Emily Rachelle Writes

Shortly after the Orlando shooting, I published my Christian Closet post to conclude the series. I said then that I would speak more on Orlando when I could gather my thoughts. As the new president of my school's sexuality and gender discussion group, I decided to share those thoughts through the group's website. For those of you interested in reading, the link is below. "It’s been 36 days since the shooting. Not even one day for each life lost, and yet our country has largely moved on. Terrorist attacks in Iraq and France, political news across the States and new racially-charged deaths in the south have replaced the victims of Orlando in Facebook conversations and Twitter debates. With so much violence heaped upon violence, hate built on hate, how is anyone capable of grieving and remembering every life lost? How is one Christian overwhelmed by the bloodshed to respond?" Read more on the website.

Between finals week, moving out of the dorm, and my summer internship, I haven't kept up with the blog. I hope to get a few more posts up this summer. I've been working on this last Christian Closet post for a month now. It would be wrong of me to continue my blogging on the queer community without stopping to acknowledge the abhorrent event that recently rocked that community. Since the murder of 50 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, my friends and I have been reminded just how fragile our hard-won freedom is. We're reminded to count every day a blessing and never let go of each other. In a world where men and women even younger than me are shot and hung and beaten for an intrinsic part of their identity, the freedom to be ourselves is rare and worth clinging to. Eventually I hope to say more about Orlando and the victims of this bloody, preventable hate crime, but right now I still need time to process the loss and collect my thoughts. I've...

Sorry for the skipped week, readers -- the end of the semester is getting tight here at university. But we have two more weeks left in this series! R ebecca Bauman Name: Rebecca Bauman Age: 20 Gender: Genderqueer/ Genderfluid/ Non-Binary (I use she/her and they/them pronouns) Sexual orientation: Queer Religious denomination: Mennonite Education/career: Bachelor of Arts and Science (completed 2 years) Favorite food: I like to mix it up with various vegetarian creations. Taco salad never fails to please. Favorite book: I’m eclectically indecisive and love to read. Good LGBTQ+ fiction is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe  by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Favorite movie: Good Will Hunting Favorite color: Rainbow ;) (I am especially fond of the reddish hues) Hobbies/sports/interests: Reading, writing, learning (this seems to be a common homeschooler affliction) hiking and camping, singing (sometimes with my guitar or cello), spoken-word poetry, i...

Zack Name: Zack Age: 22 Gender: Male Sexual orientation: Gay Religious denomination: I was raised in a Nondenominational Evangelical Church and joined the Episcopal Church in college. Education/career: I’m currently finishing a bachelor’s degree in biology and public health, and going back to school to get a nursing degree. My dream is to be a public health nurse and work for a government agency or NGO in an underserved area. Favorite food: Chicken tikka masala Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite movie: The Prestige Favorite color: Green Hobbies/sports/interests: I love reading, spending time with friends and family, and I’ve recently started watercoloring. Myers-Briggs type: ENFJ It’s really hard for me to pinpoint the first time that I realized I was gay. I do remember being told at a very young age that people choose to be gay, so I didn’t have the framework to understand why I was so different from the other boys. Being gay was simply not an opti...

Steve Stevens Name: Steven M. Stevens Age: 27 Gender: Male Sexual orientation: Gay Religious denomination: Non-denominational Education/career: Illustrator Favorite food: Lasagna Favorite book: Life of Pi Favorite movie: Amelie Favorite color: Do sparkles count? If not, blue. Hobbies/sports/interests: Drawing, champagne, Pizza, and Pugs (in that order) Dreams/goals in life: Write and illustrate a children’s book Myers-Briggs type: Adventurer ISFP "Being myself for the first time in my life is truly a gift."

A Gay Southern Baptist I wanted to preface this post with my coming out experience and what that’s been like for me. I’m a guy and I’ve found guys attractive since I was just ten or so years old. It wasn’t until my sophomore year at university where I started to actually come to terms with it. I never planned on coming out, actually, I just opened up to my mom via Facebook , just about a year and a half ago and my life changed quite a bit! I really want to blog post to be a discussion of my experiences as a gay Southern Baptist, an amalgam of two seemingly juxtaposed cultures. "Gay Christians exist wedged between the LGBT and Christian communities, which can oftentimes prove frustrating or alienating." Gay Christians exist wedged between the LGBT and Christian communities, which can oftentimes prove frustrating or alienating. In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on the legalization of same-sex marriage, the rift has only widened, forcing me into a limbo where I...

A Pansexual Nazarene Age: 22 Gender: Female Sexual orientation:  Pansexual Religious denomination: Nazarene Education/career: Pizza place Favorite food:  Anything Asian Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird Favorite movie:  The Sandlot Favorite color: Green Hobbies/sports/interests: Swimming, anything to do with animals, watching Criminal Minds Dreams/goals in life: To become a criminal profiler and have a good life for my partner and I, also whatever animals we have. Myers-Briggs:  INTJ "I can't help the way I feel, and I know that God loves me no matter how I feel."

CJ CJ wanted to use a dragon for his photo... Name: CJ Age: 19 Gender: Male Sexual orientation: Gay Religious denomination: Nondenominational (As of now at least. Denominations aren’t the most important thing in my being a Christian, I’ve regularly attended four different denominations throughout my life.) Education/career: Communications Favorite food: I’m mildly obsessed with sandwiches. I love pomegranates, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, persimmons, and oranges. Cucumber and spinach are daily staples of my diet. I have a love/hate relationship with chocolate because it sometimes gives me headaches. Favorite book: One Child is a really good book I recently read. Favorite movie: I don’t like being confined to an absolute favorite, but I loved Inside Out . Go watch it if you haven’t yet; it’s fantastic. Favorite color: Blue. My second favorite color is green. Hobbies/sports/interests: I play guitar. I like singing, I ride my boar...

