Peterson Toscano's A Musing

Monday at Greenbelt, Trevor, James, James, Bill and I ate at Nuts Cafe and chatted with a nice Christian couple who joined us at our table. Not sure how the conversation got on the topic, but somehow we began to talk about Adult Bookstores , well, not so much about their contents of porn and sex toys, but about the irony of calling these places "bookstores" for "adults". It all seems rather adolescent. Similarly misnamed are items sold under the heading Marital Aids. Although there must be testimonies of married couples who have been aided by the use of whips, chains, porn videos and sex toys, I have a feeling that many (most?) consumers of marital aids are not looking to deepen their relationship with their spouse. (Of course I may be wrong about all this, and I am sure some of you will sort me out :-) Over the weekend I witnessed Matt Redman perform Greenbelt's Main Stage. Technically Redman doesn't perform; he leads worship. His sweet and upbeat song...

I was too wiped out to post anything last night. Actually happy wiped out. Good day that ended with friends at the Organic Beer Tent. I did miss the Hymn and Beers though. On the third day I didn't get to see as much, but I did hear two talks. Another by James Allison and one my Mark Yaconelli , which was particularly moving and helpful for me. It was about failure and loss and what you do when you feel at the end of yourself, broken. It actually reminded me of an important spiritual lesson I learned at one of the most desperate moments in my life when everything unraveled. It reminded me that sometimes the best comfort is no comfort at all, rather to allow myself to feel the pain, to sit in the loss and grieve it properly. My interview with Premiere Radio went well and was a lot of fun because author GP Taylor was also interviewed and their was a Catholic clergy member in the London studio. I hope I didn't sound too snippy, but after I related some of my ex-gay experience, th...

Ah, lovely day at Greenbelt. Although I remained uncharacteristically anxious about my show all day into the evening. (More about that in a moment). I first listened to James Alison give a talk about the New Testament Clobber passages (most often used to clobber lesbian, gays and bisexuals). Last Year James covered the Old Testament passages, and after hearing him speak, I declared on this blog that I want to have his Biblical love child. I still do. In his talk he discussed Romans 1 and expertly unraveled it. I left during the Q&A, but Trevor told me about a man who stood up and said something like, "All my life I have been condemned by that passage in my churches, but now you tell me it doesn't condemn me." And Trevor said you could see the light and freedom breaking over the man's face. You can read James Alison's thoughts on Romans 1 here . Next I just chilled a bit knowing I had to pace myself, especially in the hot sun. I did go to the Liquid Lunch wher...

Not that I will post something everyday. Just am thrilled about today as I go to bed. James from Bridgend, Wales drove me to the home of James in Cheltenham where I also got to see Trevor from further South. We are all hear for Greenbelt , a fabulous, funky, one-of-a-kind Christian arts festival loaded with bands, amazing speakers, performances, dance, an organic beer tent, a tiny tea tent and some very lovely people. I will present my plays, "The Re-Education of George W. Bush" and "Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House." And to my shock and surprise, I was listed on page three of the Greenbelt program as one of the Seven Do Not Miss events ! This is out of thousands of events. Then the Church Times also listed me in their Greenbelt edition. Guess I don't have to hang up posters this year. Really, it makes me a little anxious. I went to a Do Not Miss event last year and it stunk! I feel the pressure that so many people will expect so much. So think of...