A queer-inclusive message for LGBTQ+ Christians this Christmas
Revd Sarah Jones
CHRISTMAS can be a difficult time for LGBTQ+ folk, let alone queer Christians. Rejection, deadnaming and not having relationships recognised by family and church communities are just some of the issues they can face at this time of year.
This Christmas Eve, PinkNews has shared ‘a special queer-inclusive Christmas message for LGBTQ+ people’ from Revd Sarah Jones, vicar at St John The Baptist church in Cardiff, the first person transgender person to be ordained in the Church of England.
Sarah writes:
“In 2021, research carried out by PinkNews found that 82% of LGBTQ+ people said they have to hide their identities during the Christmas period. 10% per cent said they planned to spend the holiday period alone.”
Christmas can be especially difficult for LGBTQIA+ folks. Some of us have been rejected by our families because of our sexuality or our gender; others have to hide their queerness or tone it down or leave their partners and friends out of family settings.
I’m sad to say that the Christian church is not known as a beacon of inclusivity and diversity. Folks argue whether women can be priests and of course there’s no guarantee of a warm welcome to anyone who isn’t strictly heterosexual or for anyone who blurs the gender lines.
I meet many people who feel that they would not be welcome in church at Christmas. The Christmas message seems to be ‘Good news for all – but not for you!’
Sadly, there are churches where this is true. They’d say that you are welcome but we all need to reject our sin... and yours is your sexuality or your gender expression. Come on in and stop being queer.
However churches can be more LGBTQIA+ friendly than you think. There are queer folks in many congregations. There are queer clergy and queer musicians.
If you are feeling excluded or wondering whether you would be welcome, here are a few tips which I hope might be helpful.
Jesus loved the marginalised and taught that everyone has the same dignity as a child of God. If a church does not welcome you, you are being rejected by humans, not God. God still loves you.
Find a church that will welcome you. Organisations such as Inclusive Church keep an online list of welcoming churches. Networks such as Open Table have regular services. Churches such as St James Picadilly or St John’s in Cardiff (where I am the vicar) are solidly inclusive. OneBodyOneFaith has resources and links to groups in many denominations. MCC Church nationally and The Gathering in Cardiff are deliberately LGBTQIA+ churches.
The bible is a queer book. The rich and powerful are overturned and the downcast are lifted up. There is gender non-conformity; Deborah is a strong woman and the only female judge (Judges 4,5); there are plenty of eunuchs (e.g Acts 8) and many people argue that the love between King David and Jonathan (Samuel 18-20) is much more than friendship. Queer lives are represented in the bible, though many straight people fail to see us!
Online can be good. If you can’t get to a church building there are good online options. St Mary The Virgin in Oxford and many cathedrals including Llandaff Cathedral offer high quality streams of services in church. St John’s Cardiff and The Ordinary Office have services which are made for the Internet.
The Church of England has agreed to bless same sex couples. The Church in Wales has been doing this for a while. The Methodists, the United Reformed Church and the Quakers were doing it before us. Last week the Pope declared that Roman Catholic priests could bless same sex couples!
