Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Where there is a pandemic of loneliness we know how to make community and solidarity happens in community. It you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Amen. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025We can use our queerness to do something different to the cultures we grew up in. Chosen family is something Jesus valued and promoted, over biological family. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Vertical relationship that Esther spoke about is important, and so are the horizontal relationships with each other. We may have to divest some of the stuff from our backgrounds, our consumer approach to church and community. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Mary and Elizabeth were different ages, life stages, places but came together to support each other in their time of need. There is power where there is unity in diversity. Audre Lorde: there is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not have single issue lives. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Would it look like inclusion for people with disability or neurodivergence? The synergy is that when different people come together we are greater than the sum of our parts. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025What would it look like for us to move into the neighbourhood? We don’t just have good news we are good news. We build communities across racial barriers, we build inclusive communities like this one, we stand with refugees and asylum seekers. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood (John 1 the Message) the expressed communication of God became God in our language. He shared in our human experience including suffering. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Mary goes to visit Elizabeth when both of them become pregnant in surprising circumstances. She arrives and Elizabeth said “Blessed is she who believed what the Lord said” Mary gets filled with the Holy Spirit and writes this radical prophetic song we call the Magnificat. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Last of today’s 3: Kate God is love. The kingdom or kin-dom of God is love and involves solidarity and community as God showed solidarity with us. Emma Lazarus “Until we are all free we are none of us free.” 110
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025God loves us and has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025What can we do? Read the prophets and what they have to say about Israel’s greed and live for empire. Talk to our friends, write to our MPs, act individually and collectively where we can. Christians are about a quarter of the planet. Imagine if we cared for the people for whom Christ died? 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025We need to be more like John Wesley or William Wilberforce or Martin Luther King looking after the orphan and the widow and the stranger. In medieval times the church was known for caring for the sick and starting hospitals. Do we care for our NHS? 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025We have many children in poverty and over 2000 billionaires. We don’t tax billionaires properly, but we’re happy to tax the poor and the church says nothing about it. Why? Is it because we don’t want to give up money and comfort? 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Supposedly Christian countries have been dominant for centuries and what do we have to show for it? The church supported slavery and many unfair policies that led to impoverishment and stereotyping of Black people. 101
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025People love money and power more than they love other people. Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. As a church how can we share wealth and make sure everyone is looked after? 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025All of these brought us a little bit closer to the kingdom of God and we still need to keep fighting. One of the biggest obstacles is capitalism which increases inequality, leading to violence, poor health and less sense of community. That means dismantling capitalistic structures. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Next up: Lamar. The vision in Revelation of what it will be like when Jesus comes again. What will it look like when the kingdom of God comes? Three revivals I want to speak about: the Wesley revival, the abolition movement and the civil rights movement. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Even when she finds the garden it still needs work and shaping and recreating. 010
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Jesus gives us metaphors, stories, glimpses of the kingdom, spreading everywhere. It’s a beautiful unknown. Like in “The secret garden” when the robin shows Mary the way to the garden, we find the keys to the kingdom and God shows us the way. 241
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025What my nana called “that which we call God.” Perhaps we should say “that which we call the kingdom”. We know and we don’t know. Uncertainty and things beyond our understanding, all of these beautiful unknowns can reflect that which we call God. 110
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025But I find that helpful because as I’ve stepped into my skin as a queer person I’ve found that many more things make sense - that questions more than answers build my faith, that the unknown of God is what makes God God. What Augustine calls “a mystery beyond words”. 110
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025John the Baptist knows the kingdom is near but doesn’t say what it is. Jesus says it’s good news. Different verses have different clues and it’s like a jigsaw puzzle. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025“I don’t know” but I feel the not-knowing is important. Even Jesus says “The kingdom of God is like…” not “The kingdom of God is”. 110
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Such a beautiful sense of the presence of God in worship at today’s Two:23 meeting. Now to the talks. The kingdom of God is… Our three speakers will share their 10 minute take on the prompt. First up: Esther 120
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 16/01/2025Exploring the question: what is the Kingdom of God about? Three amazing speakers, the chance to gather for worship. See you this Saturday. www.facebook.com/share/1B8UXL...facebook.comRedirecting... 021
