

I remember where I was standing the first time I talked to the dad who wrote this week’s post. I loved his heart then, and I love it even more today. Two things were clear to me – he loved God, and he loved his son.  

In the summer of 2012, the eldest of our three adult children came to us and told us he thought he was gay.

Back then my initial reactions were:

I can’t believe it! I didn’t want to…

View On WordPress

[sallygary]

Mondays With Moms

"Being gay is not a choice. However, loving others is."

Thankful for the heart of another mom who loves her children fiercely. All of them. Here’s a new post from my friend, Dawn Domasig.

Questions swirled in my head. Where did I go wrong as a Mom? Who can I share this with that would not judge me or my son? How many friends would my son lose if they knew? How many friends would I lose? Would he lose his scholarship, or worse, be kicked out of the…

View On WordPress