Our Common Life Is Enriched

We are grateful for the gift of our lives and the gift of other people in our lives.

Each of us is created with dignity and worth.

We are called to love one another and to do nothing to others that we would find hateful to ourselves.

We honor the many ways that people live and love.

Our common life is enriched when queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people can come out—sharing the gifts of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

True justice flourishes when all people can live and flourish. 

We suffer when LGBTQ people are oppressed, excluded, or shamed by religious people who overlook the fundamental call to love one another.

Love does not exclude. We are all worthy.

May we work to build a world where all people are celebrated and loved.

We celebrate sexual and gender diversity as a blessing that enriches us all. 

This responsive reading is from Religious Institute, a multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual, gender, and reproductive health, education, and justice in faith communities and society.

A gender nonconforming 10 year old child playing outside, with a rainbow painted on their cheek.

To the people who have mistaken freedom for liberation

By Julián Jamaica Soto

From WorshipWeb

To be free, you must embrace the breadth of your own existence without apology, even if they try to take it from you. You must know, not that you can do whatever you want; you are not a kudzu vine, eating entire hillsides for the purpose of feeding your own lush life. You must know instead, that...

To the people who have mistaken freedom for liberation

Beyond Magenta

A 2015 Stonewall Honor Book A groundbreaking work of LGBT literature takes an honest look at the life, love, and struggles of transgender teens.

Beyond Magenta