“I am a free-thinking, free-living, free-loving, and free-spirited person in every which way (self-explanatory.)” -Antonio Myers.

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“The stereotype of all black men, all men and all black people as not being marriage material, not being father material, and not being family people material is false and I am grateful that the women of my sexual past eradicated that stereotype from their psyches thanks to my polite correction of them.” -Antonio Myers.

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“I faced martyrdom and potential career derailment for my adult years for Jesus innumerable times as a kid. There were deadly weapons (fully loaded) while being pointed at me and aimed at me in the midst of my praying, singing Christian songs, and proselytizing by a handful of criminals who had religious intolerance in their hard hearts. They chose not to kill me because they were shocked and amazed that I was that committed to Christendom and Christ.” -Antonio Myers.

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"Amanda Udis-Kessler (PhD, sociology, Boston College; certificate, Iliff School of Theology) is the author of Queer Inclusion in the United Methodist Church (Routledge, 2008), Abundant Lives: A Progressive Christian Ethic of Flourishing (Pilgrim, 2024) and Cultural Processes of Inequality: A Sociological Perspective (Anthem, 2024). She has essays, chapters, and other materials in an additional 13 books. Amanda’s liturgical materials are available at several compilation websites in the US, UK, and Australia.

Amanda offers antiracism and anti-oppression trainings specifically as a white person for other white people. These workshops focus on the cultural processes underlying inequality, the issue and nature of white discomfort with racism, and concrete actions people in socially valued groups can take to work for inequality.

For information about Amanda’s work as a hymnwriter, songwriter, and sacred music composer, please see her bio at https://queersacredmusic.com. The music on this website is all available for free, with no licensing or reporting requirements.

Amanda is a covenantal partner, musician, and lay worship leader at Vista Grande United Church of Christ (Colorado Springs, CO, US) and a regular visiting speaker at the Progressive Christianity Network Britain St. Albans Group."

Link to her website:

Books | Amanda Udis-Kessler (amandaudiskessler.com)

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“An Overview of Religious Persecution

Religious persecution can be defined as the systematic hostility or ill-treatment encountered by an individual or group because of their religious beliefs. It may be manifest in a variety of forms. Laws may discriminate against those who subscribe, or fail to subscribe, to a particular religion, resulting in minority traditions experiencing harsher punishments for breaching the law. “Personal status laws” that control marriage, divorce, inheritance and child rearing, may also be used to discriminate against particular faith groups.

In the most severe cases, persecution may take a violent form, with minorities facing physical attacks and threats from the government or wider community. The Holocaust, during which six million Jews were killed under a Nazi regime, is one of the worst examples of widespread and systemic religious persecution known to humankind.

Aside from legal discrimination, minority groups may find themselves socially excluded from communities, forced to worship in secret for fear of public criticism

Religious freedom

The principle of the freedom of religion and belief asserts that individuals should be free to believe in any faith system according to their conscience. This principle also supports the rights of atheists and agnostics not to subscribe to a particular religion. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines freedom of religion, belief and conscience as a right for all peoples. This right includes freedom to change your religion or belief, and freedom to manifest your religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” Link: https://jpit.uk/issues/religious-persecution.

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“Ours is a community of people who, having moved beyond religion:

Endeavor to understand and be grounded in science and reality.

Strive to improve the quality of our lives, end needless suffering, find peace, prosper together as one human community and thrive in harmony with the other species we share this fragile world with.

Recognize and honor the things that sustain life, that advance our civilization, and enable us to succeed as a species.

Understand that what is truly sacred in life is the natural world we cannot violate, damage or destroy without putting our own lives in peril.

Reject antiquated and dysfunctional religions that, thousands of years old and divisive, are impediments to human progress.” Link: https://www.thesecularcommunity.org/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrL761Ne6hgMVGlpHAR0NrQ20EAMYASAAEgLtRfD_BwE.

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“Relief is a positive emotion experienced when something unpleasant, painful or distressing has not happened or has come to an end.[1]

Relief is often accompanied with a sigh, which signals emotional transition.[2] People from all over the world can recognise sighs with relief,[3] and judge relief to be a fundamental emotion.[4]

In a 2017 study published in Psychology, relief is suggested to be an emotion that can reinforce anxiety through avoidance[5][6] or be an adaptive coping mechanism when stressed or frustrated.[7]” -Wikipedia.

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“Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using facts, their relationships, the media, and messaging to educate government officials and the public. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes, including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research. Lobbying (often by lobby groups) is a form of advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on a specific issue or specific piece of legislation.[1] Research[whose?] has started to address how advocacy groups in the United States[2] and Canada[3] are using social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.”

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“A doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience – a reference to the Gospel of John's depiction of the Apostle Thomas, who, in John's account, refused to believe the resurrected Jesus had appeared to the ten other apostles until he could see and feel Jesus's crucifixion wounds.” -Wikipedia.

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“So many people in religious institutions have been destroyed, wrecked, annihilated, killed, lost, devastated, wasted, demolished, overturned, overwhelmed, upset, nullified, undone, put to an end, shattered, smashed, scuttled, ravished, engulfed, submerged, overrun, extinguished, eradicated, devoured, consumed, burned up, burned down, gone to pieces, razed, lying in ruins, sacked, broken, dead, and ruined.” -Antonio Myers. “I am not a fan of linear thinking, black or white thinking, monolithic thinking, herd mentality, group think, my way or the highway thinking, binary thinking, and all or nothing thinking.” -Antonio Myers.

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