Stepping Out of Mainline Privilege: Re-Forming the Church with Queer and Ex-evangelical Wisdom
Time: Fri 1:00PM
Venue: Portal
Style: Other
Content Type: Conversation, shared wisdom
Description: Traditional churches often want to be more welcoming but sometimes our best intentions cause more harm than we know. New communities often lack the resources and support to navigate the early days of growing together.
What would happen if an ageing mainline Protestant church opened its doors and heart to not one but two new communities that challenge the assumptions of the \old\ church and expose the complicity of well-meaning Christians in systems of marginalization? A lot happens. A lot of really great stuff happens.
Not long ago, Westover Hills Presbyterian Church was an ageing (dying?) mainline congregation. The Table was a church plant in a denomination that did not fit the community's values. And the Central Arkansas Queer Collective did not exist. Now those three communities are thriving and growing together through the joys and pains of creating a thing. Now Westover Hills is growing, the Table has new life, and the Queer Collective has become a force for justice and support in a state that is always finding new and creative ways to marginalize.
This relationship shouldn't work but it does and we want to share it! We want to share what we have learned about being a spiritual trauma informed, queer, radical community of faith where old white men and young trans kids are finding joy in building something bigger than any of us imagined possible.
Co-Creators in This Experience