Oriented to Love: A Dialogue about Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Church

A Call for Applicants

CSA is now accepting applications for participants in the September 2025 Oriented to Love dialogue around the issue of sexual and gender diversity in the church. It will take place Thursday-Saturday, September 25-27, 2025, at a beautiful retreat center in San Francisco. (See other dates/cities below. We encourage you to submit an application for any dialogue at this time. There is a place on the application for you to indicate which dialogue you prefer, and we will do our best to accommodate your choice.)

The two main requirements for participation in this dialogue are an open heart and a committed faith in Christ. We need the group to be as diverse—in terms of theology, sexual orientation, gender identity, age and ethnicity—as it is small. Since this conversation will focus on how believers approach and understand sexual and gender diversity in the church, our shared faith in and reliance on Christ will bind us together and make our efforts more productive and long-lasting.

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, 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.

 

Who should apply?

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.

We ask that you 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. You will be required to participate in some pre-dialogue reflection work that will help prepare you and others for our time together.

Application information:

If you are interested in participating in this dialogue, you are a lover of Jesus, and you can embrace the goals stated above, please fill out the online application form. (If you prefer to apply offline, email the program director, Kristyn Komarnicki, to request a Word document or pdf.)  Regardless of how you submit it, the information in your application will be kept completely confidential. Application deadline is June 25, 2025.

Twelve participants will be selected from among the applications we receive, and all applicants will be notified of their status no later than July 25, 2025, so that selected applicants can make their travel plans.

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 $495-950.
• 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.

All upcoming dialogue dates/cities:

• March 6-8, 2025: Malibu, CA (application deadline December 6, 2024)
• May 8-10, 2025: Philadelphia, PA (application deadline February 10, 2025)
• May 8-10, 2025: BIPOC-only dialogue in Oceanside, CA (application deadline January 15, 2025)
• September 25-27, 2025: San Francisco, CA (application deadline June 25, 2025)

We hold 3-5 dialogues a year. Feel free to apply and specify which region of the country best suits you, and we’ll do our best to match you.

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