One of my least favorite phrases is, “There's no point in arguing with people; they never change their mind anyway,” and its close cousin, “protesting doesn’t really change anything.” I’ve heard these words countless times over my life.
This isn’t a story. It’s a whole damn gospel of undoing and becoming.
You didn’t just change your mind. You changed your life, brick by brick, lie by lie, pulpit by protest. And you told the truth about yourself before anyone else could weaponize it. That’s rare. That’s sacred.
Too many in the Church think repentance means groveling before authority. You showed us it means burning the whole illusion down and walking out of the smoke more human.
Thank you for trading the collar for clarity, the sacraments for solidarity, and the safe silence of the sanctuary for a holy, dangerous love.
We don’t need more perfect priests. We need more honest ones.
I just left the West coast where I was a guest at the polyamorous wedding of a friend of nearly 40 years. On Living Day. This is a striking and beautiful meditation,
Father. May we all live long enough to gain the courage to live our truth. And may our friends and loved ones and neighbors rise to the challenge of loving also…
Thank you for sharing your journey, Nathan. I don’t think you are any different than many of us “believers” who go merrily along loving the music, the liturgy, the teachings, the structure, and then . . . Suddenly, through life experience, we are confronted with the parts that don’t fit neatly, and we grow to recognize we don’t fit in that box anymore. I prayed that prayer in the Evangelical Lutheran Church service for years before I accepted I could indeed release my “sins,” or as I choose to think of them my frail humanity. Then I gained peace. My humanity trips me up repeatedly, but I can forgive myself and try to be better. You don’t need our forgiveness. We are all on this journey together, learning to accept God’s Grace, the Maker’s unconditional love, and strive to share it ourselves with all we encounter. That care and kindness will make our days better.
I have read this multiple times. And each time that I do, I come closer to the realization that as much as I love others, I still do not love some of them as I love myself.
That is so hard, when the ones I am not loving adequately are like the old you, Nathan. Those who still ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’, wherever that really means.
But I can’t change them. I have to fix myself. Maybe by continuing to do that, I reach them well?
It is so damned convoluted.
But like you, I do the hard work on myself. And I try to plant seeds. Maybe a few of the seeds of love, or of understanding, will grow roots.
This isn’t a story. It’s a whole damn gospel of undoing and becoming.
You didn’t just change your mind. You changed your life, brick by brick, lie by lie, pulpit by protest. And you told the truth about yourself before anyone else could weaponize it. That’s rare. That’s sacred.
Too many in the Church think repentance means groveling before authority. You showed us it means burning the whole illusion down and walking out of the smoke more human.
Thank you for trading the collar for clarity, the sacraments for solidarity, and the safe silence of the sanctuary for a holy, dangerous love.
We don’t need more perfect priests. We need more honest ones.
—Virgin Monk Boy
I just left the West coast where I was a guest at the polyamorous wedding of a friend of nearly 40 years. On Living Day. This is a striking and beautiful meditation,
Father. May we all live long enough to gain the courage to live our truth. And may our friends and loved ones and neighbors rise to the challenge of loving also…
Thank you for sharing your journey, Nathan. I don’t think you are any different than many of us “believers” who go merrily along loving the music, the liturgy, the teachings, the structure, and then . . . Suddenly, through life experience, we are confronted with the parts that don’t fit neatly, and we grow to recognize we don’t fit in that box anymore. I prayed that prayer in the Evangelical Lutheran Church service for years before I accepted I could indeed release my “sins,” or as I choose to think of them my frail humanity. Then I gained peace. My humanity trips me up repeatedly, but I can forgive myself and try to be better. You don’t need our forgiveness. We are all on this journey together, learning to accept God’s Grace, the Maker’s unconditional love, and strive to share it ourselves with all we encounter. That care and kindness will make our days better.
I have read this multiple times. And each time that I do, I come closer to the realization that as much as I love others, I still do not love some of them as I love myself.
That is so hard, when the ones I am not loving adequately are like the old you, Nathan. Those who still ‘hate the sin, love the sinner’, wherever that really means.
But I can’t change them. I have to fix myself. Maybe by continuing to do that, I reach them well?
It is so damned convoluted.
But like you, I do the hard work on myself. And I try to plant seeds. Maybe a few of the seeds of love, or of understanding, will grow roots.
Thank you for sharing your story, as always