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Imagine, living a lie can hurt others? Especially those closest to you? Groundbreaking… Coming out of the closet is hard enough for anyone, but to hide behind the teachings of the evangelical church while they continually condemned gay people as a scapegoat, now that’s a completely different thing. It’s hard for me to feel any sympathy for this story, because I believe that honest, authentic gay people come out of their closets much younger. They have to. Their integrity demands it. Living a life of truth, as Jesus demands of us, would compel even the most cowardly to fess up and get honest. Specifically in order to spare the lives of those that they are deceiving. It takes a special kind of deceit to live a lie for sooo long. You have to address this not by giving us an excuse about your church, or your upbringing, it’s 2024, not 1971 when gay people were put in mental institutions. Why did you live a lie for so long? What did that do to your conscience? I dunno, I don’t mean to judge, but when I came out, people were dying of AIDS while the church condemned us to hell, framing getting the disease as a choice that gays brought upon themselves for having sex, when they could abstain. In other words, it was their own fault. Then, after all that judgment, I grew older, and corona virus came along, and I witnessed as many older Christians refused the vaccine, only to die themselves, when they could’ve easily gotten a vaccine, for a virus, btw, that kills the same way that AIDS did; respiratory failure. To me, it was full circle irony. Life is strange indeed. My only criticism for this author, I feel as though your kind abandoned us at our time of most need. I don’t view you as gay, but as an interloper. You didn’t struggle like we did, cause you weren’t there. How many friends of yours died a gruesome death from AIDS? How many funerals did you go to? By the time I was 30 I knew dozens who had passed. And, you were playing Christian instead, and deceiving those around you. Do you see the difference? I don’t mean to be harsh, but I sincerely feel that you needed to hear this message from someone who didn’t deceive everyone around me, and I was a born again before I came out. It was my belief in Jesus that compelled me to be honest and face myself. I wouldn’t have come out had it not for Jesus making me completely honest with myself. No judgment, I just needed to express myself.

As a jazz musician I appreciated the analogy! 👍

Loved this session because it’s exactly where I am, trying to figure out a good routine. Thank you both for sharing your own.

Thank you Mary Balfour and Sara Rieth. I love you both so much. My journey with each of you has been and continues to be so fulfilling in the Episcopal Churchxx

Bishop Ann, your story was so inspiring. I absolutely love the mystery and excitement of your next chapter. Thank you Mary Balfour for sharing her with us.

✌️ Promo-SM!!

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