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citrussunrises · 2 months
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Every time I have ever found God it has been from a group of outsiders.
Every picture of God that has ever looks like him has been made by people who never saw a Jesus that looked like themselves
I have never felt more at home than when listening to a gay person talk about God. I have never understood someone better than the lesbian Catholics who love to veil, or the transgender episcoples who see their transition as an opportunity to share in God's creation, or anyone who found God and then carved their own way to him.
When I sit in chapel, and the worship music feels like noise, I know there is a hymn being sung with a shaking voice that sounds just like Christ calling out for his father. When I see lessons written in script, I know there are sheets of construction paper printed in stock fonts on a family's kitchen table sent home from Sunday school teaching the same. When I get a hand out with Bible verses bought from Amazon, I know that someone has written the same verse in craft glue and collage and their blood.
I think God is present the most when the process of finding him is distinctly human; because I think he knows us, and makes the way he finds us human.
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Vasily Wilhelm Alexandrovich Kotarbiński (Polish-Russian, 1849-1921) Prayer for the cup, n.d. Kyiv National Museum of Russian Art, Ukraine “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Luke 22:42). - The Bible
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rescatada · 10 months
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“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
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actualmermaid · 5 months
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Today is All Saints Day, and I'm observing it in a somewhat unconventional manner: cyberbullying the Anglican Church in North America
The ACNA, if you're not familiar, is a group that splintered off from the Episcopal Church in 2009. The reason for the schism was that they believed TEC had "gone astray" by ordaining women priests and affirming LGBTQ people, so a bunch of conservative Episcopalians and clergy split off into their own group: the ACNA. They claim to be "continuing" Anglicans, representing the "real" Anglican tradition in the US and Canada.
The reason I'm cyberbullying them on All Saints Day is because they are conspicuously missing a lovely, pious, respectable, and orthodox Anglican saint: Saint Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167 CE)
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St. Aelred was a monk, abbot, historian, and spiritual writer from Northumbria. During his lifetime, the abbey boasted hundreds of monks and lay brothers, because Aelred was known for his friendly and gentle demeanor, wise leadership, and healthy community. He had the ear of kings and bishops all over northern Europe. He preached charity, humility, chastity, and all kinds of other Christian virtues. In short, he was the very model of a respectable medieval churchman.
He was also Very Much In Love With Men, and he wrote a treatise called "Spiritual Friendship," which might be nicknamed "How To Be In Love With Men In A God-Honoring Way." I've read it. It's wonderful and timeless and also very, very gay. He was in love with men. In a gay way.
Fast forward to the year 1980. Up until this point, St. Aelred had been a somewhat obscure local English saint. And then a groundbreaking new book was published which challenged all conventional narratives surrounding the Church and queer people in the Middle Ages: Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality by John Boswell. Boswell wrote at some length about Aelred and his love for men, drawing on his other work besides "Spiritual Friendship" and situating him into what was actually something of a "golden age" of gay culture in western Europe. Yes, really.
Fast forward again to the year 1985. At the Episcopal Church's general convention that year, members of Integrity USA (the original LGBTQ advocacy org in TEC) campaigned to have St. Aelred added to the calendar of saints. The House of Bishops agreed, and they added him to the church calendar with full knowledge that Aelred was gay.
Aelred was also physically disabled, and he wrote about his Spiritual Friend becoming "my hand, my eye, the staff of my old age": in other words, his Spiritual Friend was his caretaker as his health declined near the end of his life (which was still quite short even for a medieval person). He also describes the pain of his Spiritual Friend's early death in a way that remains tender 800 years later. I will leave you to imagine why that might be spiritually relevant to a bunch of nice church gays in 1985.
Fast forward again to 2009. The conservative wing of the Church has had enough of TEC's bleeding-heart liberal reforms, so they secede from the union leave and establish their own church without any icky queers or women priests. St. Aelred had been an official Episcopal saint for 25 years at that point, and the newly-formed ACNA had to consciously, deliberately choose to remove him from their calendar of saints.
