Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas from the Jesus in Love Blog!

“Madonna MMIX” by Ryan Obermeyer, 2009

The Jesus in Love Blog wishes everyone a merry Christmas with “Madonna MMIX,” a holiday artwork by Ryan Obermeyer, and links to all our best Christmas posts.

A Madonna and child are formed by spiraling red ribbons that suggest Christmas ribbons, striped candy canes and AIDS ribbons.

Obermeyer, a multimedia artist based in Austin, Texas, created the photo as the holiday benefit card for AIDS Services of Austin last year.

“This piece was particularly challenging as I was trying to conceive an image that represented the holiday season while not singularly addressing any religion or observance,” he says. “The image does suggest the Virgin with Christ, although the halo does not appear on the printed card.”

His website has a cool extra info page with reference photos showing how he made this ingenious and beautiful image.

Special thanks to Clayton Gibson of the MyOutSpirit Blog for introducing me to Ryan Obermeyer’s art.

Click the headlines below to enjoy more queer cheer and Christmas highlights from the Jesus in Love Blog.

Good (gay?) King Wenceslas 

There’s good reason to believe that Good King Wenceslas was gay. Yes, the king in the Christmas carol. Many details in the carol are pious fiction, but historical research documents the love between the king and his page Podiven. More info






Lesbian couple portrays Madonna (Photo by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin)

The Madonna and her female lover are portrayed by a real lesbian couple, seven months’ pregnant through artificial insemination in “Annunciation” by Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin.




Lesbian Madonna, lover and son affirm Christmas (Painting by Becki Jayne Harrelson)

Two lesbian mothers cuddle the Christ child in “Madonna, Lover and Son” by Becki Jayne Harrelson.




Transwoman Jesus tells Christmas story

Jesus’ angelic birth highlights the holiness of EVERY birth in the following scene from the controversial new play “Jesus, Queen of Heaven” by transsexual Jo Clfford.




Conservatives blast inclusive Christmas card

Conservatives attack an Episcopal bishop’s gender-bending Christmas card because it shows a multi-racial trio of female Magi visiting the baby Jesus and his mother (“Epiphany” by Janet McKenzie).





Inclusive Christmas tree: Anti-gay DVDs become ornaments

DVDs against same-sex marriage are being recycled now as decorations for the inclusive Christmas tree of Minnesota artist Lucinda Naylor.



Can you imagine? A gay Nativity scene


Video and commentary on Amsterdam’s gay Nativity scene with live actors

Gay and lesbian nativity scenes show love makes a family
What if the child of God was born to a lesbian or gay couple? Because, after all, LOVE makes a family, including the Holy Family.


Queer Christian humor: What did the lesbian Madonna say to the dog in the gingerbread house?



Animals symbolize peace at Christmas, so the Jesus in Love Blog gladly dedicates a special post to animals.


Alternative Christmas art shown
Nine artists mix Christmas imagery with a progressive vision of GLBT rights, racial and gender justice, and a world without war, poverty or pollution


Christmas offering: Give to Jesus In Love Blog
The Jesus in Love Blog is collecting a Christmas offering to support LGBT spirituality and the arts. Your $10 gift pays for 60 visits to our blog and lets one person get our newsletter for a year.

May God be born anew
in unlikely places
this holiday season!

With love from
Kittredge Cherry

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