Hello! (and a little bit of autobiography)

[Matthew_22]

Hello!

My name is Matthew. I am 22-years-old, LGBTQ+ and in a loving, same-sex relationship. I was raised Catholic, but have felt disheartened by the church's position on relationships like mine. I tried to reconcile my faith and romantic life for the better part of 2 years (around the time my relationship began), but couldn't.

I am hoping to find a supportive, open community on Christian Forums. I also hope that I can have some enlightening conversations here about faith, love, and the interaction between both of them. I am currently investigating the Episcopal church, but I am open to exploring other denominations. I believe that what is really important is that I find myself in a place where I can have a closer connection to God, and I just have not been able to find that where I've been.

(I want to make it clear that this post is not meant to disrespect Catholics, nor the Catholic church, in any way, shape or form; I was raised Catholic, and many of my family members are Catholics, so I have no contempt for anyone who is Catholic ... I am simply describing a large part of what brought me to this forum: where I was, where I am now, and where I want to be.)

I look forward to having deep, honest conversations with everyone here, and the love and support that I'm sure is real and palpable in this community.

God bless,
Matt.

 

[Tigger45]

Welcome to CF Matt!

 

[Matthew_22]

Welcome to CF Matt!

Hello! Thank you for the warm welcome!

 

[angelsaroundme]

I like your signature. Cool design. Welcome!

 

[Matthew_22]

I like your signature. Cool design. Welcome!

Thank you so much!

 

[.Jeremiah.]

Welcome Matt
Very nice to have you here.

After trying 16 different churches over a number of years (I traveled too much), I concluded they’re all the same.
Pretty much, social clubs with loud music and light shows.
It was much easier for me to find the Lord when I gave up on churches. But we’re all different. Best of luck to you in life.

 

[Matthew_22]

Welcome Matt
Very nice to have you here.

After trying 16 different churches over a number of years (I traveled too much), I concluded they’re all the same.
Pretty much, social clubs with loud music and light shows.
It was much easier for me to find the Lord when I gave up on churches. But we’re all different. Best of luck to you in life.

Jeremiah,

I thoroughly appreciate your input from your own experiences. This is the kind of honest discussion I really love.

I personally have found that as a queer Christian, it's very important to have a sense of community. It's for this reason and some others that I feel being part of a church is significant to my journey through faith. In my own experiences, being part of a church community where I did not feel welcome because of my sexual identity made really believing my faith very difficult (at times I felt like my faith was instilled in me by a sense of fear, or that faith was serving the role in my life that rehab or medicine would play in a sick patient's). I no longer want to feel this way, but I don't want to abandon the church entirely because I have always thrived around other people, especially fellow believers, and I do really believe that church serves a vital role in faith and in service to God.

Either way, I hope my search for the truth in God sheds light on the path I need to take. I pray every day for God's direction and I will not stop even after He has shown me the way.

 

[.Jeremiah.]

Jeremiah,

I thoroughly appreciate your input from your own experiences. This is the kind of honest discussion I really love.

I personally have found that as a queer Christian, it's very important to have a sense of community. It's for this reason and some others that I feel being part of a church is significant to my journey through faith. In my own experiences, being part of a church community where I did not feel welcome because of my sexual identity made really believing my faith very difficult (at times I felt like my faith was instilled in me by a sense of fear, or that faith was serving the role in my life that rehab or medicine would play in a sick patient's). I no longer want to feel this way, but I don't want to abandon the church entirely because I have always thrived around other people, especially fellow believers, and I do really believe that church serves a vital role in faith and in service to God.

Either way, I hope my search for the truth in God sheds light on the path I need to take. I pray every day for God's direction and I will not stop even after He has shown me the way.

Thank you for your thoughtful response, Matthew.

 

[Deade]

Hello Matt, welcome to CF.

I hope you'll enjoy your stay here.


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[sunshineforJesus]

Hi and welcome.