A Pondering: A quick thought or random wondering.
I regularly hear stories of young people who have been made homeless due to their sexual orientation.
It’s a common story, whānau believe being Queer is sinful/wrong, they struggle between their concern and love for their kid, and the fear they hold for their young persons eternal salvation. The journey always varies, but the result is to often the same. Instead of receiving love, care and support… They are turned out onto the streets.
It might be easy to blame the individual families in these sitations. But, to be honest, in most situations (I’ve witnessed) the whanau are genuinely trying to navigate a situation their theology, and worldview hasn’t given them the tools to process. They do what they believe is best for their kids. The results are obviously heartbreaking, and lead to severe truama, neglect and abuse for our kids. But, the whanau are simply living out of the narratives they’ve received.
The problem is not these individual whānau units, but rather the theology our religious communities hold.
Theologians/pastors/religious leaders need to develop and communicate a theology that our people can live out of. Regardless of what we want to believe as faith communities about how we love and care for our LGBTQ whanau, something about the communities we create, and the theologies we construct, is leading to our rainbow rangatahi being further marginalised and at risk.
#LoveTrumpsLaw
Reclaiming The Lamb 