Harmony of Grace

  I understand that some of the terminology encountered during Pride Month may be confusing to those who are not familiar with conversations around LGBTQ+ issues. This post is going to be explaining some of the terminology that you might encounter this Pride Month. Some of my definitions may not be perfectly accurate, but I have tried to present as much terminology as possible in a manner that is easy to understand. Please continue to do your own further reading around this terminology. Some Unhelpful Responses to Avoid Non-affirming people (those who do not affirm LGBTQ+ people) seem to be so afraid of all the terminology around LGBTQ+ issues. Rather than taking the time to learn about it, they will complain that the ever-expanding LGBTQ+ vocabulary is “getting ridiculous” and refer to LGBTQ+ folk in derogatory terms such as “the alphabet people.” Meanwhile, the same people will easily list the names of the 25 players in their favourite sports team and happily learn the lyrics ...

Note: This post was originally published as a bulletin article with the Jesuit Institute of South Africa on 30/05/2024.    Pride Month brings up many different and often divisive feelings among various groups of people, particularly in Christian circles. What is Pride Month Really About? One of the reasons that Pride Month receives so much hatred and pushback is because of misunderstandings of what its main purpose is. Pride Month is not about convincing your children to be gay or transgender. It is not about erasing the reality of cisgender heterosexuality. Pride Month is not about elevating one group of people over another or about being prideful in the sense of being selfish and arrogant. It should be noted that like any movement, some people do have a tendency of taking things to extremes. The problem is when people focus on the extremes and base their opinions on them as if they are the norm. Pride Month exists because we, as a society (and often as a church), hav...

  The month of June is celebrated as Pride Month by LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) folk and allies. Anyone who has followed me over the past several years will know that it is no secret that I have become fully-affirming of LGBTQ+ folk and relationships. This affirmation has raised many concerns from my more conservative friends, family and colleagues. I am pleased to say that I am on more prayer lists than I can count because of my beliefs on this topic! I have decided that for this Pride Month, I am going to spend some time earnestly discerning and presenting my beliefs with regards to gender and sexuality. I am not doing this to start arguments or to convince others to agree with me. I am blessed to be a part of a church that encourages challenging conversations to take place. The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (of which I am an ordained minister) has acknowledged that our denomination consists of people (both clergy and lay) with widely divergent...