What... Who... Where is the LGBT community?

If we want to claim equality to the mainstream, we had better get it through our own heads that we are also equal to each other.

How we overcome that is to remember that we are we.

Helping each other overcome is very difficult - more difficult than overcoming it ourselves. But overcoming it ourselves is the first step.

When I am able to look at the street hustler, lesbian separatist, occasional crossdresser, circuit partygoer, married bisexual, suburban lesbian couple, transgender sex worker, and all the other people as people like me, I can model that to others.

And yes, even though Janice Raymond sees me as a part of the patriarchy trying to destroy feminism, I have to care about her. Even though Barney Frank keeps talking about "men in women's bathrooms", I have to care about him. Even though HRC doesn't see my ability to hold a job or have a place to live as a priority, I have to care about the people in HRC. I don't have to agree with their ideas, but I have to recognize them as people in the same struggle I am in.

And, like it or not, I need to care about straight people - even those who attack me. I don't have to agree with them, but I have to care about them. Rick Santorum is a human being, just like me. James Hartline is a human being, just like me. Phyllis Schlafly is a human being, just like me.

In doing so, my hope is that others will stop seeing me as mentally ill, a freak, or confused. My hope is that others will stop being embarrassed or annoyed by my existence, or feeling that I somehow "hurt the cause".

Of course, I'm not perfect at this, and sometimes I lash out. More often I offer cynical and sarcastic comments. I'm a work in progress.

I happen to be working toward ordination in the United Church of Christ. My dream is of creating space for faith communities of people who do not feel safe in traditional churches. People often ask me why I would be a part of something (Christianity) that condemns me. Yet the condemnation is not from Jesus, it is from people who claim to follow Jesus. The actual Jesus of the Bible restored people to community, reaching out to those the religious leaders wouldn't touch. It is that message, the message or reuniting people and bridging those gaps between us, that calls me to ministry. There should be no one turned away from community - whether it is a community of faith or civil community.

Of course, Jesus got killed. And I don't expect to escape emotional - and perhaps physical - harm in trying to live out this idea that we ought to care for each other even when we don't like each other. I expect some will take what help I offer, then turn around and ignore - or take advantage of - me. But I'm not going to make any of our lives better by putting more negative energy into this mix of people.

Sure, I can call out what I think is misguided policy or ideas that lack basis in fact. But I am still going to donate to HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer research. I am still going to stand up for the rights of sex workers and guys who meet in public restrooms. I am still going to stand up for people to be recognized by their self-identified gender and for marriages to be recognized no matter with what genders (if any) the parties identify.

I do this because we are people. When I think of all of us as "we", there is no "them". And maybe, when I do this, someone will join me. And maybe, when that someone does this, someone else will join us. And maybe one day the Queer Community - including those of every religion and those of no religion - will teach people who call themselves Christians about how to live like Jesus: reaching out to all other human beings.