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October 11th is "Coming Out" day. As a counselor and one who sits with people to hear their stories, even as I tell my own, I believe coming out is a spiritual event that happens over and over again in our lives.
I am thankful for my gay sisters and brothers for claiming that phrase as an experience of authenticity. I hear it as a public declaration of our God given identity; an identity that God claims as good. And so this day gives us an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the gift of identity that God has blessed us to be. We are each made in God's image - that means gay, straight, lesbian, asexual, bisexual, black, brown, red, yellow, white, gender fluid, transgender, documented, undocumented, female, male...however we name ourselves God claims each of us as God's own. Unfortunately, we live in a world where barriers often divide us by identity - and as a result we spend so much of our time and energy trying to visualize ourselves as wonderfully made and loved. That is why the need to come out and continue to come out is necessary. CWACM is a movement which provides safe space and community to live out a justice that says all of God's people are valued and valuable. I don't always feel that self-worth. So places like CWACM gives me the courage to confront and "come out" of those places of fear and self-hatred that I have ingested into my soul.
I have a vivid memory that is as fresh in my minds eye as though it happened yesterday. 
I was about six years old and was standing in the bathroom looking in the only mirror in the house. I had this perplexed look on my face as I stared at myself. I was thinking, something's wrong with the way I look. My Barbie doll looks different. The people on the TV set look different. What's wrong with me? That image and that question have plagued me all my life. My family did not discuss race. Our difference was neither acknowledged nor affirmed. What I know now is without affirmation difference becomes "not normal." Beneath my quest for justice is a desire to be seen as "normal"; to not live in a reality where my difference makes me an outsider. That longing continues to influence the justice and inclusive ministry that is my life's work.
As we commemorate "coming out", I would request that each of us ask ourselves where are the places of fear that keep us locked up tight, those places that hinder wholeness? Is it our sexual orientation? Is it our ethnicity or skin color? (for those of us who have dark skin, there are still ways to be closeted around our identity) Is it our mental illness, or physical illness? Is it our spiritual ambiguity? Is it a relational or familial connection we would just soon no one know about? Is it an addiction we keep silent about, because of the mere shame of it? Is it some type of abuse we are experiencing? Whatever painful circumstance we are keeping locked away, I offer this prayer for us.
You, who open doors and dismantle barriers, help us to remember who we have been created to be. Open those closet doors that we might live a full and fulfilling life. Heal the wounds of exclusion and silence that we have experienced so that we can live as faithful neighbors, recognizing the spirit of love in each other. Open our hearts to the transforming power of that love so we can forgive and reconcile, so that we can make peace and live peace in the world. Amen.
For further reflection read:
The Joseph Story (Genesis 45:1-5) Coming out to reconcile with family
The Esther Story (Esther 4:13-16) Coming out to save a people
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Vernice Thorn
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The Lazarus Story (John 11:39-44) Coming out to New Life
Rev. Vernice Thorn
All Inclusive Ministries
Associate pastor, Broadway UMC, Chicago, IL
Co-convener, National Coordinating Team, CWAC Movement
"Mimi" to granddaughter Jayla Rose
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