Written by Rev. Anna Blaedel and Rev. M Jade Kaiser
Queer lovers,
Who long for healing
Who ache with exhaustion
Who have been alone for too long
Who know deep in our bones
How very good it is
How very much it hurts
To keep living
To keep loving.
Queer lovers,
Let’s remember:
That which is strange
That which is met with disgust
That which is deemed
Incompatible
Illegal
Unworthy
Is the very site of the Sacred and a source of Holiness.
Queer lovers,
We know far better than they,
How to live in unlivable places
How to pray in Spirit drenched ways in the midst of everyday evil
How to hold each other through impossible choices of inevitable loss.
Queer lovers,
There is power in staying and fighting for our lives.
There is power in leaving for the sake of our lives.
Through all the noise and hate and shallow misunderstandings
Through all the competing voices
telling us what we have to do, to be
We, dear lovers, know what we need
Listen.
Listen.
Listen.
Queer lovers,
We are birthed from something wildly holy
We are made from and for a dream of flourishing
Crossing time and space;
Our ancestors labored for us
To make this possible:
The dykes who danced cheek to cheek
The sissies who marched arm in arm
The queers who found God in each other
in alleyways and choir lofts and quiet glances across crowded rooms
The trans godmothers with bricks in their hands and the strength of softness in their flesh
While the police raided
While the church raged
While death and destruction
Have their way
So, too, do life and love
Because they knew
Because we know
Disconnecting from delight is deadly
Trusting in delight is a necessary spiritual practice of survival
We, queer lovers, make a future possible.
We need each other and we have each other.
We have and are enough.