We wanted to offer some hope in the midst of all the harm that's been done to the LGBTQ2S+ community by the church. Things don't have to be this way and there is light at the tunnel. If you're at the end of your proverbial rope, our guests today can maybe offer a glimpse into a hopeful future. A future where churches don't reject LGBTQ2S+ community and everyone belongs and is fully affirmed and supported. If Christians continue to reject queer people, they are rejecting the image of God. It's not the queer community that's missing out on the church. It's the church that's missing out on the queer community.
We invited Pastor Carla Blakley, her son Jay, and friend Jasper on to talk about how the church should respond, and Jay and Jasper generously share their thoughts on what the church is missing out on by rejecting them. Life Coach Nancy Shadlock helps us close out the episode with a discussion around the impact of non-affirming theology in Christian education, and she shares more details about her work and how to support individuals during their coming out process.
We invited Pastor Carla Blakley, her son Jay, and friend Jasper on to talk about how the church should respond, and Jay and Jasper generously share their thoughts on what the church is missing out on by rejecting them. Life Coach Nancy Shadlock helps us close out the episode with a discussion around the impact of non-affirming theology in Christian education, and she shares more details about her work and how to support individuals during their coming out process.
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You can learn more about Nancy Shadlock and her work here. Nancy is a Life Coach and Coming Out Guide. Click the link to hear her podcast, The Coming Out Chronicles. Her website includes some great free resources, so please go and support her work.
Carla mentioned Camp Fyrefly, an educational, social, artistic and personal learning retreat for gender and sexually diverse youth (Two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) and allied youth. You can make a donation to support Camp Fyrefly here.
Here's a news article about the situation in Regina that's referenced:
'Completely and terribly damaging: Faith community calls Regina pastor's message homophobic'
You can listen to episode 1 of this series here, where we go into deeper detail on the Pastor's harmful message and also hear from Cassie about how her family was removed from leadership once she came out and her family supported her.
Find out if a church is affirming or non-affirming at Church Clarity. If you don't see your church listed, submit it for review. Clarity is important so people can be safe and know what they are getting into.
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