Many Voices Blog
It’s a Family Affair
Recently, in conversation with affirming and inclusive ministry colleagues, one raised the question of how to successfully present marriage equality to Black churches in Maryland. A year of such equality was just then being celebrated in Washington, DC—a predominantly African …
Class, Sexuality and Lessons Unlearned
Two of the most pressing social issues that black churches must address are sexuality and the class divide. Black church leaders and gay rights campaigns have at least this much in common: they could learn from the 1960s. As black …
State of the Church: Where Are The Young People?
In a Sept. 28 article published by the Barna Group, “Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church,” Barna, a nationally respected non-profit research organization dedicated to spiritual development, outlines six reasons why young people stay away from churches: Churches seem overprotective: …
Reflecting on a Dream…
This weekend across the United States – churches, civil organizations and non-profits will provide various opportunities to celebrate and honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King is a spiritual hero of mine, and having been inducted into …
Enough love to speak
Do you ever wonder, as I do, will the beloved community just show up one day? Are you waiting for people to simply “get it”? Do slow progress and endless votes annoy and unnerve you? Have you become impatient for …
When Love Gets Lost in the Scuffle
I have lived through that peculiar moment in American history, when it came to marriage, many Christians were more concerned about the race of persons who love each other, than the quality and content of their love for each other. …
Gays are us
From the pen of Reverend Dr. Dennis W. Wiley, prior to the King Memorial Dedication As the nation prepares to celebrate the dedication of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., this weekend, I am reminded that …
5 tips to begin welcoming gay/transgender people in the church
Perhaps you love your congregation, but you’re troubled or hurt by its failure to acknowledge and affirm the presence of gay and transgender (LGBT) people. You know the church is failing in its mission to welcome all, but it’s hard …
Some bitter truth from “Sweet Tea”
On a recent Saturday night I went to see playwright E. Patrick Johnson in his one man performance, Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South. One point he brilliantly made during a monologue has haunted my thoughts, “We haven’t …
Growing the economy of belonging
We frequently look at belonging, in society and in the body of Christ, as a limited and diminishing account – few are called and few will ever measure up enough to make the cut! What does Jesus have to say …