Can You Be Queer and Christian?
Inside the movement of LGBTQ Christian activists, who are challenging America’s most conservative religious ideologies
Brittany Barron’s faith was invincible.
When evangelical megachurch Fellowship Monrovia hired her in 2013, the young preacher took comfort in the fact that God’s plan was working. And why wouldn’t it be? God had watched over Barron her entire life and was present for every moment of her happy, religious childhood in Colorado. God was there for her education as well, when she attended California’s Azusa Pacific University, one of the nation’s top evangelical colleges. And now, God had led the 27-year-old to Fellowship Monrovia, where she could fulfill her dream of entering the ministry. As a woman of color, Barron was impressed by the church’s racial diversity, another sign of the Lord’s grace within her life. Not only was God’s plan working, it had shaped every facet of Barron’s existence. Nothing could shake that foundation.
Until something did.
During her first year at Fellowship Monrovia, Barron received a Facebook message from a woman named Sami Cromelin. Cromelin was interested in volunteering at the church, and Barron welcomed her into the fold. Cromelin’s electric presence impressed church leaders, and they…
