Redefining Faith Together

New Year, New Blog

2010-01-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, we've started a new blog with a new name to match our new name! You can find us at

New Blog

Update your bookmarks, and we'll see you on the other side of the web.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T21:19:00.000-08:00

Regardless of your spiritual identity or sexual orientation, winter is a beautiful time to center yourself. Hopefully you will be able to take advantage of this time to reflect, connect with friends and be with loved ones.

This has been an eventful semester for the LGBTQ Ministry--we've seen new faces, had our first lecture series, created our blog/twitter (marshLGBTQ), and hosted a Love Picnic! Not bad.

And there are exciting things coming in the future! For one thing...we're changing our name! More details to come--just make sure you're on our mailing list (e-mail Liz at lmd [at] bu.edu)

Happy Holidays, and see you all in the next year!

Love,
Liz and Tyler

Missing Marriage, Hitting the Homeless

2009-12-15T22:04:00.000-08:00

Washington, D.C. just got a lot more awesome.
(photo by Tyler Sit)

The Washington, D.C. city council voted to approve same-sex marriage today, in the process creating one of the best gifts that I've received for Hanukkah's in a long time.

Well that's good news. What's maybe not-so-good news is Archbishop Donald Wuerl threatens to cut the Catholic Church's social programs, cutting off service to 68,000 of the capital's poor, including the homeless and immigrants.

Ah, yes. Clearly it makes sense: remove one of the best things that the Catholic Church does--help those on the fringes of society--to bolster a crusade against another minority. Well done.

The Archbishop threatened this before marriage was voted on, though, and yet the city council still supported marriage equality. His fear tactic didn't work. If the church's social programs are cut, though, people will suffer. It's a lose-lose-lose situation: Wuerl doesn't get what he wants, the homeless are thrown into the depths of poverty, and the church is further illegitimated in the eyes of the public.

It's kind of like realizing you're going to lose a chess game so you pick up the board and throw it against the wall. Wuerl realizes that the times are changing, so he's throwing off the gloves and leveraging whatever he can to strong arm people away from equality.

The only glitch with the chess metaphor, I suppose, is that when someone loses at chess he doesn't freeze to death on the streets of Washington, D.C. because an Archbishop can't tell the difference between a deluded moral tirade and trashing the very heart of Jesus' gospel.

Even if the government were corrupt and doing the most awful things in the world, why would that ever stop a person of faith from helping the poor?

I'll be praying for you this holiday season, Archbishop Wuerl.

Peace,
TS

Houston elects first openly gay mayor!

2009-12-13T05:52:00.000-08:00

With Houston being the fourth largest city in the U.S., and it holding a law against gay marriage, this couldn't be better news! Check it out here.

Peace via Picnic

2009-12-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who attended the Love Picnic today. It was a RESOUNDING SUCCESS--and we have all of you to thank!

The Westboro Baptist Church came to the BU Hillel House to sling their usual hate speech. Hundreds of BU students came to respond, as hundreds of people always respond when WBC is in town.

But then we did something that the other counter-protesters don't usually do. We stopped paying attention to the WBC at all, and we started loving. They don't deserve any more recognition than they've already gotten--the best thing that we could do was to start our own revolution of love. We loved so loud it didn't matter that the Westboro Baptist Church was holding a couple of signs. We loved so far that we moved to Marsh Plaza, removing WBC from the picture and focusing on the supportive community that BU is.

I was very proud of everyone today--thank you. If you have any videos/photos/news articles that you would like to share with us, please e-mail me!

Love,
Tyler Sit
tsit@bu.edu

Looking Forward After a Step Back

2009-11-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

LGBTQ Ministry member Ben Timmins is a junior in the College of Communication and the founder of "The Little Victories," a bi-weekly arts and opinion blog at www.thelittlevictories.com.

____________________

Gay people, think for a moment about a long-term relationship. Now, think about all the wonderful things you can look forward to with that relationship:

Paying more taxes than married straight couples
Being unable to visit your partner in the hospital
Not being able to adopt your partner's kids.

But think of it this way: at least it isn't illegal to be gay here!

