Documentary Featur Organizatn that Supports LGBTQ Wheaton College Stunts - Wheaton, IL - OneWheaton, an anizatn of gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and qutng (LGBTQ) Wheaton College alumni, is featured the documentary, "Let Your Light She."
Contents:
- HOW A LEADG CHRISTIAN COLLEGE TURNED AGAST ITS GAY LEAR
- WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE GAY AT WHEATON COLLEGE
- INSI THE SECRET GAY MOVEMENT AT ONE OF AMERI’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC LLEG
- GAY AND LBIAN GRADUAT TO MAKE A STATEMENT DURG WHEATON COLLEGE'S ALUMNI EVENT?
- WHEATON COLLEGE’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHAPLA DO 180 ON GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
- CHRISTIAN COLLEGE STUNT ATTACKED WH APPLE FOR QUTNG TREATMENT OF GAYS
- WHEATON COLLEGE ALUMNI SUPPORT GAY STUNTS
- WHEATON COLLEGE ALUMNI GROUP OFFERS SUPPORT FOR GAY STUNTS
HOW A LEADG CHRISTIAN COLLEGE TURNED AGAST ITS GAY LEAR
Five people are watchg TV on a laptop on a tepid wter Thursday night a zy red hoe, an unremarkable suburb 30 wt of Chigo. This scene would be totally banal except that all five are gay, and that would be probably ho-hum, too, except all five are nnected to a place where the mere fact of their… * wheaton college gay students *
I had been a gay Christian blogger for several years when Wheaton College reached out to me June of 2014. They wanted to hire someone who was gay, but they need the kd of gay who uld sign Wheaton’s Communy Covenant—a of nduct that says marriage is between a man and a woman and sexual exprsn is rerved for that relatnship alone. This meant that gay and lbian stunts uldn’t date or marry, which a growg number of stunts volly opposed, and Wheaton thought maybe I uld help.
Anx but earnt, I agreed to sign after a transparent round of terviews where I highlighted all the reasons that I, an openly gay blogger, might not be the bt f for Wheaton.
The blog post qutn asked Christians to lm the scty when to gay people—a pot that was lost on nservative alumni like Eric Teetsel, Director of Fah Outreach for the Mar Rub mpaign, who was outraged by my hire and relentlsly monored my social media activy. At a time when Evangelils are supremely anx about all thgs LGBT, they hired an openly gay wrer to work their Chapla’s office as a spirual lear.
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE GAY AT WHEATON COLLEGE
Wheaton College has rebuffed the tentns of OneWheaton (OW), a recently formed lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) group of alumni and alli, to plan events that will ci wh the Christian liberal arts llege's annual homeg celebratn takg place Oct. 7-8. * wheaton college gay students *
Even though I uld sign the Communy Covenant at that time, I was a risk—a risk they took bee they re about their gay stunts and know they need an advote. They’re not alone their sire to show support: Evangelil lears approach me often wh whispers to say they love gay people. Even though they had known I referred to myself as “gay” prr to hirg me, they enuraged me not to refer to myself as gay any longer.
I had fally e to believe was good to be gay, that God actually lights those of who are gay. The article, never published, offered a posive narrative for gay Christians and enuraged the church to celebrate the prence of LGBT people. Wheaton’s admistratn had always phed back agast my attempt to create a posive narrative around beg gay rather than one of “brokenns” and the need for healg.
The Covenant don’t explicly talk about the badns of a gay orientatn, however, so I felt the article would have been le wh the school’s statement of fah. If gays m to never date or marry, if they keep their stori quiet, if they rema theologilly nservative and they war agast their gayns, then maybe they n kd of stick around. Through tn, programmg, and activism, is the missn of the Safe Zone program to strive to heighten mp awarens of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex, qutng, queer, and ally (LGBTQ+) ncerns and foster a mp of cln, affirmatn, equaly, and rpect for all LGBTQ+ stunts, faculty, staff, and admistrators of Wheaton College.
INSI THE SECRET GAY MOVEMENT AT ONE OF AMERI’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC LLEG
A Wheaton College stunt was attacked wh an apple for qutng the mp' treatment of gay stunts. * wheaton college gay students *
Wheaton’s Safe Zone program began 2004 through the Office of Stunt Life when Area Coordator Pl Hugh brought the ia of a lbian, gay bisexual, transgenr, queer/qutng (LGBTQ) trag to Wheaton. Lavenr Graduatn was created 1995 by Ronnie Sanlo, who currently serv as the direr of the UCLA Lbian Gay Bisexual Transgenr Center. YPI is loted Province, RI and provis an affirmg space for lbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, qutng young people to build muny, velop nnectns, and be themselv.
Lately, I’ve asked myself how I uld do more to improve the atmosphere at Wheaton for other gay stunts like myself. From stori that I heard while growg up a fundamentalist culture, I thought that all gay Christians had no optn but to ignore their orientatn as much as possible and pray that God would make them straight.
I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and meant tellg the Wheaton College muny that I am gay.
