Happy 7th birthday, Jesus in Love!

Today Jesus In Love celebrates seven years of supporting LGBT spirituality and the arts. I founded it on Nov. 17, 2005 to present a positive spiritual vision for queer people and our allies.

To send a birthday gift, click the “GoFundMe” button below or visit my donate page.

Crowdfunding

Jesus In Love promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or religious faith. It is needed because Christian rhetoric is often misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people.

I launched JesusInLove.org with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then it has grown to serve more people in more ways.

Traffic at the Jesus in Love Blog more than doubled this year with 97,000 visits and 187,000 page views. Subscriptions to the free Jesus in Love e-newsletter continue to grow, recently surpassing 800 subscribers.

The content has also expanded beyond the original emphasis on the queer Christ, and now includes a wider variety of artists, holidays and my popular LGBT saints series.

Jesus in Love has won many honors -- and I also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians. A typical negative comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.”

The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus In Love is needed now as much as ever. Readers call it “the most radically progressive and life affirming Christian LGBT site on the Internet” and “one of the most refreshing voices I currently encounter online.”

Thank you for your support over the years. I look forward to another year of bringing joy and justice to LGBT people of faith and our supporters.

___
Image credit: Birthday cake from Eyehook.com.

Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
http://www.jesusinlove.blogspot.com/
Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts

Happy 6th birthday to Jesus in Love!

Today Jesus In Love celebrates six years of supporting LGBT spirituality and the arts. Jesus In Love promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or religious faith.

Christian rhetoric is often misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people, so I founded Jesus In Love to present a positive spiritual vision for queer people and our allies.

JesusInLove.org was launched on Nov. 17, 2005 with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then it has grown to serve more people in more ways.

Traffic at our blog is up 60 percent this year, with 48,000 visits and 91,000 page views. Subscriptions to our free e-newsletter grew even faster and we recently surpassed 700 subscribers. Our content has also expanded beyond the original emphasis on the queer Christ, and now includes a wider variety of artists, holidays and our popular LGBT saints series.

We have won many honors -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians. A typical negative comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.”

The ongoing religious bigotry proves that Jesus In Love is needed now as much as ever. Readers call it “the most radically progressive and life affirming Christian LGBT site on the Internet” and “one of the most refreshing voices I currently encounter online.”

Thank you for your support over the years. I look forward to another year of bringing joy and justice to LGBT people of faith and our supporters.

___
Image credit: Birthday cake from Eyehook.com.

Happy 5th birthday, blog!

We’re celebrating our fifth anniversary as an online resource for LGBT spirituality and the arts on Nov. 17.

Christian rhetoric is often misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people, so I founded JesusInLove.org to present a positive spiritual vision for queer people and our allies. God loves everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. That message is just as important today as it was five years ago.

In honor of our birthday, we will start a new series tomorrow on “Rethinking Sin and Grace for LGBT People Today” by Patrick S. Cheng, theology professor at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA.

JesusInLove.org was launched on Nov. 17, 2005 with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then JesusInLove.org has grown to serve more people in more different ways.

Our blog receives 30,000 visits per year and our e-newsletter recently surpassed 500 subscribers. We showcase a wider range of art and writing by more diverse contributors. Our content has also grown beyond the original emphasis on gay Jesus art, and now includes a popular series on queer saints.

We have won many honors for promoting religious and artistic freedom -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians. A typical negative comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.”

The ongoing religious bigotry proves that JesusInLove.org is needed now as much as ever. Jesus loved everyone, including sexual outcasts.

JesusInLove.org is a grassroots effort, with more than 99% of our funding coming from individuals, not institutions. This frees us to present controversial material and nurture each person’s unique spiritual journey.

If you want to give us a birthday gift, contact Kitt for more info. Thank you!

Image credits: Birthday cake from Wikimedia Commons. Birthday gift from Eyehook.com.

We celebrate our 4th anniversary

Today we celebrate our fourth anniversary as an online resource for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) spirituality and the arts. “We take creative risks and present controversial material that most websites won’t touch,” says Kittredge Cherry, the lesbian author and minister who founded JesusInLove.org. “We specialize in new GLBT Christian art that is too queer for religious institutions and too religious for GLBT organizations.” As a small, independent website, JesusInLove.org is able to make an impact far beyond its size. By serving the grassroots, it has built a loyal core community of people who comment, donate, contribute and subscribe. They come from many spiritual traditions, but most have moved beyond mainstream churches. “Christian rhetoric is often misused to justify hate and discrimination against GLBT people,” Cherry says. “I founded JesusInLove.org to present a positive spiritual vision for GLBT people and our allies.” It has expanded from a single website into an online network that includes this popular blog, videos, e-newsletter and image archive. The content has also grown beyond the original emphasis on gay Jesus art. This year a new series on GLBT saints is generating lots of buzz at the Jesus in Love Blog. The blog now showcases a wider range of work from diverse contributors. JesusInLove.org was launched on Nov. 17, 2005 with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then it has reached thousands of people all over the world and co-sponsored the first National Festival of Progressive Spiritual Art. “We have won many honors -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians,” Cherry says. She reports that a typical comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.” “Right-wing Christian bloggers labeled me ‘a hyper-homosexual revisionist’ and denounced my projects as ‘garbage,’ ‘insanity,’ and ‘a blatant act defamation and blasphemy,’” Cherry says. “The ongoing religious bigotry proves that JesusInLove.org is needed now as much as ever. Jesus loved everyone, including sexual outcasts.” Cherry was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches and served as its national ecumenical officer. One of her main duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches (USA) and the World Council of Churches. Her books include “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More,” “Jesus in Love: A NovelEqual Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and Celebrations.” The New York Times Book Review praised her “very graceful, erudite” writing style. The first JesusInLove.org news release from the original launch is available in the Jesus in Love media room, along with other major news releases from the past three years. _______ Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenny_meriel/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

