Monday Meditation: Flamy Grant & Chris Blake
In this sermon from August 14, Chris Blake, pastor of the San Luis Obispo Adventist Church, shares the message: "Hope Has Its Reasons." This faith community shares many beliefs including these discipleship fundamentals:
Aim (Jesus and joy)
Assurance (freedom, hope, and peace)
Adventure (love)
Authenticity (honesty)
Accountability (faithfulness: prayer, time, money, study, social)
For an online worship talk in August, Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International hosted Flamy Grant, "a sassy, soulful drag performer in San Diego, California, who sings, inspires, and entertains. This polygender preacher is taking on toxic religion by turning looks, trilling tunes, and tearing down shame. In this she shares some of her story and states that:
Turns out, at least in my community, no amount of dependability, cooperation, sincerity, or spiritual maturity can make up for being gay. You go from golden child to hellbound sinner like that, and suddenly you’re on the receiving end of all the consequences of sin. We’re taught the wages of sin is death, and it’s not that far off. Coming out in a place where queerness is sin can mean the end of community and relationships and all of your emotional support and sometimes even your place to live. It can mean getting kicked out, ignored, or simply forgotten.
