During August & September, members of the Proclaim community (queer seminarian & rostered ministry leaders) will be writing letters to their younger queer selves offering life-lessons, guidance, & support.
Image Description: Photo of hand-writtern letters and ink pen with the words “Letter to Myself” in the center with the ELM logo, right of center.
Greetings Beloved Community,
We hope you have enjoyed this blog series on letters to our younger selves.
Every week thousands of people have interacted with each Proclaimer’s letter, sharing both affirmation & gratitude for the insights Proclaim members provided. The vulnerability and bravery shown by each Proclaim member was truly inspiring which has made us ponder, what you would say to your younger self?
As the final chapter on this series, we invite you to participate by answering this question:
What is one piece of advice you would share with your younger self?
We invite you to share your responses on ELM’s Facebook page, our Instagram page, or even on elm.org as a comment to this blog entry!
Click the links below to select where you would like to participate.
Click here to go to the ELM Instagram page!
Click here for the ELM Facebook Page!
Thank you for all the ways you have supported queer ministry leaders during this series and throughout the year!
What I would write to my younger self is that it gets better. It does get better. And yes, I know that’s a cliché in some ways, and a lie in others. But in what I wrote to my younger self there are ways my understanding of “it gets better” might be different than it is for others. For example, I don’t mean that all of a sudden everybody around you will be more accepting of affirming. I don’t mean that bisexual people will automatically be welcomed with open arms in every queer or straight community. What I mean is that you will become more comfortable inside your own skin. You will find the courage to be who you are, the person God made you to be. You will understand the differences between desire and infatuation and love, and that loving someone who loves you [me] back is the most amazing and powerful thing in the universe. That’s what I would write to my younger self.