That kind of mentality- that LGBTQ people in the United States aren't breaking the law by being who they are but are left behind by the law when they decide to commit to marriage, is exactly the kind of thinking that warrants the phrase "One step forward, two steps back." It's a good bit of luck, then, that it was also the name of the last OUTlook lecture hosted by the LGBTQ Ministry, which featured the legal opinions of (happily married) BU LAW professor Dr. Robert Volk.

The talk couldn't have come at a better (or worse) time. Just 48 hours before Dr. Volk took the podium at the School of Education auditorium, the voters of Maine had narrowly passed Question One, which nullified the Maine Legislature's 2009 bill that allowed Maine to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Maine became the the second state in two years to grant the right to marry to same-sex couples, only to have that right rescinded by a ballot initiative. The event, originally called "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back", was renamed the day before the event to reflect the mood: Iowa was now the only state in the win column for Equality this year.

The win stunned people who thought that 2009 could be "the year" for same-sex marriage, especially after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire as well as civil-union bills around the country. It shocked the LGBT community, the Maine residents who thought the northern state was beyond discrimination. It even stunned super-pollster and incredible predictor Nate Silver.

But the win for same-sex marriage foes in Maine's biggest feat? It illustrated to the LGBTQ community something that we long feared: that, on multiple occasions, something we see as a right (enumerated by state legislatures or supreme courts) has been rescinded, locked away, or neutered by the will of a voter's majority.

It's also something that differed greatly from the earlier losses for same-sex marriage. In 2004, in response to the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples could be married because it would be unconstitutional to deny them that right, states across the US (stocked with what Dr. Volk called 'vibrating conservatives') moved to change their constitutions, pass laws, anything to stop same-sex marriage entering their borders. But in all of these cases, voters were charged with preventing something that hadn't happened- denying same-sex couples the right to marry in, say, Kentucky, wasn't a big deal--gays were never really allowed to marry.

But with the big win for Proposition 8 in California, the new precedent was set: the California Supreme Court had ruled that denying marriage to same-sex couples was unconstitutional, and the voters--en masse--registered their disagreement. Couples who were given the right to marry in California, among them Talk Show Television's first gay couple (Oprah/Gayle conspiracy theorists, stick with me on this one) Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres, and then had that right removed.

It's all very...sad.

Not only was it sad, Dr. Volk said, but probably not right, either. Volk devoted a bulk of his opinion to the Prop 8 decision's ethics, coming to the conclusion that if marriage is a civil right (and LGBT people generally do hold it to be one), it is not the job of the majority to decide the civil rights of the minority. Citing cases like Brown vs. Board of Education in the Supreme Court and bills like the Civil Rights Act in the Congress, the majority of people (many of whom did not support either outcome) had no say in the rights of the minority.

But the precedent is still there, and the support will probably stay there for some time: popular support for same-sex marriage closely tracks age, and because of this it will take time for a true majority of equality-supportive Americans exists. As Professor Volk said, "some people just need to die off." Want your grandparents and your husband/wife of the same gender? Survey results and simple math say that might be difficult.

But this all leaves us with one big question: is there hope? To answer that, take a minute and look at where you are right now.

As you sit and read this, thirty states have constitutions prohibiting same-sex marriage. The National Organization for marriage, headed by Maggie Gallagher and her conservative-christian-"flapper" haircut, is claiming victories for "traditional marriage" in California and Maine. Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who told gossip-blogger Perez Hilton that she "only believed in opposite marriage"? Yeah, she threw a temper tantrum on national television this week, and she's going to make lots of money off of it.

Before you reach for the Ben & Jerry's and turn up the Sara Bareilles, though, think a little bit more. Five states in the union grant same-sex couples marriage licenses. 14 of them protect students from bullying based on perceived sexual orientation, and you can't be fired from your job for being (or looking) gay in 20 states. Perez Hilton, the world's most flambuoyant--and odious--homosexual, hasn't been killed for being gay. Neither has Kurt from 'Glee'.

It's taken us 40 years to go from getting beaten up in bars to being out in the workplace, taking public office, and getting married in some (possibly un-american) states. As the Broadway musical Hairspray (you didn't think this column wouldn't talk about Broadway, did you?) would tell us, "We've come so far, but we've got so far to go."

