LOVE ONE ANOTHER
A regional faith symposium on LGBTQ Inclusivity – Saturday, February 25, 2023
Tickets
Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for students
Admission includes lunch and all sessions.
The Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center hosts LOVE ONE ANOTHER, a half-day symposium designed to create a space where people from across eastern North Carolina can come together to explore, share, and listen. The symposium will take place in the Main Campus Student Center from 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Featured speakers include the Rev. Dr. Charles T. Dupree, Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia and the Rev. Dr. Nancy E. Petty, Pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students (open to all students). Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (252) 328-4788. The public is invited to attend. If you are attending the symposium and are interested in childcare, contact karenjackson@fpcgreenville.org
Schedule
11:00 am Registration and lunch
11:30 am Welcome
11:40 am Opening Keynote
Noon Questions and Answers with audience
12:20 pm Break
12:30 pm Workshop Sessions #1
1:30 pm Break
1:45 pm Workshop Sessions #2
2:45 Break
3:00 pm Closing Keynote and Ceremony
4:00 pm Final remarks
Workshops
| SESSION NAME | FACILITATORS | DESCRIPTION | SESSION TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Expression Space | Rev. Karen Jackson, First Presbyterian Church, and Juniper LaNunziata, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Greenville | Keynotes, workshops, and conversations can be helpful for understanding and naming our experiences, but there is always a truth that exists beyond words. Join us in this space to create, play, and engage the holy that lives in our heartbeats and fingertips and deep breaths. | 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM |
| Comforting and Calming Space | Trained volunteers are available to speak with you privately should the need arise for private consultation. | 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM | |
| To Hide or To Reveal: How to navigate the Identity shared by Jews and LGBTQ | Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman, Congregation Bayt Shalom | Many in the Jewish community have something in common with some in the LGBTQ community. We can hide a core aspect of our identity. We hide, to avoid the hatred or at least the fears of many of the same people. Please join us to explore how to navigate an everyday challenge—to hide or to reveal. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM |
| The Invitation to Belong: Creating an Affirming Community | Rev. Amy Andrews, Cedarbridge Baptist Church, Greenville; Rev. Dan Burris, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Greenville; Rev. Todd Humphrey, Crystal Coast Unity, Atlantic Beach | Three faith leaders share the experiences that their communities faced as ideas of inclusivity and adopting affirming policies, procedures, and actions were introduced. Learn about the challenges that institutional and personal change invoked in these communities. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
| Modern Witchcraft for an Inclusive Cooperative Culture | Heron Michelle | Modern Witchcraft is centered on inclusion of all beings through Divine Love, affirmation of our unique divinity and personal sovereignty, and a pleasurable experience of life—and all forms of love and union—as sacred. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
| Queer Theology 101 | Rev. Ian McPherson, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC | This workshop moves us beyond the welcoming and affirming language of most liberal church spaces to reclaim Christianity as an inherently queer project; that is, a love-fueled, boundary-crossing revolution for justice. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
| Reaching Youth and Young Adults | Daewon Goldenbaum-Yang, UKirk; Rev. Donna Kraus, The Well Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry; Rev. Jason Leighton, Greenville Wesley | Campus ministers discuss what it means to create an inclusive space for youth and young adults to discern their own identity within a life of faith. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
| Realigning Faith: The Journey of How One Found Peace When His Faith Wasn’t Safe | Samuel R. Heath, MDiv, MAMFT | Matriculating through the Black Church experience is not always safe for many LGBTQIA+ people. In this session, we will explore to one became unapologetically Black, gay, and Christian. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
| Sexuality and Spirituality | Rev. Vance Haywood and Rev. Paully Adams, St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church, Raleigh, NC | The Bible and religion have been used to abuse and condemn queer people. No one should have to put up with abuse, especially in the place they should be able to find safety and sanctuary. In this workshop, we will take a look at how our sexuality and spirituality are interconnected; and see our sexuality as a gift from God. | 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM and 1:45 PM to 2:45 PM |
Faith offers context and gives us hope. Belief in the divine brings comfort and truth, as well as meaning to the struggles we often face and to the grace we witness in our daily lives.
For many in the LGBTQ community, the quest for understanding and acceptance is often fraught with rejection and shame in many religious traditions. The vision of the LOVE ONE ANOTHER symposium is to create a space where people from across eastern North Carolina can come together to explore, share, and listen.