WEBVTT

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Rachael Weasley: Today's queer theology. Sunday school is about queering the church calendar.


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Rachael Weasley: but I want to begin with 3 reminders about some more general basics before we delve into this topic. This may be familiar from past queer theology. Sunday school gatherings. So they might be reminders, or for some of you maybe good news


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Rachael Weasley: about our complicated world, our complicated God


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Rachael Weasley: and our complicated bodies and identities. Reminder number one


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Rachael Weasley: kaleidoscope.


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Rachael Weasley: The world is not built off of binaries. There are as many genders as there are people. There is day, and there is night. There's also dawn and dusk.


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Rachael Weasley: twilight, overcast days.


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Rachael Weasley: eclipses, and noon on the equator.


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Rachael Weasley: There's land, and there's water, and there's mud. tide, pools, swamps. bogs, and land covered in ice, which is actually water. Creation is complicated.


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Rachael Weasley: and we are part of creation. God contains all genders, and is genderless as a preschooler once reminded me, you can use any pronouns for God.


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Rachael Weasley: Even a spectrum contains a binary of its 2 poles. So I offer you the symbol of the kaleidoscope


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Rachael Weasley: reminder number 2.


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Rachael Weasley: Starburst


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Rachael Weasley: gender and sexuality are mixed up with power.


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Rachael Weasley: Queer theology is good news for all people, not just queer people, because it explodes the categories that heteropatriarchy is built upon and heteropatriarchy puts unhealthy limitations onto the identities and behavior of all of us.


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Rachael Weasley: including streets as gendered men. This damaging power, hierarchy interrupts our ability to thrive through the blessings of mutuality. vulnerability, and interdependent relationships.


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Rachael Weasley: So as we create a radical sideways space here together, rooted in the teachings of Jesus. let us be aware of the way each of us handles power in this space.


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Rachael Weasley: Listen well.


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Rachael Weasley: speak up, cede the floor.


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Rachael Weasley: use eye statements, and encourage a balance of voices and perspectives as we honor the vulnerability


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Rachael Weasley: each of us brings today, just in showing up at an event about queerness and spirituality


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Rachael Weasley: and reminder. Number 3.


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Rachael Weasley: Spiral.


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Rachael Weasley: We are not the inventors of queerness. interdependence, multiplicity. and the other ideas. Queer theology is based on this is not a fad. We are following the leading of our Creator God, who planted these ideas into the very reality of our bodies and the fabric of our universe.


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Rachael Weasley: So let us welcome our tenderly intimate and vastly unknowable God into this space where they have already been at work in you and we


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Rachael Weasley: and the air we are breathing. Even before this gathering began.


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Rachael Weasley: the spiral represents the constant unfolding of the divine.


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Rachael Weasley: So, if you will, I invite you to breathe and pray with me.


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Rachael Weasley: Spirit.


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Rachael Weasley: guide us as we open ourselves to seeing the world in different ways.


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Rachael Weasley: strengthen us to grow and change our ideas.


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Rachael Weasley: to accept ourselves more radically. to embrace the differences between each other more beautifully. and to catch a glimpse of your vision of freedom for us. thriving for our churches.


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Rachael Weasley: and wholeness, for this world that you love.


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Rachael Weasley: Spirit breathed through us today as we seek you in our learning


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Rachael Weasley: and our reflection. Amen.


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Rachael Weasley: And now I am excited to welcome our speaker today. Erika Lee, Simpka.


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Rachael Weasley: she they graduate of San Hakinto College, Texas, A. And M. University and Truett Theological Seminary.


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Rachael Weasley: She has also studied as a continuing education student at Anabaptist, Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Eastern Mennett University, and Hebrew College.


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Rachael Weasley: pastor Erica, has served Baptist and Mennonite congregations, and began serving as pastor of Albuquerque Mennonite Church in November of 17


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Rachael Weasley: they also serve as the Southwest representative for Mennonite women. U.S.A.


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Rachael Weasley: When not at church Erica can be found cooking, visiting the Public Library, nature walking, watching British mysteries, and spending time with her interfaith family.


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Rachael Weasley: So let us all give a warm welcome to Pastor Erica.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Yay.


