THE AUTHORITARIAN AND THE INTEGRALIST Location: Austin Town HallParticipants: Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (a fictional composite of a Fundamentalist Baptist Preacher), Joe Perez (author of Soulfully Gay and Soulfully Gay II)Audience: Mixed crowd—churchgoers, spiritual seekers, skeptics, LGBTQ+ community members Rev. Ezekiel Burnham (stepping up after Joe’s opening remarks):“Mr. Perez, I appreciate your...
Homosexuality and the Mystery of God’s Presence
By Joe Perez, M.Div.Sermon For Pride Sunday – Episcopal Church Service LOVE THAT GROUNDS: INTRODUCING THE DESCENDING CURRENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Some forms of love do not lift us upward but bring us inward and downward—into the body, into memory, into the palpable here-and-now. They deepen us. They help us settle into presence. They ask us not to rise above life but to be fully in it. This is what...
Gayness as Self-Immanence: An Insight As Seen From Many Angles
GAYNESS AS THE GROUND OF REALITY What if the love that a gay man feels for another is not only a personal experience, but also a key to understanding the structure of reality itself? That question has haunted me—in the best way—for many years. My work in queer theology and spirituality begins with a simple proposition: gayness, or more precisely homophilia—the love of sameness—is a metaphor for...
