By ALEXANDRIA

BOURNONVILLE

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE–A group of students and area residents proved religion can peacefully exist within the LGBT+ community. They gathered at a unique coffee hour event on Northern Michigan University’s campus.

The concept started with nonbinary senior Sonny Pilto and their passion for creating a space for students to “exist as their whole self.”

Religious people in the LGBT+ community often struggle to find full acceptance in either of those spaces.

In many cases, people who identify as anything other than heterosexual have been soured toward the idea of religion.

Those who want continue religious practices may have been taught that LGBT+ identities do not fit within stringent religious standards.

River, who also identifies as nonbinary said they were raised Christian until River was 8.

“We stopped going to church,” they said. I always wanted to get back into it, but being a person of queerness, getting into a church is hard….I feel like it conflicts sometimes: who I am versus what I believe?”

Another NMU student, Isabella, agreed with River’s sentiment, saying, “It’s hard to grapple with, especially because a lot of churches don’t believe (in being gay). A lot of religious people don’t support that.”

She doesn’t identify with any one denomination, but rather the belief that “God created everybody” and “God loves everybody” since consensual love “can’t really be wrong.”

The Rev. Erica Thomas of NMU’s Sacred Spaces said, “I feel like I was raised and the two were mutually exclusive. You could be in the LGBTQIA community, but you couldn’t be someone of faith and vice versa. You could be someone of faith, but you definitely could not be part of the LGBTQIA community and be welcomed as you are.”

Largely, the conversation focused on the group’s faith that the Christian God is more accepting than many churches make him out to be.

“One of the things we try to do in a more Christian-focused environment, in Sacred Spaces, is allow people to be their full selves,” Thomas said. “Because God made all of us, and to me, God doesn’t make mistakes. Whatever it is about us that society is saying is a mistake or different or wrong — I don’t think it is. I think it’s just how we are.”

Thomas described how even though she was raised Lutheran and she’s religious presently, there was a period of time — nearly 10 years — when she walked away from the church due to her identity as a queer woman.

“I spent four years trying to find a faith group, a church, what have you, that aligned with my beliefs,” Pilto said. “A lot of denominations are like ‘God is it. Jesus is it’ and I just can’t look at somebody who’s Jewish and tell them, ‘No, you’re wrong’ because that’s not kind and that’s not someone I want to be. I want to be able to support people, so in that way it’s been really hard.”

They largely identify with the Unitarian Universalist denomination, which is characterized by a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning,” according to the Unitarian Universalist Association.

“There’s something about being able to converse with people who are from different spiritual backgrounds that I’m really passionate about,” Pilto said. “One of the main tenants about (UU) is about engaging people in finding their spiritual path….We went to a Jewish synagogue, Buddhist temple ….we were able to have those experiences.”

In one earlier coffee hour, members of the local Temple Beth Shalom synagogue spoke about their belief system and holy text.

“The main point and the main purpose is that we’re all here creating safe and comfortable spaces where people can be supported whether that’s in their gender, sexuality, spirituality, you can come here and experience that and ask questions,” Pilto said.

LGBTQ2S+ People of Faith Coffee Hours are being held every other week until Nov. 15. All people — nonreligious, straight, gay, Muslim, bisexual, Jewish, lesbian — anyone is allowed to join and bond over a cup of coffee.

Alexandria Bournonville can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 506. Her email address is abournonville@miningjournal.net.