LGBTQ+ in the Church

Organizations

Believe Out Loud
Believe Out Loud is an online community that empowers Christians to work for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) equality. This leading platform in Christian faith and LGBTQ+ advocacy reaches an average of 3 million to 5 million people per month.

Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion
The center serves three distinct but overlapping constituencies: the world of academic religious scholarship; faith communities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender people and organizations. For each of these constituent groups, the center is committed to providing programming and support for research, resources, education for leadership, and community-building/advocacy. 

How to Stay Safe Online
An online survey asked 695 LGBTQ+ people worldwide about their experiences online as they relate to their sexual orientation and gender identity. The results—referenced throughout this article—illuminate the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Institute for Welcoming Resources
The purpose of this ecumenical group is to provide the resources to facilitate a paradigm shift in multiple denominations whereby churches become welcoming and affirming of all congregants regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The institute wants to help build church homes that are truly welcoming and nurturing, where everyone knows “they’re OK, just like they are.” In early 2006, the Institute for Welcoming Resources became a program of the National LGBTQ Task Force, through a formal merger.

National LGBTQ Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ+ people, seeking to build a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ+ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. 

Our Bible App
An LGBTQ+-affirming Bible app that seeks to “uplift ALL believers.”

Q Christian Fellowship
Q Christian Fellowship—a diverse community with varied cultures, theologies, and denominations—seeks to cultivate radical belonging among LGBTQ+ people and allies through a commitment to growth, community, and relational justice.

TransEpiscopal
TransEpiscopal is a group of transgender and allied Episcopalians dedicated to fostering the full embrace of trans and nonbinary people, and to inspiring faith-based advocacy for trans justice in the wider world. Though many in this informal group are affiliated with The Episcopal Church, TransEpiscopal has no official relationship to the church.

Whosoever: an online magazine for LGBTQ+ Christians
Whosoever was founded as a print magazine in 1996 to serve as a voice and resource for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians during a time when little, if any, support could be found online or in print for LGBTQ+ Christians. After four print editions, Whosoever moved online.

Contact:
Aaron Scott

Staff Office for Gender Justice

reconciliation@episcopalchurch.org