Can I be gay and still be spiritual Pride talk at the Gulfport LGBT center June 19 Credit: Guanaco via Wikimedia Commons/CC

Can I be gay and still be spiritual Pride talk at the Gulfport LGBT center June 19 Credit: Guanaco via Wikimedia Commons/CC
God has a bad rap in the gay community. The history linking religious fundamentalism with homophobia is a long one, and continues even today. Just this month, the Supreme Court ruled that a Colorado baker was legally justified in using his devoutness and religious freedom as justification for refusing service to a same-sex couple. So even the legal system agrees: God wants nothing to do with gays. It’s no wonder that many young men and women questioning their sexuality, especially those raised religiously, feel they have to choose between being faithful to God and being truthful to themselves.  

But some local religious leaders argue that there’s no need to pick a side. Interfaith Tampa Bay, a collective of approximately 70 Bay area faith communities, including Christian, Muslim, Orthodox, Bahá'í, and even a Scientology branch, are hosting a set of services and events during Pride Month about how their faith traditions can be more open and accepting to members of the LGBTQ community seeking spirituality.  

On Tuesday at noon, the group will host a free event titled “Can I Be Gay and Still Be Spiritual?” at Gulfport Public Library, where a panel of local faith leaders will each give short presentations on questions such as “Can God welcome all people without conditions?” and “Why do some gay people feel God cannot be part of their gay life?”, according to Father Victor Ray, who assembled the panelists for the event. 

Fr. Ray is a gay pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Community, and wants to dispel assumptions people make about the role religion can play in a gay person’s life.

“Even within our own denominations we’re all divided on the issue of acceptance of the gay community,” Ray said, adding that he hopes events like these can help mend these divisions. 

Other speakers include Rev. Dr. Doral R. Pulley of Unity Temple of Truth, Rev. Elder Dr. Candace Shultis of King of Peace Metropolitan, Rev. Jack Donovan of Unitarian Universalist, and Rev. Joyce Stone of Christ the Cornerstone Church. Each speaker will present for 10 minutes, before turning it over to the audience for a collective question and answer session. 

Following this, on Thursday at 7 p.m., the group will host its fourth annual Interfaith Pride Worship Service at First Presbyterian Church in St. Pete, with this year’s theme being “Let’s Grow Together”. The event, which has garnered as much as 600 people in years past according to Fr. Ray, will feature guest speaker Imam Daayiee Abdullah of the MECCA institute in Denver, Colorado.

Gulfport Public Library, 5501 28th Ave. S., Gulfport | June 19: 8 p.m. | 727-893-1073 | More info here.

 

 

This article appears in Jun 14-21, 2018.