Additional information
by Eric D. Hess (Author)
In Search of Authentic Queer Worship explores what it means to worship God with honesty and courage as a queer person of faith. Rooted in lived experience as an individual, a partner, and researcher, this book offers prayers, liturgy, hymns, and commentary designed for those who have felt unseen, unwelcome, or misunderstood in worship spaces. It is both a critique of the church's historic failures to embrace LGBTQ+ people and a hopeful call for transformation. This book attempts to reclaim rather than abandon worship. Through reflections on authenticity, grief, joy, and resistance, the book invites readers to consider how queer people are blessed by God, fully, before the church is still learning to see them. Each chapter offers spiritual tools for anyone who has felt dislocated from the sacred yet still yearns for a place in the sanctuary. This book is a resource and a witness to the resilience of queer faith, the beauty of spiritual honesty, and the potential of the church to become something more holy, just, and ageless. This book lives the hope of a unified church but embraces the quote by Bishop Sims of the Episcopal church: "Fear not schism. Fear only continued infidelity to the call of compassion and justice in Jesus Christ by straining the patience and long-suffering of our [queer siblings]."
Author Biography
Eric Hess has been an academic his entire career. A "critical methodist," he earned his doctorate from the University of Illinois, where his research emphasized queer Christianity and social justice.