Profile on Liz Douglass

2009-11-16T04:49:00.000-08:00

A student wrote a profile about Liz Douglass for one of her classes. Below is the final result.

In a basement room of Marsh Chapel, Liz Douglass pins a rainbow-striped ribbon under her Boston University nametag and motions for the six students hovering by the door to sit in a semicircle of chairs.

Most of the students already met over dinner together last week, but this is the first discussion-style meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Ministry. Students are still getting acquainted, with each other and with their own beliefs. In her poised and even voice, Douglass delivers a short prayer, then she leans back in her chair and listens to the rest of the group make announcements.

Douglass founded the LGBTQ Ministry two years ago to provide the gay community at BU with something she didn’t have as an undergraduate: a safe place to talk about religion and homosexuality. Beyond completing that goal, she has also become a role model and the humble leader of a small group of students.

“She’s the person who’s past our stage and has already resolved her sexuality and her beliefs,” said Brent Sugay, a junior who joined at the ministry’s start. “It’s nice to have a mentor figure at the meetings.”

Sugay says he is an atheist and joined the group to support a friend. The alternating weeks of dinner and discussion, however, have shown him the importance of resolving sexuality and religion for some of his peers.

Douglass begins the dialogue every year by sharing her own story, but her listening skills and humility, rather than her words, cultivates the group’s strong support system, Sugay said.

Instead, Sugay’s friend Tyler Sit does most of the talking. Sit runs the group alongside Douglass as the Marsh Associate for LGBTQ Students and a member of Spectrum, BU’s LGBTQ social group.

“She’s not like a lot of other people who enter the leadership of the church. She’s not charismatic or bubbly; she’s really grounded,” Sit said. “Liz listening as much as she does allows people to realize that this isn’t a place where you have to have all the answers.”

Douglass has found peace with her identity, but she doesn’t try to persuade students to accept or adapt her lifestyle, Sit said. When, for example, the group analyzes Bible passages that many Christians use to condemn gays, she appears to value all opinions the same, despite her own firm interpretation, Sit said.

Only recently has Douglass found such confidence in her views on religion. She came out when she was a senior at Kent State University, involved with Christian student organization and hoping to work at a campus ministry. The Ohio native’s post-graduation plans came to an abrupt halt as she began grappling with her conservative Protestant upbringing, disapproval from her classmates and, most of all, her faith.

“They were just like, ‘You’re wrong, this is bad, get out,’” Douglass said. “I didn’t know anything, only a few passages in the Bible people liked to throw in my face, but how could I argue with that? That’s what the Bible said, and that’s all I knew at the time.”

After graduation, Douglass began questioning all she had been taught. She Googled her options and found a church in Ohio with a strong gay congregation. There, she met a gay pastor, something she never even knew existed.

Her soul searching took her to Boston, where she met a lesbian pastor at United Parish in Brookline, who encouraged her to enroll at the Boston University School of Theology. She started the LGBTQ Ministry at Marsh for a field education requirement, earned her Masters in Divinity Studies last year and now works at Marsh as a Chapel Associate.

“I just wanted to be around people like me, Christian and gay, where it was okay,” she said. “I was so sheltered, I had no idea there were people like that. Not all Christians think the same.”

With ambitions to become a pastor herself, Douglass has learned to stand up for herself but also to respect others’ beliefs, regardless of what they think of homosexuality. Despite her example, some students in the ministry still decide being gay is against their religion. All Douglass can do is offer them an ear and hope for their happiness, she said.

A new member this year, Kate Rogers, said she is unsure of her sexuality but loves analyzing Biblical references on the subject. Though she recently transferred to BU from University of New Hampshire, Rogers has already met with Douglass twice to chat about the Bible over coffee.

“I don’t think there’s a question yet that I’ve asked her that she doesn’t have the answer to,” Rogers said. “It’s opened my eyes to different ideas, but it’s more me asking questions and her being, ‘Here’s my experience.’”

Brother Lawrence Whitney, the University Chaplain for Community Life, said controversies about homosexuality at STH kept him from hiring anyone to head an LGBTQ Ministry for years. When Douglass came to him with the idea, Whitney knew she was the right person to lead the group.

