Last of today’s 3: Kate God is love. The kingdom or kin-dom of God is love and involves solidarity and community as God showed solidarity with us. Emma Lazarus “Until we are all free we are none of us free.”

Next up: Lamar. The vision in Revelation of what it will be like when Jesus comes again. What will it look like when the kingdom of God comes? Three revivals I want to speak about: the Wesley revival, the abolition movement and the civil rights movement.

Such a beautiful sense of the presence of God in worship at today’s Two:23 meeting. Now to the talks. The kingdom of God is… Our three speakers will share their 10 minute take on the prompt. First up: Esther

Exploring the question: what is the Kingdom of God about? Three amazing speakers, the chance to gather for worship. See you this Saturday. www.facebook.com/share/1B8UXL...

Day 24: Jesus God and baby, human and divine, now and not yet. For literalists, a man with no Y chromosome. For mystics, unknowable intimacy. Bringer-together of heaven and earth. Maker of holy outcasts, water-into-wine, things lost and found.

Day 23: Joseph Sometimes in life you have to fight for a cause you didn't choose, but through your experiences and deep love for that person, you can share solidarity with them. As the story unfolds, Joseph's gender role is reversed, taking second place to Mary as Jesus’ mother.

Day 22: Mary The mother of queer liberation. She understood what it was to have her expression of family fall outside of the social norms. Her courageous ‘yes’ a decision to embrace a son with two fathers, born outside of traditional marriage.

Day 21: Angels Every time we meet an Angel in the Bible the first thing they say is, “Do not be afraid”. Do Angels look absolutely terrifying? Or do they arrive so unexpectedly as to create huge fright and shock?

Day 20: John the Baptist John was one of a kind - an outsider, unconventional, not afraid to stick his neck out and speak truth to power - a Bear Grylls character in the wilderness to whom people flocked - a charismatic celebrity but with a servant heart.

Day 19: Luke 1 Something remarkable happens to Elizabeth. To her husband, too, and he has to find a new way to tell her about it. Within the most conventional (to modern eyes, at least) relationship in the Bible, something extraordinary happens.

Day 18 Micah 5 : A ruler from Bethlehem Bethlehem means house of bread and Jesus is the bread of life. A promise of a safe place to be in Jesus. We were, we are and we will always be His.

Day 17: Nehemiah Rebuilding the temple makes me think about how we can sometimes need to rebuild our lives, our faith and our own central identity. Our own bodies as temples, we can need to rebuild for many reasons. Many queer people need to rebuild after coming out.

Day 16: Daniel As a teenager, Daniel was exiled from his family and faith community; probably made a eunuch, all his hopes for his future dissolved. He reacted by continuing to pray and to obey God despite threats to his life… 1/2

Day 15: You can't run away from yourself or God no matter how much you try. Whether it is hiding who you are or not giving the message you are given to spread. Jonah shows there is no way to be fully you unless you are fully honest with yourself and God. For God already knows it.

Day 14: Hosea 2:23 “Not-my-people” is the name of Hosea’s child. The labels they were given were symbols of their alienation, but the message of the book is that God changes their name.

Day 13 Disappointed, I sat reading the scroll. As a foreigner (& the obvious) I hadn’t even been allowed far enough into the temple to get the answers I wanted. I re-read the passage: cut-off, disinherited, rejected. How could this Isaiah know exactly how I felt?

Day 12 For starters, Esther is a queer story. A story about God that doesn’t mention God. But Esther’s story is overflowing with queer and marginalised people before she ever appears. Countless objectified women, robbed of agency by power hungry men.

Pretty sure one of the first Christians was the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. So: someone probably assigned male at birth but who was not a man but another gender category entirely. That is, a trans person.

Day 11 Every month when she had her period, she was confined. Closed doors, curtains, close warm air. For the first time in days she felt the sun, the breeze in her hair. Stepping out of clothes to wash she felt free. This was the point when he chose to possess her. Confined.

Day 10: The question: “Were David and Jonathan Gay?” erases bisexuality as an option. Newsflash: bisexuals exist. Bathsheba’s story leaves no doubt that David was attracted to women. But when it says “The souls of Jonathan and David became intertwined,” I struggle to believe they were mere besties.

Day 9: Ruth's story is a special one for the queer community as it shows how in different stages of our lives we can evolve and grow, sometimes with the love and support from our original family, and sometimes with that from our chosen family - or both!..

Day 8: Rahab Joshua 2 At the exact time of celebrating conquering enemies and claiming the promised land, why does this Canaanite sex worker impress so much that she’s remembered in two NT lists of faith heroes and became part of Jesus’s family tree?

Dear secretly affirming pastors, It’s way past time to stand up and speak out on behalf of your LGBTQ+ siblings. I know you have a lot to lose, I’ve been through it all, but it’s nothing compared to the queer lives being lost and further marginalized.

Day 7: Holy Resistance (Exodus 1) I love the story of the midwives defying Pharaoh. Shiphrah and Puah rescued baby Moses from the decree of death, and gave us the story of the exodus, the liberation, and the chance to remove our shoes and stand on holy ground.