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 24/12/2024The incarnation, the beauty and rebellion and wild tenderness, the mystery of Christ, is queer. Transgressive, transformational, blurring binaries, breaking things that bind. The story of Christmas is a story of queer joy. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 24/12/2024Day 24: Jesus God and baby, human and divine, now and not yet. For literalists, a man with no Y chromosome. For mystics, unknowable intimacy. Bringer-together of heaven and earth. Maker of holy outcasts, water-into-wine, things lost and found. 120
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 23/12/2024However, despite being sidelined, he walks into the shadows as required. He risks being an outcast for going against societal rules as a loyal servant of God. Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan, but it's what we do with what happens that makes all the difference. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 23/12/2024Day 23: Joseph Sometimes in life you have to fight for a cause you didn't choose, but through your experiences and deep love for that person, you can share solidarity with them. As the story unfolds, Joseph's gender role is reversed, taking second place to Mary as Jesus’ mother. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 22/12/2024Standing firm before the face of others, declaring that, “The Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name” not in spite of, but because of all that she was. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 22/12/2024Day 22: Mary The mother of queer liberation. She understood what it was to have her expression of family fall outside of the social norms. Her courageous ‘yes’ a decision to embrace a son with two fathers, born outside of traditional marriage. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 21/12/2024In fact these very words: “Do not be afraid” appear in the scriptures 365 times - once for every day of the year. Angels are messengers from God. What we need hear, and to believe, is the personal message to each of us that we should not be afraid. #Advent #LGBT 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 21/12/2024Day 21: Angels Every time we meet an Angel in the Bible the first thing they say is, “Do not be afraid”. Do Angels look absolutely terrifying? Or do they arrive so unexpectedly as to create huge fright and shock? 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 21/12/2024He was a person of prayer, of prophecy - of promise. Prepare ye the way of the Lord.. can we wear his sandals ? Are we prepared to stand up for justice and righteousness whatever the cost ? 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 21/12/2024Day 20: John the Baptist John was one of a kind - an outsider, unconventional, not afraid to stick his neck out and speak truth to power - a Bear Grylls character in the wilderness to whom people flocked - a charismatic celebrity but with a servant heart. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 19/12/2024And when she sees her young, disgraced cousin, she knows that something similarly wonderful is happening to her, too. Elizabeth doesn’t care about the conventions any more. She recognises God’s blessing on both of them, on both their children, and rejoices in it. Alleluia! 010
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 19/12/2024Day 19: Luke 1 Something remarkable happens to Elizabeth. To her husband, too, and he has to find a new way to tell her about it. Within the most conventional (to modern eyes, at least) relationship in the Bible, something extraordinary happens. 110
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/12/2024God promised to be there at all time, the world will be destroyed but you will always be protected and love as long as you trust in Him and believe in Him. His Grace will always be upon you no matter what. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 18/12/2024Day 18 Micah 5 : A ruler from Bethlehem Bethlehem means house of bread and Jesus is the bread of life. A promise of a safe place to be in Jesus. We were, we are and we will always be His. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 17/12/2024The opposition to rebuilding the temple can often be seen in opposition we might face. But like with rebuilding the temple, there is a vastness of those willing to assist us. A reminder we all need community. #Advent #LGBT 030
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 17/12/2024Day 17: Nehemiah Rebuilding the temple makes me think about how we can sometimes need to rebuild our lives, our faith and our own central identity. Our own bodies as temples, we can need to rebuild for many reasons. Many queer people need to rebuild after coming out. 150
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 16/12/2024God blessed him and gave him great influence in a totally unforeseen situation. When we are exiled from our faith family, don’t write off the possibility that you are still part of God’s story and your life of faith still matters. #Advent #LGBT #FaithfullyLGBT 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 16/12/2024Day 16: Daniel As a teenager, Daniel was exiled from his family and faith community; probably made a eunuch, all his hopes for his future dissolved. He reacted by continuing to pray and to obey God despite threats to his life… 1/2 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 15/12/2024Day 15: You can't run away from yourself or God no matter how much you try. Whether it is hiding who you are or not giving the message you are given to spread. Jonah shows there is no way to be fully you unless you are fully honest with yourself and God. For God already knows it. 010
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 14/12/2024But it’s good meaning. Where you’ve been told you are not part of God’s people, labelled as sinner or abomination, God begs to differ. We’re welcomed home as the children of God we are. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 14/12/2024This one is our origin story. It’s a classic evangelical example of taking a verse out of context and loading it with unintended meaning. (Jer 29:11 anyone?) 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 14/12/2024Day 14: Hosea 2:23 “Not-my-people” is the name of Hosea’s child. The labels they were given were symbols of their alienation, but the message of the book is that God changes their name. 100
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 13/12/2024A stranger appeared. “Read on,” he said. I rolled open the next part of the scroll. “To those eunuchs who keep my covenant I will give a place in my temple…” The rules were about to change. Forever. Nothing could keep me from being baptised. 000
Two:23 @two23.bsky.social · 13/12/2024Day 13 Disappointed, I sat reading the scroll. As a foreigner (& the obvious) I hadn’t even been allowed far enough into the temple to get the answers I wanted. I re-read the passage: cut-off, disinherited, rejected. How could this Isaiah know exactly how I felt? 100
