William
Growing up, I was in close proximity to traditional faith communities. My father left the Catholic church for a more spiritual form of faith as a young adult and my mother’s faith was mainly the 10 commandments.
They built space for me to explore faith as my interest grew in my teenage years. Looking back now, I know that was Jesus calling me into relationship with Him. Unfortunately, where I grew up, this exploration for a gay kid led to many spaces with traditional gendered practices and clear beliefs about the condemnation of those who lived Queer lives.
Pronouns: he/him
Photo of William
This experimentation with faith communities limited my interest in them until the summer after my freshman year of college when I was diagnosed with cancer. This experience opened my heart again to the idea of faith and our greater callings in life. I knew some of the guys in my fraternity went to a college ministry called The Inn, so I gave it a shot holding fear and questioning in my heart.
God was working in that space because during my first visit they gave a shout out to one of their sub-ministries called Belong Inn. This space was where I first learned about any kind of theological debate surrounding sexuality. Until that point, I had the impression that all Christians agreed upon the traditional theological conclusions about Queer identity and that, if left unchanged, I was not living into the image of God as intended.
Since that time, God has taught me ways my Queer lens on the world furthers Kingdom work to reconcile a broken world. My identity is a gift that God uses in new and exciting ways constantly. By being in relationship with Jesus I am at work to undue the harmful beliefs about Christianity and Queerness. Living a faith-filled life is being the gifted Child of God I feel called to be and modeling through action the ways God can use us to let Kingdom come on earth.
Photo of William
