Unbound and More Light Presbyterians have partnered to create a Lent devotional written by queer people of faith and allies. Ashes to Rainbows: A Queer Lenten Devotional offers reflections for Ash Wednesday, each Sunday of Lent, and Holy Week. This queer devotional features an array of voices and perspectives, thought-provoking theologies, and a new way to think about the time in which we call Lent. Join us on this lenten journey as we reflect, challenge, and await the resurrection of the Christ who loves us all…no matter who God created us to be.
Psalm 51:1–17 As a queer person reading Psalm 51:1-17, it can feel triggering to encounter so much language about sin and being “born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived
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Matthew 4:1-11 Prove it. If you are who you say you are, prove it. I have always loved Lent. I was a child who took everything far too seriously; there are more pictures of young Slats staring intently at something than pictures of me laughing or smiling. My mother called me her “serious one”, and
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Genesis 12:1-3 (CEB); Romans 4:1-14 (CEB) My mother told me that she came to the United States with only two suitcases. We stood in her closet, and she put her hands on the thin, long dresses she kept for thirty years, better suited for southern China summers than Chicago winters. She came in the 1980s
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John 4: 5-42 “I have a question about storytelling,” I said while preparing for a big meeting later in the week. I was at a workshop to help me focus for a presentation I had to give. As the leader nodded, I continued, “I know that storytelling is a compelling way to help people connect,
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John 9:1-41 The ninth chapter of John’s Gospel is centered entirely on the story of Jesus healing a man born without the ability to see. The passage begins with the disciples asking Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” He responded, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he
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John 11: 1-45 For many LGBTQ Presbyterians, the process of coming out, “coming to” (which many racialized communities prefer), recognizing, affirming, or revealing one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity is a holy process that involves prayer, reflection, and spiritual conversations with others. During this Season of Lent, remembering the process often brings the person into
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Matthew 21:1-11 Jesus is the grand marshal of today’s parade. He’s the celebrity, the big draw. The crowds come en masse. As he enters Jerusalem, people can’t help but notice others swarming around him. As they see him riding through, they’re so taken with the whole thing they’re ripping branches off of trees to throw
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Isaiah 42:1-9 As we enter into Holy Week, we enter into what mystics refer to as “the dark night of the soul.” (see: The Cloud of Unknowing, or Teresa of Avila’s The Interior Castle). This is the space of life in which it seems that we are turning towards seemingly endless struggle, difficulty, or complexity,
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Isaiah 42:1-7, 49:1-7, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12 This text from the prophet Isaiah comes to us from a portion of the book biblical scholars have coined as Servant Songs. It comprises several passages from Isaiah 42:1-7, 49:1-7, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12. These passages describe God’s servant. Called to be a light to the nations. Wheww, that’s
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Isaiah 50: 4-9a; Hebrews 12:1-3 Do you ever read scripture and say to yourself or out loud, “YES!” ? When you see words that feel true, or resonate with you in a new and different way? That is how I felt when I read the passages from Isaiah and Hebrews that we are spending time
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Exodus 12:1-4; Psalm 116:1-2; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26;John 13:1-17, 31-35 These passages from the Gospel of John and Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians privilege us with two of the most intimate moments Jesus shared with his disciples. When the Last Supper is commemorated, we usually begin with “On the night that he was betrayed,” but in
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Psalm 22 One of the most marginalized, hated, ignored, and yet wonderful, powerful, and vibrant group of people within our society are Black Trans people, in particular, Black Trans women. Despite their gift of Blackness and the authenticity of trans identity, Black trans people often live in a reality that does not champion their existence
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*Content Warning: Suicide A few weeks after I started my job with More Light, I had a troubling realization. It had been about 3 weeks since I’d left my job working as a Youth Programs Director with LGBTQIA+ youth, and I paused in the midst of my workday, looked up and said out loud: “Whoa.
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