Church buildings reimagine conventional Christmas celebrations with drag exhibits

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Progressive church buildings in Colorado and Washington are internet hosting drag-themed Christmas occasions alongside extra conventional providers this vacation season.

Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, hosted its third annual drag Christmas present, "A Drag Christmas Spectacular," on Dec. 19 and 20. The 90-minute efficiency is marketed as "a joyful, irreverent reimagining of the nativity story that celebrates queer pleasure, chosen household, and the ability of affection and acceptance."

"Prepare for the last word festive extravaganza with 'A Drag Christmas Spectacular,' the place magical Queers will slay their solution to Bethlehem," the occasion description says.

The occasion web site notes that the present incorporates grownup themes and is really helpful for ages 16 and older.

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Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, Colorado, hosted "A Drag Christmas Spectacular" on Dec. 19-20. (iStock/Foothills Unitarian)

Reverend Sean Neil-Barron, a queer-identifying minister at Foothills Unitarian, advised Colorado Public Radio that he created the occasion two years in the past in response to what he described as anti-LGBTQ laws launched throughout the nation.

"I used to be form of sitting with that actuality, and likewise being a queer particular person myself, I used to be simply realizing what the church must step into this hole and say one thing," Neil-Barron advised the outlet in 2024. "What if we created this queer little oasis, this little queer sacred area on the holidays for folk to return and see their lives and their neighborhood lifted up as worthy, which is so wanted proper now?"

He known as the Magi "outdoors figures" within the biblical story, which he mentioned helped encourage the thought to include drag and LGBTQ themes into a unique nativity story.

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Christmas nativity scene. (Getty Photos )

"What in the event that they embodied this seek for queerness?… As an alternative of simply discovering Jesus, what if they really stumbled upon queer individuals coming alive, being born once more, claiming pleasure, claiming hope, claiming resilience?" he mentioned.

The Colorado church isn't the one congregation internet hosting Christmas occasions with LGBTQ themes this yr.

Emmaus Desk in Seattle, Washington, which describes itself as a "religious neighborhood" that's LGBTQ-affirming and is related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, additionally hosted a "Christmas Carol" impressed drag occasion on Dec. 12 known as, "Drag Church: The Yassification of Ebenezer Scrooge."

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"The Yassification of Ebenezer Scrooge is a standard Christmas pageant reimagined via a queer lens," the occasion description says. "Primarily based on Charles Dickens's traditional A Christmas Carol, the viewers follows Ebenezer Scrooge as he's guided by three drag queen spirits on a transformative journey. Collectively, they assist him launch disgrace and anger, embrace his true self, and rediscover the enjoyment of neighborhood."

The occasion is described as "spiritually-inclusive [and] family-friendly" and open to all ages.

Progressive denominations such because the Episcopal, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist and the United Church of Christ brazenly welcome LGBTQ clergy and a few church buildings are recognized for internet hosting drag worship and different ministry occasions.