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Christmas 2015
Jesus in Love Newsletter
LGBT spirituality and the arts
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In This Issue
Merry Christmas
Donate
Lazarus: Beloved disciple?
New books
Kwanzaa
Ruth and Naomi
John of the Cross
Queer Lady of Guadalupe
Saints for straight allies


glbt spirituality & arts
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Merry Christmas!

from Kittredge Cherry and Jesus in Love


Rainbow Baby Jesus by Andrew Craig Wiliams

I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ.  
-- Luke 2:10-11

"Rainbow Baby Jesus" celebrates the birth of a child sent by God for the good of all, including the "rainbow tribe" of LGBTQ people.

When Jesus was born, God became flesh. It was a total, shocking identification with all people, including the whole rainbow spectrum of gender identities.  Merry Christmas!

 
(Image credit: "Rainbow Baby Jesus" by Andrew Craig Williams)
Christmas offering for Jesus in Love

K Cherry with poinsettia I am collecting a Christmas offering to support my work at Jesus in Love for LGBT spirituality and the arts.

Please give now at my GoFundMe page.

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Lazarus: Jesus' beloved disciple?

Lazarus by Christopher Olwage
Some Bible experts believe that Lazarus of Bethany was the "beloved disciple" of Jesus -- and maybe even his gay lover. They also suggest that Lazarus was the unnamed naked young man who ran away when Jesus was arrested in Mark's gospel.

Lazarus coming out of the tomb when Jesus raised him from the dead can symbolize coming out of the closet as a LGBT person. More info

(Credit: Lazarus from "Crucifixion" by Christopher Olwage)
New LGBT Christian books of 2015

Late additions to the Top 25 LGBTQ Christian books of 2015: 
 
 "God and Difference: The Trinity, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Finitude" by Linn Tonstad
 
"Microaggressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church"
by Cody J. Sanders and Angela Yarber
 
Kwanzaa: Rare icon of queer black Jesus

Neither by David Hayward An icon of a queer black Jesus is presented here for Kwanaa, a weeklong celebration of African American culture starting Dec. 26.

"Neither" by David Hayward shows a dark-skinned Christ who is male on one side and female on the other, with a rainbow halo and a transgender symbol. The title comes from the Bible: "There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." More info
 
(Credit: "Neither" by David Hayward)
Ruth and Naomi: Love between women   

Ruth and Naomi
Love between women is honored in the lives of Biblical figures Ruth and Naomi. Ruth's famous vows to Naomi are often used in weddings -- heterosexual as well as same-sex marriages. Few realize that these beautiful promises were originally spoken by one woman to another: "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God..." More info
John of the Cross: A gay soul's dark night

John of the Cross by Robert Lentz "The Dark Night of the Soul," a spiritual classic with homoerotic overtones, was written by 16th-century Spanish mystic John of the Cross. Like many other mystics, he used the metaphor of erotic love to describe his relationship with Christ. More info

 

More info in Spanish 

 

(Credit: "Saint John of the Cross" by Robert Lentz)

 

Artists imagine Queer Lady of Guadalupe


Coyolxauhqui Returns as La Virgen de Guadalupe by Alma Lopez
Chulo de Guadalupe by Tony De Carlo Queer art based on Our Lady of Guadalupe brings a message of holy empowerment that speaks to LGBT people today -- and sometimes angers conservatives. Artists re-envisioned the Aztec version of the Virgin Mary in amazing new ways. More info

  

(Credit: "Chulo de Guadalupe" by Tony DeCarlo and "Coyolxauhqui as La Virgen de Guadalupe" by Alma Lopez
Patron saints for straight allies 

Adele Starr After her son came out in 1974, Adele Starr helped launch Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. She died on Dec. 10, 2010. She can be considered a "patron saint for straight allies of LGBT people." More info
I hope that you and your loved ones have a most merry Christmas.  May this joyful season bring you peace and happiness!

Blessings, 
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Kittredge Cherry
Publisher, Jesus In Love Newsletter
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