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thank you.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Alright. Show of hands. If you can see sort of turquoise slide.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Yeah. Are you seeing other things, too? Or just the slide? Just a slide? Okay? Good cause. I don't. I don't want y'all looking at the notes that I'm trying to. Anyway, here we go.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]:  right? So I think


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I think where I want to start


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is defining some terms or taking a crack at it.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and then we'll talk through some of that some more.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and then I've got us at a a head. Start a running start with identifying some queer holy days or holidays.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and I'd really love for us to put our heads together and add to


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: well, Kittridge, cherry has already made a start on a quite long list.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: so we'll see


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: we'll see the list that we come up with. So


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: firstly, queer!


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: That can be a difficult word, I think, for some of the elders and the Lgbtq community folks of a certain generation. For others. It's a helpful sort of blanket term that


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: decenters, especially gay white men.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: But I'm I'm gonna talk about queerness, and it's queer Sunday school, and you know that's that's where we're at. So queer. And


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I'm suggesting is differing in some way from what is usual or normal. That's definitely in quotes


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: odd, strange, questionable, suspicious, unconventional.  some of this is coming from Miriam Webster.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but too queer as in a verb, is to consider or interpret from a perspective that rejects traditional categories of gender and sexuality.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So I think.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: as Mennonites and Anna Baptist for us to live into the church calendar. It's an opportunity for us to


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: do time differently.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and to go against the grain of empire and dominant culture. and all of us have something to learn from others in the queer community.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: For some strategies, some ways, the wisdom of how to do something a little outside the typical expectation. Right?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: as Ana Baptist, we have a lot of freedom. Generally speaking, I'm not necessarily talking about our capital C conservative siblings. I'm talking about those of us who are moderate, progressive.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: You know. We're pretty much left to our own devices congregationally when it comes to how we approach worship.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: How we organize ourselves with prayer and worship and such. And so I think sometimes we forget this.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and we default to a very wide American Midwest. This had majority culture, worship and prayer style.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I'm not putting down that worshiper prayer style. I'm just saying that's not the only one, and sometimes we don't always remember that there are Mennonites in the Us. There are Mennonites in our congregations


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: who are every color. who are every background are every gender and sexuality.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and I think our worship and prayer should reflect that a little bit more than it does in my experience. authentic prayer and worship, meaning oneself, and one's experience is reflected in how we search for and relate to God


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is divine. I'm going to go ahead and put that in the chat


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: because I kind of like it. But it's also kind of wordy.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]:  I've got multiple screens. Here we go.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Yeah. repeat authentic prayer and worship, meaning meaning one's self, and one's experience is reflected in how we search for and relate to God


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is divine.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: When we meet with God, however, we do that is divine, a divine appointment, you know. so contextualized worship, prayer, and spiritual formation is sacred on top of sacred.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So how we view, understand, pray, worship


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and study is sacred and just as valid as anyone else. Now, when I'm saying we there, I mean Lgbtq people. What we bring to the party


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is sacred and divinely inspired like anyone else.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: This includes telling time not only with the church calendar, but also with queer Christian experience.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: One of my favorite, if not my favorite passages in the Bible is this bit of Ecclesiastes? 3. That's a poem. There's a time and a season for everything under heaven.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: or in


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: the way. This phrase is that a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time, to tear, a time, to mend, a time to, you know, and so on.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: And I think


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: one of the most sacred questions we can ask is, what time is it?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: And the church calendar gives us a way or the liturgical calendar. I'll use those interchangeably gives us a way to approach starting to respond to that question with a


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: particularly Christian approach. What time isn't.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: There's a time that season for everything. But what time is it now?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Okay, so let's take a look at the church calendar or the liturgical calendar, and consider how Lgbtq people can participate.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but also contribute to the holy cycles of marking time.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So, firstly.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: what is Liturgy?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: This is me in front of Westminster Abbey.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: And I will confess to you all that I went there after less than 24 h off the plane.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: And this big, deep British man, priest voice did, in fact, put me to sleep. It's not my fault. We have been hardwired to fall asleep to British voices as Americans.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but it was perhaps the most like liturgical grand. You know. I haven't been to Rome, I guess, experience that I've had. So I chose this picture so liturgy


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: when I think liturgy, I think Catholic, I think


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Anglican, I think Episcopalian. You know these High Church traditions. You can be a High Church Anabaptist like, hey? You, do you? That's not exactly the norm. But I'll argue that every church, even Low Church, has liturgy


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Miriam Webster, a right RITE.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Or body of rights prescribed for public worship. It's how we do for most of us a Sunday service.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: customary repertoire of ideas, phrases, or observances.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Cambridge Dictionary. A set of words, music, and actions regularly used in religious ceremonies, right


