Bridging the Gap Synchroblog...

Today is the day of New Direction's "Bridging the Gap Synchroblog" and I thought I'd add my little voice to the discussion by recounting the story of how God used a rainbow flag to bring me back to him...

Near the beginning of my stay in Montreal - around October 2007 - I was at an interim stage in my spiritual journey. Having grown up Catholic, I had long ago grown tired of going through the motions at church and had thrown the whole going-to-Mass thing out the window the first chance I got (that being in 2005 when I left home for university). But I had been feeling for a while at that stage a certain hunger for something more, I just wasn't sure where to find it. I knew Jesus had something to do with it, but I wasn't entirely certain if it was for me or not. I had experimented with Methodist church services during my brief sejour in Cape Cod the previous summer but it seemed to me like more of the same - boring services and nothing particularly gripping. But I vaguely thought I'd keep trying and determined when I arrived in Montreal to find a good francophone church where if nothing else I could at least improve my French.

One afternoon I was passing by the Cathedral in the city centre and I had this strange, subtle urge to go inside. I don't know why I obeyed this urge, I had no interest in attending because I knew for a fact that they only held services in English (which I was determined to avoid - I was here for educational purposes dagnammit!). But anyway, I walked into the porch, had a look at the noticeboard - just as I thought, no French services. I was about to walk back out when I got a further urge in my gut (the kind I now recognise as the Holy Spirit's nudging) to go into the actual building itself, so I did. To my surprise, I noticed right at the back a massive rainbow flag! Beside it was a placard saying something to the effect of "As Christians, we are so very sorry for the spiritual abuse the Body of Christ has afflicted on LGBT people. We promise you are always welcome in this church."

As I read it, I was overwhelmed with a sense of love and acceptance and I started crying tears of joy. I knew at that moment how much God loved me and that I really did want to follow him. (For the record, I rarely cry in public!)

Some other interesting coincidences happened in the weeks following that incident, the main one being that one evening I went looking for Queer McGill, McGill University's LGBT group, hoping to get involved in some community activism. God had other, much cooler plans. I arrived at the building where I thought the meeting was to be held, only to discover that it was the wrong day and instead I had stumbled upon St Martha's in the Basement Church, a very queer-friendly ecumenical bunch that met like a house church every week. I felt at home immediately - for the first time, I LOVED going to church! - and God really used that to bring me closer to Him.

Anyway, I hope this helps others understand how vital it is to have LGBT-positive church communities. Here are some other highlights from the Synchroblog:

Justin Lee
Brian McLaren
Two World Collision
Box Turtle Bulletin
Grace Rules
Pomoprophet
And the official site itself!