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May 2014
Jesus in Love Newsletter
LGBT spirituality and the arts
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In This Issue
Gay Jesus book from 200 years ago
Conchita Wurst as Jesus?!
Madre Juana de la Cruz
Troy Perry encounter
Julian of Norwich
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glbt spirituality & arts
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Jesus in Love supports lesbian, gay, bi trans and queer  (LGBTQ) spirituality, with an emphasis on art and literature. It promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on these beliefs: God loves all people, including sexual minorities. The creative process is sacred. The queer visions, especially the gay Jesus and LGBT saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world.

 

Jesus in Love was founded by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as her personal gift to the world.  

 


Today's LGBT spiritual culture is rooted in the lives and ideas of extraordinary pioneers who lived centuries ago. Their history is still coming to light... as a new queer icon dazzles the world.
Homosexuality of Jesus explored by 18th-century philosopher Bentham 
 
Jeremy Bentham engraving
British philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832) presented Biblical evidence for Jesus' homosexuality about 200 years ago -- in writings that were never published until recently.

This extraordinary champion of sexual freedom was far, far ahead of his time. He laid out many of the same arguments that are still used today by LGBT Christians and our allies. More info
Sacred Heart icon of bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst goes viral

Conchita Wurst Sacred Heart Icon

A Sacred Heart icon with bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst as a queer Christ went viral this month after the Austrian performer won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen.

   

 If Christ came back today, would s/he would appear as a genderqueer person singing an upbeat song like Conchita's winning tune, "Rise Like a Phoenix"?

More info and video

 

Madre Juana de la Cruz: Transgender saint of 16th-century Spain? 

  Madre Juana de la Cruz by Lewis Williams

Madre Juana de la Cruz V�zquez Guti�rrez was an abbess in 16th-century Spain who insisted that God changed her gender in the womb. She also saw Jesus in queer ways, saying that Christ can be father, mother, husband, wife, or friend.  

 

 She blended sexuality and spirituality by envisioning the streets of heaven lined with marriage beds. Her life and theology are revealed in a major new article by scholar Kevin Elphick at the Jesus in Love Blog. More info  

 

Madre Juana is different from another queer nun with the same name: Sor Juana de la Cruz of 17th-century Mexico. More info  

 

(Credit: "Madre Juana de la Cruz" by Lewis Williams)

Troy Perry meets Jesus in Love founder

Kittredge Cherry and Troy Perry
Jesus in Love founder Kittredge Cherry met Troy Perry, founder of Metropolitan Community Churches, on Easter Sunday at Founders MCC in Los Angeles.

 

"What a joy to run into Troy on Easter!" she said. "He has been a source of inspiration to me since the years when we ministered together at MCC headquarters in the 1990s."

More info and group photo 

Julian of Norwich celebrates Mother Jesus
 Julian of Norwich and Cat by Douglas Blanchard  

Julian of Norwich is a medieval English mystic who celebrated "Mother Jesus."  It's not known if she herself was queer, but her genderbending ideas were. 
  
"As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother," Julian wrote more than 600 years ago. More info
  
(Credit: Julian of Norwich and cat by Douglas Blanchard)
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Thank you!

Gonzalo Orquin's controversial photos of same-sex kisses in church will be on exhibit in New York through June 24 at the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. The Jesus in Love Blog covered it last fall when it was censored in Italy. Click for updated article. 

 

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

 

A saint for kidnapped girls of Nigeria: Josephine Bakhita

 

Christina Rossetti: Queer writer of Christmas carols and lesbian poetry

May you be filled with the spirit that has inspired countless others across time, including Conchita Wurst who wowed the world this month with her new song "Rise Like a Phoenix":

I rise up to the sky

You threw me down but

I'm gonna fly

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Kittredge Cherry
Publisher, Jesus In Love Newsletter
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