God of Rainbow: Why I know God loves Queer people!
I first came to MCC when I was 18 years old. I grew up in the US in a fairly conservative state and in a very conservative Christian church. When I came to my senses and realized what others had likely known for a while — that I was queer — I couldn’t have been more pleased. I finally understood something about myself, and it felt like a piece in the puzzle of me had found its rightful place. Unfortunately, the church I was serving as a youth pastor wasn’t as pleased. When I came out to my boss/pastor, he suggested that I find work “more suited to my lifestyle.” It didn’t take me long to heed his advice. I left that church and thought that I had to leave my faith behind to be true to myself.
Then, one of my high school friends (also a lesbian) kept inviting me to a church that she said would accept me as I was. I was skeptical. Eventually I attended, if only to make her stop asking me. I took friends with me because I was fearful. So, six of us arrived at the congregation. It was a very small church that met in a strip mall. We drove around the block a few times until two substantial women in collars spotted us and waved. When we entered the church, which was housed directly next to a veterinary clinic, I was amused; I thought it was a joke, really. It was a small group (12-15), so my group of friends really increased the attendance! I honestly thought I only needed to attend once to get my friend off my back, have a good story to tell people, and then never visit this question again.
I know that ‘proper’ is for the unimaginative. God’s ability to create diversity…is enormous.
Instead, I had the most honest, authentic, powerful spiritual experience ever. It was a mix of funny, awkward, and extraordinarily powerful. When we stood up to sing a song, accompanied by the very out of tune piano … we sang a song I knew … and the dogs at the kennel started to howl. So remarkable! Then, they celebrated communion … and while I did not go forward at first (it being a weird thing for me as a former Bapto-Methodist), I cried through it all. I actually experienced the presence of God more powerfully in this motley group of queers than I ever had in a “proper church” and I knew (I really knew on a level no one needed to tell me about) that I was OK being gay. I also knew that “proper” is for the unimaginative. God’s ability to create diversity (which we can clearly see) and to do so with humor (consider slugs and the duck-billed platypus) is enormous.
MCC continues to teach me every day and in every way that we have Queer Gifts that need to be shared with the world.
If nothing else in the universe is clear, it is clear that the force behind creation LOVES diversity. In Christian and Jewish traditions, humanity is created “in the image of God.” That absolutely means that human diversity (in terms of race, gender, sexuality, body shape/color/size/ability, etc.) is meant to teach us more about the Divine.
I know that God loves Queer people because queer people exist! That’s enough for me. And, I actually do believe that we are meant to know more about God by knowing more about ourselves and one another. We have so many varied experiences — different contexts, histories, challenges, triumphs, and stories — all of which are a rich resource for learning. We become more when we expand our circles.
What I know to be true is that we are all able to experience the Divine. Whether that happens for us at a beach at sunset, or when we see the images from the Hubble Telescope, when we witness the miracle of new birth, or when we fall in love for the first (or 100th) time; there is something more at work in us than we imagine. And whatever that is … loves queer people. Queer people are an expression of that … and we add variety, spice, and intrigue to the whole human experiment.
MCC continues to teach me every day and in every way that we have Queer Gifts that need to be shared with the world.
ABOUT THIS MCC AUTHOR: Rev. Dr. Kharma Amos entered MCC at the age of 18 in fairly conservative Tulsa, Oklahoma USA. She has been a member of congregations in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, and Delaware (USA). She was ordained in 2002 and served in pastoral ministry prior to becoming a member of MCC’s denominational staff in 2011. She now serves on the Senior Leadership Team.
