Launch of New Blog on Queer Chican@ Theology

Over the past few years I have been shifting my work to have a more theological focus, as my way of approaching how I engage LGBT and Queer activism. It was during my time at Harvard Divinity School that I began to tease out my interests and begin honing in on what I wanted to focus my energy and time toward. I have wrestled with developing a queer theology that moves beyond homonormative thinking, while affirming the multicultural make-up of queers. I've been trying to liberate myself from a liberation theology that does not foreground my queerness as something that deserves to be liberated from the structures in place that oppress me. And I have arrived at a space where I find it necessary to begin having those conversations.

With the rise of jotería studies, an emerging field engaging queerness and Chicana/o studies, I am interested in how using this new language in conversation with my background in theology will open doors to begin looking at how we talk about same-sex desire in Latin American and Chicana/o contexts. What I'm basically getting at is, I started a new blog! One that will be receiving more attention than this, as that's where I feel my heart is at right now.

JOT(E)LOGÍA is an experimental conversation about understanding same-sex desire and queerness on a postcolonial, theological level. In other words, how representations of the sexualized body function as religious and spiritual practice. I endeavor to use an intersectional, intertextual, and intersexual approach to looking into what this new area looks like, making use of texts, images, videos, art, etc. So please make you're way over there to bookmark it and join in on the conversation! I really do look forward to seeing what comes of this project.

While my energy will focused on moving into this next chapter of my writing and thinking, I am still committed to speaking out against the ex-gay movement and affirming safe-spaces within the church and religious institutions for LGBTQ individuals. I look forward to still traveling the country to share my story and the stories of others on how we have found a place of reconciliation within ourselves. For information on booking me to speak at your school, church, or event, please email booking@vincentcervantes.com for more information.

Loving Promiscuously: A Queer Theology of Doing It

The Anarchist Reverend, in conjunction with the Sanctuary Collective Empowerment Project, has called upon bloggers and writers to share in a synchroblog on queer theology. Thinking about how I wanted to begin to creatively reflect on such a task of writing a queer theology, I was immediately taken back to when I was planning a queer chapel service at Harvard Divinity School.

My queer friends and I gathered to plan a chapel service that would be hosted by the LGBTQ student group. As we thought about how we would order the service, what message, songs, and 'scripture' we wanted to share during this time of worship and fellowship, we were left with one question: What is queer worship?

After moments of sitting in silence while we all tried to think of some sophisticated and thoughtful way of responding, we all, almost unison, all blurted out: SEX! This response couldn’t be more appropriate and it’s the theme I wish to reflect on in this queer theology synchroblog.

Border Crosser: Into the Wilderness

In a little less than two weeks I will be joining a group from school to visit the US/Mexico border by way of the Arizona border. Our objective as a study group is to examine the border in a theological perspective (if the task can be done at all). We will be spend a week in the Tucson, Arizona (US) and Nogales, Sonora (MX) areas having conversations with local organizations, churches, and community members. I'm definitely looking forward to blogging about my experiences when I return from my trip.

As I prepare myself logistically for our trip, I'm also spending time preparing myself mentally and spiritually. When I think about borderlands and the idea of borderland theories, liminality, and all that academic jargon, I can't help but wonder if any of it is relevant. Can I expect to put a label on the experiences of border crossers? Why does that space need to be labeled?