GLBT spiritual art blog marks 2nd year

Today we celebrate our second anniversary as a blog on GLBT spirituality and the arts. Thanks for all your support over the years! Here’s our official news release: Los Angeles, CA -- June 25, 2009 -- The Jesus in Love Blog (jesusinlove.blogspot.com) celebrates its second anniversary as a blog about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) spirituality and the arts. The blog has presented a positive vision of GLBT spirituality and tracked censorship of queer religious art since June 26, 2007. The Jesus in Love Blog is written by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author, minister, and art historian. It is part of JesusInLove.org, an online network that includes a website, videos, e-newsletter and image archive. “I founded JesusInLove.org because Christian rhetoric was being misused to justify hate and discrimination against GLBT people,” Cherry says. “I hope to stimulate dialogue and consciousness of love by displaying and discussing the art that affirms GLBT people and our connection to God.” Blog traffic and comments have grown steadily for the past two years, with many visitors giving high praise to the Jesus in Love Blog. A review by online magazine QueerDay.com declared that JesusInLove.org is “a rather heavenly idea.” Cherry compiled content from JesusInLove.org into the book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More,” which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award last year. “We have won many honors -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians,” Cherry says. She reports that a typical comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.” “Right-wing Christian bloggers labeled me ‘a hyper-homosexual revisionist’ and denounced my projects as ‘garbage,’ ‘insanity,’ and ‘a blatant act defamation and blasphemy,’” Cherry says. “The ongoing religious bigotry proves that JesusInLove.org is needed now as much as ever. Jesus loved everyone, including sexual outcasts.” The Jesus in Love Blog will continue to display and discuss art on GLBT spiritual themes for gay, lesbian, bi and trans people and their allies. Cherry sums up the blog’s purpose by quoting the JesusInLove.org mission statement: “We hope that the new visions will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world.” For more info, visit jesusinlove.blogspot.com or contact info@JesusInLove.org.

JesusInLove.org marks 3rd anniversary

The Festival of Progressive Spiritual Art was one of the highlights of JesusInLove.org's first 3 years

Today JesusInLove.org celebrates its third anniversary as an online resource for GLBT spirituality and the arts. We have presented a positive vision of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender spirituality and tracked censorship of queer religious art for three years now. I founded JesusInLove.org because Christian rhetoric was being misused to justify hate and discrimination against LGBT people, but Jesus taught love for everyone, including sexual outcasts. I hoped to stimulate dialogue and consciousness of love and that has happened over the last three years. JesusInLove.org has taken off and become important in the world. JesusInLove.org was launched on Nov. 17, 2005 with a news release titled “New Website Dares to Show Gay Jesus.” Since then it has reached thousands of people all over the world and co-sponsored the first National Festival of Progressive Spiritual Art. Jesus in Love has grown from a single website into an online network that includes this blog, videos, e-newsletter and an image archive. We have won many honors -- and we also get a lot of hate mail from conservative Christians. A typical comment is, “Gays are not wanted in the kingdom of Christ! They are cast into the lake of fire.” Right-wing Christian bloggers labeled me “a hyper-homosexual revisionist” and denounced my projects as “garbage,” “insanity,” and “a blatant act defamation and blasphemy.” The ongoing religious bigotry proves that JesusInLove.org is needed now as much as ever. We will continue to promote spirituality and the arts for GLBT people and their allies by displaying and discussing art on progressive religious themes. We are dreaming of new ways to follow our vision, including the following: • Sponsor a contest of GLBT and/or progressive spiritual art with cash prizes and a well known judge. Winners can be displayed online, made into a calendar, even shown at a gallery. There are many possibilities. • More complete tracking and reporting of censorship of GLBT religious and spiritual artistic/literary expression. This aspect of JesusInLove.org generates a lot of inquiries and interest. • Build an archive of GLBT religious and spiritual images with permission from each artist for use -- acting as agent for the artists and possibly collecting fees for them. JesusInLove.org already gets many permission requests from people who want to use the images. I’d love to hear what others think of these projects, and what your dreams are. Please contact me or leave a comment. The first JesusInLove.org news release from the original launch is available in the Jesus in Love media room, along with other major news releases from the past three years.