The Institute for Welcoming Resources

The intersection of faith and sexuality is one that is often traveled with misconceptions and anxiety because the Church has mostly failed to offer thoughtful, helpful information and education. The Church has been more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to affirmation of our creation as God’s children of flesh and spirit. Gratefully, this is changing.

All of us have bodies and sexualities in addition to our souls, beliefs and faith practices. And yet, it seems the reality for too many of us a dilemma exists of “body versus spirit” dilemma rather than a reconciliation of “body and spirit.” The reconciliation of one’s faith and sexuality is a key to living happy, healthy and whole lives. It is an essential foundation to loving, faithful relationships and healthy families. It also goes a long way in establishing safer faith communities and safer societies.

Task Force Welcomes New Director of Faith Work Reverend Rodney McKenzie Jr.

The National LGBTQ Task Force announced that Rev. Rodney McKenzie Jr. has joined the organization as the new Faith Work Director. McKenzie, an out LGBTQ person of faith and a community organizer, brings over thirteen years of experience working for organizations fighting for grassroots political power in marginalized communities.

“It is an honor to join the National LGBTQ Task Force as the Director of Faith Work. I am grateful for the opportunity to merge my experience as a political organizer and a pastor in order to dismantle the destructive ways in which faith has been used against LGBTQ people. This moment in history requires the prophetic truth about faith as a tool for liberation for all people. I am excited to be doing this work at the National LGBTQ Task Force and with millions of LGBTQ people of faith across the country,” said Rev. Rodney McKenzie Jr., National LGBTQ Task Force Director of Faith Work.

McKenzie first joined the organization in 2002 as a field organizer before working as the Coordinating Director for the Pushback Network in 2007. Most recently, he served as the Spiritual Director and Co-Creator of the Expansion Church. He is currently a Master of Divinity candidate at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

We Are Whole, We Are Beautiful: Transgender Day of Remembrance 2014

“How could anyone ever tell you , you were anything less than beautiful; how could anyone ever tell you, you were less than whole…”

With the words of Libby Roderick’s lovely and poignant anthem playing in the background, I spent last evening completing my PowerPoint presentation for tonight’s Transgender Day of Remembrance service in Minneapolis, an event held in locations across the country each year on November 20. On this day we gather as a community to acknowledge the humanness of our trans brothers and sisters, and to mourn those who’ve died from anti-transgender violence.

LGBT Rights in the USA and Across the Globe

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta was first imagined by civil rights legends Evelyn Lowery and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young. It was launched by former Mayor Shirley Franklin. It has become one of the few places in the world educating visitors on the bridge between the American Civil Rights Movement and contemporary Human Rights Movements around the world.

The Center is offering a historic program, "LGBT Rights in the USA and Across the Globe" on October 3. Dr. Michael J. Adee, Director of the Global Faith and Justice Project, is one of the speakers.

Because You Are, Therefore I Am

“Because you are, therefore I am,” was the greeting that Dr. Ezra Chitando from Zimbabwe expressed to our amazing group of African scholars, theologians, faith leaders, activists and students at the Thorn Tree Lodge, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Dr. Chitando’s words to us were more than a greeting as they are often spoken in the context of a common African identity and an affirmation being known, understood and respected in community.

Dr. Chitando shared the justifiable suspicion of this statement by African women scholars: “Because I am a man and you are a woman, you are not” and extended it to “because I am a heterosexual and you are a homosexual, you are not.” He concluded that this traditional African statement must be used to include, rather than exclude people.

Are The Gods Afraid of Black Sexuality?

On October 23-24, 2014, the Institute for Research in African-American Studies (IRAAS) at Columbia University will convene 'Are the Gods Afraid of Black Sexuality? Religion and the Burdens of Black Sexual Politics.' The meetings for our two-day event will be held in New York City, on the campus of Columbia University, October 23-34, 2014. An evening plenary on Thursday, October 23rd will be hosted at First Corinthians Baptist Church in Harlem.

