Tolerating Me

If you saw Mackenzie at Jacksonville Campus Ministry, it would appear that she has been a part of our community for ages. She sits down among the students chatting about last week’s bible study and doesn’t miss a beat. But that wasn’t how Mackenzie always felt in religious spaces.

“I grew up going to a bunch of different types of churches but I never felt comfortable in any of them. Especially when I realized I was queer. But even before that, I always had a hard time finding community in those places. The groups that I met seemed clique-ish and it was as if they were just tolerating me.”

Even after these experiences, Mackenzie still looked for a Christian community where she could feel comfortable and welcome. 

“I knew I wanted to find a place to explore my faith and identity together when I came to college.” Mackenzie had heard about our Queer Bible Study and Jacksonville Campus Ministry in her freshman year, but never felt comfortable enough to attend by herself. Last fall, her religion class gave her a good excuse to go observe every week. 

“We had to do a semester-long project. We had to pick a group that we weren’t familiar with and study them for the entire semester. I wanted to do something with queerness in the church because even though I was a part of the community, I didn’t feel like I was a part of the community.”

Mackenzie attended Queer Bible Study every week, participating in the discussion and asking questions as she felt more comfortable with the other students who attended. “It started out as an assignment, but I found that I could easily talk to people and fit in with people even on the very first day.” 

Now Mackenzie is a regular part of not only our bible study but also Food for Thought and our other ministry activities. Our ministry would be incomplete without her. 

“There have been a handful of people who have kind of adopted each other in this space. For the first time in my life, I feel comfortable and even welcomed in a Christian community. I don’t feel like I have to fight to fit in.”   

Your generosity to Jacksonville Campus Ministry makes it possible for us to have opportunities to reach new students like Mackenzie.