Kittredge Cherry is an American author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and a priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 of Metropolitan Community Church

Metropolitan Community Church

The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...

.

Life

Cherry studied at journalism and art history at the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

. After graduation, she worked as a newspaper journalist and studied in Japan on a Rotary International Journalism Scholarship.

She later studied Christian theology at Pacific School of Religion

Pacific School of Religion

Pacific School of Religion is an ecumenical seminary located in Berkeley, California. It maintains covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the Disciples of Christ, providing all necessary expectations for candidates to their ordained ministries....

 in Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Church

Metropolitan Community Church

The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...

 (MCC), an international denomination that ministers primarily in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. She worked at MCC San Francisco, and then moved to Los Angeles to serve as MCC’s national ecumenical officer. One of her main duties was promoting dialogue on homosexuality at the National Council of Churches

National Council of Churches

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...

 (USA) and the World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

.

As part of her ecumenical work, Cherry organized demonstrations for justice in the church, including Hands Around the God-Box at the New York offices of the National Council of Churches in June 1994. She also handled media relations for The Wedding, a group blessing of 2,000 lesbian and gay couples at the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation

March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993...

.

In recent years, Cherry has promoted artistic and religious freedom online through JesusInLove.org, which she founded in 2005. She blogs regularly at the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts.

Cherry is the author of six books, including Art That Dares, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for 2007.
Her books have been translated into German, Polish, Chinese and Japanese. She lives as an open lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

with her life partner Audrey in Los Angeles.

Works

• 2008: Jesus in Love: At the Cross (AndroGyne Press) ISBN 978-1933993423.
• 2007: Art That Dares: Gay Jesus, Woman Christ and More (AndroGyne Press) ISBN 978-1933993294.
• 2006: Jesus in Love: A Novel (AndroGyne Press) ISBN 978-1933993188 German translation ISBN 978-3940071040.
• 2006: Hide and Speak: A Coming Out Guide (AndroGyne Press reprint of original 1991 HarperSanFrancisco edition) Harper ISBN 978-0062501653. AndroGyne ISBN 978-1933993119. Polish translation ISBN 978-83-246-1430-1. Chinese translation ISBN 9579002444.
• 2002: Womansword: What Japanese Words Say About Women (Kodansha International) ISBN 978-4770028884. Japanese translation ISBN 4828811974.
• 1995: Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies and Celebrations (Westminster John Knox Press) ISBN 978-0664255350.

External links

• jesusinlove.org
• Profile and biography on LGBT Religious Archives Network
• Tikkun Magazine: Kittredge Cherry, “Take Back Jesus: The Queer Christ Arises for the Good of All,” March/April 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
• Christian Century: Kittredge Cherry and James Mitulski, “We are the Church Alive, the Church with AIDS,” January 27, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2010.