What Me, Worry? Dealing with Anxiety in the LGBTQIA+ World

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Jody Davis RN LISW (she/her)

Lay Person, Lord of Life Lutheran Church (Columbus, OH) Queer Christian

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)

So, um, as you probably already know somehow, I am not a pastor. I don’t have an MDiv. Have never been to bible college, and lately haven’t been going to church much. So…maybe don’t listen to me. These two verses are some of the only ones I have memorized. And I try and send up my requests to god, especially when I’m anxious. I have a lot to be anxious about, being a trans female person two weeks before a presidential election. When just about every ad on TV is how our incumbent Ohio senator thinks it’s ok for illegal immigrants to perform trans affirming services on unsuspecting children in public schools, or something like that. We’re in a climate in Ohio, where students much younger than me, when talking to their friends and mention something odd or out of touch with society, they just say to their friends, “gawd, that is So Ohio!”

So…back to Philippians. So many of us feel out of control. We don’t feel safe in our state, maybe not even in our neighborhoods. And it feels like a lot of people are going to vote, without even thinking of how that might hurt us Queer people. Like we are just irrelevant!

OK. I just made things worse. Hmm. So…we are called to pray to God, and find the peace of God, which is bigger than us. Bigger than our current worries, our current politics.

And historically speaking, there were gay people all throughout history. And us fags have always had to struggle, seemingly more than those straights down the street. So, I suppose we are not Alone. And we have the arc of justice behind us. And we have faith for a better life, in God’s kingdom on earth. Or something like that…

Reflection

Would Jesus be as worried as I am right now? Jesus seemed to love the Queers and the rejects. What did he know that I don’t?

What can we control, and what can we not? Are we taking on more responsibility than we can chew?

Action

Do not despair! Do not let your hearts be troubled. Gandalf is still alive! Talk to your friends at church, be active with groups like LOVEboldly and Equipping Ministries. Be a Light in the darkness of the world!

Testimony in Opposition to HB486 - "The Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act"

Chair Fowler-Arthur, Vice Chair Odioso, Ranking Member Brennan, and Members of the Committee:

My name is the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp. I serve as Executive Director of LOVEboldly and Pastor of Blue Ocean Faith Columbus. LOVEboldly is an Ohio, faith-based nonprofit working to create spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can flourish in Christianity and Blue Ocean Faith Columbus is a progressive Christian congregation. I’m submitting this testimony in my roles as a Christian pastor and minister of the Gospel. I want to express my strong opposition to House Bill 486, the so-called “Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act.”

This Bill Is Not Needed

First, and most simply, this legislation is unnecessary. Ohio teachers are already fully permitted to teach about the historical influence of Christianity and other religions on American history and culture. The Supreme Court has been clear that objective, academic instruction about religion’s role in history is constitutionally sound. Teachers can and do discuss the religious motivations of the Pilgrims, the faith (and lack thereof) of the Founders, and the role of Black churches in the Civil Rights Movement, among many other examples.

HB 486 does not expand teachers’ ability to provide quality history education. Instead, it creates a solution in search of a problem, suggesting that teachers are somehow prohibited from discussing Christianity’s historical influence, positive and negative, when no such prohibition exists.

This Bill Privileges Christianity Over Other Faiths

Second, while the bill’s language carefully avoids explicit promotion of Christianity, its intent is unmistakable. The legislation provides an extensive list of Christian historical accounts that teachers “may” include, from the Pilgrims’ church covenant to Billy Graham’s cultural impact. No similar list exists for Judaism’s influence on American law, Islam’s contributions to American culture, or the role of Indigenous spirituality in shaping early American thought.

This is not objective history education. This is a roadmap for privileging one faith tradition in our public schools, which serve students and families of all beliefs and none. Our Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, and other non-Christian neighbors deserve schools where their children are not subjected to a curriculum designed to emphasize one religion’s tenets or paint that religion as either central to the American story or its supposed superiority.

The framers of our Constitution understood that true religious freedom requires the government to remain neutral in matters of faith. HB 486 abandons that principle.

This Bill Does Not Reflect an Honest Reading of the Gospels

Finally, this bill fundamentally misrepresents the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come to promote religious nationalism or to align faith with political power. Quite the opposite. He came announcing good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, and the arrival of God’s kin-dom, a reality that stands in stark contrast to earthly empires and their quests for dominance (Luke 4:18-19).

When the religious and political establishment of his day sought to use faith as a tool of control and exclusion, Jesus consistently sided with the marginalized: the Samaritan, the tax collector, the woman caught in adultery, the people experiencing leprosy. He reserved his harshest words not for Rome, but for religious leaders who laid heavy burdens on others while seeking honor and recognition for themselves (Matthew 23:4-7).

The Gospel I preach and the God in whom I believe calls Christians to love our neighbors as ourselves, including neighbors who do not share our faith. It calls us to humility, not supremacy. It calls us to serve the least of these, not to use political power to assert cultural dominance.

HB 486 promotes a vision of Christianity as a foundation for American exceptionalism and political identity. This is Christian nationalism, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As a pastor, I cannot remain silent when legislation claims to honor my faith while fundamentally distorting its message.

Conclusion

House Bill 486 is unnecessary, unconstitutional in spirit if not in letter, and unfaithful to the Christian tradition it claims to honor.

Our public schools should teach honest, rigorous history, including the complex role of religion in American life. But they should not become venues for promoting one faith over others, and they should not be conscripted into a project of Christian nationalism that serves political interests rather than the common good.

I urge you to oppose this legislation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully submitted,

The Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp +

Executive Director, LOVEboldly

Pastor, Blue Ocean Faith Columbus

Looking Back and Moving Forward

Monday, November 3, 2025

Happy Monday, my friends! I spent a few hours on Saturday reading some of the past Monday Moments as I continue working on a project of turning over 200 reflections into a book. As I read through pieces I wrote several years ago, I recognize which ideas have changed and even how my writing style has grown and developed. There are clear contenders for inclusion in the book and others which aren’t bad, but perhaps not up to the level of republishing (this one is probably going to be in the latter category).

I enjoy the process of looking through old materials and items. Memories can help us trace where we’ve been and help us provide context for where we’re going. Every day we seem to learn something new which makes us worry and wonder how we can respond. Sometimes the only thing to do and the only way we can respond is to keep moving forward.

How do you move forward when the world seems so hostile? What helps you see and create the path forward?

Let us pray: Gracious God, sometimes we have to look back so that we can create the context for moving forward. Help us continue walking the paths you have laid out for us which might not always be easy, but which always beckon us on to whatever comes next. We ask this through our savior and liberator, Jesus, who experienced the struggle and joy of moving forward. Amen.

Blessings on your weeks, my friends! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Faithfully,

Ben +