NYT: Pope Francis "Who Am I to Judge"

As an openly gay Christian I have experienced many challenges practicing my faith in fellowship. While I certainly understand the motive of most religious leaders is not to judge or bring harm to their membership but rather to share what they believed to be Gods plan for his followers is. I also understand on a very personal level that sometimes it can go to far and religion can be used as a tool to beat people down. This is why I am especially proud of Pope Francis for his affirmative comments to gay religious leaders.

The New York Times reports that Pope Francis has stated that he will not judge gay priests. “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis said, according to media reports.
The popes comments come at a significant moment in my own life. While I am not Catholic I still appreciate his comments because the arguments against LGBT presence in church has been present not only in the Catholic church. I was baptized at my new home church in Harlem. This Baptism was especially momentous for me given my past experiences with other religious institutions. I am humbled that there is room at the cross for me, even with all of my imperfections.

       When I was a teenager I was an avid church goer. I went to church at least three times a week. To bible study, teen night, and Sunday morning fellowship. I noticed that while many of my friends were in relationships and have engaged in activities that the Bible does not condone my homosexuality was placed on a hierarchy of sins. In stead of me going to church to receive the gospel and hear the words of God. I was turned away after being ostracized. It meant a lot to me that I was able to be baptized an resume fellowshipping in a Christian congregation while remaining truthful to all of my identities.

Portland

So many exciting things to share!

 First, I got to spend more time with parents Josh and Jenny. It has been about 2 months into this family; after so many foster homes and experiences that I'd rather forget getting to know anyone isn't easy. Learning to trust after you have been hurt can be one of the hardest things. I'm sharing this in hopes that any foster child who may come across it will at the very least knew someone who went through something similar. Sometimes I feel as though there can be a stigma attached to being a foster child or an adopted child. The more time I spend with my family the less I am aware.

FIRST TIME ONE A PLANE
To get to Portland we obviously took a plane. It was an amazing experience. There were no crying babies just absolute tranquility. I expected the six hour flight to be more turbulent. The seating was really comfortable and I had a window seat so that also made for an enjoyable experience.

When we arrived in Portland we took a taxi to visit a community Jenny lived in for several years and considers home. This neighborhood, probably unlike many neighborhoods in Portland was populated by many plant species and houses that were painted bright groovy colors. We  met up with some good friends of Jenny and had some amazing Ice cream at Salt and Straw. This handmade icecream joint was amazing.

Another highlight of my trip to Portland was seeing  "fairy Grandmother" Rupert and his partner Scott. I had been really looking forward to meet the because they are all Jenny talks about. Rupert and I got to spend some real quality time at the Saturday market. I got a personal tour of downtown Portland. T top off an amazing weekend we had a dance party with many of Rupert's friends

I love the city of Portland. The people are kind.  The weather is nice, and there is some Darn good coffee.

Carlos Menchaca for Brooklyn

Friends,

I wanted you all to know about a very good friend of mine who is running to be the next Council Member from the 38th district Carlos Manchaca. When Carlos is elected he will be the 1st openly gay council member from Brooklyn. Inspired by his humble upbringing Carlos Menchaca says he seeks to fight for those who are struggling.

Carlos' historic election to the NYC council cannot happen unless we make it happen. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez who's congressional district encompasses the 38th Congressional District has endorsed Carlos. In addition to the endorsement of Representative Velasquez Carlos has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, 32BJ, Communication Workers of America, 1199 and a host of other organizations fighting for the working families of Brooklyn's 38th Council District.

I've known Carlos personally for about three years. He's been one of my solid supporters as I pursue my undergraduate degree at Brandeis. He's even made the trip! Look- we owe it to our fellow Brooklynites to make sure Carlos Menchaca is elected to the 38th Council District.  To find out how you can help click HERE.

Let's make it happen!

Jay

What I learned at Church

Today, I had an amazing time at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. The pastor was on fire with his message. The energy in the congregation made you feel as though you were family.

 The times I have visited I had always felt inspired by the message of the preachers. I am definitely going to make Abyssinian my church home.

The Rev Butt's forcefully preach on the need for courage. There was a point in which he referenced Justice Thomas and the lack of courage that he had when striking down the Voters Rights Act. What stuck with me the most was when he said it's about standing up courageously to fight for justice not just singing about it, or clapping your hands the loudest.  I wouldn't like to paraphrase the Rev because I would not be able to do his sermon justice. (Def check out Aby.)

I will pass this that I learned today. To fear a man is to doubt GOD.

Today in the southside (HONEY TURKEY WITH EVERYTHING ON IT)

Today I had an awesome July 4th. Happy 4th everyone! I spent part of the day hanging out with a good friend from Brandeis and part of the day relaxing with my best friend. When leaving out the house to day I purposely brought $15 dollars with me because I haven't been good at budgeting lately. Long story short over the course of the day my friend and I became hungry so and we could not agree on what to get. I was really craving a honey turkey with everything on it. The first store I went to was clearly a new store so I thought to myself oh this is cool I get to support a new business. I walked to the deli section and asked how much was a honey turkey with everything on it the guy looked at me so confused. So I broke it down to him. The guy turned around looked at a chart and said $7.25.

I thought he must of made an error so I begged his pardon and the sandwich was in fact $7.25. We are not going to get in to how much money I had in my pocket left from the $15 I left with. I told the guy that every other store charges 3.50 for the same sandwich. The guy just looked at me and blinked.

I told him I hope your business fails. How dare you come to this neighborhood and charge 7.25 for a god damn hero. I feel like businesses could do whatever they want legally but it's not ethical to do that. The lower income people that remain will not be able to afford anything. Yes, there are corner stores still but they are being brought out before you can blink.

Anywho Happy July 4th everyone.

What Would Chisholm Do?

  

    I'm feeling especially inspired after talking to voters about the upcoming mayoral election. Almost everyone who stopped talked with me seemed to have a since that this election was an important one.

     Two conversations in particular stood out to me during my outreach. One was with a short elderly woman whom by her accent I could assume to be West Indian. Growing up in Brooklyn, and watching the media it would not be inclined to vote for the first openly gay mayor. The woman looked up at me after she heard me say the Name Chris .. before I could say Quinn she said "Oh the gay one?" I immediately assumed that this woman would not be interested in signing a petition to get Chris on the ballot let a lone vote for her in September and November. To my surprise the woman signed the petition. She looked at me and said "The lady wants to be Mayor.. the rest is none of my business. While she never said she was affirming of LGBT lifestyles I left with a great amount of respect for her. She asked me " You like her?" We talked for a second, the woman began to walk away and she turned around and said " I have a good feeling about her." I said "I know, me too" smiling.

   To me it wasn't just a conversation, over even just about this Mayoral election. This conversation was so inspirational because I learned a lot about the assumptions I make. I also learned to be patient and to realize that progress is happening within communities of color regarding accepting LGBT people.

    Another conversation that stuck with me was with a mother. She told me that she feared for her son's life because she heard the mayor say that he wanted Black and Latinos stopped and frisked. She told me that she wanted a mayor that would oppose Black and Latino young men being targets of the NYPD. I smiled when she said "We need a black woman, another Shirley Chisholm." If Mrs. Chisholm was alive today what would she say about stop and frisk?