Their Son Came Out of the Closet, and They Went In

"You could be an axe murderer, and we would always love you. But we need to get you fixed." That's what Greg McDonald Sr.

told his son, Greg Jr., after learning he was gay. But at 17 and ready to leave for college, Greg Jr.



decided he wasn't going to hide who he was from his conservative evangelical parents any longer. After he refused to continue conversion therapy and stopped going to church, John Blake, writing for , says that as Greg Jr. came out of the closet, his parents stepped into one of their own, hiding their son's sexuality from a Georgia community deeply rooted in their spiritual, social, and even professional lives.

The family remained fractured as Greg Jr. went off to college and graduate school, but when his mother, Lynn McDonald, received a cancer diagnosis, the closet door cracked open. Greg Jr.

invited his parents to move in with him in Chicago, where Lynn would receive treatments. As they began to reconcile, they realized their son, who took them in and cared for his mother, wasn't someone who needed to be "fixed." "Boy, how I wish I could reel those words back," Greg Sr.

says. "And I can't. We literally chased Greg Jr.

away." They slowly found inroads in their community, meeting other parents of gay children and church leaders who wanted to reach out to LGBTQ members leaving the church at twice the rate of heterosexuals. They also started their own ministry.

"How people regard the McDonalds' journey may depend on their religious beliefs," writes Blake. "Some say they have betrayed their faith. But the McDonalds say they're even more committed to their Christianity—a faith that they say draws circles instead of lines.

" Read the full story at . (See other recaps.).