The Jesus in Love Blog has moved to Qspirit.net, a new website on queer spirituality with LGBTQ saints, history and books. Please visit Qspirit.net/blog/ and save the link to keep up with future posts from the Jesus in Love Blog. People who currently get posts by email will need to sign up again to continue their email subscription.  There is no need to update subscriptions to the monthly newsletter. The new Qspirit.net website will make the Jesus in Love blog much more accessible to people through mobile devices, social media and search engines. Q Spirit has a new Facebook page at f ..read more

The Murder of Allen Schindler by Matthew Wettlaufer Allen Schindler (1969-1992) brought international attention to anti-gay hate crimes and gays in the military when he died on this date (Oct. 27) in 1992. Maybe Allen Schindler is resting more peacefully now that the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy against gays and lesbians in the military ended on Sept. 20, 2011. For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net: Allen Schindler: LGBTQ role the military highlighted by murder of gay sailor Today also happens to be Navy Day in the United States. Remembering t ..read more

Invite your friends to sign up for a free subscription to the Jesus in Love monthly newsletter on LGBT spirituality and the arts. More people need to hear that God loves all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. *Share this invitation with your friends. You can use this share button. Readers call it inspiring, empowering, courageous, “always informative” and “always fabulous.” The newsletter covers LGBTQ saints and the queer Christ, with an emphasis on visual art and books. Cutting-edge artists, authors and theologians are introduced. The LGBTQ Saints series ..read more

Matthew Shepard brought international attention to anti-gay hate crimes when he died on Oct. 12, 1998. He was a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming at the time. For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net: Matthew Shepard: Modern gay martyr and hate-crime victim Shepard (1976-1998) was brutally attacked near Laramie, Wyoming, on Oct. 6-7, 1998 by two men who later claimed that they were driven temporarily insane by “gay panic” due to Shepard’s alleged sexual advances. Shepard was beaten and left to die. Now the Matthew Shepard Foundation seeks to re ..read more

Almost all Native American tribes traditionally recognized “two-spirit” people of mixed gender. Sometimes they played a spiritual role.  They appear as sacred figures in Native American rituals and myths. Two-spirit Native Americans are honored today for Columbus Day, which commemorates the arrival of European explorer Christopher Columbus in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. Before Columbus arrived, most Native American societies valued people who mixed male and female roles or characteristics.  Their languages had words for third and sometimes even fourth genders. “Two spirit” is o ..read more

Vida Dutton Scudder, c. 1890 (Wikipedia) Vida Dutton Scudder is an American social reformer, professor, prominent lesbian author -- and an officially recognized saint in the Episcopal Church. Her feast day is Oct. 10. For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net: Vida Dutton Scudder: Lesbian saint, reformer and teacher Her ideas on economic inequality are especially relevant amid the financial crises of our times. Born in India to missionary parents in 1861, Scudder studied at Oxford and became a professor at Wellesley College, where she taught English literature for ..read more

Saints Sergius and Bacchus were third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and men who loved each other. Their story is told here in words and pictures for their feast day today (Oct. 7). The close bond between Sergius and Bacchus has been emphasized since the earliest accounts, and recent scholarship has revealed their homosexuality. The oldest record of their martyrdom describes them as erastai (Greek for “lovers”). Scholars believe that they may have been united in the rite of adelphopoiesis (brother-making), a kind of early Christian same-sex marriage. For a new version of this ar ..read more

LGBTQ Christian theology, Bible study, memoir and fiction are presented in five new books this month. They are “UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality” by Colby Martin, “I Love to Tell the Story: 100+ Stories of Justice, Inclusion, and Hope” by Nancy Wilson, “Blackpentecostal Breath: The Aesthetics of Possibility” by Ashon T. Crawley, “Only Say the Word” by Scott D. Pomfret and “Two Natures” by Jendi Reiter. “UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality” by Colby Martin “Unclobber” is part LGBTQ-affirming Bible study and part memoir of a millenni ..read more

Historical records reveal a queer side to Saint Francis of Assisi, one of the most beloved religious figures of all time. The 13th-century friar is celebrated for loving animals, hugging lepers, and praying for peace, but few know about his love for another man and his gender nonconformity. His feast day is today (Oct. 4). For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net: Francis of Assisi: Queer side revealed for saint who loved creation, peace and the poor Francis is “a uniquely gender-bending historic figure” according to Franciscan scholar Kevin Elphick He has spent y ..read more

Rumi and Shams together in a detail from “Dervish Whirl” by Shahriar Shahriari (RumiOnFire.com) Rumi is a 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose love for another man inspired some of the world’s best poems and led to the creation of a new religious order, the whirling dervishes. His birthday is today (Sept. 30). For a new version of this article, click this link to Qspirit.net: Rumi: Poet and Sufi mystic inspired by same-sex love With sensuous beauty and deep spiritual insight, Rumi writes about the sacred presence in ordinary experiences. His poetry is widely admired around the ..read more