Day 6: Joseph Isn’t it strange how the translators who knew the word for a princess dress in 2 Sam 13 don’t know what it means in Gen 37:3? Or maybe they just couldn’t imagine why Joseph would want one? The wondrous thing is that… #Advent #LGBT

Day 5: Jacob Genesis 32 Jacob wrestled with God, I think something we can all relate to mentally and spiritually. Many things in life can lead us to wrestle with God, including our gender and sexuality. And various things come from wrestling with God 1/2

Day 4: Abraham Genesis 22 God tested Abraham saying “Take your son…and sacrifice him.” I’ve often wondered if Abraham passed the test or not. Sure, he obeyed, but this is Abraham who argued with God over the fate of strangers in Sodom. Why not argue over the fate of your son?

Maybe reading glasses are part of God's plan. Maybe surgeries for cleft lip are part of God's plan. Maybe NICUs to save lives of premature babies are part of God's plan. Maybe trans affirming healthcare is part of God's plan. Maybe God wants us to use the tools God has given us.

You are fearfully, queerfully, wonderfully made. Always remember that 🌈💜🙏

Day 3 Noah/ Flood The rainbow is God’s promise to all humanity. Bi, gay, straight, cis, trans: we all own the promises of God. Which does mean that if we’re seeing species destroyed by floods and climate change, we can’t go blaming God.

Day 2: Gen 3 Eve, designed in the image of God, took the fruit she believed would help her think like God, and life became a whole lot more complicated. The truth does set us free, but it also means leaving our innocence behind and dealing with the hard realities of the world.

Last year we did this but most of you weren’t here then, so figured we’d share the Advent joy all over again. Follow us for the ADVENTure season as we trace the queer history of the Bible narrative from creation to the birth of Jesus. We’ll start at the very beginning. #ADVENT #LGBT #faithfullyLGBT

Sad to note the death of Tony Campolo. He changed the world for so many of us, first modelling how to hold a loving non-affirming position and then making the move to fully affirming in his later years. Prayers for his family and many friends. religionnews.com/2024/11/19/t...

Upping this as Advent approaches - a queer eye on the story of the Bible from the beginning written by folks from the Two:23 community.

God doesn’t require us to pass a theological test or sign a statement to come to the table. He asks us simply to eat, to drink and to remember. When we are exhausted by worship or confused by the Bible, sometimes it is so good to go back to the basics. To eat, to drink and remember we are loved.

RIP Paul Stephenson, who has died aged 87. He organised the successful Bristol bus boycott of 1963, now recognised as an important moment in British social history - by winning the argument against racial discrimination in practice, and then in law too. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Next Two:23 meeting is 16th Nov at Bloomsbury Baptist - join us for inclusive worship with the fabulous Linda Bailey and Peter Russell speaking. LGBTQ and allies welcome.

Now available in paperback or Kindle format: our Advent reflections. There all along: reflections on the Bible narrative from writers in the Gathering Space amzn.eu/d/j2l05gk

Including LGBTQ+ people helps us do church better. We were often among the first to spot abuse - now we’re working to develop safer and more consensual practice in how we help people encounter God and find healing #fruitful2024

Real life stories of how churches became inclusive and what happened next at www.fruitful2024.com

ANNOUNCEMENT: Come and celebrate what God’s doing in affirming evangelical and charismatic spaces at www.fruitful2024.com

Day 24: Jesus God and baby, human and divine, now and not yet. For literalists, a man with no Y chromosome. For mystics, unknowable intimacy. Bringer-together of heaven and earth. Maker of holy outcasts, water-into-wine, things lost and found.

Day 23: Joseph Sometimes in life you have to fight for a cause you didn't choose, but through your experiences and deep love for that person, you can share this love in solidarity with them. As the story unfolds, Joseph's gender role is reversed, taking second place to Jesus’ mother Mary.

Day 22: Mary The mother of queer liberation. She understood what it was to have her expression of family fall outside of the social norms. Her courageous ‘yes’ a decision to embrace a son with two fathers, born outside of traditional marriage.

Day 21: Angels Every time we meet an Angel in the Bible the first thing they say is, “Do not be afraid”. Do Angels look absolutely terrifying? Or do they arrive so unexpectedly as to create huge fright and shock?

Day 20: John the Baptist John was one of a kind - an outsider, unconventional, not afraid to stick his neck out and speak truth to power - a Bear Grylls character in the wilderness to whom people flocked - a charismatic celebrity but with a servant heart.

Day 19: Luke 1 Something remarkable happens to Elizabeth. To her husband, too, and he has to find a new way to tell her about it. Within the most conventional (to modern eyes, at least) relationship in the Bible, something extraordinary happens.

Day 18 Micah 5 : A ruler from Bethlehem Bethlehem means house of bread and Jesus is the bread of life. A promise of a safe place to be in Jesus. We were, we are and we will always be God’s.

Day 17: Nehemiah Rebuilding the temple makes me think about how we can sometimes need to rebuild our lives, our faith and our own central identity. Our own bodies as temples, we can need to rebuild for many reasons. Many queer people need to rebuild after coming out.

Day 16 As a teenager, Daniel was exiled from his family and faith community; probably made a eunuch, all his hopes for his future dissolved. He reacted by continuing to pray and to obey God despite threats to his life.