- Easton's Colors of Hope Conference will open up discussions about the LGBTQ+ community and faith this weekend
- Featured speakers include members of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project and the Bradbury-Sullivan Center
- Dr. Joel Davis Brown, author of “The Souls of Queer Folk,” will also engage in a presentation
EASTON, Pa. — Those interested in exploring the threads of leadership, faith and allyship in the LGBTQ+ community will have an incredible opportunity to delve into these complex concepts this weekend in Easton.
This Saturday, the Colors of Hope Conference will bring together celebrated activists and allies to discuss the nuances of allyship within the faith-based community at First Presbyterian Church. The church, along with Trinity Episcopal Church of Easton and St. Brigid’s Episcopal Church of Nazareth, aims to open up a diverse dialogue within the LGBTQ+ and religious communities to build a strong sense of education and allyship.
Featured speakers will include Corinne Goodwin, founder and executive director of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project, Dr. Joel Davis Brown, author of “The Souls of Queer Folk,” and Robin Gow, author and director of the Education Institute at the Bradbury-Sullivan Center.
“We want people to come and have a safe space to join together, especially Christians who are in the [LGBTQ+] community."Trinity Episcopal Church Senior Warden Melissa Amator
Trinity Episcopal Church Senior Warden Melissa Amator said the event has been long in the making, with an intent to build bridges between religious denominations and the LGBTQ+ community, which she said is experiencing an erosion of rights in the current political spectrum.
At the core of the conference is a desire to create a productive dialogue, allowing members of various communities to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe space.
“I get the feeling that a lot of people want to talk about it, but they're just afraid that they're going to say something, and they're going to put their foot in their mouth, or somebody's going to be mad at them if they don't say the right thing. And you know, nothing could be further from the truth,” Amator said.
Amator said one of the key elements lacking in some purported Christian sects – particularly some groups of Evangelicals – is the very core of the religion itself – love.
“There's so much to Christianity that has been hijacked by this particular sect that we really very much want to get back. Christianity needs to reclaim its faith for love, instead of exclusion and hate, and ‘You’re not a member of the club; therefore, you can't be with us.’ And that's, for lack of a better term, it's just bullshit,” Amator said.
Saturday’s event will also serve as a chance for cisgender and heterosexual individuals to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community.
“We want people to come and have a safe space to join together, especially Christians who are in the [LGBTQ+] community. But really, what we're aiming toward is people who don't have as deep a knowledge as maybe they would like to have. More people who are getting their news about what a drag queen is or what transgenderism is all about from Ron DeSantis,” Amator said, adding the conference will help address common inquiries about sex, gender, legislation and other topics in an inviting and respectful environment.
Robin Gow, who will be offering a training session on LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Equity – a self-described “broad overview” with some specifics addressing systems of oppression and other matters followed by an open discussion – acknowledges the difficulty members of the community may have when it comes to faith, which, in many cases over history, can be exclusionary or hostile.
“For me, I think that I sought my own way of practicing spirituality because organized religions are often harmful towards LGBTQ+ people, and a lot of different kinds of people. I'm a witch and have something I think definitely evolved out of my own need to heal wounds that were caused by organized religion,” Gow said.
“I would say if someone struggles with their relationship to faith and is LGBTQ, spirituality should feed you. It shouldn't harm you. And so if you find yourself in a spirituality that makes you feel less than, it's a place that you have to move away from,Robin Gow, who will be offering a training session on LGBTQ+ Inclusion and Equity
Broader spiritual movements have been increasingly inclusive for the LGBTQ+ community, Gow said, and initiatives such as Saturday’s conference could help those in the community embrace their own preferred beliefs.
“I would say if someone struggles with their relationship to faith and is LGBTQ, spirituality should feed you. It shouldn't harm you. And so if you find yourself in a spirituality that makes you feel less than, it's a place that you have to move away from,” Gow said.
Goodwin, who will host a question and answer session addressing basic LGBTQ+ questions in addition to more detailed examinations of gender identity, sexual attraction, romantic love, gender dysphoria, transitioning and more, said it is more important now than ever to understand the challenges faced by the community every day.
“I am, for better or for worse, old enough to remember what it was like as a transgender person 30 years ago, 40 years ago. And some of what we're seeing now is pushback against all the advancements that our community made in the early 2000s, probably through 2015 or 2017,” Goodwin said.
“And so now we're starting to see some pushback against those advancements. I'm very confident that we're going to continue to make headway. But sometimes, you know, victory looks like you know, Laverne Cox being on the cover of Time Magazine. Other times victory looks a little more like hanging on by your fingernails, and we're probably in a bit of a fingernails moment right now.”
What makes these discussions particularly vital for those within and outside the LGBTQ+ community is the need for services, many of which are administered through faith-based organizations. This can create an issue where a young LGBTQ+ individual may be in need of housing or food, but unable or unwilling to visit a religious organization due to the sense of alienation or bigotry that permeates the faith-based community.
“For example, just this week, we provided food assistance to three people with transgender experience. In every case in those conversations, we said ‘Well, you know, there's also local food pantries and so on and so forth.’ And in all three cases, the response was, ‘Yeah, but it's run by, you know, whatever church or parish, and I don't want to go there, because they may treat me poorly,’” Goodwin said.
As it stands, the Trevor Project notes "28% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives," meaning there are plenty of people out there desperately in need of assistance, but unable to find a reliable source to fill that need.
According to Goodwin, Eastern PA Trans Equity Project vets each service they recommend, ensuring those in need can be comfortable seeking help. More institutions need to get involved in such missions, Goodwin said, in order to help create a stronger, more effective partnership with the faith-based community.
“There are many faith organizations that do care about and support transgender people and LGBTQ people, and to use the resources that are available, whether it's our organization or the Bradbury-Sullivan center, and utilize those organizations and the support services that we offer to help connect them with communities of faith that can support them,” Goodwin said.
As Amator puts it, the more extreme bigots are witnessing the death rattles of their dominance, which frightens them and may spark animosity toward LGBTQ+ people. But with a strong sense of resilience, education, faith and support from the community as a whole, love can ultimately win.
"The more we hold the line and continue to do pro-LGBTQIA things, pro-community things, the easier it will be going forward to make the world that we want,” Amator said.
