Tags
Bisexual, christianity, Community of Christ, Equality, Equity, Hope, LGBT, Orlando, Pulse Nightclub, Religion, Social Justice
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day
This show is proof that history remembers
We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger
We rise and fall and light from dying embers,
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love,
cannot be killed or swept aside.
I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story.
Now fill the world with music, love, and pride.-Lin-Manuel Miranda, excerpt from his acceptance speech
after winning “Best Score” at the 2016 Tony Awards
just 24 hours on the Pulse Nightclub Massacre.
A little over a year ago I had begun to finally understand my sexual orientation. It was a journey that took a long time and, in that moment in time, I was relieved to finally begin to understand who I was. The next step for me was to begin to stop living in fear, publicly “come out”, and claim my truth as a bisexual male. Of course, that eventually happened on December 5, 2016. Though, before I had even picked the date that I wanted to come out on, I almost came out one year ago today in response to the tragedy that occurred in the early morning hours of June 12, 2016. Continue reading
potentially diverse body in the wake of the election and also the balance to make sure I didn’t get “partisan” but still addressed the social justice message of Christ, weighed heavily on me as I prepared and experienced my own depth of sadness, loss, and fear. My concerns about the message I was to bring started to dissipate though as the congregation began to sing “We Shall Overcome”. I am so proud that this protest song that has served as an anthem for the African-American civil rights movement is also in the Community of Christ hymnal. My Sunday Morning ended up serving as a great foundation for what I was to experience later that day. 