Workshop Teaching Experience

2019

- Zion Lutheran Church, Rockford, IL - Twice - February 2019 - Introduction to the LGBTQIA+ Community
- 2019 Northern Illinois Synod's Congregational Resourcing Event - March 2019 - Introduction to the LGBTQIA+ Community
- Katie's Cup Conversation, Rockford, IL - June 2019 - Introduction to the LGBTQIA+ Community
- Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Rockford, IL - June 2019 - Biblical Interpretation and the LGBTQIA+ Community

About QM

Hello and welcome to the Queering Ministry website. Right now, QM is in the very early stages of development. Here are the hopes that I have for this organization. 1. To increase awareness of the religious community about LGBTQIA+ people, concerns, and inclusion. 2. To provide access to LGBTQIA+ people to theology and stories that support them and shows them that they are beloved by God. To do this, the following ideas will be rolled out once they are ready. 1. My goal is to have two podcasts. The first is going to be stories from the LGBTQIA+ community regarding their faith journeys. If you are interested in contributing to this podcast, please e-mail stories@queeringministry.org. The second is going to be a queer theology podcast with discussion surrounding a lot of different topics. Once it gets going, we will take requests to make the podcast relevant to what listeners need to hear. Should you want to participate in ...

The Paradox of Worshipping While Queer

There are two things that makes my nerd heart sing: liturgy and communal worship. While I love both of these things, I often find myself avoiding worship due to being uncomfortable. Uncomfortable about what? You may ask. Uncomfortable to know when I walk into a worship setting there is a high likelihood - even in a queer-affirming church - that something will speak to my exclusion. Not the type of exclusion where I can’t come in. In fact most progressive churches would be more than welcoming. It’s the type of exclusion that revolves around language. When you sing a hymn that speaks about brothers and sisters - I am excluded. When you don’t change brothers and sisters in a Biblical reading - I am excluded. When the pastor consecrates the elements for communion and says brothers and sisters - I am excluded. One may tell me that I am being hypersensitive, but I don’t think that is the case. These words that we use create our reality of who is included in the realm of God and wh...

Commentary for John 9:1-41

Every time I go to begin writing this, the words seem to fall short. In the midst of these challenging times, what can I, one person, say to help encourage love and compassion over all during the pandemic? People are scrambling for some sort of control in a circumstance where we have none. This need to control is part of who we are as humans. The need to control our environment and those around us pervades how we interact with the world. It is from this aspect that we will approach the readings for the fourth Sunday in Lent. In the Gospel reading from John the issue of control is real - what did the blind man’s parents do or what did he do to cause this blindness? It is important to note that the light/dark imagery (Ephesians reading) and the sight/blind imagery (John reading) are often oppressive to people of color and people living with disabilities. I invite you to wrestle with how these oppressions exist in your context and what i...

Queering Ministry

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