You’re not alone, not even at Patrick Henry College

“You’re not alone, and there’s plenty of space in the church for you, should you choose to stay.”

That’s the truth spoken by Point Loma Nazarene University graduate Todd Clayton to the many, many other LGBT students and alumni who have contacted him since he began speaking out about his experience of reconciling his sexuality and Christian identity, and coming out at the university.

The shrewdest, loudest, most violent lie that LGBT people at Christian colleges and universities carry is this: that no one else like them exists. More important, and more enduring than the stares and questions and assaulting prayers, are the stories of the 70 current students, and 130 alumni who contacted me to say they had the same kind of dreams I did.

And that’s only from Point Loma. Students from across the nation sent messages my way, notes of gratitude and concern and question and fear.

It’s a truth that LGBT students at Patrick Henry College need to know. It might not seem that way now, because it’s a truth that authorities at the college work desperately to hide, but there is sanctuary for you. They may, like other institutions, refuse to acknowledge the reality of this “unstoppable force,” but they cannot change it.

The not-so-secret gospel news is that we’re everywhere, us gays. We’re your teachers and janitors and friends and pastors. The question isn’t whether or not we exist; it’s what Christian colleges and universities are going to do with us.

Hang in there. No matter what you’ve been told, there is Christian community ready to embrace you as you were created.