Reverend Jide Macaulay is the theologian and spiritual leader behind the House of Rainbow, a welcoming and affirming community for LGBTQ people and our allies alike to join in the celebration of their faith. Reconciling our sexuality and our faith, though, is hard work. I, like many, spent years praying the gay away and have only just begun the long journey towards forgiveness. We discuss the misinterpretation of the Word, his own journey towards reconciliation and his message for those of us who have been harmed, emotionally and physically, at the hands of those who weaponised God's words against us. He argues that reconciliation is possible, but to do so, we have to let go: let go of the beliefs we internalised about who we are; let go of the pain that prevents us from rekindling our relationship to God; and let go of words God never said himself.

@RevJide and the @HouseofRainbow are committed to helping LGBTQ people reconcile their faith and their sexuality and to leading a light-filled path to a closer and deeper relationship with God. Find out more at houseofrainbow.org.

Thank you to poet Ben Ellis and our friends at Here for It for contributing to this conversation with their lived experiences and unanswered questions. We may not find resolution here, we may stand by our decisions to leave the Church, but what's important is that we begin the conversation. Pain has never been reconciled by ignoring it. I hope you'll both continue to feed into this essential conversation.

Busy Being Black is the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. You can support this podcast by leaving a rating and a review and by sharing this podcast across social media. Your support, mentions and feedback mean the world, so please do keep them coming.

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