Faith leaders of all denominations are invited to a conference this fall to enhance LGBT inclusion in their communities.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center will host the Lehigh Valley Inclusive Congregations Clergy Conference Dec. 2 at Congregation Keneseth Israel in Allentown. The event was announced earlier this month, after the center was awarded a grant from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, a national grantmaking group based in Philadelphia.
Bradbury-Sullivan executive director Adrian Shanker said the conference’s impetus came last year during an event his organization hosted in which it exhibited portions of the Shower of Stoles project, which contains more than 1,000 stoles and other items from LGBT people of faith.
“We had many clergy attend and heard from them that they really could benefit from learning how to make their churches more LGBT-inclusive,” he said. “They felt like they were LGBT-friendly but didn’t know what to do to change public perception and take it further.”
The conference, Shanker noted, is not designed to change the hearts or minds of faith leaders resistant to LGBT acceptance; instead, it’s focused on giving tools to leaders who are eager to expand their congregations’ LGBT-friendliness.
“It’s not about changing religious beliefs or persuading anyone to have a different belief. We want to help clergy who want to be LGBT-inclusive and want to make their congregations inclusive to do that in the most effective way, giving them the skills they need to be inclusive,” Shanker said. “This is for people who are already there in their minds but who could benefit from some extra skills to put things into motion.”
Shanker said his organization is reaching out to a variety of faith leaders — Lutheran, Presbyterian, Jewish, Unitarian, Episcopal and others — whose denominations have expressed LGBT support. Much of their outreach is focused on the Lehigh Valley but Shanker said organizers are eager for faith leaders from Philadelphia, Northern Pennsylvania and other neighboring locales to also attend.
The event will feature a keynote speech by More Light Presbyterians executive director Alex McNeill, the first openly transgender leader of a mainline Protestant organization in the country. Workshop topics include spiritual violence and the LGBT community, cultural competency for clergy, pastoral care for LGBT people and rituals that celebrate the unique LGBT experience.
There will be a meetup session for LGBT faith leaders, Shanker said, and the conference overall will provide important networking opportunities.
The conference will allow clergy of all stripes to learn best practices for LGBT inclusion in their congregations, teach one another and network,” he said. “When we have more churches and synagogues that are LGBT-inclusive, that supports our community.”
Because the event is grant-funded, registration is only $35 and includes breakfast and lunch.
“We’re putting this on at cost to make it as affordable as we can so that clergy, particularly from smaller congregations who may not have big budgets, can attend this and benefit from it,” Shanker said.
Registration is now open for the conference. For more information, visit www.bradburysullivancenter.org/events.