Years ago, I read this caption on a flyer distributed by the Lambda Student Association at my community college. It was one thing that gave me hope during my time of struggle.

I had been a Christian for most of my life, and I was desperately afraid to admit to myself that I was, in fact, also a lesbian. I watched the members of that group and envied the freedom they all seemed to possess. Most of them were "out": they were comfortable with who they were, and most or all of their friends and relatives knew. None of them seemed to have the problems I was having.

I had already attended a few meetings by the time I saw that flyer for the first time. It was on Join-a-Club day, when all the clubs put up booths and distributed literature. Curiously enough, I was able to stand at the booth and in effect "announce" myself as a lesbian, but I could not admit its truth to myself.

The truth is, I wasn't half as afraid of being bashed or harassed as I was of going directly to hell.

I was convinced that God hates gay people, and to admit that I was a lesbian was to separate myself from Him forever, no matter how much I believed in Him and loved Him or how Christlike I tried to be.

Later, I realized that I was only one of many who had been brought up with those beliefs and swallowed them unquestioningly. The price is dear: as long as we are stuck within the framework of what we were taught, we have to either believe we are going to hell or stop believing God exists at all. And there isn't much in the mainstream of things to convince us of anything else.

Through my own struggles, and through research and prayer, I have learned that God does not hate us. We are His babies. He loves us and blesses us and pours the Holy Spirit on us just as much as anyone else. It's people who have a problem with us! Just as Jesus didn't need the Pharisees and other church leaders in order to do God's work, we do not need the approval of any church mucky-muck in order to be Christians!

So to this end I have dedicated these Web pages to anyone who has been told that God hates them or that they're going to hell, feels unwelcome to come to church, or has been called a hypocrite for being Christian and gay. It is also for any Christian questioning how Christian it is to throw gays out of churches, expect us to lie about who we are, or otherwise treat us as though we are not God's own. These pages are for you!

In them I have written my testimony, from my personal experience as a Christian lesbian who has believed in the Lord and prayed to Him since childhood. However, I was not born-again until 2 years after coming out as a lesbian woman. (This causes serious problems if you are stuck to the notion that God only calls on straight people to join His family!) Since then, I can attest not only to the miraculous changes Christ has made in my life as my Lord and Savior, but to the promptings and assistance of the Holy Spirit in my ministries. This ministry exists because prejudice and bigotry do not belong in the holy church of God. In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "Oppression is not only evil, it is blasphemous because it makes a child of God doubt that s/he is a child of God." This is why it is absolutely necessary to challenge what people say and let them know that we, too, have been invited to the Lord's table. I pray that this ministry will help to spread the word. God bless you.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  ~ Romans 8:15

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  ~ Romans 8:38-39