I enjoyed your article on BME. I am a Christian living in San Francisco where I regularly attend a Lutheran church. Perhaps it's partly due to the fact that about 65% of the membership is queer, but the other folks seem to find my piercings (eyebrow, ears, and now a nose bridge) simply entertaining, if not alluring.

An older gay man asked me "Do you have any that aren't visible?" to which I replied "Just the nipple and my tongue."

"Oh, I've had the nipple for years," he replied. "Got it done in 1968 -- by a friend, with much ceremony, believe me!"

As far as the theological implications, I really don't feel there are any. Surely God is more concerned with one's relationship to her and to one's neighbor than with how one decorates oneself.

I also dye my hair various colors, sometimes corresponding to the liturgical season -- last winter it was blue for Advent, then I redied it red just before the Xmas Eve service!

Mark Pritchard
[email protected]

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