"I knew I was different. And I knew I was a Christian. Over time, those two aspects of my identity merged, sometimes. At other times, they clashed. But they were always present, dancing in some strange kind of way across the years and then decades of my life. I had people tell me I had no right to be gay if I was a Christian, or conversely to call myself a Christian if I was gay. I have had people try to "convert" me or "heal" me, and people who have been downright hostile toward me. Some have even tried to deny me my calling as a minister and prevent me from collecting my pension. I have fought for my rights and for the rights of others and have been kicked to the proverbial curb many times for my efforts. Yet through it all, two constants remain. First, I am gay. That is a reality that has been true since before I was born and is never going to change - no matter what someone else might want, or how fervently they might want it. Second, I have a passionate love affair with my Creator, and with Jesus Christ, and believe that God loves me and calls me to work for justice and goodness in the world. Again, this will not change for me…" Successful author and pastor Donald Schmidt shares his life journey as a gay man deeply committed to his Christian faith and ministry - no matter what. Because it wasn't easy. Although many denominations today welcome gay candidates into ministry, it wasn't like that in the early 1980s when Schmidt entered seminary at McGill University in Montreal. Homophobia was prevalent in the church and made even worse as the terror of a new illness, AIDS, gripped society. With amazing honesty, Schmidt tells about it all - the questioning, the fear, the stigma, the anger, the defiance, the heartbreak, the struggle to live his life and ministry with integrity. If the church has come a long way since the 1980s, if it has grown and matured and evolved to value its lgbtq+ members and ministers, it must surely be due to the faith and extraordinary perseverance of those who were the first to come out and lay claim to their inheritance as beloved children of God.
