Today, Slate Magazine‘s Outward blog features a new article by Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart on celibate gay Christians. It’s a respectful, thoughtful piece, and I appreciated my conversations with the author, who I think “got” the key focus of Spiritual Friendship:
All the B Siders I talked to were eager to combat the widespread view of celibacy as necessarily leading to a life of unending loneliness and isolation. In fact, many of the discussions they have among themselves have moved past the question of whether and why to remain celibate and on to how one can do so and still live a fulfilling life. This more practical, positive focus is intended to address something they believe has long been lacking in the mostly negative messages that their faith communities have long presented to LGBTQ people.
Be sure to check out the whole article.
Spiritual Friendship 
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I’m so glad that the message of SF is getting out there. Congratulations Ron and everyone!
It’s great to see that there is more awareness of gay Christians who seek to live a life of community while remaining faithful to orthodox teachings regarding sexuality. I just started a blog about my own experiences as a gay evangelical Christian, and it’s encouraging to see like-minded blogs like this. Thanks for your work.
I very much appreciate how respectful she was in discussing the issues given that she has a differing viewpoint. This is what good journalism looks like. She was surprisingly accurate.
I very much enjoyed the article. I think this article demonstrated that conservative Christians do not have to act like jerks when explaining our point of view and that when we act decently many in the Side A community respond respectfully.
I think the article as well done. What intrigued me most was Ron Belgau’s and Joseph Prever’s remarks about feeling more at home amongst other Catholics then amongst other gays. Well I can imagine quite a few instances where this might be true for them, what intrigued me was that my own experience is precisely the opposite. I know that Belgau is in academia, and I’m not really sure what circles Prever moves in, but I wonder if his social environment isn’t very similar. Maybe Catholics of a similar income and educational level can make space for those gays and lesbians considered “safe.”
My own experience has been that I’m more readily accepted as a Catholic who goes to Mass by other gay people then I am as a gay person who goes to Mass by other Catholics. I’d like to hear more from both Belgau and Prever about this and what it is they think motivates these attitudes. Is it really just about the sex that they’re not having?
Congratulations. May God help spread word of your work further.
What intrigued me most was also Mr Belgau and Prever’s remarks about feeling more at home amongst other Catholics then amongst other gays. I think you can safely say this because you are both Americans and any lapse in or indeed disclosure of your (same-)sexuality would be met with a compassion born out of the liberal society which you so often criticise. In any other overwhelmingly religious society, it would be met with a lynch-mob. An African friend of mine read your comments in utter disbelief. This is also quite true of rural Europe where I grew up.
Reblogged this on Musings of Me and commented:
Decent article. Go read it.
I read the entire article and almost died of joy. It was really refreshing to read something written by a secular lesbian journalist who actually understood and sympathize with the “Side B” view. This side’s view doesn’t seem to get a lot of coverage in mainstream media. It’s good to see that Spiritual Friendship has gotten the word out. I seriously can’t say how much this blogsite has helped me out.