dmcdonald
11-09-2008, 09:54 PM
My name is Darren McDonald, and I am a homosexual, and I'm proud of it.
It took me a bloody long time to raise up the nerve to say even the first part of that, but I now am at a place in life where I am starting to learn to celebrate the unique road God has laid out in front of me. Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of helping close a rally in response to California's Prop 8 by leading the crowd in singing "we are a gay and lesbian people, and we are singing for our lives," and I was able to celebrate how far God has brought me. For the longest time, I couldn't directly come out of the closet (I'd end up coming out to my friends by saying "what do you think, [someone else] would think if I came out to her?")
I grew up at a conservative evangelical Presbyterian Church that has been threatening to leave the denomination over the "gay agenda" (if only we were that organized!) for almost a decade now.
I went to a conservative evangelical Christian college (Westmont, in Santa Barbara), thoroughly convinced that I was straight. Although I'd get into passionate arguments about the attractiveness of Matt Damon and had a bit of thing for cross-dressing.
After Westmont, I went to Fuller Seminary, feeling called to convert the church to humanity. There, I was able to acknowledge my sexuality, but I went through the agony of praying for change and trying to force myself into embodying the gift of celibacy that God has rather clearly (and blessedly!) denied me.
I began the painful process of coming out of the closet and moving towards self-acceptance after I graduated from Fuller in 2006. By this point, I had received a more specific call towards ministry as a hospital chaplain, and I was able to grow quite a bit in both my self-awareness and self-acceptance through the chaplaincy formation process of clinical pastoral education.
I am now a chaplain in Arcadia, CA and a member of the Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles. I am also pursuing ordination in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.
I also dabble in songwriting as a singer/guitarist in the folk-rock idiom. If you're interested in hearing some of my stuff, you can hear a couple of songs at http://www.myspace.com/darrenmcdonald
So, that's me in a bit of a nut shell (emphasis on nut?)
Darren McDonald
It took me a bloody long time to raise up the nerve to say even the first part of that, but I now am at a place in life where I am starting to learn to celebrate the unique road God has laid out in front of me. Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of helping close a rally in response to California's Prop 8 by leading the crowd in singing "we are a gay and lesbian people, and we are singing for our lives," and I was able to celebrate how far God has brought me. For the longest time, I couldn't directly come out of the closet (I'd end up coming out to my friends by saying "what do you think, [someone else] would think if I came out to her?")
I grew up at a conservative evangelical Presbyterian Church that has been threatening to leave the denomination over the "gay agenda" (if only we were that organized!) for almost a decade now.
I went to a conservative evangelical Christian college (Westmont, in Santa Barbara), thoroughly convinced that I was straight. Although I'd get into passionate arguments about the attractiveness of Matt Damon and had a bit of thing for cross-dressing.
After Westmont, I went to Fuller Seminary, feeling called to convert the church to humanity. There, I was able to acknowledge my sexuality, but I went through the agony of praying for change and trying to force myself into embodying the gift of celibacy that God has rather clearly (and blessedly!) denied me.
I began the painful process of coming out of the closet and moving towards self-acceptance after I graduated from Fuller in 2006. By this point, I had received a more specific call towards ministry as a hospital chaplain, and I was able to grow quite a bit in both my self-awareness and self-acceptance through the chaplaincy formation process of clinical pastoral education.
I am now a chaplain in Arcadia, CA and a member of the Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles. I am also pursuing ordination in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.
I also dabble in songwriting as a singer/guitarist in the folk-rock idiom. If you're interested in hearing some of my stuff, you can hear a couple of songs at http://www.myspace.com/darrenmcdonald
So, that's me in a bit of a nut shell (emphasis on nut?)
Darren McDonald