What issues are most of concern to your local LGBTQ communities? How could they best be addressed in your area? You might want to consider hosting an online community forum to help raise awareness and talk about how this issue is affecting people in your neighborhood, town or city. You can invite community members, local […]
Did you know that half of LGBTQ people in this country live in states where there are no protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity? Many people think such discrimination is already illegal, but only 21 states and the District of Columbia ban discrimination in employment and housing; one other state, Wisconsin, […]
Part of being a vibrant inclusive faith community is creating affirming space not only for LGBTQ people but for our families as well. More than a quarter of same-sex households include children, with studies showing 28.7% of families overall raising children, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA. Among African-Americans, the number is even higher, with 34% […]
It is helpful to step back from time to time and take stock of where we are in creating congregations that genuinely welcome and include LGBTQ+ people. When you are working to expand your welcome, take a little time to inventory your leaders and ministries. At this halfway point in the year, we suggest asking […]
There are amazing people of faith around the world who are working to make our communities inclusive, accepting, diverse, and vibrant. This week, we encourage you to get to know some more of them, especially your neighbors from other faith traditions. We can learn a tremendous amount from each other. Working with those from other […]
Speaking out about issues of justice and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people, our families, and our communities is critically important. It is important because it is one way to take the beliefs of your community out of the pews and into the public arena and to promote dialogue. It also disrupts the ongoing misperception that people […]
On 19 June 1865 Union General Gordon Granger proclaimed in Galveston, Texas, the federal government’s decree that all previously-enslaved people in Texas were free; this proclamation was read over two and a half years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been signed by President Abraham Lincoln on 1 January 1863. It is […]