St. John’s church in Toronto offers a “variety of worship experiences”. One of them is a Eucharist for and run by LGBTQetc individuals – the rector herself is a lesbian and, thus, a member of the many-lettered class – who are intent on probing the question “What is it about us that’s different and why does that enrich the church”.
The last queer Eucharist was on September 16 but the event is supposed to occur monthly so, for those anguished to have missed it, get in line now before all the pews fill up.
From here:
St. John, West Toronto has hired a youth minister whose job includes reaching out to LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) young people. The church received a $26,870 grant from the diocese’s Our Faith-Our Hope campaign to create the position. The Rev. Samantha Caravan, incumbent, says the outreach initiative is an extension of the church’s passion for social justice.
The church has many gay and lesbian members and a long history of advocating for equality. “We know that LGBTQ youth do not have an easy walk of it in high school, so that’s what we set out to do: create a space for them to explore the possibility of faith in their lives,” she says.
The church has hired Meagh Culkeen, a member of the LGBTQ community. She has helped to start a “queer Eucharist” at the church. (The word “queer” is an increasingly common and acceptable term used by young people who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.) The monthly service is led by LGBTQ people and their supporters and is open to everyone.
Meagh Culkeen is hoping that it can be a place where the youth not only connect with God but with each other and the wider church. “It’s a moment where we can celebrate our contributions to the church and say, ‘What is it about us that’s different and why does that enrich the church?’”
I trusted you would latch onto this story! One minor correction to offer: the rector is a married, heterosexual mother of several children. But you can take comfort that many of her Tyndale classmates made the same assumption!
Gee and I thought the Gospel Message was for everyone. Or am I missing something.
Two points:
1) I am feeling excluded because their alphabet soup does not have an “H” for heterosexual, and
2) That this is supposed to be a monthly thing, and has already faltered in that modest goal indicates there is not much interest. So instead of telling people that their sins are ok they should be offering the True Word of God, who says “Give up your sinful ways and follow me”.
Gobbling down “condemnation” ( + I Corinthians 11:29 ) in The Holy Name of Jesus Christ, but in the actual unholy practices of Bel, can produce permanent indigestion:
both for the ‘Communicant’ and for The Host + Revelation 3:16.