tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post4296717076958948989..comments2023-05-16T08:18:26.658-07:00Comments on MARC ADEN GRAY'S BLOG!: A TIMELY ACCIDENTMarc Aden Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02736325507005033397noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-18952563107901418742010-09-16T14:53:35.724-07:002010-09-16T14:53:35.724-07:00Thanks for sharing this beautiful story. I'm ...Thanks for sharing this beautiful story. I'm a member of an MCC in Canada. I'm very proud of my church, and this story reaffirms why. We strive to be the hands and feet of Christ. That's a metaphor that works for me. I'm not a literalist, I don't believe the bible is TOWAGFAT (The Authoritative Word of God for All Time), and I'm not even sure what God is (I'm more confident about what God isn't actually). But the understanding of God that I see revealed in (most of) the stories and myths of Jesus show god as love and us as people who can be both recipients and bearers of that love. The really cool thing about MCC is that I, with my unorthodox understanding, "worship" and live in spiritual community with people who hold much more orthodox views. We learn to listen to and respect each other, even genuinely love each other. For so long churches have split into smaller, more rigid and narrow factions. In MCC we reverse that trend. I suppose in the beginning of the movement it was our shared oppression as "queer folk" that helped us bond together enough to learn to do this. Now more and more "straight people" are finding that the God of their understanding is better reflected at MCC than other places they have found. We had a big conference recently in Mexico with an emphasis on youth. Some of the youth have now grown up in our denomination, and they aren't necessarily Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered. They tell us they just want to get beyond all these labels. They want "world inclusion." Sounds good to me. <br />Thanks again. I hope Victoria is fully recoverd.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10223041210055280833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-1166112618643157842010-08-21T15:09:40.546-07:002010-08-21T15:09:40.546-07:00you saw Jesus in the lives of the GLBT people I lo...you saw Jesus in the lives of the GLBT people I love and fight for for equality in the Christian church. They know and exude grace. <br />www.canyonwalkerconnections.comcanyonwalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241018075231148575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-52980867721198251542010-08-21T09:09:51.179-07:002010-08-21T09:09:51.179-07:00I have only attended MCC twice, but the love and c...I have only attended MCC twice, but the love and compassion you experienced permeates everyone that walks through the door. Your story brought tears. Thank you for sharing it.hshenemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14640633544066939212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-21876189339129054552010-08-21T07:39:25.986-07:002010-08-21T07:39:25.986-07:00As a regular attendee at Metropolitan Community Ch...As a regular attendee at Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles, I can only say to you that what you and Victoria experienced that day was the norm for us.<br /><br />It is meaningful for me to even say "us" in the context of my relationship with a church. You see, my experience is very similar to yours: I am not willing to worship a god who puts unachievable conditions on the persons who choose to worship god. Having grown up in the Pentecostal religion, I had enough of "church" by the time I was old enough to make my own decisions about whether or not I would attend. That changed the moment I entered my first service at MCC.<br /><br />I felt nothing but love there. Nothing but love. I have made friends whom I now consider family there. The hand of friendship, as you experienced, is always extended there. Unconditionally.<br /><br />Thank you for your words. I could never have expressed my joy at being a member of this church more perfectly. When you are ready, come worship with us. We will be happy to have you among us.<br /><br />Audrey LigginsUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01445111242709304075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-5211899730584818922010-08-20T21:52:12.865-07:002010-08-20T21:52:12.865-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Show Department Staffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01086019188975601446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-26654243363221156422010-08-20T17:11:40.680-07:002010-08-20T17:11:40.680-07:00Thank you for sharing a beautiful story, a glimpse...Thank you for sharing a beautiful story, a glimpse of heaven.Kittredge Cherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02617858676733169316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2609812008796063068.post-25709964058869130942010-08-03T21:42:29.806-07:002010-08-03T21:42:29.806-07:00Beautiful! And that is the heart of it isn’t it? ...Beautiful! And that is the heart of it isn’t it? What you experienced was the essence of pure Spirituality as opposed to religion. Not the dogma, not the fear instilled in one and all of a “vengeful god”. Not the false “atonement” which can erase a horrible misdeed simply by sharing it with another on the other side of a partition. What you experienced was the pure embodiment of what the ancient sages and mystics have been telling us for ever…..that we are made to love, to care, to grow through the selfless interaction with All of Life, which embraces everything that you can name and even some things that are unnamable. Being connected to THAT is what keeps us in our joy and teaches us that all else is ego.<br />I love you my son, watching you live and grow and share is a gift I cannot measure and which I treasure with all my Being.Aniquehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00684283728096392259noreply@blogger.com