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717 South 32nd Street
River Park, IN, 46615
United States
This video series has been in the works for a few years now, and I am excited to share the first episode with you!
Produced, Directed and filmed by David Vosburg
Hosted by Jonathan Randall Grant
Theme Song by Dena Dena Dena
Special thanks to Low Res Studio, Chicago for letting us film in their beautiful space!
Many people have written me, to inquire about my gradual shift in understanding LGBTQ inclusion in the Church, and toward a queer-affirming theology. Rather than respond to each of these e-mails and messages separately, I thought I would answer a few of these questions in a video:
I would love to hear what you are digging up in your theological exploration!
Last weekend I returned to my alma mater to celebrate my 10-year class reunion. It was a lovely time of seeing friends and meeting lots of adorable old people. But mostly it was a gorgeous reminder of a place that shaped me deeply.
The theme of the weekend came from a quote by E. Stanley Jones. Never mind if you have not heard of him. haha. He happens to be our most important alum (Dean Jones can take a seat for a second).
E. Stanley founded an ashram in India, and was close friends with Gandhi. It was Jones' biography of MG that brought him into the public eye in the west, and most noticeably introduced MLK to formal concepts of non-violent protest. (MLK's annotated copy of Jones' biography is on display in his museum)
(((The quote references John Wesley and George Whitefield, (patron saints of Asbury) who litereally invented the phrase "agree to disagree. #funfact)))
It seems simple, but at a time when our nation is deeply divided, I am also a part of an alumni base that is divided too. Asburians are spread around the world and represent a variety of perspectives. So it is not insignificant that the school chose this message for this time.
It is a complicated time for Christian Liberal Arts institutions... and loving them can be just as compllicated. I am still feeling that out.
Most of all, I am feeling grateful to be a part of this group of wild things who dare to love each other, and to serve those in need- regardless of our differences.
This July I collaborated with a few friends in LA. We constructed a set for an (upcoming) video series. But before we started filming, we used some spare time to set up and photograph an altar. It was fun to create together, combining some food styling props along with my dream of simple, wooden, plant cut-outs. I hope we can create more sensory installations like this for faith communities in the future.
Blue and White Plant cutouts built by Luke Beavers, Angie Lister, Brianne Curtis
Photographed by Caroline Ingram Lee at LightLab in Los Angeles
Props provided by Anne Sage
Just as I was despairing and angry at all of the injustice and oppression in the world, I realised it was time to paint something for Advent. The text in my mind was:
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit...
”
The longer I spent with the text, the more hopeful it seemed to me... Out of something that is dead... out of decay... comes something fresh and new! It has filled me with hope. God is all about this process of incarnation... of pouring hope and life into the dead areas of our world. May we continue to hold this Advent hope as we seek to build a healthy and vibrant world.
Image by Jill Devries // Styled by Jamie Skriba
We have a lot of work to do in our efforts to craft a Church that genuinely protects and works for the good of humanity. One of the huge areas of pain and rejection within faith communities has been human sexuality. Here are a few resources to help guide your exploration and discussion of LGBTQ inclusion:
The Body’s Grace Rowan Williams - A stunning exploration of human sexuality by perhaps the world’s greatest living theologian. (PDF)
Jason Adam Miller - A profound and tender outline of the debate with perspectives from multiple sides. (Podcast)
Kathy Baldock- Untangling the Mess - In a 2-part lecture, Kathy charts the historical shift in how human sexuality has been perceived throughout time and how that shift has affected the conversation within the Church. (Below)
Jarrell Wilson preaching at the Reformation Project Conference in Chicago on the ways in which the sacraments centre the marginalised. (Below)
Tony Campolo at The American Church in Paris - An Evengelical theologian who has been outspoken in debates against affirming theology, Tony charts for us his shift towards affirming theology, and why he firmly embraces homosexual christians. This is perhaps the best lecture I have found on this topic. (Below)
A Generous Orthodoxy - Malcolm Gladwell's gracious take on how our beliefs interact with the lives around us. (Podcast)
Pastor Danny Cortez- A gracious sermon outlining a solid scriptural perspective. (Below)
Wendell Berry on Gay Marriage - Perhaps the most traditional and community-oriented man in America today, Berry discusses his change of heart and policy. (Below)
The Liturgists Podcast LGBTQ - Beautiful and gentle stories from many different perspectives. (Podcast)
Matthew Vines Transcript - Not a theological treatise, but it still gives a good overview of affirming theology. (Below)
Books:
Queer Virtue - Rev. Elizabeth Edman
Building a Bridge - James Martin, SJ
Take This Bread - Sara Miles
God and the Gay Christian - Matthew Vines
Walking the Bridgeless Canyon - Kathy Baldock
On Spiritual Friendship (12th century) - Aelred of Rievaulx
The Man Jesus Loved - Theodore Jennings
I will try to keep this updated, but feel free to add more links in the comments!