Fast forward again to earlier this summer. I start doing research into queer Christian history and queer saints. I realize that Aelred is conspicuously missing from the ACNA's calendar, so I look into the background and decide to get obnoxious about it on Instagram. Because this is VERY embarrassing for a church that claims to be the "real" Anglican Church in North America.
A selection of memes for your enjoyment:
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anglocatholicboyo · 4 months
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S. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh
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thurifer-at-heart · 5 months
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A morning prayer that was shared on r/Episcopalian which I loved, from the Book of Common Prayer (1979). It's from the Ministration to the Sick (under "Prayers for use by a Sick Person"), but I hope it'll be helpful for anyone facing a difficult day. I prayed it this morning; I'll certainly need it often.
This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), p.461.
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vox-anglosphere · 2 months
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The glory of Durham Cathedral: a triumph of the Middle Ages
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beloved-of-john · 5 months
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(I follow from @spocks-got-a-glock)
So I made a sideblog for Christianity stuff.
My religious journey is relatively new and I need a space to talk about it, share my thoughts and potentially reach out to others. I don't think my followers on my main blog are a demographic that would be particularly interested though, so it all goes here from now on. There'll probably be a fair bit of content here about my experience as a trans + gay Christian but I will talk about more general things as well.
Please DNI if:
- you're homophobic/transphobic or align with anything other than Side A of the homosexuality + Christianity debate (I accept side B as a personal choice for LGBT people, though I don't agree with the reasoning, just don't tell others how to live their lives)
- you want to have a debate about my faith or about the existence of God; I'm out of steam
- you're antisemitic or islamophobic, or attack other religions unnecessarily. Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Please DO interact if:
- you're a trans/gay/queer Christian, or an LGBT affirming/progressive Christian
- you want to have deep meaningful conversations about theology (while staring into each other's eyes with homoerotic subtext)
- you want to share your favourite Christian music/books/art/films/TV shows. Tell me more!
- you're just curious or want to chat. I'm friendly :)
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smol-catholic-bean · 11 months
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Jonathan Harker, an Anglican, recieving a rosary/crucifix from a sobbing and distraught Catholic telling him not to go meet Dracula:
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filius-mariae · 6 months
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hi friends please pray that I find meaningful, good-paying work ASAP. ideally in a field of interest. kinda panicking and scared I won’t find work/will get fired/etc. It’s my first time living on my own without student loans/guaranteed income (I used to live where I worked) and I’m reeeeally freaking out
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aprillikesthings · 5 months
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There is something deeply funny to me about the fact that, of people who pray the rosary (at least in the United States); the Catholics tend to be super conservative, and the Episcopalians/Anglicans tend to be gay.
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"Best Friends" – A Play in One Act
CS Lewis: I am an atheist.
JRR Tolkien: Cool cool cool. But have you considered Catholicism?
CS Lewis: You have convinced me magic is real. I shall become...
JRR Tolkien:... a Catholic?
CS Lewis: An Anglican. It's basically the same th—
JRR Tolkien: FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU RIGHT IN THE EAR.
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Nikolay Dmitrievich Losev (Russian, 1855-1901) Prodigal son, 1882 National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk The story of the prodigal son is a picture of God's love for us as His children. God's love for us does not depend on our faithfulness; it is unconditional. He loved us while we were still sinners. Though we are demanding and do not remain faithful, God is still our faithful and loving Father.
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wgm-beautiful-world · 4 months
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Lady Chapel door at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in ENGLAND
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actualmermaid · 2 months
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For St. Aelred's feast this year I did a bunch of original research and wrote a monster of a paper. It's very cool. You should check it out.
It turns out that when you apply concepts like "intersectionality" and "dialectical materialism" to Aelred's sexuality, you can verify a stunning amount of information about the role that sexuality played in his life. Also, his modern history is directly tied to the AIDS crisis.
Enjoy, and let me know what you think!
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holyhyphae · 4 months
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i'm not saying that becoming Christian cured my depression and anxiety. But being able to say 'hey Jesus, can you take the burden of my worry for a little while?' and recognizing that however alone I may feel, there's someone there for me, definitely helps.
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