"What if..."

 I grew up in  a fervently religious household.  It seemed every time the church doors were open, we were there.  I spent whole summers of my youth going from church to church while my Mother presided over their Vacation Bible Schools.  I was taught that God is Love and we should share that love with everyone.  I was even President of my Sunday School class until I left to join the Navy.  While in the Navy, I worked with a local church's youth group.  However much I purported to believe on the outside, inside I was a very conflicted young man.  Early on as a boy, I realized I was different than most other little boys, I just did not know how I was different.  Then came puberty and I came to realize that the crushes I had were not on the pretty little girls like everyone else, but rather on the handsome young men that chased them.  I was conflicted because what I felt inside was in direct opposition to many of the things I was taught to believe.  Because I remained closeted as long as I lived at home, I was never forced to endure 'reparative therapy', however I spent many a year trying to 'pray away the gay' on my own.  

When I finally figured out I could not magically transform into a straight man, accepted my sexual identity as a Gay man and came out of the closet, I pretty much eschewed participation in religious activities because I could not rectify who I thought God had made to be with what the church feared I was or what I represented as the evil that would destroy men's souls as they led them down the path to destruction.  Thankfully in my later years I was able to find LGBT affirming Christians and Congregations where we were welcome.  I was thus able to resolve the conflict between my belief in who I was with the spiritual teachings I was raised with.  I have often thought about how my life would have been had I  found a church home where I was welcome as a Gay man instead of feeling shunned by religion for all those years.

Over this past weekend I read an article over at Huffington Post that really struck home with me on this same subject.  In his article "What if Gay Kids had a Church that Loved Them?", author, pastor and activist Derek Penwell related the story of a young man whom he did not know who had left him a voice mail.  The young man complimented Penwell on the ministry of his church in advocating for LGBT people.  The young man then went on to explain how he had come out to his parents at 12 and been promptly sent into a 'reparative therapy' program to 'pray away the gay'.  It did not work of course, and the experience damaged the young man so much so that he "assiduously avoided church ever since".

The money shot of the whole message was when the young man said “I can only wonder how my life would have been different if there’d been a church around that had loved me for who God created me to be, instead of trying to change me from what it feared I represent.”  I myself have often wondered the same thing.  Penwell went on to explore the subject touching on LGBT teen suicide, bullying and homelessness as well as 'reparative therapy' and how some religious communities believe their motive for such 'therapy' is rooted in 'love'.  Penwell then explained that this 'therapy' is not 'AA for the Gay' because unlike AA, it does not work.  Instead it causes more damage to already fragile minds leading to further problems for the people involved.  Sometimes they are never able to resolve their conflict and rather than live as an unwanted person choose to end their misery with suicide. 

Penwell concludes his article with this: "I thought about all the LGBT young people going through hell because the people they trust to watch out for them have belittled and abandoned them. And I wondered how life would be different if there were churches around that loved these kids for who God created them to be, instead of trying to change them from what church people fear they represent.  I pray to God we find out."  I, too, pray the same prayer.

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Your Monday Musical Moment play list includes 3 Sonatas for Harp and Flute by Luigi Boccherini from his Opus 5:  Numbers 1 in B Flat Major; 2 in D Major and 4 in E Major.  The performance today is by Luca Bacci on Flute and Rossella Isola on Harp.  Following the play list is this week's collection of youthful hard bodied hunks frolicking about in their Monday's Undies to brighten your day and mine.  Thanks for spending part of your day here at Nichevo, see you again on the morrow.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!