“Liz has a very pastoral presence. She has a very calm demeanor and is very welcoming to people and able to engage.” Whitney said. “A really good example is Angelo. Liz’s ability to work with him empowered him put [a lecture series] together successfully.”

Angelo Cella, a junior in his second year with the group, organized a lecture series this fall sponsored by the ministry. Titled “OUTlook,” the series features talks about homosexuality from several BU professors in their respective disciplines. Watching Douglass and Tyler create a close group of students out of nothing inspired Cella to suggest his own vision, he said.

“It’s the idea you can start a group just from people who want to be together,” Cella said about Douglass’ influence. “If someone didn’t speak up, we’d all be eating dinner alone.”

Take a walk in my shoes

2009-11-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

I want to reply to Tyler's post because I'm feeling discouraged today. It's been a week of disturbing news stories from the gang rape of a high school girl to the burning alive of a fifteen year old boy to the results of Proposition 1 in Maine. Voting time seems to bring out the best and worst in people ranging from politicians, voters, religious groups, churches, secular organizations, news coverage, and media outlets. One side slams the other side, and they retaliate back with things just as bad. It goes back and forth until we think it can't possible get any worse. On the flip side, voting time also uncovers good. We see this in people fighting for equality, striving for justice, and politicians following through on their promises of moving towards the equality of all people, both nationally and globally.

Many fought for the best results in Maine on Proposition 1. The problem in this, is different people have different views on what the "best results" should be. Many of you who know me, know that I don't like to speak ill of groups or organizations, religious included, that are against the work I do and the full inclusion of LGBT folk in the Church and society. I am not writing this blog post in order to unleash my anger or frustration in the loss of another equality vote. But I do have some things to say, respectfully, because it's important to not let things like this be accepted.

I simply do not understand. I often go back to what was said in the movie Milk. Harvey Milk stated the importance of every lesbian and gay coming out to family, friends and co-workers. It's harder to be against something if it's up close and personal.

I hung out with a student today, and at one point I made the comment that it's often difficult to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. Is this part of the problem? The rights of LGBT folk are regarded as just an issue instead of being seen as affecting actual human lives. This isn't just some cause to be an advocate for or against - this is my life. Take a walk in my shoes, try on my style, see how far you get.

The result of Maine continues to leave me baffled, as did California's outcome last year. But I have to take a deep breath, take a step back, and calm my mind and spirit. While it's good to feel angry, it needs to be in moderation. I can't let that own me. I reflect on how far we've come as LGBT folk in this country, and I recognize the progress. And I firmly believe it will not always be this way, as it is in Maine today.

Just as Harvey Milk said many years ago, it is vital to have hope. What are we without it? No, we will not be silenced, but this will only make us more persistent for equality. We will continue to demand it. It is not ok or acceptable to deny us human rights, equality, and especially love.

We will remain a hopeful people because our hope can't be taken from us.

-LD

What Maine Means

2009-11-04T08:41:00.000-08:00

In light of Maine repealing same-sex marriage, the LGBTQ community has a lot of questions to deal with--what do we do now? How do we maintain momentum? What does this mean for the future?

On Thursday, 11/5 at 7:00pm, SED 130 Professor Volk from the School of Law will be discussing the LGBTQ civil rights movement since the anti-sodomy laws were struck down in Lawrence v. Texas (2003). He will focus on what happened in Maine, what is happening in DC, and what the future holds for equality across the country.

No RSVP or tickets required, just come--whether you are LGBTQ or straight, a BU student or not, an activist or otherwise. Becaus this is a matter of civil rights, this concerns all of us.

Clear Your Mind, Create Peace

2009-11-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

Last week, the LGBTQ group at Marsh Chapel invited Michael Bruffee, president of the Zen society to lead us in a time of meditation. Our meetings usually center on discussion, so this was a change from our normal format. Tyler and I asked a member of the group to write the blog post about the meeting. Here is what she had to say:

Voices are a remarkable thing. Especially in Boston, there’s no such thing as ensured quiet time. Just today I probably heard a thousand different phrases, and if we include the ongoing dialogue in my head, at least ten thousand. We are people bombarded with sentences, questions, prepositional phrases, questions spoken as sentences, and opinions spoken as facts. From this ongoing outer and inner dialogue has sprung a generation of self-conscious, often distracted, multi-taskers who no longer give 100% to any one thing. At any given moment it is far easier for me to split my time rather than devote it. For example, rather than give 100% attention to my English paper for an hour, I end up giving 60% on my paper, 10% choosing music, 20% to a Skype conversation, and 10% to Facebook for three hours.

