Gay Christian author and activist Chris Glaser believes that sexual minorities, often denied their churches’ traditional sacraments, have found unique access to the sacred in their lives: coming out of the closet. Glaser persuasively argues that coming out–as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered–has biblical precedence and sacramental dimensions. Using personal and biblical illustrations, he discusses coming out as an act of vulnerability, much like a sacrificial offering of ancient times, that invokes God’s presence and effects atonement, or reconciliation. In this engaging book he shows how coming out, like other sacraments, may serve as a means of grace–that is, an experience of God’s unconditional love.
Chris Glaser is the interim Pastor of Virginia Highland Church, a United Church of Christ and progressive Baptist congregation in the Virginia Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. He is an author, lecturer, theologian, and minister. He has authored many books, including Uncommon Calling: A Gay Man’s Struggle to Serve the Church, Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gay Men and Lesbians, and Coming Out as Sacrament.
