One source of real pain for many of us is the rejection we receive from the church and our spiritual communities. Being raised in a spiritual community, whether Christian or other can and should be a very nurturing experience, but for many of us, our experience of such communities is the opposite. From an early age we are taught that to be anything other than heterosexual is evil, sinful, corrupt, and that we are destined to burn in the fires of hell for all eternity.
This kind of rejection by our churches and our communities is very damaging to our spirits. Many people internalise this message and it takes a lot of strength and courage to reject this way of thinking, especially when the fundamentalists have armed themselves with quote after quote from the bible to justify their bigotry. Fundamentalist Christian churches dominate the spiritual landscape in Jamaica, making it difficult for people to explore alternative thinking on homosexuality.
However, there are alternatives to the mainstream church, including some Christian churches which focus more on nurturing the spirit and drawing the positive from people, rather than on condemning people and focusing on guilt and sin. Some of these alternatives operate from a Christian perspective, and others present alternative belief systems.
Contact us for information on gay-friendly churches in Jamaica.
Check the links below for gay Christian and alternative spirituality sites.
http://www.outspirit.org/
http://www.gaychristians.org/
http://www.whosoever.org/welcome.html
http://www.whitecranejournal.com/wc00000.htm
This inspiring bishop was invited to speak in Jamaica in 2001 by the Universal Centre of Truth:
http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/jsspong
This is a listing of alternative gay spiritual sites:
http://www.whitecranejournal.com/wc05000.htm
http://www.othersheep.org/
Metropolitan Community Church:
http://www.ufmcc.com/
Gay muslim site:
http://www.al-fatiha.net/
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