Queerfully and Wonderfully Made

Sunday, June 7, 2026 - Pride Sunday

The Rev. Dr. Joelle Henneman

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”

~Psalm 139:14 (NRSV)

Devotion

Or as I like to say: “You are Queerfully and wonderfully made.”

There’s something holy that happens when you hear the truth about yourself and believe it.

For many of us in the LGBTQIA+ community, we’ve spent years being told we’re “too much” or “not enough.” Too loud. Too quiet. Too visible. Too confusing. Too Queer. Not gay enough. Not Trans enough. Not holy enough. Not worthy.

We’ve heard pastors, parents, peers, politicians—even our own inner voices—question our place in God’s family. Question our bodies. Our loves. Our pronouns. Our callings. Our existence.

But here’s the good news:

God doesn’t make mistakes.

God doesn’t discard.

God doesn’t create you just to abandon you.

God made you, Queerfully and wonderfully, on purpose.

When the psalmist says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” it’s not a bland compliment. It’s a declaration of sacred design. The Hebrew here can be translated as “set apart in awe”—crafted with intention, wonder, and a sense of divine creativity.

You weren’t made in a moment of hesitation. You were dreamed up in divine imagination.

To be Queerfully made is to reflect a God whose very nature is expansive, creative, and relational.

Look at the variety in creation:

Rainbows after storms.

Creatures that change shape.

Mushrooms that glow.

Birds that sing in duets.

Stars that collapse into galaxies.

A universe that refuses to be simple or small.

You belong to that story.

Your Queerness, your identity, your body, your experience, reveals something unique about the God who shaped you. It is not a flaw. It is a gift.

When I say we have gifts for ministry, I don’t mean we should be allowed to join in the work of the Church despite being LGBTQIA+. I mean because of it.

Being Queer or Trans or nonbinary or ace or intersex or pan or bi or gay or lesbian gives us spiritual insights that many don’t automatically have. Why? Because we’ve lived at the margins. We’ve learned to survive by listening deeply, navigating complexity, and building community in powerful ways.

Here are just a few gifts we bring to ministry:

Radical Empathy: We know what it’s like to be excluded, misgendered, misunderstood, and cast out. That doesn’t make us bitter, it makes us compassionate. We see the outsider. We welcome the stranger. We know how to create spaces of safety and healing.

Holy Imagination: Queer folks reimagine everything—family, gender, love, even what church can be. That creativity is not rebellious. It’s holy. It allows us to build new visions of justice and liberation rooted in God’s dream.

Resilience and Faithfulness: To stay Queer and Christian in a world that tells you to choose one or the other takes courage. And courage is a spiritual practice. When we show up anyway—in pews, pulpits, and protests—we bear witness to a faith that refuses to quit.

Embodied Truth: Trans people in particular know what it means to wrestle with truth in our bodies. To name ourselves. To transition. To walk in authenticity. That’s not just personal growth. it’s spiritual leadership. It teaches others how to listen to God’s voice over the noise of the world.

When I read the Gospels, I don’t see Jesus hanging out with the popular, the perfect, or the powerful. I see Jesus eating with outcasts. Touching lepers. Calling fishermen. Weeping with women. Trusting the testimony of Samaritans. Speaking truth to religious hypocrites.

Jesus didn’t avoid the margins. he made his home there.

If you’ve ever been told, “You don’t belong in church,” I want you to hear this clearly:

You are the church.

You are the temple of the Spirit.

You are Queerfully and wonderfully made.

You don’t have to wait until a church board, a bishop, or a family member gives you permission to minister.

You’re already doing it.

When you hold space for a friend in pain.

When you speak truth to injustice.

When you model integrity and joy.

When you show up as your full self in places that told you not to.

That’s ministry.

If you feel a nudge to preach, to serve, to lead worship, to pastor, to start something new—listen to that. That’s not just your idea. That’s God whispering, “Yes. Go. I made you for this.”

Organizations like LOVEboldly are powerful because they help us do what the Church was always supposed to do: live out love without conditions.

So, bring your voice. Bring your story. Bring your whole, holy, Queerfully made self. The church doesn’t just need you. The church is incomplete without you.

Reflection

1.    When have you felt “Queerfully and wonderfully made”?

2.    What gifts has your LGBTQIA+ identity given you for ministry or leadership?

3.    Where is God calling you to serve, speak, or show up as your full self?

Action – A Prayer for the Queerfully Made

God who formed us in the womb,

God who shaped our pronouns, bodies, and names,

God who loves every rainbow, every spectrum, every shade of who we are—

We thank you for making us Queerfully and wonderfully.

Help us believe it.

Help us live it.

Help us love boldly.

May we walk in our calling without fear.

And may your church be transformed by the beauty of your Queer creation.

Amen.