Beckett Leclaire Writes

  This was going to be an essay on "Faith" but then I had a Twitter thread on Marriage go viral (at least by the standards of my account) so I decided to flesh things out a little more. If you're dropping in from that thread, welcome! Take a look around! I hope you find something that feeds you.   When my spouse and I were discerning if we wanted to marry, I was also discerning if I had a call to ordained ministry. During one of these conversations, I pulled out my Book of Common Prayer, in possibly one of the most Episcopalian moves of our entire courtship, and first opened up page 423, the first page in the Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage. There, it says:  "[Marriage] signifies to us the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people. The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adv...

       As Pride 2022 comes to a close, I want to share some thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head. When I've been tasked, as seminarians and fledgling ministers often are, with preaching on Trinity Sunday, I have usually pointed to the Church as beloved community being a reflection of the nature of God: made up of parts and yet in union. Like any trinitarian analogy, it is imperfect to the point of skirting heresy, and every time I make it, I can hear my father's insistent reminder, "Church is not God." So, just as I would caution one against taking the Church as Icon of God thought too seriously, I would advise caution as I blaze ahead.     Pride feels to me, and I imagine to many others, not unlike Church. At its best, it's a celebration of liberation and wholeness in the face of worldly forces which seek to imprison and destroy. However, what stands out to me the most is that it is a declaration of community. Being LGBTQ+, especially i...

 Let's start with some real talk: Right now, it's rough out there for trans folks, because we've been made into political scapegoats... or rather, we've been made anew into political scapegoats. The reality of that means that it is impossible to talk or write about trans folks without "being political." That can make a lot of Christians, especially of the comfortably Mainline sort, profoundly uncomfortable. However, discomfort is the means through which we are reformed... transformed , even, by our faith.  Enter Austen Hartke's book, Transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians . I've been looking for a while for a book that explores transgender issues through a solidly Biblical lens that actually honors the dignity of trans folks. There are many books out there by "husband, pastor, father" types about trans folks, which suppose to wrestle with transgender folks' existence compassionately without actually telling a ...