Month: February 2021

A Priest Rejecting Others From Doing Communion Over Who They Voted For? Say What?!

Recently, a local priest in my vicinity after preparing the elements for communion in front of their congregation said, and I’m not joking here either, that those who voted for President Biden shouldn’t receive the sacrament that day. A female parishioner there got so upset she left right then and there.

Hearing this directly from another priest friend of mine and confirming the story’s validity was incredibly disheartening. I wanted to believe it was just “fake news”, but sadly it wasn’t, as that woman had come to my friend in anguish over the whole matter. What’s truly sad is that Christ welcomed all to his table. ALL! To suggest anything otherwise, especially over who voted for who in the last presidential election is truly sad and despicable on so many levels.

I personally have experienced this very thing in many different churches throughout my life, where my sexuality, or my gender, or my not being a member there, or my not being of that specific denomination or faith, etc., excluded me from being fully a part of that church in some way.

Wasn’t it Jesus who associated himself and even broke bread throughout his life with social outcasts, beggars, prostitutes, lepers, tax collectors, Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests, roman soldiers, and many other foreigners. Wasn’t it Jesus who never turned any of them away? 2,021 years after Christ lived and people are still being turned away from his table!

The more times I hear stories like this, the more I have no desire to ever step foot back into a church again for worship. I’d rather worship from home where I can be me and don’t have to conform to someone else’s judgments of what they think is acceptable in the eyes of Christ and God.

Stories like this painfully remind me of the numerous times I faced rejection at places of worship by pastors, the worship team, or even members, due to my being a “practicing homosexual” and suggesting that was detestable in the eyes of God due to their interpretation of their religious books of reference.

Do you know what I really think is the most detestable in the eyes of God? Turning anyone away for ANY reason at any place of worship of Him. Doing so, or even telling anyone they aren’t accepted for any reason in God’s eyes, is one of the lowest things I think you can do to someone on their spiritual journey in life. Because it often drives a hungry seeker of God completely away, leaving them in shame, feeling like they aren’t good enough, even in God’s eyes.

All of this reminded me of another story I heard not too long ago of a lead drummer at an evangelical church being asked to step down from his position on the worship team because he was living with his girlfriend and having intimacy with her, someone he deeply loved, but out of wedlock. The result of which was him leaving the church altogether for awhile, even relapsing back into his drug addiction to cope with the rejection. This is much of the same reason why I chose alcohol and drugs for a good period of my life because I thought God had made a mistake with me. I believed the lie that many religious people told me that I would never be accepted in God’s eyes so long as I was in a same-sex relationship. I even tried to date the opposite sex because of this. I tried to force myself to be with women and couldn’t even get an erection no matter how many times I tried. Yet, I continued to live the lie all to be accepted by God and the churches I attended. Thankfully, God eventually helped me to see otherwise by letting me know He made me this way and showed me it was ok to be with one man, so long as I remained monogamous and devoted to them.

Nevertheless, God is nothing but unconditional love, which Christ demonstrated here over two millennia ago. But religion continues to say otherwise through examples like this priest and his views on communion, or the rejection the LGBTQ community continues to face in so many churches, and plenty of others who aren’t really fully welcomed until they conform to “A, B, or C”, all of which gets interpreted from someone’s ego’s interpretation of what the religious book they follow says.

Regardless, I pray I never turn anyone away from God. Sinners or saints, who am I to judge? All are welcomed to Christ’s and God’s table, for communion, for worship, for membership, for leadership, for anything. Telling anyone otherwise is in my book attempting to play God and that for sure is something I’m not and never will be.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Silly Joke Friday

Silly Joke #1

A new hair salon opened up for business right across the street from the old established hair cutters’ place. They put up a big bold sign which read: “WE GIVE SEVEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!” Not to be outdone, the old Master Barber put up his own sign: “WE FIX SEVEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!”

Silly Joke #2

A woman meant to call a record store but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead but didn’t know it. “Do you have ‘Eyes of Blue’ and ‘A Love Supreme’?” she asked. “Well, no,” answered the puzzled homeowner. But I HAVE got a wife and eleven children.” “Is that a record?” she inquired. “I don’t think so,” replied the man, “but it’s as close as I want to get to setting one!”

Silly Joke #3

A lawyer meets with the family of a recently deceased millionaire for the reading of the will. ‘To my loving wife, Rose, who always stood by me, I leave the house and $2 million,’ the attorney reads. ‘To my darling daughter, Jessica, who looked after me in sickness and kept the business going, I leave the yacht, the business and $1 million.’ ‘And finally,’ the lawyer concludes, ‘to my cousin Dan, who hated me, argued with me and thought I would never mention him in my will. Well, you were wrong. Hi Dan!’

Bonus Silly Joke

Arnold and his wife were cleaning out the attic one day when he came across a ticket from the local shoe repair shop. The date stamped on the ticket showed that it was over eleven years old. They both laughed and tried to remember which of them might have forgotten to pick up a pair of shoes over a decade ago. “Do you think the shoes will still be in the shop?” Arnold asked. “Not very likely,” his wife said. “It’s worth a try,” Arnold said, pocketing the ticket. He went downstairs, hopped into the car, and drove to the store. With a straight face, he handed the ticket to the man behind the counter. With a face just as straight, the man said, “Just a minute. I’ll have to look for these.” He disappeared into a dark corner at the back of the shop. Two minutes later, the man called out, “Here they are!” “No kidding?” Arnold called back. “That’s terrific! Who would have thought they’d still be here after all this time.” The man came back to the counter, empty-handed. “They’ll be ready Thursday,” he said calmly.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

“A self-absorbed person only can see the faults of others, but they are often color blind to their own.” (Unknown)

Quote #2

“Don’t blame others for your situation. Look to your past to find what led you to where you are.” (Dave Ramsey)

Quote #3

“Placing blame on others is easy. Taking responsibility for yourself is empowering.” (Tony DiCicco)

Bonus Quote

“Accepting complete responsibility for your life means that you refuse to make excuses or blame others for anything in your life that you’re not happy about.” (Brian Tracy)

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson