I’ve had an incredibly mixed relationship with you. As a queer, gender non-normative, biracial, disabled person who came from a single mother background, I’ve been treated pretty badly by many of your followers. I’m not going to go into specifics, but I’ve seen how many of your Children turn their backs on the Least. Mega churches donating to organizations that may feed the poor, but refuse to actually deal with the issues behind what makes them poor in the first place. Turning their very FLESH AND BLOOD to the streets when they marry a person of a different race or of the same sex. Preaching a Gospel for the sake of converting and “saving” souls instead of saving the mortal souls. Your name is being used to justify neo-colonial practices, rape, war, greed, all the while masked behind the pristine image of a white man’s holy face.

My journey to find how to best serve this world I inhabit has taken me in many directions. Out of all of your Children, I’ve found very few that have seen what has gone on. I’ve found snippets of a radical Christianity that puts the love of humans before all else. If we are God’s creations and this world is a blessing, why not make this Heaven on Earth while we stay here? Why can’t we all work to make a world where everyone can survive in harmony with one another and be nourished by the Earth that we live on? I follow the path of the healer. I put my calling to hear the suffering of this world before all else. If I walk alongside Jesus, may he lend me his strength. How can I live in a Family that either spits in my face, or rapes, disowns, beats, and votes to discredit the kindred of my soul? Be they queer folk, my trans siblings, people of colour, other faiths, persons with disabilities, the poor, and the untouchable. I meditate upon ways in which to help people that You claim to serve instead of floating in a bubble of blissful ignorance.

If any of Your children wish to join me, I welcome them as best I can. If not, I care not to deal with them. To this day, I am a non-denomination spiritualist that follows whom I please. Exploring a framework of my father’s Wicca, Guan Yin from my mother’s homeland, and Jesus has strangely worked rather harmoniously. I find my own Call strengthened with a combination of these two very similar strengths.

Anonymous

York U, Toronto, Canada

Non-Denominational Spiritual

My name is Mike. I’m a twenty five year old Roman Catholic-Orthodox-Liberal-Communo-Libertarian-Bisexual-Male-Student studying Humanities at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If the adjectives I’ve chosen to describe myself seem contradictory to you, that’s because they probably are. But then again, I’m Human, so that’s to be expected. I’m writing this letter to you today, the Church, because I’m deeply concerned by what has happened to Christianity. We are all One Body in Christ and so I write this letter to you as a concerned Member of that Body, perhaps as the bellybutton who is deeply disturbed by what the left and right hands are doing to each other. 

To those hands I say this: stop attacking each other and learn to love each other, because if you do not love, you have no business calling yourselves Christians. Why do I say this? Because you are not following Christ! Yes, to be a Christian is in part to accept Christ as Savior, but I think that some of you have forgotten that a Christian is someone who has chosen to follow Christ, not just someone who has chosen to accept Him. And isn’t to follow Christ to follow His Commandments, and is not one of them to love one another? Don’t you remember what Jesus says to the disciples in John: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34-35, NASB)?

To the right hand I ask this: does this not mean that you must love those who do things that you revile? Does this not also mean that you must show love to Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgendered People as well as Straights if you don’t already? “But they are horrible sinners who are going to Hell!” I hear you say. Again, I remind you of the Words of Christ, what He said to the Pharisees who did not show love, the hypocrites of His day: “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.” (Mt. 21:31). Aren’t the Queer Folk and Transgendered People the tax collectors and prostitutes of our day, the outcasts of our society? Maybe the path to Heaven isn’t as “Straight” as you’d like it to be, or as Conservative?

To the left hand, I say this: the Conservative, the Republican, the Traditionalist, the Fundamentalist, the Creationist, is your Family Member too! I know, I know, you may have problems and issues with their philosophy, politics, theology, and outlook on life. Believe me I know I do and I know they certainly have problems with ours, but that doesn’t mean we treat them as less! That doesn’t mean we have to mock them or slander them, no matter how much we disagree with them! It doesn’t mean that what they have to say is any less valid than our own message! And maybe, just maybe, they have a point when they say our theology is weak when compared to our love for living out the Gospel. Maybe they can learn justice from us and we can learn theology from them. Maybe we need to remind ourselves that Christ is at the centre of our faith and not ourselves.