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: as midnight. We've got liturgy.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: That's not just a Catholic thing.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: We may not have a book, or everything prescribed in such a specific manner. But we've all got liturgy.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and it comes from a compound Greek word meaning people and work.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and I will tell you it is quite the hot topic, especially for Catholic bloggers online.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: If it should be translated as work of the people. Our work for the people so work for the people


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: as a bit more of a Catholic youth. The priest, on behalf, you know.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: work of the people right? I think that's a little closer to who we are as Ana Baptist. So anyway, you slice it, you better work.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Thank you.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So why not the work of the queer people or work for the queer people.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Sometimes when we talk about work of the people or work for the people, we go to that dominant culture again, of what is a people.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and we forget we are people. queer people are people.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and we can bring ourselves into the calendar. We can ask, what time is it?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Alright? So the Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer, which again, very Anglican, very High Church. But we can roll with that


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: breaks down the overall Big Year Church calendar, liturgical calendar into the invasion of the Incarnation. I don't love that language invasion, you know. It sounds a bit colonizing, and you know, but I'm just quoting them.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and they identify that part as advent to Lent.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and we'll look at it kind of diagram to situate ourselves in a second.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and then the second half, or the other half the triumph of the resurrection. So we've got incarnation and resurrection


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: resurrection lent to Pentecost. That's how they divvy it up.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and then, of course, ordinary time is Pentecost, which is late May early June to advent, which is


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: for some days before Christmas.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and that is ordinary time, because it's ordered as an ordinal numbers. The first Sunday, the second Sunday, the third Sunday after Pentecost.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: or, as my previous music director used to say, oh, the 7 hundredth Sunday, or whatever we're on after PIN our cost.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: It's ordinary time, because it's ordered ordinal numbers, not ordinary time, as if nothing was going on.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Alright. So if you're like me, the pretty visual so spoiler, alert, we're right here


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: yesterday was officially epiphany. January 6,


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and I'm going to continue as an American and as a Christian, to hold on to January 6, as Epiphany. and hold on to January 6, in Celtic Christianity as women's Christmas. But that's for another talk.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So here we are at Epiphany.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: We are now in the season of Epiphany.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: which ends on Ash Wednesday.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: The Nash. Wednesday moves us through 6 weeks of Lent.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and then Easter. Easter is a season, not just a day. The feast of Easter is an octave, so it's 8 days. The first Sunday of Easter, the second Sunday of Easter, begin the season of Easter.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: which is 50 days, until Penta, 5 50 Pentacost.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: which spoiler, alert. Pentecost may or may not be my favorite Sunday of the year, not just because I look good in red.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but it is like always my favorite. I've always loved the Holy Spirit, and I'll just tell you, raised as a very white Baptist in Texas.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I think that's just a natural spirit thing in me because I wasn't necessarily encouraged to be like


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Yay, Holy Spirit, you know that wasn't quite our culture and spirituality. So I love Pentecost. That's not the that's not short, short that.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: And then again, this ordinary time takes us through a good chunk of the year.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So the


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]:  lectionary which we won't get into today. It's a 3 year cycle of readings assigned for each Sunday


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is more or less divided into the story of Jesus and the story of the people of God.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Now, in some of our other queer Sunday school classes, we've talked about some of the possibilities


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: of Jesus having some queerness.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: The story of the people of God. We've certainly talked about some of the people of God, and


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: not just in the Bible, but us as well. having some queerness to it.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So I don't really see us as putting something onto this that may not already be there. If that makes sense.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: not everything about God, the Bible or the church calendar is queer. but I think there's not nothing there either.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: so we can keep an eye out for it. So this is the overview of of the calendar.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: an alternative way to tell time.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: The Christmas cycle


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: again the the first Sunday of the church calendar is Advent one. We start things just on the cusp of darkness.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: at least in the northern hemisphere. And this area of the world. the season of anticipation, introspection. We've got epiphany tide.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Which is until the presentation of the Lord, which is the feast, February second, or until Ash Wednesday. It kind of depends on who you ask and how you count.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: We have the Pasco cycle, which is what includes Lent.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: which is those 40 days and 6 Sundays.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Sunday is never a fasting day. Every Sunday is a little Easter except Easter, which would be a big Easter.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: so there is traditionally no fasting on Sunday. So if you're a hardcore Protestant, and you're like yay lint. I'm gonna do fasting. Know that Catholics are laughing at you when you're fasting on Sunday, because traditionally, there's no fasting on Sunday. Okay, I don't, anyway.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So that's why I put that here 40 days plus 6 7 days.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: We've got Easter tide. If we talked about that, we've got ordinary time. I'm just kind of popping through this.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: let's talk about some proposed queer, holy days. Now I know we have a meeting of the minds in some way here, and one could argue every day is a queer, holy day, especially at my house. But let's talk about this communally.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and I certainly would want to talk about this, not only in an American context, but I think it's important. Again, part of the heart of this is to contextualize. So especially if you're in Canada, or another kind of geographical


