Testify to Love
Pastor Rachel, around age 10, with her sister.
The album: A Maze of Grace
The artist: Avalon
The song: “Testify to Love”
The track number: 1
For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love
I’ll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take, I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love
I was 10 years old when this song was released in December of 1997.
Growing up in the rural south, we had to drive a long time to get to many places.
When we got the CD player in the minivan, my sister and I would request this song. Not just once – but over, and over, and over again. We shouted the lyrics. Badly. We danced. We loved the beat, the music, the words.
I sang the song before I knew what the word “testify” could mean, or what it would mean to me as a clergy person one day.
In 2003, just six years later, Michael Passons left the group. No big deal, right? It happens. People grow apart, they leave to pursue solo careers, the fans mourn their leaving for a short period of time. Then they are replaced, the group carries on, and the name of the one is forgotten.
Except that’s not quite what happened with Michael.
He was forced out of the group because he was gay. They just didn’t say it.
“Christian music...has been built on the backs of queer people,” stated Melissa Greene, another member of the group. Melissa writes on her Substack: “I was a Christian who believed what I’d been taught, that some love was acceptable and some wasn’t. I was on the wrong side of what happened to [Michael].” (You can read more by Melissa here.)
Melissa and Michael reconnected somewhere along the way, and in summer of 2026 they re-released “Testify to Love.” This time, Melissa says, the song means what it says it means. This time, the song testifies to the love that we each hold and the pain that it took to get there.
And my friends, Michael’s story is just one story of a queer person in the Christian community being silenced and ostracized for who they were created to be and emerging from the ashes of it all. Not everyone is so lucky.
There is something incredibly validating about being able to reclaim things that were once used to harm. The queer community has been reclaiming things for a long time, including the word “queer.”
When Melissa and Michael, along with their friend Ty Herndon, released “Testify to Love” in May of this year, I was one of those people who was able to reclaim a major piece of my identity. Now the song is sung by people who know what it means to testify to love, and to testify against hate and cruelty.
We will sing this song together on Sunday when we meet together at 10am in Collins Hall, but if you want to listen to it now, you can find it below:
And together, on Sunday, we will testify to the love that is never-ending, always sustaining, and ever present in our lives through gathering together, sharing answers to some big questions with one another, and joining around the actual table.
It is such a gift of this congregation to be able to show up and proclaim – boldly – that love is stronger and that everyone deserves a place at God’s table. It is a gift to the queer beloveds and it is a gift you give to one another.
I invite you to join us as we continue to build beloved community together.
Yours in this work,
Rev. Rachel
You can join us in testifying to this love by marching with us in the Pride Parade immediately following worship on Sunday. Wear your colorful clothes and walking shoes, and we will see you for the march!