Oriented to Love: A Dialogue about Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Church (BIPOC-Only)

A call for applicants

CSA is now accepting applications for participants in the next Oriented to Love Black, Indigenous, People of Color-only dialogue around the issue of sexual and gender diversity in the church. Oriented to Love dialogues convene a truly diverse group of 12 individuals to engage in facilitated Christian dialogue. BIPOC-only dialogues happen only once a year, and the next one will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10, 2025, in Oceanside, CA, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego.

The two main requirements for participation in this dialogue are an open heart and a commitment to Christian faith. The group is as diverse—in terms of theology, sexual orientation, gender identity, age and ethnicity—as it is small. As the dialogue will focus on how believers approach and understand sexual and gender diversity in the church, our shared faith and reliance on God will bind us together.

Why BIPOC-only?

For people of color, the day-to-day impacts of racism are ever-present. Even in dialogue, the presence of white people regularly skews conversation in directions that often marginalize the needs and interests of POC. This dialogue creates a space where BIPOC can more fully bring ourselves and our experiences to be shared apart from the white gaze.

This space will be an opportunity to focus on differences in theology, sexual orientation, and gender identity without also having to deal as much with racial power imbalances. We will also lean on our collective experiences of racialization to enhance our dialogue about sexual and gender difference.

[OTL continues to host groups that are diverse in every way (including race). If you are interested in applying for one of our other dialogues, please refer to the events on the program page; anything titled simply “Oriented to Love dialogue” will be a mixed event.]

Why dialogue?

The goals of this dialogue are NOT to:

1. strike theological stances,
2. debate each other about various Scripture passages, or
3. agree with each other.

 

The goals ARE to:

1. help LGBTQIA and heterosexual/cisgender Christians of all stripes come to the same table and speak in our own voices, regardless of our theological understanding of the issues;
2. listen to each other’s stories and in doing so get to know and understand each other;
3. ask hard questions in a circle where everyone agrees to be brave and the conversation is being carefully and lovingly held;
4. to discover what God is doing in and through LGBTQIA Christians and how the church can be the church for LGBTQIA people as well as heterosexual/cisgender people;
5. to discover what committed Christians, both LGBTQIA and heterosexual/cisgender, have to offer and teach each other within the larger body of Christ.

 

Your facilitators:

Barnabas Lin is a seasoned facilitator who grew up outside the US, along the Pacific Rim, and was formed as a minister in Chicago. He currently serves as his church’s theologian-in-residence, while also working on a PhD in theological ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary. Passionate about God’s love for the world, Barnabas helps others grow a deeper sense of Christian belonging and freedom by engaging significant difference, trusting that these are the firstfruits of true peace. Barnabas has participated in several OTL programs; you can ask him about his thoughts on being “theologically non-binary.”

LeAnn Jenkins is a child of the Southern black church in the United States. She grounds herself in the embodied focus on moving in the Spirit that comes from her lineage. She connects to the Spirit most through singing, dancing, nature, and mystery. She holds a Master’s in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University Chicago where she centered her studies on spiritual practice in communities actively working toward equity and liberation. Some of her other areas of study and experience are: paying attention to the body, authentic communication, and decolonizing/re-imaging faith.

Who should apply?

This dialogue is open to BIPOC across all genders, sexual orientations, and theological convictions and will be crafted as a sacred space to honor and celebrate identity, engage in meaningful conversation, and deepen understanding.

We are especially looking for:

1. LGBTQIA Christians who have been hurt by the church but still love and long for a home in the church;
2. Traditionally-leaning heterosexual/cisgender Christians who are wrestling with how to love LGBTQIA people well;
3. Christian parents of LGBTQIA people;
4. Faith leaders who long for deeper insight into issues of human sexuality and gender and how they impact the people they serve;
5. any Christian who wants to understand how to live in unity and love with those who hold different theological understandings from their own (in other words, people who disagree with them), particularly in light of the topic of sexual and gender diversity.

 

Application information:

If you are interested in participating in this dialogue, you are a Christian, and you can embrace the goals stated above, please fill out the online application form.  The information in your application will be kept completely confidential. Application deadline is January 15, 2025.

Once a date and venue have been finalized, we will reach out to you to see if you would like to be considered for the next group. At that point, 10-12 participants will be selected from among the applications, and all applicants will be notified.

Cost:

• There is no fee to apply; upon selection, participants will be asked to register.
• We have a pay-what-you-can sliding scale registration of $400-950.
• The total cost of this experience is $950 per person. If you, your church, or organization is able to pay the actual cost of participation, we encourage you to do so, so that we can continue offering the program to as many people as possible. Thank you!

 

What’s included: 6 meals and a private room at the dialogue venue.  Participants are responsible for their own transportation to the event. Financial aid is available. Please inquire by checking the box on the application.

Requirements:

• You must be 21 years of age before applying.
• If you are selected, we ask that you bring your authentic self to the event and come fully committed to the spirit and goals of the dialogue.
• Participants must commit to 8 weekly pre-dialogue assignments (which require approximately 10-30 minutes each) that will lay the foundation and help prepare the group for our time in-person together.

 

Past participants have shared the following:

• I loved that just because we were all POC that didn’t mean we all felt or thought the same in the dialogue. I learned a lot from that.
• POC need to have their own space to discuss these topics. The conversation was so incredibly rich and robust and much of it was specifically informed by the POC experience.
• I had moments when I felt like God knitted my heart with another’s. I’m grateful for those moments and experiences. Thank you for creating such a beautiful and messy space to meet God and one another.
• It is so much more vulnerable—but therefore so much more transformative—to work through these topics incarnationally.
• I think having this community, outside of my own, to process sexuality and spiritually will be very helpful, because I feel like I get a lot of one-sided perspectives where I am.
• I was surprised by how vulnerable we became and how close we grew relationally and delighted that we were able to have civil and yet productive discussion with such varying views.
• [The dialogue has prompted me to] commit to “walk alongside” queer Christians, no matter where their walk leads them.
• I am braver, bolder, more compassionate and less afraid.
• I gained deeper empathy that will continue to refine my understanding of LGBTQ people and how to communicate with them.
• I feel like I now have a group of friends to walk the journey with, and that is priceless. I also have stories that I can never forget that will inform the way I move forward.