The front cover of Communion a queer Christian zine, with a collage of a painting of a saint juxtaposed with a sketch of a nude man, reaching out
What is 'Communion: A Queer Christian Zine'?
'Communion' is a 'Zine' or magazine affirming LGBT+ Christianity in all it's weird and wonderful holiness. It has been created as part of the mission of St Nicholas Church in Leicester.
The intention for the zine is for it, like Communion itself, to be shared and offered to all who wish to take it -especially those with whom Christ would have been condemned for feeding, for those are the most worthy of all.
With that in mind it has been created with an ethos of grassroots community organising and radical sharing, meaning that not only is it completely free to the person reading it, it's also free for anyone to print and distribute. More specific information about this, and the files you need to enable that sharing, can be found lower down this page.
Why does this zine exist?
St Nicholas Church has been welcoming and affirming LGBT+ people since the 1960's, and has long been known as an 'LGBT+ Sanctuary Church', offering a spiritual home and pastoral support to those who needed it. Because of this we have, for many years, had a presence at Leicester Pride, offering pastoral support and an affirming and celebratory presence for those who need it.
This is often a surprise for people who have never encountered LGBT+ inclusive Christianity before, and Pride isn't really the place for those deep conversations they want to have (especially when we're given a stall near the loud main stage), so this zine was originally conceived as an attempt to remedy that by offering people an opportunity to explore a multitude of different experiences, ideas, and perspectives from across the broad spectrum of LGBT+ inclusive Christian theology and belief.
The back cover of Communion
FEATURING
RIGHT REVEREND PAUL BAyES
REV'D DR TINA BEARDSLEY
JOY BROOKS
REV'D DR SARAh BRUSH
DR BLAKE GUTT
AMANDA hIGGIn
JAY HULME
REV'D LIZZIE MCMANUS-DAIL
REV'D DR JENNY MORGANS
REV'D CANON DR nIGEL ROOMS
JACK SHOULDER
MARK SMALL
DR ALICIA SPENCER-HALL
If you want to find out more about 'Communion: A Queer Christian Zine', how it came into being, and how to share it with your own community, then you can go to stnicholasleicester.com/magazine