I was healed by a drag queen...

Don't judge. Don't try to understand. Just know that about 60 colleagues, professors, and I went to dinner, then dancing, and to a drag show last night. Yes. It is amazing. It is fun. It is about community.

I am an ally. Maybe some day I will more fully unpack this part of my...being. It is part of the way I create, build, and sustain relationships. Being an ally is incarnational to having "open hearts, open minds, and open doors." That is why I attend "Dinner, Dance, and Drag" annually.

Best part of the night: A drag queen "healed" me. Miss Carmella singled me out in the crowd (we were super close to the stage) and asked about my group. I responded, "We are from Vanderbilt Divinity School." She (yes, you use the female pronoun) asked, like most, "What the f--- is that?" Me, I say, "We're your future preachers!" In her best televangelist impersonation, she hits my forehead and pronounced me healed. The place went wild. Amazing. So fun.

Drag upon drag,

BEAT

ps: Miss Carmella is featured in the first three pictures!