Susan Cottrell's Blog, page 25

Dear Susan: What If You’re Wrong?

Are we so terrified of an angry God that we choose to err of the side of judging a person instead of loving them? Unfortunately, the answer is “yes” for much of the church. And it is destroying the lives of people and entire families – many of whom we call brothers and sisters in [Read More...]

Regardless of Who’s in Power… We Have Each Other

Tuesday was election day and for those of us working for the human rights of the humans who so happen to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, it was not a good day. This is Rob writing again today, but I speak for both Susan and myself. There have been several times in my life [Read More...]

Is Jesus a Threat to Today’s Christianity

This is Rob, Susan’s husband, and something is heavy on my heart today. Susan has been betrayed by those closest to her. She has written about how she has been judged, how her faith has been questioned. She has talked about people who tell us we are leading people into hell, and people who shun [Read More...]

Mom & Dad… You Don’t Need to Fix Me, I’m Not Broken

I talk to a lot of parents. I’m glad to report that many of them – more every day – love and affirm and embrace their LGBTQ kids, and most of those have stopped trying to change them. That’s the good news. But still, amazingly, there are too many parents who have not gotten the [Read More...]

Expectations: The Heart of Loneliness

“Loneliness is America’s poverty.” – Mother Teresa How many people in your life could you call in a middle-of-the-night, dire-straits, emergency? Two? One? For most of us, if we don’t count family, we may have no one we can really put our weight on when we need it. This includes those who faithfully attend church [Read More...]

Jesus Blog: How Does God See You?

More today from my Saturday “Jesus Blog” – a word from Jesus to you… What is that you’re saying to yourself? Your frustration with your perceived flaws. Your quick anger at your perceived failures. Your desire to reshape and reorient things about you, and your fear and depression that you cannot. Beloved? Where did you [Read More...]

Dear Susan: Shouldn’t Every Christian Love & Welcome Gays?

If many Christians and churches truly believe gay people are “lost” – shouldn’t they do everything they can to keep them close, instead of doing things that clearly push them away, and even into tragic, life-threatening situations? Shouldn’t they simply share the unconditional perfect love of God — A love they so freely accept for [Read More...]

What I’ve Learned as an Ally, an Advocate, and the Christian Mom of a Gay Child

“Victory is not won in miles, but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.” – Louis L’Amour I’m amazed at all I have learned over the last 18 months — since I came out of the closet as the Christian parent of a gay child, and began [Read More...]

Parents, Are We Protecting or Destroying Our Gay Children?

Did anyone see “Twice-Told Tales,” the 1963 horror classic with Vincent Price? It’s a campy retelling of three of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories, perfect for Halloween. (I won’t watch for-real scary movies – yikes, are you kidding??!) As I watched the middle story, “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” I thought of you – you’ll see why. Rappaccini is [Read More...]

Would You Rather Have a Gay Child or a Dead Child?

I am sorry if the title of this post shocks you, or strikes you as harsh or over-dramatic. But honestly, parents don’t realize what they’re asking of their LGBTQ kids. And they don’t realize what their rejection is doing to them. This is not about inclusion. This is a matter of life and death. By [Read More...]