The Vatican recently released a statement looking at gender and sexuality, entitled, “Male and Female, He created them”. This is a view that Rev. Brandan Robertson, author, activist, and pastor, working at the intersections of spirituality and social renewal, feels does not represent the full picture. He believes that LGBT+ people have existed since the beginning of the Christian community and the Jesus himself would have been considered a sexual minority or a feminised man. Citing examples from the Gospel and from his study of the Greco Roman culture, he says that the patriarchal norms of the day, would have seen Jesus as a celibate Jewish man – a despised ethnic and sexual minority. He also explains how he transgresses major cultural and status lines, with actions like reclining at the table of a woman and speaking positively about eunuchs.

He currently serves as the Lead Pastor of Missiongathering Christian Church in San Diego, CA and serves as the Executive Director of Metanoia.

He is author of several books, including Nomad: A Spirituality For Travelling Light (DLT Books, 2016), True Inclusion: Becoming Communities Radical Embrace (Chalice Press, 2018), Gay & Christian, No Contradiction (Nomad Press, 2016) and The Gospel of Inclusion: A Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion (Cascade Books, 2019). He is coming to Ireland to give a talk and do a book signing at the Mercy International Centre.