Finding My Place in Ritual and Love as a Queer Mennonite
With this person, I wondered, could I be my full self—queer, spiritual, and religious?
It was November of 2016. The waxing nights seemed to mirror the gulf widening between us.
With this person, I wondered, could I be my full self—queer, spiritual, and religious?
On our second date, we sat on a patch of grass and talked for hours. “I don’t agree with everything in conservative religion,” she’d said. “But I do think there is something to not jumping in bed with someone right away.”
Jesus at Shabbat? What was I thinking?
Will this happen to me, too?
you
Stay quiet. Look at the carpet.
One night, I found myself reading the story of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, and Jacob from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim perspectives. I saw that all the stories were similar, but had one main difference—each tradition claimed they were the true chosen people of God. I thought about all the wars fought partly over this idea of chosen-ness, the violence still inflicted to this day.
This is heaven! I am sure it’s okay to go over there. I’m here all alone. Maybe I can join her group
I choose to be chosen and I choose to be loved
Addie Liechty is a Bay Area psychotherapist, singer-songwriter, and writer of poetry and essays. Their writing interests include the intersections of spirituality, religion, psychology, and social justice.
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