The second Tuesday of every month, Affirming Worship holds church in Atmosphere, an Andersonville gay bar. The organization, founded in March 2019 by Kelly Ravenscraft, 22, and Michael McBride, 38, works against what a traditional Christian might think of as Mass. It’s a space for queer individuals in the Chicago area to discover or rediscover faith, separate from a church in which they may feel uncomfortable. It is, Ravenscraft said, a sacred space, but made so
by the members within it.
The format is left intentionally open: Ravenscraft and other organizers perform music and invite attendees to share their stories. Rainbow colors flash across singers’ faces; the bass player wears a T-shirt: “Conversion Therapy Dropout.” A pride flag hangs against the brick wall, and Joshua Hundl, a drag performer, wears a dress that says “God is gay, nonbinary, pan, queer.” Ravenscraft steps up to the mic after the first song, smiles.
“We want you to reexamine what God means to you in light of your queerness,” she says. “Many of us have had similar journeys.” Then, like an ’80s rocker: “You all ready to worship?”
‘A queer perspective of the world’
The common narrative, one Affirming Worship works against, is that queerness and faith are disparate. Hundl said that this easy story defies reality.
“Most queer people I’ve known have had some kind of experience in a church,” Hundl said. Ravenscraft agreed, saying that much of the “spiritual development and ethical development” of young people happens behind stained glass windows. Religion is, Ravenscraft said, a lens through which to view the world.
For some, the lens can crack. Ravenscraft said that for queer individuals, discovering identity can result in leaving or being forced out of communities of faith, but others remain — often quietly. According to Chicago-based minister Alicia Crosby, the common narrative is snake-eats-tail; if a queer individual of faith feels alone, they may not ever be visible to others. Daniel Bahner, education director for Keshet...READ MORE