GAY AND LBIAN GRADUAT TO MAKE A STATEMENT DURG WHEATON COLLEGE'S ALUMNI EVENT?
Wheaton College Alumni Support Gay Stunts - Wheaton, IL - A group of LGBTQ Wheaton College alumni and alli formed OneWheaton, an anizatn that supports LGBTQ stunts. * wheaton college gay students *
Growg up among nservative Christians, I learned that fahful Christians were qualatively different om gay people. Aaid of homosexual thoughts, I felt that I uld not form close nnectns to the other men on my floor. I started wrg, nvicted that nobody uld know, help, or beg to unrstand the experience of gay stunts if I didn’t share what was happeng si me.
Near the end of our nversatn, we did discs the ethics of same-sex relatnships, sce he has studied the psychology and ethics of homosexualy for much of his reer, and only then did I articulate my celibate place. For Christian muni to enurage gay people to rema celibate, they will have to mol the implitns of their teachgs. Whether gay or straight, this means valug celibacy to an equal if not greater gree than valug marriage.
Referrg to the unceasg, impassned arguments around gay marriage, another gay iend and I jokgly say, “Ha, the bate. For Christian muni to enurage gay people to rema celibate, they will have to mol wh tegry the implitns of their teachgs. 2:18), gay people will not have God’s bt for them until they fd timate pannship, along wh rpect for their experience and unique votn.
WHEATON COLLEGE’S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHAPLA DO 180 ON GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
OneWheaton, a group of Wheaton College alumni, says wants to offer support to gay and lbian stunts who equently feel isolated at the school. * wheaton college gay students *
A muny of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, qutng and allied (LGBTQ&A) alumni and stunts of Wheaton College (Illois).
CHRISTIAN COLLEGE STUNT ATTACKED WH APPLE FOR QUTNG TREATMENT OF GAYS
This scene would be totally banal except that all five are gay, and that would be probably ho-hum, too, except all five are nnected to a place where the mere fact of their sexuali enough of a stir to make said scene not only unual, but Pulls a CharlottvilleAll five are stunts and alums of Wheaton College, one of the most proment evangelil schools the untry—and therefore routely named one of the least LGBT-iendly lleg the U.
This is a place that hosts lectur by "nverted" straight people, a place that proudly boasts the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, named for the famo evangelil Christian and Wheaton alum who was passnately anti-gay. Wiens, who owns this hoe wh her partner, tells me the kids gathered there that night face more risk than they realize by beg openly gay on mp. Yet the kids also appear prour, more nfint, and more willg to talk about their sexualy than than most gay people I know New York Cy.
WHEATON COLLEGE ALUMNI SUPPORT GAY STUNTS
You e to a cisn: You eher hi, or you boldly proclaim who you are and project nfince, even if you don’t always feel while keepg thgs on the down-low is a requirement for stg on this meetg, Wiens’ livg room feels irreprsibly gay. There is the s of choice (Morn Fay), the llege stunts’ tight-pants Urban Outfters athetic, and the fact that everyone talks very openly about gayns, about wantg partners, about beg asked stupid qutns by straight people on mp: “If one man a relatnship mak more money, ” one junr rells beg asked by an ignorant stunt, “do that make you the man? The director pots out which body parts belong to other known LGBT stunts on mp: “He’s gay, she’s gay, he’s gay, ” they say every time a faiar shoulr bla or set of feet flash on screen.
In an age when gay people are featured as ma characters TV shows, ld by pop stars, and show up regularly The New York Tim real tate sectn piec like any other annoygly wealthy uple on the hunt for an overpriced apartment, ’s easy to fet there’s another Ameri, the GOP’s “real Ameri, ” the one where beg gay is still a thg. Wheaton College uld be a nary the me for gay acceptance this other Ameri, the one fotten by the relentlsly upbeat verage of gay rights major fact that any stunts are willg to meet wh me was a sign of momentum. Its “Communy Covenant, ” a document every g stunt is required to sign their first day at school, prohibs “sexual immoraly, ” and that clus “homosexual behavr.
WHEATON COLLEGE ALUMNI GROUP OFFERS SUPPORT FOR GAY STUNTS
The fact that on many Thursdays somewhere between three and 10 stunts e to her hoe and talk openly about beg gay, about wantg boyiends or girliends, is proof. The profsor spend after wearg a hijab was already on th ice after the admistratn spotted a picture of her on Facebook at Chigo’s gay pri para.
It’s hard to fd Wiens’ fear of reprimand the fac and voic and styl of Wheaton’s current LGBT might not be able to tell Andrew*, a junr at Wheaton, is gay jt by lookg at him: In a kn sweater and jeans, plastic-rimmed glass and a beanie, he looks like most llege guys.
But he’s reee about his sexualy and unncerned about who might overhear him proclaim a lol ffee shop packed wh Wheaton stunts, Andrew reveals himself to be like a lot of gay kids at Wheaton: He’s om a eply nservative Christian background, he’s eply nnected to his fah, and ’s obv he’s spent a lot of time rencilg his background wh his sexualy and the sir that stem om .