#34: Father Gregory Smith - Pastor, Counselor

Greg grew up in Twin Bridges, Montana, reading everything he could get his hands on. He realized early on in life that he was gay, but chose to shut that part of himself down to be socially accepted. Later in life, he decided to enter the seminary for the Roman Catholic Church and served as a priest at a cathedral in Helena, Montana.  He ultimately took a sabbatical from the church to more fully embrace his identity while becoming an activist in Seattle's LGBTQ community.  He's since started a counseling practice and is an advocate working to make sure LGBTQ kids growing up in Montana feel safe in their homes and schools.  Greg believes it's God's directive and our moral imperative to take care of the immigrants and refugees seeking sanctuary in our borders. He describes his compassion as having no bounds and believes if we lose in the long run if we are so entrenched in our opinion that we fail to see the humanity of our opponents. Living with AIDS since 2007, he also embraces universal healthcare for its practical implications in his life - as well as another extension of our responsibility to take care of each other.   Let's get Greg's thoughts on how compassion should be our defining rule, and why we stand to lose so much in terms of planetary health and personal happiness when we ignore our connections to each other.