Amen, amen, amen! Thank you, dear heart. It’s pride weekend here in Northfield too. Grateful to be united with you and yours in the Eucharist, the queerest of all sacraments. ❤️
Great reflection as someone who is also queer, a woman, and shows up to church fabulously dressed but prefers more traditional liturgy. And I liked the mention of the praise song Testify to Love in your notes at the end. I grew up with the Wynonna Judd version of that song as it was featured in a certain very-tearjerking episode of Touched By An Angel, my favorite TV show of all time. Wynonna has always been an ally to the LGBT community and Touched By An Angel is often protrayed as conservative and traditionalist but it actually has a lot of progressive themes. And I noticed that a lot of the quirks and characteristics the angels had on the show were basically the exact same ones I had as an autistic person so I found it very comforting and empowering to see common characteristics associated with my neurodivergence associated with heavenly beings. I also found it to be queer coded to as the angels are basically aroaces as they don't marry and they take the form of a specific gender when they present as human meaning that they are basically trans.
Lizzie, the distinction you draw between celebration and normalization feels especially important. So much energy is often spent arguing whether people belong that we never reach the deeper work of discipleship, vocation, community, and grace; your phrase “Chapter 2 thinking” names that shift beautifully. I was also struck by your observation that the ordinary liturgy is itself the point, because it quietly testifies that God's love is not an exception being made but a reality already woven into the life of the Church. Thank you for offering a reflection that moves beyond symbolism alone and invites readers to consider what it means for blessing to establish a new reality.
Amen, amen, amen! Thank you, dear heart. It’s pride weekend here in Northfield too. Grateful to be united with you and yours in the Eucharist, the queerest of all sacraments. ❤️
Great reflection as someone who is also queer, a woman, and shows up to church fabulously dressed but prefers more traditional liturgy. And I liked the mention of the praise song Testify to Love in your notes at the end. I grew up with the Wynonna Judd version of that song as it was featured in a certain very-tearjerking episode of Touched By An Angel, my favorite TV show of all time. Wynonna has always been an ally to the LGBT community and Touched By An Angel is often protrayed as conservative and traditionalist but it actually has a lot of progressive themes. And I noticed that a lot of the quirks and characteristics the angels had on the show were basically the exact same ones I had as an autistic person so I found it very comforting and empowering to see common characteristics associated with my neurodivergence associated with heavenly beings. I also found it to be queer coded to as the angels are basically aroaces as they don't marry and they take the form of a specific gender when they present as human meaning that they are basically trans.
Lizzie, the distinction you draw between celebration and normalization feels especially important. So much energy is often spent arguing whether people belong that we never reach the deeper work of discipleship, vocation, community, and grace; your phrase “Chapter 2 thinking” names that shift beautifully. I was also struck by your observation that the ordinary liturgy is itself the point, because it quietly testifies that God's love is not an exception being made but a reality already woven into the life of the Church. Thank you for offering a reflection that moves beyond symbolism alone and invites readers to consider what it means for blessing to establish a new reality.
Thank you so much!
This is beautiful. Thank you! I particularly love that you pointed out we have more to talk about than the clobbers…😊