Standing in line at CVS, waiting to purchase a tube of mascara that claimed to take my lashes “up, up, and away”, I admit I considered not attending the meditation meeting. I have attempted several kinds of meditation before, the majority ending ineffectively at best. Plus, I had two papers to write, a lab to finish, and a least three TV shows to catch up on. But I’m so glad I did. The Zen meditation we practiced had no words involved, just counting each breath up to ten and starting over. Sitting on the cushion, in the midst of minute one out of fifteen, I skeptically started counting to ten. Fifteen minutes sounded like almost forever to me, but it flew by. Deciding to actually attempt the exercise, I studied a spot on the floor, breathed slowly, kept my eyes open, and actually stopped my brain’s natural deviations every once and a while. When the meditation was over, I was surprised at how much I loved it.

The thing about dialogue is, no matter how necessary, it can often end up being messed up. Texts are misread, sentences are mistaken, and words lack follow up all the time. God is the only One I know of that can say the word and out spews perfect creations in all their glory. Sometimes its better to not have words bouncing around like a child in a bounce house. Taking time to literally clear your head creates space for awareness of the sounds we usually talk over or get annoyed by, like the dragging of a chair or the playing of an organ. The expectation of ourselves to be able to go and go from one thought, conversation, lecture, song, without taking time to re-charge and be blank generates stress and pressure. Finding time to stop thinking back or ahead, or at all, and knowing you have the power to clear your mind, can create peace that can’t be explained in words.

Love Conquers Hate

2009-10-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Love Conquers Hate

Remembering Eve Sedgwick

2009-10-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may have missed the undergraduate student workshop today, there is another one tomorrow from 7-9pm. I suggest you check it out!

"How To Bring Your Kids Up Gay"

LD

Ecumenism or Heterosexism and/or Sexism?

2009-10-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

What happened last week? Well, to start, I would be remiss to not mention The Matthew Shepard Act, which needs only the President's signature to now pass. Hooray!

The Roman Catholic Church announced last Wednesday that it is now accepting new members from the Anglican Church without them giving up, “the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.” In other words, the Catholics, a shrinking church, are beckoning the Anglicans who are seeking a more conservative outlook on the ordination of women and lesbians and gays. Is this right? Can they boast ecumenism?

"When religious institutions become a haven for male, heterosexist privilege, they no longer serve as beacons of a hopeful Gospel in a world in such desperate need of one.”

LD

The Hopeful

2009-10-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

"Without hope, we give up. I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it life is not worth living. You and you and you have got to see that the promise does not fade."

What can I say? Each and every time I watch Milk, a mix of emotions floods over me - from sadness, anxiety, anger, frustration, disbelief, happiness, to sorrow. After watching this film with the LGBTQ ministry at Marsh this week, this part of Harvey Milk's speech really stuck out to me.

Hope.

What does it mean to be hopeful today? In Massachusetts we have better rights as LGBT folk than any other state in this country. We can even get married. It's easy to lose sight of struggle when we tend to blend in and are better protected. But we should never forget the prejudice, the bigotry, the hate.

We can turn on the television and watch Ellen or Glee or Will and Grace and think, it's not really that bad, is it? Things will change and people will come around. Harvey Milk wanted to start a revolution, and he wasn't going to let anything get in his way. Do we share that same spirit today? Yes, many great things have happened in the last thirty years for lesbian and gay rights, but we're not there yet. Harvey Milk had a vision - he had an idea of how things should look and how people should live and interact with one another on all levels of life, in all areas of life. Is our country modeling that dream? No, we are not there yet. At all.

So what do we do? Watch Milk, feel inspired, talk about it, and put it back on the shelf?