We are living through a moment of tremendous change at the intersection of race, religion, and sexuality, which has significant implications both for those who study and practice religion alike. “Are the Gods Afraid of Black Sexuality?” will bring scholars, activists and religious leaders together to explore a range of historical and contemporary phenomena associated with religion, race and sexuality, as they coalesce and converge. The task before us is not to address a single problem, but rather to unearth and engage with the often-unstated normative claims -- surrounding race and religion, gender and sex -- that continue to inform the work of scholars of (and the lives of people within) the US and the African Diaspora.

Global Faith and Justice Project

Rooted in faith and justice, this global project amplifies faith voices that protect human dignity and achieve equality for LGBT people and their families.

In 78 countries it is illegal to be gay, in 7 countries the death penalty can be imposed. Homosexuality or same-sex relationships are criminalized in these countries as a result of the legacy of colonial penal codes. New anti-homosexuality laws threaten with imprisonment. The so-called homosexual propaganda laws threaten human rights education, medical and legal services for LGBT persons. They also foster suspicion rather than respect for the human dignity of LGBT people and their families.

The I AM Love Campaign

The I AM Love Campaign's mission is to ignite dialogue on religious bullying and homophobia, in all ages and walks of Life, by teaching self-empowerment through educational outreach and artistic endeavors.

We travel with the Campaign and bring it directly into the communities that are calling out for it, or that might directly benefit from it, with a particular emphasis on regions that have issues with equality and a desire for developing an educated dialogue. Our aim is to change the story on bullying and ignite conversations within communities that will move them to a higher understanding and acceptance of diversity. This first year of the Campaign has an intended focus on bullying of LGBT youth and, in particular, bullying from within a religious/spiritual community.

Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

Based on his one-person play, theatrical performance activist Peterson Toscano unearths transgender Bible characters - those people who do not fit in the gender binary - and who, in transgressing and transcending gender, find themselves at the center of some of the Bible's most important stories. Over five sessions, you will watch videos of Peterson's Bible study sessions at RMN's national convocation. It is designed for small group sessions in which discussion will play a major role. Discussion Guide available for free download.

NEW DOCUMENTARY!

"In Our Fullness: Faith and Activism Across Difference"
presents conversations with activists about faith-based work for radical social change around issues including sexuality, gender, race, class, and age. The video includes powerful testimonies from activists representing Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Native spiritualities, presenting challenges and successes in faith-based progressive-left coalition building.

Produced by the Institute for Welcoming Resources, a Project of the National LGBTQ Task Force, in partnership with the Macalester College Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship.

Additional Ecumenical & Multi-Faith Groups Convened by IWR

Bisexuality: Making Visible the Invisible in Faith Communities

A multifaith compendium of stories and resources to help congregations as they take the next step toward full inclusion of LGBT people. This comprehensive guidebook helps congregations minister to bisexual people and their families. Bisexuality is often invisible in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations, society as a whole, and in faith communities and denominations. Although many mainline denominations and congregations have made great strides in welcoming and affirming lesbian and gay people, and some have even begun to respond to the specific needs and concerns of transgender people, the “B” in the LGBT acronym is still largely ignored. Helping faith communities embrace bisexual persons and reflect theologically on bisexuality brings gifts to congregations and to the practice of faith.

Your People Shall Be My People: Ministering to and with Same-Gender Couples and their Families

Your People Shall Be My People opens with several models for conversation and some helpful practices to shape discussion. You will meet six Lutherans from a variety of backgrounds, each with a story to share about how support for marriage for same-gender couples matters. Following these stories you can find a collection of answers to common questions about marriage in the ELCA, as well as a list of resources for study, pastoral care, wedding liturgies, and widening the church’s welcome.

Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

Puzzles: When Hate Came to Town

The film follows the story of a violent hate crime that occurred in New Bedford, MA, when an 18-year-old entered an LGBT bar and brutally attacked three patrons with a hatchet and a gun. In response, the community came together to establish greater understanding and connection. PUZZLES is a deeply human exploration of the roots of hate crime, and the intersections between joblessness, homophobia, intolerance, alienation and violence.

Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism

Attorney, historian, and novelist, R. W. Holmen brings a unique voice to the conversation of gay clergy in the pulpits. Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism provides a detailed history of the ways in which the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have dealt with the issue of ordaining Queer clergy. Queer Clergy will prove to be an historical reference book for years to come.