Como pastora abiertamente queer y orgullosamente Boricua, me urge declarar en voz clara y contundente, que nuestro Dios no es un Dios de odio.
Dios nos hizo tal y cual somos- en toda nuestra gloria como personas gai, lesbianas, bisexuales, transgénero, queer. Estamos hechos en la imagen y semejanza de Dios. Somos parte de su creación- la misma creación que Dios miró y declaró buena en gran manera.
Todxs aquellxs que están utilizando la tragedia en nuestra comunidad latinx para promover mensajes de odio perpetúan la violencia contra nuestro cuerpos y contra nuestros espíritus.
El odio no es valor Cristiano.
Comprometámonos a buscar nuevas maneras de amplificar los mensajes de amor. Busquemos nuevas maneras de resistir el miedo y el odio. Tenemos que llorar, tenemos que dar voz a nuestra rabia y nuestro dolor pero hagámoslo juntos. No nos puede separar el odio. No nos pueden silenciar. No vamos a desparecer. No vamos a escondernos.
La luz en las tinieblas resplandece, y las tinieblas no prevalecieron contra ella. Juan 1:5
El amor de Dios se hace manifiesto en nosotrxs. Sigamos pues amándonos como acto de fe, como acto de desafío, como acto de sobrevivencia, como impulso a la justicia. El amor gana al final.
English Translation
Hate is not a Christian Value
As an openly queer pastor, and a proud Puerto Rican, I must urgently and clearly declare that our God is not a God of hatred. God made us just as we are in all of our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer glory. We are made in God’s image. We are part of God’s creation- the same creation that God regarded and declared good. All of those who are using this tragedy in our community to promote messages of hatred are perpetuating the violence against our bodies and our spirits.
Hate is not a Christian value.
Nor is it a Muslim value.
Hate comes from homophobia and racism. We won’t let hate have the last word. Let’s commit to finding ways to amplify messages of love. Let’s find new ways of resisting fear and hatred.
We must cry, we must give voice to our rage and our pain, but let’s do it together. Hatred cannot break us apart. We will not be silenced. We will not disappear. We will not hide.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5)
The love of God is made manifest in us. Let’s love each other then as an act of faith, as an act of defiance, as an act of survival, as an act of justice. Love wins in the end.
The Reverend Thea L. Racelis is the Minister at South Congregational Church in Middletown, CT. She has a background in community organizing and social justice. She has many wonderful memories of nights spent laughing, sweating, and dancing in the holy sanctuary of gay bars in her native Puerto Rico, and many Latin Nights around the continental U.S.
Twitter: @TheaRacelis