“Sure,” he said from the other side of the table. “People are going to hear Scriptures that bother them. I mean I have to hear about Sodom and Gemorrah.”
This was 1999 and the man sitting across from me at brunch just came out to me. Our small college chaplaincy leaned more to the left, and did so while maintaining orthodox beliefs. I was pretty familiar with the other Christian groups on campus, and I knew I wouldn’t have had this conversation elsewhere. But at The Episcopal Church at Cornell I was able to make a new friend who didn’t fit the typical mold. I appreciated that because I don't fit the typical mold in my own way.
As the years progressed he and I became really good friends. Our minds work in similar ways so we would often talk long into the night and forget that time was passing. We developed some code words too. I can remember getting an email about making cinnamon bread - that meant he had just had a difficult conversation and needed company. The bread was warm and delicious too. When I got married he stood up as my best man.
I share this story today because too often in the world Christians are perceived as hypocritical and judgemental. In some places I have experienced that to be true. But here in our little corner of Cornell University, the community was open enough that he kept coming back, and I made a really great friend.
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