Posts with the tag “ssa”

I read with interest Emily Sargent’s article in the Times, 31 January 2024 titled – “Conversion therapy? It must be banned. I should know.”  Reading this article, led me to delve deeper into Emily Sargent’s work, and I discovered a series of seven podcasts called “Thinking Straight,” which explore conversion therapy, and advocates for an extensive ban. Emily is a non-Christian, lesbian reporter, a...  Read More

In his book “Gay Children, Straight Parents: A Plan for Family Healing,” author Richard Cohen lays out his suggestion that there are 10 factors we can look at which may contribute to children developing same sex attraction.  Looking at these factors myself, I can also see how some of them may also be factors that are at play when previously heterosexual adults find themselves attracted to the same...  Read More

It never fails to sadden me when people who contact the ministry tell me that they are struggling to find a church where they feel welcome and safe to speak of their same sex attraction, whether current or historic.  The tendency seems to be that they either find a church that has become inclusive, to the point of celebration of same sex relationships.  Or, they find a church where they feel judge...  Read More

There was a time in my life when I was out and proud in the gay community and felt that I actually belonged there. Yet at the same time I didn’t entirely feel like I was meant to be there. I had enough of a Christian upbringing to know the lifestyle I was living wasn’t for me.  In church for a long time though, I had also felt very alone and I didn’t feel like I belonged there either. Having same ...  Read More

I think it’s called righteous anger, but a wave of emotion swept over me as I heard the voice of the Bishop of Oxford calling for the Church of England to accept same sex marriage.  I don’t write from a theoretical position, but from one of personal testimony.  Having been in a civil partnership with another woman for 16 years, I know what it feels like to centre my identity on my sexuality, and d...  Read More

This weekend, members of the TBGL group will be flying in from around the world to attend our second annual retreat and we are delighted to have an opportunity to worship, learn, and grow together. Some outsiders have asked us what the group all about; the question either asked out of genuine interest, or as a more veiled question, suggesting perhaps that our group constitutes so called “conversio...  Read More

Christian parents sometimes ask us what do they do when their child comes out as gay or Trans?  I suggest that two things are essential:Love unconditionallyGo into your prayer closet and start warring in the SpiritIf you think about it, your child has gone through an incredible struggle to get to the point of telling you.  They have almost certainly warred with themselves, shed a lot of tears, suf...  Read More

This week our TBGL peer groups are talking about healthy same sex friendships.  It’s something we don’t often talk about; perhaps we consider it a non-issue or perhaps we are slightly embarrassed about our lack of close and intimate relationships with those of the same sex?On personal reflection, I recognise that I often put up barriers to becoming close to another woman.  It’s not a sexual thing,...  Read More

Baptisms are such special occasions, so it was with joy that we learned that one of our Transformed International members, and key contributor to the Rev12 Project, got baptised at a conference this weekend.   Katrina has only been a Christian for a year, yet one read of her devotions included in the Rev12 Project give you a clear idea of the amazing work God has done in her life in such a short s...  Read More

I thought it would be interesting to ask a group of Christians who have experienced, or still experience, same sex attraction (SSA) about their experiences in church.  I asked the tongue in cheek question – what’s the dumbest thing someone’s ever said to you in church about SSA?I was not ready for the answers I received, it opened my eyes to a level of offence and ignorance that must be changed if...  Read More