Click here to view a video recording of this CLGS Lavender Lunch!
Should I say yes to that offer?
What does God want for my life?
What am I supposed to be doing??!?
Discernment – figuring out what to to next – is hard to begin with, but when we hope that there’s also a God out there who has opinions on these questions, our entire approach has to change.
In this CLGS Lavender Lunch workshop we explored the challenges and unique advantages that queer identity and experience bring to discernment tasks, and we learned some take-home exercises to build our discernment skills going forward.
Kate Davoli (they/them) has the honor of being first person to have been dismissed from the ordination process of the Presbyterian Church USA for being openly polyamorous. Their Call remains, however, and Kate ministers to queer and ex-vangelical individuals and communities as an Elder, a lay preacher, a spiritual director, and a teacher of vocational discernment. They earned their Master of Divinity degree at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and currently they serve on the board of directors of More Light Presbyterians, Juniper Formation’s Life ReFramed Ministry, and the ecumenical collaborative LAMP: the LGBTQIA+ Affirming Ministries of Pittsburgh.
The Discernment Forensics process Kate created informs the decision-making of faith-based organizations nationwide. They are the author of two books on deciding things together: The Chairperson’s Toolbox and Group Discernment Bootcamp, and this year, they are a guest instructor with the Transitional Ministry Pathways arm of the Transitional Ministry Education Consortium, teaching PC(USA) pastors seeking interim certification how to train their faith communities in discernment, and with the Center for Adaptive and Innovative Ministry at PTS, teaching seminary students how to run faithful and effective meetings.
This CLGS Lavender Lunch was recorded on 21 February 2024