“Right now, there’s a lot of emphasis in media about representation. People living a more traditional sexual ethic, while also being honest about their experience of their sexual orientation or gender identity: that is incredibly rare. Being able to represent them is a huge opportunity. My hope for these projects is that somebody out there watches this and thinks, ‘I can follow the fullness of my faith and also be honest.’”

Picture the scene. It’s 5:00 a.m. on a Thursday morning. You pull yourself out of bed after a mere three hours of sleep, as you typically don’t finish your shift at work until the wee hours of the morning. You grab a cup of coffee and pull up your computer screen to see the smiling faces of friends on the other side of the world, many of whom having just finished up a day of work and are enjoying their evening. How on earth do you stay motivated to maintain this routine, week after week?

“I recognized, in conversations with my daughter, that this was, for her, probably the most important issue to be addressing; there was all of this fire in her belly, but it wasn’t for her,” Lisa says. “It was for one of her best friends who had come out to her. They’re in a Catholic school and (my daughter) just sobbed to me about the jokes kids tell and the way things are discussed in religion class..."

There is a lot of talk in the Church today about the importance of supporting marriages. From a plethora of options for marriage preparation and ministries for those whose relationships are struggling, to an increasing number of specialized groups. There is no doubt that the Church honors the union of man and woman as a significant icon of Christ and His relationship with the Church. However, in most cases, there is a group of marriages that often goes unnoticed or at the very least, unacknowledged-- marriages in which one or both of the spouses fall somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum.

​“Pride Month was always a kind of stressful time for me, more because of the Christian response to Pride rather than Pride itself...In a sense, there’s a hard wall between me and the rest of the (secular) LGBT community. I understand where they’re coming from and I’m okay with that divider. But how Christian people respond—that’s my community—has a very strong impact on how I feel, as the ‘invisible branch’ of the LGBT community.”
​How fitting that this month, our local and regional “Hearth Groups” launched in thirteen different locations! For members of our community desiring more regular and intentional fellowship, these groups have become a significant blessing and source of support for those involved.