Show Date
Sat 5 Sep 2026 11:00 AM to 11:50 AM
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| Title Short | Beyond Affirming: Putting LGBTQ+ Inclusion into Action |
| Venue | Make Believe
Presbyterian / 1001 Worshiping Communities
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| Experience Description | More churches than ever before consider themselves LGBTQ-affirming, but that declaration—often following a years-long process of debate and discernment—is only the beginning of what it means to be an LGBTQIA-inclusive church.
Beyond that momentous decision are everyday practices and choices that make your congregation a truly welcoming, joyful, familial place to be for queer people and their families. This panel of pastors with particular training and insight on various aspects of ministry and queer experience will discuss inclusive approaches to preaching, worship, pastoral care, adult education, youth and children’s ministry, outreach, and advocacy.
Should we avoid scriptures that have historically been used to “clobber” LGBTQ people? How can we help the older adults who finally came around on gay marriage to understand and embrace transgender folks too? What unique pastoral care needs should I be aware of for queer congregants? How can we create a culture of inclusion that starts with our very youngest members? These questions and more will bring new insight to how we practice LGBTQ+ inclusion throughout the church.
Panelists include Will Brown, CBF pastor and author of \No Longer Male or Female: A Biblical Guide for Our Questions about Gender\, Art Wright, pastor of Williamsburg Baptist Church and co-author with Sanders of the forthcoming \Beyond Affirming: Ministry in LGBTQ+ Inclusive Churches, and Kali Cawthon-Freels, a Virginia-based pastor and author who writes about the intersection of queerness and faith. |
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