Forward: David passed away on June 4th 2016. By reading his words, we can remember his unique look at life, through a different lense than most of us can imagine. Rest in peace, dear friend.
I began writing Haircut and Homilies in 1999. The coming out process for me began late in life, at the age of 45. I was serving as a pastor in a United Methodist Church under the shadow of “don’t ask don’t tell.” From the very start of entering the ministry my goal was to call a congregation to live authentic lives of servanthood in a broken world. Living in the closet made preaching almost impossible. Once I decided to come out, writing was what I called, “cheap therapy.” I knew that leaving the ministry would be a very difficult step in the journey, but telling these stories helped me make sense of a life in transition. Read more... about David Jenkins
The flute might have been a more logical choice for a young boy in a wheelchair or on crutches, even a clarinet, but not the French horn, which weighs about 40 pounds in its case.
In 2003 I turned 50. I had been out for about five years, and I had been writing about that process during that time. I am sure I sounded like a broken record each time I told my coming out story, but each time I told it, a little part of my heart healed. The drama queen […]
I recently saw an interview with short story writer George Saunders. He described the inner voice that guides his writing. Once he wrote the sentence, “Bob sat down on the brown couch.” His inner voice chided him, “Is it important that the couch was brown?” The sentence became, “Bob sat down on the couch.” Again […]