Sunday Forum: Celebrating Gender Diversity. May 11

In a time when protections for LGBTQIA+ people are being rolled back (often in the name of Christian values), how can progressive Christians respond? How can we move beyond a passive, “It’s not wrong to be gay,” and towards a theology that recognizes the unique perspectives and gifts that queer people bring? In this Forum, we will ground ourselves in how scripture affirms varying gender identities and expressions, and discuss what we can do as Minnesotans in this national moment to support our transgender and nonbinary siblings.

Slats Toole (they/them) is a writer, musician, preacher, and tech theater professional whose work centers around creating spaces where queer people are embraced for all of who they are. Slats’ Lenten poetry series has been published in the collection Queering Lent, and their work has also been featured in publications such as Call to Worship, The Presbyterian Outlook, and Sacramental Life. Slats has led workshops on expansive language and queer theology throughout the United States and Canada, and serves as co-moderator of the board of directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians. They hold a BFA in Drama from New York University and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.