Writer Glennon Doyle Melton has penned a powerful essay for her website Momastery in which she goes into the reasons she, as a woman of faith, supports the LGBT community. In a post titled "I support your right to share my rights," Melton answers some questions she commonly gets asked in relation to LGBT people and Christianity.
Glennon writes,
I’ll admit that I came to my stand on this “issue” through my faith, not in spite of it. I support equal rights for my gay neighbors not even though I’m a Christian, but BECAUSE I’m a Christian. In the Gospel Jesus makes it crystal clear that if we are going to take seriously only one of his suggestions- we should make it this one: love your neighbor as yourself.
This isn't the first time Glennon has used her platform to express her support for the LGBT community. In 2010 she wrote a post called "A Mountain I'm Willing to Die On," which she wrote in response to news of the deaths of several young LGBT people. In the piece, she writes a hypothetical letter to her own son and describes what would happen if he ever came out. She writes:
Our eyes would open wide.
Then we would grab you and hold you tighter than you would be able to bear. And while we were holding you, we would say a silent prayer that as little time as possible passed between the moment you knew you were gay and the moment you told us. And we would love you and ask you one million questions, and then we would love you some more and finally, I would rush out to buy some rainbow T-shirts, honey, because you know Mama likes to have an appropriate outfit for every occasion.
And I don’t mean, Chase, that we would be tolerant of you and your sexuality. If our goal is to be tolerantof people who are different than we are, Chase, then we really are aiming quite low. Traffic jams are to be tolerated. People are to be celebrated.
Glennon has also previously joined GLAAD and standing up for LGBT youth on Spirit Day.
"Traffic jams are to be tolerated. People are to be celebrated." #SpiritDay GLAAD shar.es/1mZWwB
Posted by Momastery on Thursday, October 16, 2014
We want to thank Glennon for being an ally to the LGBT community, and for demonstrating the reason so many people of faith support LGBT acceptance. Join us by tweeting at @Momastery, and commenting on Facebook!
As a mom and a person of faith, thanks to @Momastery for having my back: http://t.co/oQ5uTVuXZu#GotYourBack
— Sarah Kate Ellis (@sarahkateellis) April 7, 2015
Hear what @Momastery has to say about #Christians and #LGBT people. #GotYourBackhttp://t.co/sqfMOv95wI
— Ross Murray (@inlayterms) April 6, 2015