You don’t see many success stories like this: A person, rejected for their faith, decides their relationship with God is still authentic, and does something about it.  That something being drawing closer to God and making a space for others similarly rejected.   It’s a great story of pressing on with one’s faith.  The story is at U.S.A. Today

Here’s a teaser to get you interested:

Like many of her parishioners, Andrews-Looper grew up in an evangelical church — in her case, Independent Fundamental Baptist — and found she was no longer welcome when she revealed she was a lesbian. She started a Bible study with a handful of other gay Christians in July 1996, which eventually led to starting Holy Trinity, affiliated with the United Church of Christ denomination.

Some take aways for those who don’t have time to read the article?

• Your faith is with God, not with an institution.  If you are rejected from an institution and your faith gets “shipwrecked”, its time to evaluate where your trust is. In God or man?
• “Just because somebody comes out of the closet and tells their family or their pastor doesn’t mean they are no longer a spiritual person and they don’t love their church,”
• God honors small steps, just start taking them!

I’d highly recommend you click through to read it, with you favorite cup of coffee of course!   Here’s the linkie love: At conservative church, once-shunned gays fuel growth