Maybe we aren’t so different from each other. Maybe, and this is the Roman Catholic in me coming out so you’ll have to forgive me, maybe we’re all Sacraments for each other. I was always taught that a Sacrament was a sign, a symbol, something material, something concrete and tangible that God used to show us a deeper spiritual reality that we could enter into. I was taught that, through these material symbols and signs, God gave a special Grace to you.

In the majority of Christian denominations, Sacraments are usually experienced in the two rituals of Baptism and Lord’s Supper or as some call it, the Eucharist. Other denominations have more Sacraments, but that’s not important. What is important, I think, is looking beyond the constrictions of a Sacrament as a ritual. What if we start to think of people as Sacraments, as channels through which God can bring us Grace and through it, closer to Him? To the ones on the left I suggest that maybe that Ultra Conservative Right Wing Blogger who you can’t stand is a Sacrament for you. To the ones on the right, dare I suggest that Queer and Trans folk can be Sacraments for you today and bring you closer to God and Christ? I think I do.

Maybe, and maybe you’ll think I’m a heretic for even suggesting this, maybe Paul and the writers of the first three letters of John and John’s Gospel got it wrong: maybe the World isn’t so bad. Maybe we are supposed to be part of the World, maybe Christ is working through the World and not just Christians! And maybe we need to start looking at the Bible and figuring out for ourselves just how much of it is actually God’s Word and how much of it is ours. Blasphemy, I know, but they said the same thing about Jesus right?

We’re supposed to be One Body in Christ, but we’re not acting like one! If anything, learn how to love each other and stop spreading hate and stop being concerned with purity or whatever agenda you cling to. Remember God’s Commandments, especially that one about loving one another!

That’s all I have to say, and if I’ve offended you, I’m sorry, but it needed to be said. Take care and remember to love God and your neighbour, whoever they are. Everything else is secondary. Peace to you and may God bless you!

Your Brother in Christ,

Mike, 25

York U, Toronto, Canada

Roman Catholic

Thanks for everything you do for the communities you surround. There are many people who benefit from the support you provide which leads people to be more interested in what you are all about and furthermore, who you are all about.  I guess one could say you’re like a missionary who ministers to people all around and provides the local people with leadership and an understanding of Jesus and the Bible.

What I don’t understand is why there are so many denominations of you around. We worship the same God, preach the Word, and talk about Jesus and the Cross. I’m surprised we can’t all come together into one big church and agree on things. Things the denominations didn’t agree on were set way in the past and then were never settled except by creating a different denomination. These arguments in the past hardly even exist now. Therefore, I feel Jesus would want the whole church to agree with one another and worship him in peace.

I do understand, however, there are many traditions among the different denominations. I feel God doesn’t care about the traditions as much as He cares about His people getting to know Him personally as well as through the Church.  Since we do worship the same God, read the same Bible, and talk about the same Jesus then why not come to be one?

Thanks again for all the greatness, support, leadership, and safety that you provide among your people including myself. You have been and will always be a wonderful part of my life and I have greatly enjoyed assisting you with your work.

Sincerely ,

Danielle

York U, Toronto, Canada

Christian

I love going to Church and hanging out with people who know and love Jesus because as a university student who lives at school, the kind, friendly, polite, fun and safe Church environment is a nice change from everyday life on campus. I don’t mean to say that campus is a horrible place; I just want to point out that on a university campus in general, as a young adult Christian, it’s hard to make friends who are also young adult Christians.

With that said, I would like to ask the Church if it could look into setting up some sort of program(s) to help young adult Christians connect with other young adult Christians in school environments. It would be keen if this could be looked into for all denominations as well. Also, high school programs should be looked into because if programs catch on in high school, it might trickle upwards and enable the creation of such programs later on.

Anonymous Male, 23

York U, Toronto, Canada

recently professed Christian

been in the public school system all my life

The Open Letter Project is my idea to empower university students especially to have a voice that I hope can be heard by the Christian leaders of the world. So often, we read books, articles, blogs, speeches by Christian clergy, leaders and authors about what is ailing the church and what the church needs to do or change. But rarely do we get to hear  or read what students have to say. The younger generation is often muted or ignored. So, this project is my effort at giving them an opportunity to speak/write.

If you are a university student, even if you are not from York U, whether graduate or undergraduate, and regardless of your faith background, if you wish to write an open letter to the global Church (or contextualize to the North American Church), I hope you take this opportunity and contribute to the Open Letter Project. Please read the About page for the details of submission.

Thank you and God bless.