The first step is to always remain hopeful. If we believe in change and something better, our imagination can keep us dreaming. And even more than dreaming, we can form a vision for how things ought to be. This is what we do. Then act. What did Harvey Milk do? He took action. He didn't like how things were, so he stepped in. He didn't like how people were treated, so he made a move. He created a community, banded people together, and inspired them. He found power in numbers and offered hope to an often hopeless community.

The LGBT community is exactly that - a community. But it often seems that we are scattered people, living our separate lives and rarely coming together. The equality march in DC a couple weeks ago was a time when we finally came together to show our numbers and to show our strength. Perhaps we need more of this. Perhaps we need to continue with the revolution in order to keep offering hope and to keep hoping ourselves. Because we can't give up, and we can't fade out.

LD

Lecture Notes from Dr. Knust's Lecture

2009-10-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are Dr. Knust's lecture notes from her lecture on What the Bible Does (Not) Say About Homosexuality. The video is taking a bit longer, but I promise it'll be on here eventually. Keep checking back.

"If God Had Wanted Me To Be Accepting Of Gays..."

2009-10-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

"If God Had Wanted Me To Be Accepting Of Gays, He Would Have Given Me The Warmth And Compassion To Do So"

Reading the Onion almost always brings a smile and laughter. This article found on their website promised just that. But, this kind of rings true, doesn't it?

Marching On the Right Side of History

2009-10-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

All photos by Tyler Sit

The National Equality March was incredible. Hundreds of thousands (estimated 200,000?!) of LGBTQ people--and their allies--descending on the nation's capital in what could very well be the best-dressed march Washington has ever seen. Everyone and their gay best friend showed up: children and senior citizens, Californians and Utahans, businessmen and artists and students. All of us united by the belief that civil rights are human rights, and that inequality shouldn't exist in the land of the free.

Go and watch the C-SPAN video of the rally. The entire thing. If you don't have 4+ hours, however, here are some highlights:

Rev. Troy Perry, founder of Metropolitan Community Church, reading an invocation by Desmond Tutu. Guess who was on stage with him--Tiffany Steinwert of Cambridge Welcoming Ministries!
Youth like Aiyi'nah Ford, Sam Sussman (straight!) and Mario Nguyen representing young people with speeches equally as powerful as Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) and Michelle Clunie (Queer as Folk)
In a short and sweet speech, Judy Shepherd making us all wish Matthew was still alive
"The Age of Asking is Over. I am Telling!"-Lt. Dan Choi reminding us that "Love Is Worth Fighting For"--and Don't Ask Don't Tell is worth ending
Lady Gaga.
The NAACP chairman Julian Bond pointing out that "gay rights are civil rights."
Billie Myers working the crowd so hot it didn't even matter that she messed up the lyrics to the song she sang (or that she was a British woman singing America the Beautiful [?])
Lots of politicians--Babs Siperstein, Kim Coco Iwamoto, Scott McCoy, Christine Quinn, etc.--as well as presidents of amazing organizations (GLAAD, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, National Equality March, etc.)
Cleve Jones and Dustin Lance Black making Milk much more than a movie
Lady Gaga.

Perhaps Staceyann Chin says it best. The video doesn't even do her justice--imagine the roar of this Jamaican spoken word poet echoing all the way down to the Washington Monument. Imagine the crowd, standing united and realizing that yes, we are making history.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go

2009-10-11T18:58:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, Dr. Knust gave a lecture on the Bible and homosexuality. For those of you who couldn't make it, don't worry - we'll be posting the video and notes shortly, I promise. It will be worth your time to watch it.

At the end of the talk, she opened it up for questions. Something she said stuck with me. I can't even remember what the question was, or even, what Dr. Knust's response was, but somehow she got on the topic of faith traditions and safe spaces. She offered us a glimpse into her own denomination's negative stance on homosexuality and shared her own ways of combating it throughout the years. Bottom line - they still aren't open and affirming. Lesbians and gays can't get ordained. And this is the case for many Protestant denominations. What did she say to do? What advice did she offer?

Leave.

Go somewhere else. If you don't feel safe or can't be a part of a community that accepts you and affirms you for every part of your being, you don't need to stay. If you are trying to find acceptance and fullness from people that aren't life-giving, get out.