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: a


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: nation state, or you know, whatever I think it's important to be who you are and who you're with. So the list that I've started here includes feast days and fast days, which also reflects those other


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: church calendar or liturgical calendar days that we've just looked at right. We've got Easter. We've got Ash Wednesday, and we've got lots of in between.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Also here for these proposed queer holidays. So a few. January sixth.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Epiphany. A lot of how Epiphany is taught


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is that Gentiles non-jews


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: come


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and name and recognize Jesus


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and church tradition. It's not in the Bible gives them names Balthazar, Casper, and Melchior. and they would be 3 men


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I don't know. Maybe they're a threat. I don't know.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: There there are 3 men traveling together, and some really, really old artwork.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Shows them sharing a bed.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: It's true. It's also quite possible that they were traveling, and there was only one bed, and we don't need to overcook it. I'm just saying I'd like to leave us open with options there.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but also those who were not exactly on the inside of power.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: are invited to come and recognize Jesus. I think, at a minimum. Most folks would agree with that reading of the Epiphany text.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: June


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: pride month, right? We've got the anniversary of Stonewall. There's a lot of pride activities going on. Some communities don't do their pride, parade, or whatever in June. I kinda wish New Mexico would reconsider because it is like boiling hot.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: But I also want to respect the stone wall history and all that. But I, you know. So wherever it is for you, we can recognize June as Pride Month. But it could also be. You know.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I think I've been to Seattle pride. It was so overwhelming that was in June as well. But wherever you are, if it's a different time.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: all the better. You've got more on your queer holiday calendar.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: October at least in the Us. Lgbtq history month, October eleventh, coming out day.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: November twentieth transgender. Day of remembrance. November 20. Third feast day of Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: These are 2 very early church martyrs, women


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: they may have been lovers. They may not have been


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but they are significant, especially for queer women, Christian, queer women.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: could be on our queer holiday calendar. And just as a little fun aside.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: November 20. Third is also my mother's birthday, and she's really conservative. And I kind of love that these saves. Yeah.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I'll never forget what day


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is there Tuesday, all right. and the Sunday before Advent is


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Christ the King, Sunday, or reign of Christ Sunday.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and it's kind of been a cheeky, almost joke of Christ, the Queen Sunday, and going a sort of like Drag Angle. And that's why I included this art here.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: But it's an interesting thought. I think we can entertain it. So I just want to put a hold there and ask.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: what other queer, holy days would you add to this list either particular to your context, a shared American queer experience, something global.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: a whatever. And you can unmute and share that


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: but that would mean that you're going to be in the recording, or you can put it in the chat. Yeah, the feast day of Saint Joan of Arc.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: That's a possibility.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]:  I'm not sure what day that would be, because, you know, she's not


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: always super popular with the Catholic Church, like the whole being burned at the steak thing. But


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: right. I'm sure it exists.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Other holy days.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Oh, may thirtieth! Great! Thank you. Oh, Rachel, I love that


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: my family marks the day one of our transgender members came out with new pronouns. Yeah. yeah, that's right. Holy days, I mean.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: my birthday is a holy day, or at least it has the potential to be right. It can be something very individual, or for your household or family, and not only kind of congregationally, or the larger, even ecumenical, queer Christian community. I love that


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: alright. Well, one of the resources that I have. Hopefully, you all are familiar with Q. Spirit.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: Kitrick, cherry she does a lot of work, and


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: she actually has a running list of, I think, what she calls queer saints.  The the anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: is on her list


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: perpetuates felicity are on her list. Right? So both kind of more contemporary, some more ancient, some explicitly Christian, some not. And so that'll be in a link that I'll share in just a minute.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: There it is.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: So what time is it? Now?


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: This is a sacred question, and it's worth asking and considering.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: I propose.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: the time is to bring our authentic selves, however possible.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: to God


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: and to our faith communities, especially those of us who are a majority sith head church spaces.


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Erica Lea-Simka [she/they]: we're not necessarily imposing something that isn't there. We're just uncovering and naming what's always been.