New book covers LGBT Christian spirituality

A new book on LGBT Christian spirituality features two longtime friends of JesusInLove.org: writer Yvonne Aburrow and artist Becki Jayne Harrelson. Harrelson’s provocative painting of a lesbian Madonna is the cover art for “Contemporary Christianity and LGBT Sexualities.” It features a detail from Harrelson’s “Madonna, Lover, and Son,” which also appears in my book “Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, and More.” Harrelson has generously shared her art with JesusInLove.org websites from the very beginning. Congratulations, Becki Jayne, on your book cover! Aburrow contributed one of many fascinating chapters in “Contemporary Christianity and LGBT Sexualities,” an anthology edited by Stephen Hunt, reader in the sociology of religion at the University of the West of England in Bristol. The book is being released by Ashgate Publishing today (Sept. 30). Aburrow’s chapter examines queer and LGBT imagery and themes in contemporary paganism and Christianity, concluding that there is a distinctly queer spirituality rooted in LGBT experience. Aburrow is a Unitarian and a Wiccan who has written four books on mythology and folklore. She completed an MA in contemporary religions and spiritualities at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom. In her spare time, she blogs at Dance of the Elements and Stroppy Rabbit. She also supports JesusInLove.org with wonderful blog comments and emails. I was glad to help when she asked me for information in researching her chapter. Congratulations, Yvonne, on your “first proper academic publication”! Other chapters in the book are: * Introduction: saints and sinners: contemporary Christianity and LGTB sexualities, Stephen Hunt * The gift (?) that dare not speak its name: exploring the influence of sexuality on the professional performances of gay male Anglican clergy, Michael Keenan * Between subordination and sympathy: evangelical Christians, masculinity and gay sexuality, Kristin Aune * Common pathways, different lives: comparing the ''coming out'' narratives of Catholic nuns and lesbians in Poland, Marta Trzebiatowska * Bisexual Christians: the life-stories of a marginalised community, Alex Toft * Transgendering Christianity: gender-variant Christians as visionaries, Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip and Michael Keenan * Human rights and moral wrongs: the Christians ''gay debate'' in the secular sphere, Stephen Hunt * Christians and gays in Northern Ireland: how the ethno-religious context has shaped Christian anti-gay and pro-gay activism, Richard O'Leary * Trends in spiritual direction for LGBT people, Derek Jay