#samaritans

[unbfacts]

Samaritans received its first call on 2 November 1953 from St Stephen Walbrook church. The service was initially nicknamed “999 for the suicidal” and offered confidential, non-judgmental listening rather than formal counselling.

[100gayicons]

Update: Luke Evans will portray Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a new production of “The Rocky Horror Show” on Broadway at Studio 54. It opens on April 23, 2026.

Researching the lives of the people I write about in this Tumblr is fascinating. I learn from others’ experiences coming out. But when I began researching actor Luke Evans, I was surprised by how much his story hit close to home. I’ll explain at the end…

Luke Evans is a Welsh actor and action movie star. He has performed on London’s West End Stage in productions of Rent, Miss Saigon, and Avenue Q. But he’s best known for his film roles such as Aramis in “The Three Musketeers” (2011), Zeus in “Immortals” (2011), Bard the Bowman in the Hobbit Trilogy, Dracula Untold (2013), and Gaston in Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” (2017).

Evans is gay. In 2024, he was interviewed by Jack Guinness for the Queerphoria podcast where he described growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness—a deeply conservative religion that condemns homosexuals and kicks them out if they don’t “repent”. When he began to realize he was gay, Evans felt guilt and feared he would be kicked out of his home.

At the age of 14, he sought counseling from the Samaritans (a non-religious UK charity that provides help). He was driven there by a Jehovah’s Witness friend who did not know the purpose of the visit:

“So I went to this Samaritan's office, and this very nice man opened the door… And I sat with him and I said, look, I'm going through these feelings. I don't know what to do. I live in a home of Jehovah's Witnesses. I can't talk to anyone. I feel completely alone. My friend outside doesn't even know that you are, you know, why I'm here.

And he said very few words, but I remember them very clearly. He said, “You’re not alone.” And he said, “I'm a gay man and I'm very happy. I have lots of friends and I have a good life. And you will too. There's nothing wrong with you. You just have to get through what you have to get through right now.” And when you're ready, you can leave home. And you will, because you'll need to find your people.

And I walked out the door, got in the car, and my Jehovah's Witness friend asked, “So did he fix you?” And I went, “Yeah, take me home.” And of course, he didn't fix me. He just made me realize there was nothing to fix.

And I went home and I somehow then got through the next two years. But knowing that there were people out there, people like me. And I just needed to get to the point where I could leave home and not hurt my mum and dad and start again.”

Evans left home at the age of 16.

Evans has been in a relationship with Fran Tomas since 2021.

NOTE: Luke Evans’ story hit close to home because for about 3 years (between the ages of 11 and 13) I was involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. There is a section in Luke’s interview where he talks about the Jehovah’s Witness beliefs - it’s exactly as I remember it. I think a lot of my fear of being discovered as gay comes from those experiences. I knew the JWs condemned homosexuals and kicked them out of the church.

When I was a kid, my older sister studied with them, and my parents made me go to her meetings because they didn’t want her to drive alone. Eventually (but reluctantly), I had my own Bible study. It was during this period I began to realize I was a homosexual. And I learned the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ puritanical views.

Thankfully, I was able to quit the Bible study, and I never formally became a Jehovah’s Witness (but two sisters and both parents eventually converted). But for too many years, I tried to keep my secret from them. I finally told them a week before my partner died from AIDS.

[diemelusine]

Christ and Samaritan woman (1890) by Henryk Siemiradzki. Borys Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery.

[koenji]

The oldest known complete insciption of the Ten Commandments, Samaritan Hebrew on white marble, 300-800 CE.

This culturally invaluable indigenous relic was recently held for auction at Sotheby's in New York with the audacious description of it being a "tangible link to the beliefs that helped shape Western Civilization" and the estimated price set at around 1 Million USD.

This Israelite Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments was written in Samaritan Hebrew script (close descendant of Paleo-Hebrew) and once part of a Samaritan Synagogue. Samaritans are the closest ethnoreligious cousins of Jews and despite their numbers having dwindled over milennia of imperial rule and forced assimilation they still live in their homeland and maintain their peoplehood, language (Samaritan Hebrew) and culture.

The marble tablet was unearthed in 1913 during railroad excavations along the southern coast of modern-day Israel near the ancient Israelite settlement of Yavne (יַבְנֶה, later يبنى) and is believed to be the only complete example of its kind from antiquity. It was at first used as a paving stone in the courtyard of a local Arab man for decades, with the letters facing up and exposed to foot-traffic, but later recognized for its historical significance. It ended up in the hands of a researcher who sold it abroad which lead to it being removed from the land of its people. After being auctioned in New York it was acquired by an anonymous Jewish buyer who will reportedly have it returned to Israel.

[huge-helping-of-hands]

*you see a young girl with appears to be a centipede-like quirk wearing sunglasses nervously scuttle up to with all 1,306 of her legs(yes, really, that's how many legs she has).

Um...hi. I'm olivia tremblay, I'm friends with your little brother...it's nice to meet you.

@friendly-neighborhood-samaritans

Hey there! Nice to meet ya. I hope you and my li'l bro haven't been getting into too much trouble

[pinkibot]

Last minute thankmas doodle from uni! GO DONATE WOOOOOOOOOO ‼️

Donation link!

[fandom-eater67]

Who is excited for Thankmas this year? The topic of it this time is something important for all of us right now, mental health. If you know or want to tag streamers in posts about it to participate or help out go do so! You can watch in person or on stream on December 6th, the main stream is done by Jacksepticeye each year (his channel has more information about the event) but show love to other creators participating as well. We all deserve a chance to be heard so lets all be there.

Thankmas-December 6, 2024.