Welcome Mat

A brisk fall welcome and basket of freshly picked apples for the newest member of the PCUSA Blog role and web ring.

South Carolina's David Gillespie blogs at Southern Fried Faith: I live in what Flannery O'Connor termed "the Christ-haunted landscape" — the American South. And I'm right proud of that fact. I was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. I'm also a queer man. Inasmuch as Presbyterians don't let queer folks serve in an ordained capacity, the written word has become my pulpit. I've published a number of articles, essays, poems, and short stories during the years. What you'll find here are observations and reflections of a queer Southern man of faith (a postmodern, post-liberal kind of faith). I welcome your comments, disagreements and observations. I am a graduate of Columbia International University, Reformed Theological Seminary, have completed a 1-year residency as a Chaplain in a major healthcare institution and am a member of Spiritual Directors International.

Southern Fried Faith consists of the occasional musings of a queer man of faith and life-long Presbyterian living in O'Connor's "Christ-haunted landscape." Three years of that life were spent in parish ministry in the South Carolina lowcountry; another three years working in a Presbyterian residential child care facility; and many years of being a part of, watching and commenting on the life and ministry of the Presbyterian Church, USA. My writing in general, and in this blog in particular, seem to revolve around: the relation of sexuality and faith; trends in American religion, especially as they are played out in the American South; progressive Christianity; what it means to be queer and a person of faith; and how the PCUSA might meet the challenges faced by people of faith living in a postmodern, post-denominational world. I started writing in 1974 with the publication of a short essay, "Confessions of a Perplexed Presbyterian," and my writing includes fiction and nonfiction. My writing, with the exception of occasionally speaking in various churches, has become my pulpit.