By Barrett White
This week, Bible study was held at a home on La Branch Street in Houston. In two weeks, when the next one is held, it will be elsewhere, hosted by another member of the group. The thread that weaves each event together is community effort—affirmation, your relationship with your Creator, and of course, champagne.
Bubbles, Brunch, and Bible was founded by openly gay Houstonians and devout Christians Alan Prewitt and Jonathan Page, senior minister at First Congregational Church of Houston. “Bubbles” operates on a volunteer basis, offering a non-judgmental Christian community to those looking for a spiritual home. “We’re not a formal nonprofit,” Prewitt says. “We’re not sponsored by a church—it’s purely grassroots. These are people’s homes that we are holding these events in.”
Prewitt, who straddles both the Christian and LGBTQ communities himself, grew up Methodist. He insists that, while the brunch is open to the LGBTQ community and allies, it is not necessarily a breakaway from organized religion entirely. “Many of our members attend affirming churches and are very active in their church communities,” he says. “This group gives people the chance to really explore themselves and their relationship with their Maker in a way that they might not get to otherwise though.”
It is no secret that the South is largely religious. And as large and inclusive as Houston is—often cited as the most culturally diverse city in the nation—it is still a city of many churches, hundreds of denominations, and sprawling suburban Christendom. Many who come of age in the city, or across the South in general, are raised with some sort of religion—more often than not, within some denomination of Christianity. But when this religious upbringing is so often pitted against our blossoming LGBTQ identities, how are we expected to navigate that intersection?
Prewitt points to the role of affirming Christians—to open arms to those who need the embrace. Christian silence in the face of a religious majority’s contempt for a minority community is standing with the oppressor. It is difficult to run counter to your own community, but the payoff is quantifiable. Affirmation for a community that does not feel at home with their own spiritual beliefs can—and does—save lives. As Prewitt, Page, and their acolytes have done with their Bible study, love your neighbors as yourselves, especially your most vulnerable neighbors.
A goal of “Bubbles” is to create and sustain a safe place for all attendees, who, due to the nature of the religious beast, are sometimes still living in the closet. The meetings are held based on a “rotating host” set-up, where different community members host the brunch each time, bi-weekly. The host is responsible for the brunch, and attending guests provide the champagne. Hosting the event in members’ homes rather than public spaces keeps the group anonymous for those who are still leveraging their spiritual and sexual or gender identities.
For those looking for a more permanent church home, Prewitt offers “Bubbles” as a jumping-off point. “We call it ‘church shopping.’ [Jonathan Page] is a minister at an affirming church. Many members attend affirming churches. If you’re looking for an affirming church—or even if you’re not, if that doesn’t matter to you—there is a place for you,” Prewitt says.
Despite the current divided political climate, Prewitt persists with hopes for a brighter future for religious folks within the LGBTQ community and their allies. “I hope we can get to where being religious and being LGBTQ isn’t like oil and water,” he says.
The next Bubbles, Brunch, and Bible meeting will be held on Sunday, January 6, 2019. Click here for more info.
