I can tell that you're frustrated about fundraising from your post "Do gays WANT spirit?" I do think that the current economics of print publishing make it unprofitable now on almost every level. For example, when I went to the Lammy Awards in 2008, several winning LGBT authors mentioned in their acceptance speeches that their publishers had gone out of business! So you're not the only one trying to figure out how to make it in today's economy. You are asking the right question, "ARE we offering what LGBT people WANT?" I try to keep this question in mind, too, while also remembering Jesus' words, "Wherever two or three are gathered, I am there." Maybe the LGBT spiritual market will never be a mass market, but a small niche or just a few people.

Thanks for your comment and Wikipedia link. I actually got that info from a different Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots I wrote that Stonewall “BECAME KNOWN AS the first time,” which is slightly different from actually being the first time. Certainly there were many people promoting LGBT rights in various ways, and their efforts made Stonewall possible.

Well said, Wendy!

Thanks, Clayton, these are absolutely stunning. There's even a Filipina female Christ on the cross. I did hear from one artist friend who said that Tikkun accepted his work on Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing how they illustrate queer spirituality.

David, I never received your comment. I try to approve them within a day or two. But if you left a comment on this post on 5/19, it has been lost. Sorry for the inconvenience, but you'll have to resubmit it.

My impression is that many artists want to create more LGBT spiritual art, but they get isolated and discouraged because there doesn’t seem to be a “market” for it. Clayton, you and I are changing that by posting their art on our blogs and websites. So far I heard from 5 artists who told me that they submitted their work to Tikkun for this project.

I expected that some might feel it was an insult to memorialize the GAY victims of the Holocaust when the Jewish losses were so much greater. But no, it’s the part about the Jehovah’s Witnesses that proves controversial. JJones offers some interesting food for thought. I agree that it’s important not to downplay the impact of the Holocaust on Jews. That’s why the first line of this post refers only to the 6 million Jews who were killed.

This is thrilling! I am contacting Peterson now to help with this project. Thanks for announcing it here.

Thanks, PJ, for a truly loving comment. Your words encourage me to continue researching and writing about the saints, I’m glad you appreciate my “tireless research and cheerful style” -- because sometimes I DO feel tired and less than cheerful while unearthing buried info on queer saints. But as you say, it is a kind of calling, and my path to God.

Thanks, William, for a fresh and positive viewpoint on the erotic cover for my “Jesus in Love” novel. The film characters you mention are archetypes of Christ. Sometimes people act like religion and science fiction are worlds apart, and yet they both provide mythic meaning for our lives and spirits. “The Man Who Fell to Earth” is one of my favorite movies. I’ve long been intrigued by the deep, unspoken love between Kirk and Spock, too. Are you familiar with slash fiction? These are stories written by fans that take the homosexual subtext of Star Trek and make it explicit. There’s even “Bible slash” that explores the homoerotic subtexts of the Bible. Hang in there, and don’t let the fundamentalists get you down. Dare I say it? Live long and prosper. Pennyjane, thanks for another beautiful expression of how God’s love is manifest. I especially liked your statement, “all forms of sexuality… even ‘a’ can be sinful in practice.” It’s interesting to think that asexuality can also be sinful… a denial of life and therefore of God. You ask, “can there really be any expression of love that God hates?” My answer is that there cannot be an expression of love that God hates.