PAX
GRANT
… and the the fantastic theology above, I will add a bit about my journey:
Photo by Hannah Persson
This Summer has been out of control in the best way possible. My travels have brought me to
Chicago, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Indianapolis, Saint Louis, Willow Springs, Eliabethtown, Corbin, Mt. Mitchell, Winston Salem, Raleigh, Seattle, Kirkland, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Clemente, Berkeley, Los Angeles... and now back to the midwest!
My time has been occupied with meetings and speaking engagements and conversation after conversation with creatives. The constant theme developing has been the URGENT NEED to craft churches into spaces where we can all create and worship freely... and my messages to churches have been along a similar set of topics. It has been so powerful to hear that creatives and churches all over the United States are re-imagining the ways in which we serve and worship, and are actively working to create space for the people on the fringes of their faith communities! I am so heartened by this!
I have so many exciting updates and projects to share with you all! Stay tuned for updates! My return to Paris has been extended a bit, as I continue to put together a team of partners to help fund and co-dream this ministry, and as I finish up a few projects and commissions and consulting work with churches in the States.
If you share this vision and hope for the possibility and beauty of the Church, I would be honoured to have you partner with what we are working on. Check out my "Partners" page for more info. I still need a few more partners to help make everything come together fully.
Excited to keep dreaming and plotting with you all!
Summer is the season when I get to create whatever I want. I'm usually barefoot, strolling through a forest, swimming a lot, and engaged in long conversations over bonfires, so my summer work tends to reflect that. I recently had a collaborative show in South Bend, and these works were for that show. They were spontaneous and free... pouring out of me and executed quickly. I love the chance to work in this way... to express without the concious weight of history and theology... exploring the world and trying out new forms and ideas. Hopefully this will come in handy in the Autumn when I return to Paris.
There are so many powerful images in the parables and passion of Luke. He weaves together this narrative so skilfully of “the outsiders”, both in the stories that Jesus tells, and in the people who surround Jesus in his final days.
In the parables we have the stories of the rich man inviting the poor to a banquet, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost (prodigal) son, Lazarus the beggar, the persistent widow, the pharisee and the tax collector…
In Christ’s last days we see Jesus spending time with tax collectors and sinners, Simon from Cyrene who carries Christ’s cross, the children who are welcomed to his feet, ALL THE WOMEN (who normally weren’t on the centre of jewish religious life), Jesus healing men with leprosy, healing the blind man, Zacchaeus the tax collector, The criminals hanging next to christ.
Painting this altarpiece was a huge breakthrough for my faith journey. As I sat by myself in the attic of ACP reading Luke, I found myself turning the pages faster and faster. Each story started connecting to the other. Suddenly the words were alive for me. The repetitive themes of “those who believe without permission” and without “being invited” started to resonate.
What stood out to me were the repetitive themes: “Foreigners, Children, Strangers, The Sick, The Weak, The Oppressed The Marginalised”, along with the constant call to: “Go out into the highways and bring those were weren’t invited” or find that one lost sheep / find that coin / run to that son / purchase that pearl. We see Christ constantly affirming that “the club” in not necessarily in touch with his vision. It is to the criminal dying next to christ, the one who was not “invited” to believe or understand, or join the club- to this man who believed without invitation Christ says: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
What i hope that I have portrayed in this work is a bit of the spiritual “reality” behind our world… The desperate hands of the “uninvited” eagerly grasping at a seed of hope. Hands outstretched in expectation and belief. Faith in the banquet. This piece (for me) is the “behind the scenes” look at what is really going on… This is what I see in my mind now when I see an “outsider”.
More than anything, I hope that this piece invites you to consider the texts in a new way, as my time meditating on Luke has changed and challenged me personally. Wishing you so many blessings as you complete your Lenten journey, and we together await CHRIST’S resurrection.
(Special thanks to Moki for these images, and to all the dear friends who sat with me in the attic while I painted)
PAX, GRANT
When I was searching through a list of hymns to accompany the lectionary texts for Holy Week this year, I keep re-discovering the idea of God’s Majesty and Diety... not ideas on which I normally focus during Holy Week. I had envisioned creating an object that revolved around the concept of pain and suffering... perhaps a dark experience in the garden, or a prickly crown of thorns. With this meditation and new direction I have drawn towards the poems of our shared hymn tradition that point toward the combination of a suffering yet triumphant divinity. It might seem like an odd combination... or perhaps a bit premature... but in the songs and poems inspired by the Holy Week lectionary I am finding inspiration for our project.
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine.
Bernard of Clairvaux
Here is the melange of inspiration I have compiled for my upcoming installation for the American Church in Paris:
PAX,
Grant
