Eli wrote some wonderful words on the Receiving with Thanksgiving site, to introduce himself and to describe what he wanted to accomplish. My heart is warmed by Eli’s energy and sense of vocation as I read these words.
Hi there! I’m Eli, one of the original members behind Receiving with Thanksgiving. I am an upcoming senior at Penn State studying Rehabilitation and Human Services and French. I am also a transgender man, a bisexual, and a Christian. In 2014, circumstances arose in my home church which brought the perceived “fight” between my LGBT identity and Christian identity very close to home. Since then, I have been dedicated to education and conversation between Christians and LGBT people, as well as the very real overlap of these populations. I do not see us as opposing sides, rather, all parts of God’s family struggling to understand the larger picture.
It hasn’t gotten any easier for any of us to live out these goals since Eli wrote them two years ago. May God have mercy on us all as we struggle together to understand “the larger picture”.