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March 2012
Jesus in Love Newsletter
LGBT spirituality and the arts
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In This Issue
Holy lesbian icons
Most Fab play
Burned for sodomy
Closeted Jesus?
Polyeuct & Nearchus
Marriage-equality Valentine


glbt spirituality & arts
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Jesus in Love serves lesbian, gay, bi trans and queer  (LGBTQ) people who have spiritual interests, and our allies. We promote queer spirituality and the arts, with an emphasis on books and images. We believe that God loves all people, including sexual minorities. We believe that the creative process is sacred. We hope that the new visions, especially the gay Jesus and queer saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world.
Greetings!
March brings the season of Lent and Women's History Month. Take a queer look at these themes and much more in this month's newsletter.
Angela Yarber paints holy lesbian icons
 
Shulamite by Angela Yarber
Holy women, including some lesbians, are painted in a lively contemporary style by Angela Yarber: lesbian artist, scholar, dancer and minister based in North Carolina.

"It is long overdue for LGBT persons to be affirmed and told their lives, bodies, and beings are holy and beloved," she explains. Her icons include lesbians such as Sappho, Mary Daly and the Shulamite. More info

(Credit: "Shulamite" by Angela Yarber)
'Most Fabulous Story Ever Told' protested

Most Fabulous Story Ever Told Poster
Conservative Christian protestors couldn't stop a recent North Carolina production of "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," a gleefully queer play based on the Bible. A North Carolina bishop said, "The implication that the Blessed Virgin Mary is a lesbian is gravely offensive." But some LGBT Christians find it inspiring. More info 

 

(Credit: Poster from Queen City Theatre Co.)

Lent: A time to recall queers executed for sodomy

Shameful End of Bishop Atherton, 1640
Thousands of people were executed for homosexuality over the centuries. Lent, the solemn season that began on Ash Wednesday, is an appropriate time to reflect on the sins of the church and state against queer people. More info

(Credit" "The Shameful End of Bishop Atherton and his Proctor John Childe," Wikimedia Commons)
New book shows closeted gay Jesus

Dark Knowledge book cover
If Jesus was gay, was he open and self-affirming... or ashamed and secretive? "Dark Knowledge," a new book by Kenneth Low, presents a thought-provoking portrait of a closeted gay Jesus who felt shame over his same-sex relationships and was executed for homosexual acts. More info


Saints were "brothers by affection"

Sts. Polyeuct and Nearchus by Robert Lentz
Saints Polyeuct and Nearchus, Roman soldiers in Armenia, are a primary example of same-sex lovers in the early church. 

The men had a strong desire to spend eternity together.  Shortly before Polyeuct died, he spoke his last words to Nearchus: "Remember our secret vow." More info

(Credit: Saints Polyeuct and Nearchus by Robert Lentz, trinitystores.com) 
St. Valentine broke unjust marriage laws
St Valentine by Mickey McGrath
Marriage equality has a surprising role model in Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century Roman priest who defied the restrictive marriage laws of his era to wed couples who were forbidden to marry. He can be compared to brave clergy who bless same-sex relationships in our time.
More info

(Credit: "Saint Valentine" by Mickey McGrath, TrinityStores.com)

Click to see recent highlights from the Jesus in Love
Blog:

Marcella Althaus-Reid: Queer theology pioneer

 

Peter Gomes: Gay black Harvard minister preached "scandalous gospel"

"Jesus in Love" novels are now e-books too Many people have enjoyed reading these books during Lent.

I close with a pertinent quote from Peter Gomes, the black gay author and Harvard minister author who died one year ago on Feb. 28. "The question should not be 'What would Jesus do?' but rather, more dangerously, 'What would Jesus have me do?'"
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