This weekend marks National Coming Out Day. For some, this day recollects the day we came out to the people we love supporting us with rainbow cakes and buying pride shirts. For others, we us bear the stories of rejection, shame, and hurt. This week, I am mindful of the courage it takes to come out as we balance the fear of telling the truth of who we are with its freedom.
On the Camino, I met new people every day from all over the world. I found myself telling my story over and over, different details sticking out with each retelling as I introduced myself, my passions, my questions, and my relationships to strangers who became friends. The more I told my story, the more comfortable I became introducing myself and inviting people into my life - for a mile or for 100, each time becoming more comfortable with both celebration and rejection.
This year, it strikes me that National Coming Out Day is not about honoring the first time we reveal an inward truth to the outside world. It is an invitation to practice. To practice the courage of revealing a piece of ourselves to someone new. To practice becoming more and more comfortable with the unique expression of God we are. To practice seeing God more clearly by allowing ourselves to be seen thus giving permission for others to also be themselves. Some relationships will be broken and others will be opened.
Coming out is a practice, a sacrament, a way we see God and notice God in others. Coming out invites us to declare deep truths about ourselves, our relationships, and our commitments and is never a one-time thing. Instead, it is an evolving practice, a spiritual disposition.
On this Coming Out Day, I introduce myself as I did on The Way: My name is Lauren. I am here to practice presence and seek God in the people, places, and stories of today. I live in St. Louis, MO where I get to practice ministry in a queer-centered church as a same-gender loving woman raising a 16-year-old in a complex political, cultural, and economic environment. I am a follower of Jesus, who strives to grow closer to the crucified of our time, which includes women, non-binary people, Black and Brown people, poor people, disabled people, and anyone who is told they don’t belong.
Who are you? Who will you become if you let yourself be known?
Blessings,
Pastor Lauren