Glad that the sites could be of some help Jenn.  Maybe I will see ya round one day on  "Gay Christian Network"  The have great forums. And to everyone else, come join us, I'm sure you'll find it interesting. That's:  www.gaychristian.net

Soul Peace,  Ev.

Hi!  I just joined the group.  My denomination is Christian Church/Churches of Christ, which is very conservative.  I am looking for an open and accepting church that celebrates the Lord's supper every week, in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay area.  Does anyone know of any such church?

Hi Jenn,

Thanks for your inquiry.

As for Tareasea and I we believe that we are saved by grace not by works.

According to the Bible, we are all sinners (none are perfect, all of us do things that are wrong in God's eys) so therefore God sent His Son who gave His perfect life for us who are imperfect so that we can be saved, set free to live an abundant life in Christ, and so that we can be with God for eternity.

The BIble tells us that to be saved we must 1. Believe (that Jesus is the Son of God and gave His life for us) and 2. Confess to others that Christ was who He said he was.  Jesus told us when He was here with us to 1. Love God with all our hearts and 2. To love others as ourselves. 

 I always find it interesting that churches are filled with people who condemn homosexuals but yet they themselves have commited fornication, adultery, have lied, etc.  Yet they forget about their own sins and are quick to condemn others.  The Bible (God) does not differentiate between fornicators, adulterers, liars, homosexuals,etc. Only we as humans 'rank' sins. 

In the 50's if you we're found to have sex before marriage or if you were to get divorced you would be thrown out of the church.  Nowadays, most people in church have had sex before marriage and have been divorced so now it is "socially acceptable".  So the one sin that they can focus on is homosexuality. 

I want to err on the side of grace.  If Jesus came to my house today how would He treat me?  With love.  Just as He treated those when He was here among us. 

God bless you Jenn on your journey in this life.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Tami and Tareasea

Ev,

Thanks for the websites...they have been so helpful the past couple weeks!

I don't categorize myself as any denomination either but only because there is only one God, one Father and one Heaven...be you  because only you can decide where you want to spend the rest of your eternal life...glad to know im not the only one

Hi Jenn and welcome!

There are plenty of sites that you can go to that offers plenty of information and help with your faith walk and orientation but I suggest you do your own research about ancient Greek and Hebrew Culture as opposed to just reading the Bible because the Bible...although is a wonderful book full of need to know information, only gives you a overview of the cultural differences, time period and experiences of ancient people. Also most of the books in the Bible is written and recorded by hear say over a period of about 1400 years. So without knowing the context in-which it was written can shed only a literal light upon your readings.

Here are some sites you may want to check out: www.christianlesbians.com  www.gaychristian.net and www.gaychristianonline . There's also a movie out call "for the bible tells me so" www.forthebibletellsmeso.com that has had a great impact upon many gay and str8. Here are some books just incase you are a reader:  "What the Bible really say about homosexuality".  "Gay Black Christian".

I hope this helps! Ev.

Hello to all involved....I am just joining the group/discussion.  Unfortunately I have nothing profound to offer as I am very new to my walk with Christ as well as recently out to myself and the world....but..I am curious how you ladies came to know so much about the bible...I know one went to seminary but as for the rest...any advice for a Chrsitian trying to inform herself....and battle the infamous "clash" of christianity and homosexuality???

Jenn

Hi Poetcomic,

I like how you summed up in the end, we are called to love the Lord with all our hearts and treat others like we would like to be treated.  I believe that is the bottom line.

Ev.

hi everyone

I just joined today and enjoyed reading all these posts.

I was brought up Catholic and then was "nothing" for a number of years before discovering Unitarian Universalism. Then I had a spiritual awakening and UU was not spiritual enough for me. So, I started going to a UCC church and discovered it was right in line with my beliefs. (I did not consider MCC because my Christology is not that high and since I do not spend my non-worship life with only GLBTQQ, I did not want to spend my worship life that way. Just MY preference.)

Ironically, I felt a call to ministry before my Christian awakening, so I entered seminary in the fall of 2004. Studying church history and reading the Bible within its context let Jesus finally come to my heart and know I am loved, no matter what.

I feel I have a special call to our community b/c of all the alienation we suffer.

In the end, we are called to love the Lord with all our hearts and treat others as we would like to me treated.

Some focus on Leviticus and Romans b/c it's a great way to raise millions of dollars. You cannot raise that much focusing on, I don't know, gluttony.

Glad to meet y'all.

doreen

AKA poetcomic

www.myspace.com/poetcomic

poetcomic.blogspot.com

That is an interesting concept, that "born that way" relates to homosexuals.  That particular scripture was initially dealing with the topic of divorce and that reference to eunuchs presumably addresses celibacy.  The dialogue is dealing with the lawfulness of divorce and once Jesus explains it, his disciples say, "well doggone !!! It's better to be unmarried".  At that point, Jesus replies that not everyone can get with this word - some are born eunuchs "into celibacy", some are made that way, etc.  That is an interesting theory, I will definitely investigate it further when I can grab some free time.

 Do you have any OLIVIA trips coming up?

I understand your pet peeve Sweets but the true fact is that just like race has always been a controversial subject so will homosexuality...anything that goes against the grain of what is considered normal always seems to be at the forefront of the agenda to change it.

The eunuchs are more than castrated men as the dictionary quote the meaning, but eunuchs also depicts people who have no interest in the opposing sex and/or marriage.  As the Bible mentions, " Some are born that way, some were made that way by men and some chose it for the sake of the kingdom of God.. I always thought the "born that way" somehow correlates with gays....