Micah Hello! My name is Micah . I'm a 26-year-old trans man who just recently came out of the closet as pansexual . I tend to go between two different denominations, The United Church of Canada and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church , just depending on how much I want to put up with that week. I have one semester under my belt as a religious studies student at Burman University , although I'm looking to switch to a more non-denominational university in the future, as I want to be a United Church Minister one day. I hate to say it, but I don't have favourites . I tend to live in the moment and like whatever I'm cohabiting with in the moment. It gets kind of annoying because people call me wishy-washy, but it also makes me really easy to get along with! I love to read and write , though. I probably own two hundred books and I've read 2/3 of them . I enjoy making movies and have made a full-length documentary for the Seventh-Day Adventist church I was affilia...

Name: Nick Scarantino Age: 24 Gender: male Sexual orientation: homosexual Religious denomination: non-denominational Christian Education: B.S. in Biblical Studies Work: author | musician | blogger | Biblical scholar Dreams/goals in life: to ensure nobody feels alone or unloved Myers-Briggs type: INFP When did you first realize you were homosexual? Looking back, it was in elementary school. I wanted to spend more time with the boys than with the girls . Most of my friends were girls, but I could tell it was different than how the other boys wanted to spend time with them. Are you out? If so, when, how, and/or why did you come out? I am out now. After graduating from college, I slowly started to come out. I was working at a church at the time so it was a process starting with friends and coworkers (I was also working at Panera). But once I was fired from the church, I didn’t really care who knew anymore . I came out because I was tired of hiding who I was . B...

Kaleb Ashby My name is Kaleb Ashby . I am 24 years old , and I am a pansexual male . I work for Spokane AIDS Network doing HIV prevention, outreach, and testing. I am a non-denominational Christian . I want to make a positive difference, and be a big part in ending the AIDS epidemic. My favorite book is Harry Potter ; that series has molded me to be who I am and taught me to fight for what I believe, whether I have people backing me up or not. I love writing and reading. Slam poetry is a hobby of mine, and it’s one of my deepest passions. "I want to make a positive difference, and be a big part in ending the AIDS epidemic."

  Christy Introductions For the most part, upon meeting someone new, a “typical” person would start to fill out a mental fact sheet. Cover the basics, what you plainly see on the surface. Name: Christy. Age: college-aged kid. Height: tall. Hair: dark. Sex: female. As an introduction at work or a smile across the street begins to evolve into an acquaintanceship, a friendship, a whatever-you-want-it-to-be-ship, though, that fact sheet isn’t enough. A friend would soon discover that I can’t stand my full name, so using anything but Christy is a no-go. I’m 20 years old , younger than most of my friends, but not all. I was raised Methodist, but am a bit more of an eclectic Christian now that I’m an adult. I’m a cisgender woman, and though my skin is light, I’m proud of my Native American heritage. But even that is still just the basics. I’m an INTJ , a relatively rare and analytical personality type. I spend more time observing and listening than I do talking, but I can cert...

chilling in the massage chairs with the family and boyfriend Rowdy Wilson ​Name: Rowdy Wilson Age: 17.99... I'm almost 18! Gender: Male Sexual Orientation: Homosexual, gay, whatever you want to call it Religious Denomination: Pentecostal Education/Career: Graduated high school early, and now I'm a house keeper, server, and cook. Favorite Food:  Macaroni and cheese/favorite kind of food is Thai Favorite Book: To Kill a Mocking Bird  by Harper Lee Favorite Movie:   Spy with Melissa McCarthy Favorite Color: Blue Hobbies/Sports/Interests: Singing, playing piano, traveling, fan-girling over Adele, listening to Adele, crying over Adele, volleyball Dreams/Goals in Life: I want to be a traveling nurse, with a nice house, a nice car, a good church to attend, and two beautiful kids... On the flip side I want to be a model, or a singer! ;) When did you first realize you were gay? I first realized I was officially gay when I was about 13 . I h...

Emily Hope Age : 23 Gender : Female Sexual orientation : SOOOOO GAY Religious denomination :  Nondenominational. I refuse to draw lines where God didn’t draw lines. Education/career : I am a writer/YouTuber going for a degree in criminal justice/political science. Favorite food : steak Favorite book : The Shack Favorite movie : Lord of the Rings extended editions Favorite color : I am an artist; I don’t really have a favorite. Hobbies/sports/interests : I bike, walk, hike Dreams/goals in life : I want to make a difference. I want to help bridge the divide between the church and the marginalized. Myers-Briggs type : ISTJ "I felt God call me to live openly and honestly, so that others in my situation would know they are not alone."

After my last post, A Coming Out , I received some feedback from my support group about how they identified with my struggles and some of the things I said. I also had several requests, both from those within LGBT Christian circles and those outside those circles, to portray more specific examples of how the church and its people have hurt LGBT individuals, and give examples of what the church and its people could do or have done to help and encourage LGBT individuals. Today I'm starting a new weekly series featuring friends and acquaintances of mine, in an effort to fill those requests. Some of these wonderful people are loud and proud; some are still struggling to find their own identity; some have become comfortable in their own skin but not yet comfortable with leaving the closet. What we want to do in sharing this series is help straight cisgender Christians understand us as people and how they may have unintentionally harmed us, and help them know how to undo the damage don...