Prayer Posse request, part I

It seems, in this annus horribilis (yes, it has been, on and off, a horrible year, in academe and elsewhere, in largely unbloggable ways) as if I have not offered much spiritual nourishment here except for a few sermons and icons of both human saints and the fabulous four-legged feline bishop. But perhaps making intercessory prayer and requests for intercessory prayer public is a ministry in itself. I thank you for yours. And again I offer mine, in the form of requests. (By the way, the year wasn't entirely horribilis. My friends and family are the best. Things could be much worse. So stop worrying, already.)

This first request is for my friend and colleague in ministry, Cecilia. She is a member of a different church from mine, one that could impose serious sanctions on her and her ministry for coming out as a lesbian. She has been blogging for quite some time at Closeted Pastor. She did not start blogging with the conscious intention of coming out. Those of us who commented and joined her circle of conversation did not urge her either toward staying in the closet or toward leaving it. We accompanied Cecilia. In her time and Godde's time she made the decision to come out, and tomorrow she will come out to her congregation's governing board, and Thursday to her congregation.

Please accompany Cecilia in prayer if you feel moved to do so. I pray for her, in thanksgiving for her deeply pastoral ministry and for her courage, for her Beloved, and for her church. She is peaceful and has prayed through this decision. If only the Church in all its manifestations were as loving as Jesus, we would have nothing to fear. But even with fear, we have with us an Advocate. In Godde's Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Jesus, we go forth.

As a straight ally, I pray that I will keep faith with my lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered friends and that I will not step back from standing with them as they bravely go forth, wanting only to live and love as Godde created and called them. Pray for Cecilia. Pray for the Church.

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, "At the Moulin Rouge: Two Women Waltzing"