Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Luke 3:21-22 NRSVUE

What if the doctrine of the Trinity—often seen as a rigid, confusing math problem—was actually one of the most radical, inclusive, and “queer” ideas in history?

At Open Table MCC, we believe the Trinity isn’t just an ancient dogma; it is a vibrant invitation to community. While many progressive spaces might shy away from traditional doctrines due to their historical misuse, we choose to reclaim them. We dig beneath the layers of colonial and imperial history to find the liberating truth at the center: God is not a solitary ruler, but a community of love.

Beyond the Binary

The history of the Trinity goes back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The early church wrestled with a massive question: Was Jesus truly God, or just a human? Was he divine, or created?.

The Council’s answer was refusal to choose a binary. They declared Jesus is both fully God and fully human. They affirmed that God is One, yet Three—Parent, Child, and Spirit. To the human mind, this is “mental gymnastics”. But to the soul, it is a profound truth: God transcends our limited categories.

God is relational, not individual: The very “Godness” of God is relationship, not isolation.
God is diverse: The Trinity unsettles the idea of a single, static monarch. Instead, we see a dynamic “Divine Dance”.

Why the Trinity is “Queer”

In our theological reflection, we dare to say that the Trinity is “queer”. Why? Because “queer” theology is about disrupting norms, questioning binaries, and finding the divine in the margins.

It disrupts the norm: The Trinity unsettles strict monotheism by revealing a God who is both one and three.
It affirms bodies: By declaring Jesus as fully human, the Trinity affirms that God has a body, a gender, and sexuality. God knows what it is to be brown-skinned, marginalized, and oppressed under empire.
It invites fluidity: If God is a community of three persons, we can imagine a God who holds the fullness of the gender spectrum—Parent (Father/Mother), Son (Child), and Spirit (often associated with female or gender-neutral imagery like Ruach or Pneuma).

A Promise, Not Just a Doctrine

We know the doctrine of the Trinity has been used as a tool for colonization and violence. We do not ignore that history. However, we also see it as a “promise and an idea,” much like the city of Oz in the musical Wicked. It is a promise that love is not solitary.

As our pastor shared, “To have faith in the Trinity is to realize that you are created in the image and likeness of this divine community”. You were created from love and for love. And just as God is a community, you can only truly experience that love through community and relationship.

Living the Trinity

So, what does a 1,700-year-old doctrine have to do with us today? It calls us to embody that same relational love.

As Creators: We mirror the Parent/Creator when we make art, write poetry, or build something new.
As Redeemers: We mirror Jesus when we forgive others and work for justice.
As Advocates: We mirror the Holy Spirit when we guide, help, and stand beside one another.

At Open Table MCC, we don’t just recite the creed; we dance it. We invite you to join this divine community where diversity is holy, and no one is meant to be alone.

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