When I first heard her say this, I got chills and caught myself nodding in approval. Reflecting on my own personal struggles of being in a group that denied my leadership because of my sexual orientation, I remembered taking that step and leaving. So I agreed with Dr. Knust. Nobody should have to endure that kind of abuse.

Then, I had a conversation with someone who disagreed with Dr. Knust's advice to leave. She explained to me her own struggles within her faith tradition because of her sexual orientation, but she hasn't left. How could she leave something that's such a vital part of her life? Nothing else would be the same. And what about those people who feel they shouldn't have to leave? They deserve the same treatment as anybody else. If everyone leaves, who will be left to make the changes? Who will fight for something different?

I've been thinking about Dr. Knust's advice and the discussion I had with my friend. I don't know which is the right answer. Ultimately, I don't think there is a right or a wrong answer here. Just because I left doesn't mean that's the right choice for everyone else. But I think Dr. Knust was on to something, though... don't stay if it isn't safe. We all know our own personal limits and boundaries, when to say enough is enough, when our health is more important than pursuing a fight. Each one of us in the LGBT community is different, and we each have our own journeys. We make the choice to stay or leave. We also make the choice to let somebody else pick up the pieces when we can't fight any longer, when we find ourselves becoming too broken to continue. Be strong, but be wise.

National Coming Out Day

2009-10-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

Happy National Coming Out Day! Take time to reflect, share, hope, encourage, and demand.

What the Bible Does (Not) Say about Homosexuality

2009-10-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Dr. Knust for a fantastic lecture tonight--and thank you to everyone who showed up! A video of Dr. Knust's lecture will be on this blog asap. If you don't want to keep checking our website (which really, why wouldn't you?) than you can:

Join our mailing list--email Liz at lmd@bu.edu.
Follow us on Twitter (marshLGBTQ).
Harass Tyler every time you see him on the street until the video gets put up.

Probably the first two options are best. Tyler has a history of filing restraining orders, so watch out.

Thanks again to everyone who showed up!

2009-10-08T04:43:00.001-07:00

BU Today wrote an article about Prof. Knust regarding her lecture tonight. Check it out here: Biblical Sexuality. Hope to see you all at 7:00 in SED 130!

Looking Back to See Ourselves: Greeks Give Perspective

2009-10-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Imagine a gay culture where youth is glamorized, the athletic physique is ideal, and wealth makes people socially superior. Oh wait, that's our gay culture! It is also, as we found out in Dr. James Henderson's lecture "Commonplace Homosexuality in Ancient Greece," the case in Ancient Greece. Yep, the Ancient Greek culture was one in love with muscles (see: naked Olympics) and young people. Despite the similarities between our culture and the Greeks, though, there are plenty of differences.

That's because in Ancient Greece, Henderson tells us in the first lecture of the LGBTQ Ministry lecture series, homosexual relationships and heterosexual relationships weren't mutually exclusive. There wasn't any "coming out" because there wasn't any assumption of exclusively opposite-sex attractions.

A man married a woman, for sure, and continued to build society by making a family. That wouldn't stop an older man from wooing an 18-year old guy, though, or a man of the same age for that matter. Throw in relationships with slaves or foreigners on top of that, and you can see how the Ancient Greek society actually differs a great deal from America's.

Case in point, members of the Greek army were encouraged to have male lovers because it would inspire loyalty and valor in battle. Not...exactly the case in the US military.

I suppose that is what happens when a society has no religious qualms with having multiple partners. Or, for that matter, biological consequences: there were no STDs in Ancient Greece (!) Again, not exactly the case in America.

So is the Ancient Greek stance on sexuality superior to modern America's? I'm not sure if cultural comparison in terms of "better" or "worse" is necessarily appropriate. Admittedly, I would certainly like to see homosexuality become a non-issue in society. At the same time, my ears did bristle when I heard Henderson say that Ancient Greek women had to be submissive to men, and I wasn't a huge fan of the social separation of men and women before marriage.

Regardless, the important thing is to be aware that the way it is now isn't how it has to be. Nor is it, even, how it has always been.

The lecture was a great kick-off to the lecture series--thank you Dr. Henderson! And a thank you to everyone who showed up!

