Hello everyone

[tesseract]

Hello. My name is Jason. I am new to this site but have been receiving mailings from Soulforce for quite awhile now. I identify as Christian but am also interested in many different spiritual paths, especially Buddhism. Right now I don't attend church because there aren't any gay-affirming churches in my town. The closest form of worship I have is the Out In Scripture emails I get from the Human Rights Campaign.
Reconciling my sexuality with my faith was difficult at first but with the help of a non-denominational Christian group called Bykota I attended I was able to learn to read the Bible from a gay perspective, learning to read it as if it was speaking to me as a gay man. Bykota has since disbanded.
I look forward to using these forums as a way to understand my faith better and to possibly make new friends. Well, that's all for now. God bless!

[keltic63]

Welcome Jason!

Where in PA are you? Maybe we can find a place for you to worship!

[Gennee]

Welcome to soulforce, Jason. I'm happy that you have reconciled your faith with your sexuality. I did the same when I discovered that I was transgender. I hope that you will like it here.

Gennee

:love::wave:

[tesseract]

Thank you for the warm welcome. I live about thirty miles south of Erie. I've heard of the MCC church in Pittsburgh and have always wanted to try it, but haven't been able to yet. I know there are some Gay-friendly churches in Erie, but I don't know which ones they are. Any input would be extremely helpful. Thanks again.
"In my Father's house there are many
dwelling places" The Gospel of John

[BruceChris]

http://www.welcomingresources.org/usa.htm

This link has a roll down list of dozens of Welcoming churches in Pennsylvania.

The IWR is the religious arm of the NGLTF

The Institute for Welcoming Resources was founded by this obstreperous, can't-ever-seem-to-get-her-to-know-her-place,-and-STAY-there Lesbian that used to go to my church.

Jason, are you somewhere near Saegertown, or Meadville?

Unitarian Universalist Church of Meadville
Pastor, Kate Walker
346 Chestnut St.
Meadville, PA 16335
www.uumeadville.org

So Give it a shot, Bruce Chris

[Daniel]

Welcome.

I've trod down the Buddhist path myself, having grown up in the Assemblies of God church. Anthony has a similar story. Would be happy yak about it and other sundry matters.

Peace to you...

[Zerbie]

Welcome, Jason.
:)

Hope you find a place you like.

[tesseract]

Thank you so much! I took U-Dog's advice and called up the Episcopal church in my town and asked if they were open and affirming. They said yes, so I'm going to try it out. I have gone to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Meadville, BruceChris, and while I greatly respect their acceptance of LGBT folk, it really wasn't what I was looking for. I am really hopeful about the Episcopal church in town since it is specifically a Christian church, although the Unitarian Church is more Christlike than a lot of unwelcoming Christian Churches in my area. Thank you also, Zerbie, for welcoming me. I hope I find a church I feel at home in also.
As to the Buddhist part of my experience, I don't add it in as much as I should. The main thing I take from Buddhism is learning to meditate and staying in the moment.
Anyhow, I've rambled on enough for now. Thanks again!:wave:

"Go, Child of God, upon the singing desert,
Where, with eyes of flame,
The roaming lion keeps thy road from harm."
-Thomas Merton

[paul]

Hi Tesseract,

Welcome:wave:.

I'm glad you are here and look forward to gettin to know ya. As you have already seen, we are a diverse group. I come from a very fundamentalist background but of course, never quite fit in :rolleyes:...not exactly an affirming bunch unless you want to be affirmed as "broken."

I see by your profile that you like to write and are a musician. There's a few of both around here. Keltic, Zerbie and Daniel are all accomplished musicians, for instance. So do jump in we pretty much affirm everyone here unless you hate glbt or are a child molester :D. And, just so you know, you won't find a generic caring here. You will find many who will want to know and care about tesseract. :love:

paul

[Pablo Rafael]

Hi Jason,

I should have said hello earlier. That before-Christmas time of frantic activity is the culprit. I am glad that others have had some helpful advice on churches. I am a firm believer that being gay and Christian are totally compatible.

Glad that you joined us. Please let us know more about yourself.

"Tesseract" is that the way that the characters traveled in A Wrinkle in Time, or am I getting stories mixed up?

Always good to have another musician. I don't know why Paul didn't mention ME in the previous post. :D (What do you mean, it's not all about me :confused: )

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[tesseract]

Hi Tesseract,

Welcome:wave:.

I come from a very fundamentalist background but of course, never quite fit in :rolleyes:...not exactly an affirming bunch unless you want to be affirmed as "broken."

I see by your profile that you like to write and are a musician. There's a few of both around here. Keltic, Zerbie and Daniel are all accomplished musicians, for instance. So do jump in we pretty much affirm everyone here unless you hate glbt or are a child molester :D. And, just so you know, you won't find a generic caring here. You will find many who will want to know and care about tesseract. :love:

paul

Hi Jason,

"Tesseract" is that the way that the characters traveled in A Wrinkle in Time, or am I getting stories mixed up?

Always good to have another musician. I don't know why Paul didn't mention ME in the previous post. :D (What do you mean, it's not all about me :confused: )

Tu Amigo, Pablo


Yep, tesseract is the way they travelled in A Wrinkle In Time, one of my favorite books from childhood, along with The Chronicles of Narnia series, and The Lord of the Rings.
Right now I don't have a piano, keyboard, or a workable guitar, but I plan to look for one in the near future, almost definitely an acoustic guitar. I love to use all sorts of wacky tunings to create neat sounding textures (something that was influenced by Sonic Youth back when they used to be my favorite band). I've been playing guitar since seventh grade and piano since second. I love to improvise on both and just get lost in music.
A few of my favorite artists are Antony and the Johnsons, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Fold Zandura (they have great lyrics and also happen to be a Christian band), Erykah Badu, Mahvishnu Orchestra (John Mc Laughlin is probably my favorite guitar player), Indigo Girls, and the list goes on.
Well, that's all for now. It's great to be finding a friendly place to learn more about my faith and connect with like-minded people:). Well, time to get some sleep. Bye for now.

[Jennifer5]

Welcome!

I hope to see you around more! :wave:

[scott snedeker]

:lol:I do SO love being right! I wish it happened more often. :lol:


That's why you and I agree so frequently!

Because I'm always right ....and patient in allowing peoplple to figure that out....
and modest too!

I mean, all my years and.... damn still such a looker!!!!!!!

:lol::lol::lol::lol: