Pride Month may be behind us, but the need for the church to honor queer life remains a present reality. So, the focus of today’s Belief Behind the Book is Diana McLean’s Love is the Why: Heart-Centered Poems by a Queer Woman Minister.
Belief Behind the Book is a feature that gives readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the beliefs—or what I call “the why”—behind books written by progressive spiritual leaders. Inspired by the Ministry from the Margins Books program, Belief Behind the Book shines a spotlight on why authors write the books they write, offering up practical tips for readers to apply to their own belief systems.
Love Is The Why is a collection of poetry that explores how love is at the center of a queer minister’s theology and her way of being in the world. The book contains three sections: one focused on loving our bodies as they are; one on connection with the divine feminine, and seeing ourselves in the holy and the holy in us; and one on social justice grounded in love.
Through these poems, you can find the inspiration you need to embody love in the world.
Rev. Diana K. McLean is a Unitarian Universalist minister, a queer woman, a mother and an activist. She lives in Minneapolis with her wife, Rev. Shay MacKay, with whom she co-created the ministry of Sacred Depths, with the mission of helping people deepen their connection with the divine within and beyond themselves through creativity and contemplation. They share their home with one dog, one cat and many books.
When I asked McLean why she wrote her book, she responded thoughtfully, “The poems in this book were written across a period of years—even decades. What prompted me to publish it now was my sense that the world needs to be more grounded in love.”
Continuing with a practical takeaway for readers, she continued, “I hope readers will come away with ideas about how to love themselves as they are and understand the divinity within them, and how to see and then act upon the divinity in others. This could be as simple as asking ‘What does Love ask of me in this moment?’ in both interpersonal interactions and civic engagement, such as voting.”
Beloveds, Pride may be a month on the calendar, but queer holiness knows no season. As Rev. McLean reminds us, love is not just the why—it’s the way.
May her poems ignite your courage, soften your heart, and call you back to the divine truth pulsing in every body, every vote, every act of justice. Let us become living liturgies of liberation, echoing the sacred question: “What does Love ask of me in this moment?”
Then go and answer it with your life.
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Award-winning author of ten books, including The Authorpreneur Handbook. Founder and CEO of Tehom Center Publishing, a nonprofit press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. Rev. Dr. Yarber’s work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, NPR, The Advocate, Ms. Magazine, the television show Tiny House Nation, and more. She travels the world speaking, preaching, publishing, and writing, but she can always be found at www.tehomcenter.org