Peace,
Tyler

Remember, Dr. Knust from the School of Theology will be giving her lecture, "What the Bible Does (Not) Say About Homosexuality" on Thursday at 7:00pm in SED 130. It should be great--see you then!

OUTLook: Shedding Light on the LGBT Community and Culture

2009-09-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce - OUTLook: Shedding Light on the LGBT Community and Culture.

This is a lecture series hosted by Marsh Chapel's LGBTQ Ministry. Each talk will be given by a Boston University professor, and each will focus on some aspect of the LGBT community and/or culture.

On Tuesday October 6, 2009 at 7:00pm in room 101 of the College of Communication (this is a different room than the other lectures!), Professor Henderson of the Classical Studies Department will speak on "Commonplace Homosexuality in Ancient Greece," discussing how the artwork and literature of the Ancient Greeks reveal their sexual mores and cultural taboos.

On Thursday October 8, 2009 at 7:00pm in room 130 of the School of Education, Professor Knust of the School of Theology will speak on "What the Bible Does (Not) Say About Homosexuality," in which sexual slander in the Bible, its political motivations and how the early church interpreted will be discussed.

On Monday November 2, 2009 at 7:00pm in room 130 of the School of Education, Professor Boehmer of the Community Health Science Department will speak on "Beyond AIDS," looking at health concerns for the LGBT community besides AIDS/HIV, including depression, alcoholism and certain cancers.

On Thursday November 5, 2009 at 7:00pm in room 130 of the School of Education, Professor Volk of the Law School will speak on "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back," looking at the legal development of LGBT rights since the anti-sodomy laws were struck down in Lawrence v. Texas.

Each talk will offer time for questions and answers at the end. The discussions will end promptly at 9:00pm. If you have further questions, feel free to contact Liz Douglass, Chapel Associate for LGBTQ Students at lmd@bu.edu.

2009-09-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

If you couldn't make it to the meeting on Wednesday... we missed you!

Here's what we did to kick off the semester:

Got to know each other. We even had the opportunity to talk about our personal stories a little bit. It was a great conversation, and I'm looking forward to having more to follow. Perhaps another story night is in store this year?

We also talked about expectations and what we'd like to see for the year. The outlined expectations between everyone are confidentiality, mutual respect for one another, honesty, and communication.

Many people showed interest in revisiting biblical passages traditionally interpreted to condemn homosexuality. We did this last year, and it went well. This will definitely be in the schedule for this semester again.

Spirituality vs. religiosity was discussed. What does this even mean? "I'm spiritual, not religious." We all shared some great thoughts on the topic.

Movie night! Last year we showed movies during our regularly scheduled meeting times. We'll continue this again. Some on the list we came up with: The Birdcage, Milk, Tying the Knot, The Itty Bitty Titty Committee, Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar, DEBS and many more. Any more ideas, let me know!

Hope to see you all on Wednesday for dinner at the GSU at 5:30!

2009-09-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

No longer are only civil unions the way to go for lesbians and gays in Vermont because gay and lesbian couples may now tie the knot through legal marriages! Yay Vermont, the 4th state to legalize gay marriage.

2009-09-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

As most of us know by now Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy passed away on August 25th due to a cancerous brain tumor. The list of services and civil rights he worked towards are numerous, but for the LGBT community, his deeds will sorely be missed.

"Senator Kennedy has been a champion for civil rights since his first term in the United States Senate in 1962. Over the years, Ted Kennedy has supported legislation that promotes equal rights and has fought closed-minded and discriminatory measures. Senator Kennedy has been an unwavering supporter of the LGBT community, leading the charge on important legislation like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act and forcefully opposing discriminatory proposals, including the Defense of Marriage Act and the Federal Marriage Amendment. Senator Kennedy has received a perfect 100% on all of HRC’s congressional scorecards (101st Congress-110th Congress)." - from the HRC website

To view the full article (and I recommend you do) go to the HRC website

2009-09-01T09:39:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

Thanks for stopping by. We're looking forward to a great year. Right now we're just starting up this blog, but look for more to come soon! Leave a comment or say hello! You can also find Liz Douglass on facebook, so friend her if you'd like.