Queer Friendships | Monday Invocation

“Queer friendship, when pursued in a way that communicates the priority and value of platonic connections, transforms us. Deliberate queer friendship makes people new. In fact, I’m convinced that queer friendship is actually one of the highest and most salient ways we ever get to live out our resurrection experiences as LGBTQ Christians and allies.”

- Myles Markham

In January, Myles Markham delivered a keynote address during the 2024 Renewal Conference that focused on queer friendships and how those relationships can gift us renewal in our everyday lives. Oftentimes, as LGBTQ+ Christians, there is a lot of focus on our romantic and sexual relationships and not about the intentional platonic relationships we cultivate. There is less celebration for those relationships that are seen as “queer” by our current societal standards, but they are just as important and healing in many cases.

While Myles frames their address by reminding us that he is not a pastor and that his keynote is neither a sermon nor a theological treatise, what Myles uplifts is the holiness of “queer friendships.” Through his lived experience, he shows us what healing justice is and what it looks like to build a lifelong network of care for ourselves. These kinds of relationships are a spiritual practice “as a material and embodied expression of God's presence in our daily lives.”

You can watch Myles’ entire keynote by clicking here!