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Faith Formation: 2-SLGBTQIA+

Resources including: Children & Family Curricula & Storytime; Confirmation/Affirmation of Baptism; Denominational Resources; Tween & Teen Mental and Spiritual Health; Sexuality & Identity; and Online/At-Home Tech

Adult Books

Ace     Athena to Barbie: Bodies, Archetypes, and Women's Search for Self     Authentic Selves     Awakened: A 52-Week Progressive Christian Devotional     Before We Were Trans     The Bible and Homosexuality for Progressive Christians     The Biblical World of Gender     Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation     The Book of Non-Binary Joy          Called Out     Cover Image     Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians     Desire     The Economic Case for LGBT Equality     Embracing Queer Family: Learning to Live Authentically in Our Families and Communities          Fine     Free to Be     Gender Euphoria          Heavenly Homos by Jan Haen     Hidden Histories cover image     Hola Papi     John Pavlovitz; Pavlovitz; palvovitz; plavlovitz; jon Pavlovitz; john Pavlovitz book; Pavlovitz book; john Pavlovitz books; Pavlovitz books; new Pavlovitz; new john Pavlovitz; new Pavlovitz book; new Pavlovitz books; new john Pavlovitz book; new john Pavlovitz books; stuff that needs to be said; stuff that needs to be said blog; stuff that needs to be said book; spiritual none; spiritual nones; religious none; religious nones; if god is love; If god is love book; if god is love Pavlovitz; if god is love john Pavlovitz; if god is love Pavlovitz book; if god is love john Pavlovitz book; if god is love don’t be a jerk; if god is love, don’t be a jerk; if god is love dont be a jerk; if god is love, don’t be a jerk; finding faith that makes us better; finding a faith that makes us better humans; Christian living book; Christian living books; progressive Christian; progressive Christians; progressive Christianity; progressive Christian book; progressive Christianity book; progressive Christianity books; the church of not being horrible; how to be a better Christian; being a better Christian; Christian left; the Christian left; progressive Christian author, progressive Christian authors; john Pavlovitz twitter; john Pavlovitz facebook; Pavlovitz twitter; john Pavlovitz facebook; john Pavlovitz trump; john Pavlovitz Wikipedia; who is john Pavlovitz; john Pavlovitz author; john Pavlovitz blog; john Pavlovitz quotes; johnpavlovitz.com; john Pavlovitz bio; pastor john Pavlovitz youtube; liberal christian; liberal christianity; liberal christian book; liberal christianiy books; progressive religion; progressive religion books; F2021          In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World     In Transit: Being Non-Binary in a World of Dichotomies     Incompatible     Hardback cover of The LGBTQ + History Book     Love Makes Room: And Other Things I Learned When My Daughter Came Out:  Frenes, Staci: 9781506468631: Amazon.com: Books     Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry     Making Room by Carl Siciliano     The Me I Was Made to Be     The Mystics Would Like a Word by Shannon K. Evans     One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins     Open: Unorthodox Thoughts on God and Community     Book - Paperback     Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story     Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith          Raising Kids beyond the Binary: Celebrating God’s Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children     Raising Them: Our Adventure in Gender Creative Parenting Cover Image     Read This to Get Smarter     Book - Paperback          Sensual Faith          Picture of Signs of Hope     Swinging on the Garden Gate     True Inclusion          When Kids Ask Hard Questions, Volume 2: More Faith-Filled Responses for Tough Topics     Who Told You That You Were Naked? | Meditations on the Sexual Body (Dale)     Who's Afraid of Gender

A Nonfiction Reading List for LGBTQ History Month” by Hal Schrieve, New York Public Library website (Sept. 25, 2024) – A reading list for adults

Children's Books

Be Who You Are     Cover of Blossom and Bud     Max and Friends: Call Me Max Trade Book     A Costume for Charly     Picture of Different--A Great Thing to Be!          Look Inside The Dress in the Window     Duck, Duck, Tiger     Fabulous Families Trade Book (Hardcover)          Free to Be Fabulous     Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag          It's Okay to Be Different     Cover of Jacob's School Play     Jamie and Bubbie: A Book About People’s Pronouns     Julián at the Wedding     Julián is a Mermaid     The Kid with Big, Big Ideas     LOVE OF THE HALF EATEN PEACH, A timeless tale of ancient romance and enduring tradition               Melissa          Look Inside No One Else like You     Penguins Don't Wear Pink     Rainbow Boy          Sex is a Funny Word     Slug and Snail Search for Love (Manfredini & Gould)     Cover of They’re So Flamboyant     We Listen to Our Bodies: A picture book about body awareness and consent.     What Are You, Lou?     What Is Love?          

Recommended Reads for Kids & Teens for LGBTQ History Month” by Hal Schrieve, New York Public Library website (Sept. 25, 2024) – A list with children’s nonfiction picture books, middle grade fiction and nonfiction, and young adult fiction and nonfiction.

Tweens & Teens Books

All Boys Aren't Blue          Blessed Youth Survival Guide     Called Out     Colors of Hope: A Devotional Journal from LGBTQ+ Christians     Continuum     Evelyn Hooker and the Fairy Project     Fine     Flamboyants     Gender Euphoria          Hola Papi     Incompatible               Pride     The Little Book of Pride Heroes     Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens     Reclaiming Two-Spirits     Still Stace: My Gay Christian Coming-of-Age Story | An Illustrated Memoir

Recommended Reads for Kids & Teens for LGBTQ History Month” by Hal Schrieve, New York Public Library website (Sept. 25, 2024) – A list with children’s nonfiction picture books, middle grade fiction and nonfiction, and young adult fiction and nonfiction.

Judicatory Reconciliation Resources

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

More Light Presbyterians engages over 230 congregations and thousands of individuals in the Presbyterian Church (USA), enabling Presbyterians to lead LGBTQIA+ service and advocacy in communities nationwide. More Light’s mission has always been to empower and equip individuals and congregations to live into their welcome for LGBTQIA+ people.

 

More Light PresbyteriansMore Light has developed interrelated programs to move congregations along a pathway towards full inclusion, improve ministry services for LGBTQIA+ individuals in need, and expand the faith-based movement opposing discriminatory legislation.  Our programs help congregations and our members build their capacity and develop new skills to deepen their welcome to LGBTQIA+ people within their churches and in their wider communities. Check out Our Work to learn more about our various programs!

Open and Affirming (ONA)

UCC-Comma-Rainbow.pngOpen and Affirming is a journey of building inclusive churches and other ministry settings that welcome the participation of LGBTQ+ people in their full life and ministry. Congregations and other expressions of the church are encouraged to engage in the ONA process.  A toolkit, training, educational resources, consultation and technical assistance are available to help you assess where you are on the journey and design a process to fit the life and culture of your congregation or organization.

Since 1974, ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation has advocated for the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregations, and community. The Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Program of ReconcilingWorks is for congregations, synods, colleges, seminaries, and other Lutheran organizations that publicly welcome LGBTQIA+ people.

Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist ChurchReconciling Ministries Network equips and mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.

Reconciling Ministries Network envisions a renewed and vibrant Wesleyan movement that is biblically and theologically centered. As committed disciples of Jesus Christ, the Reconciling Ministries Network strives to transform the world by living out the Gospel’s teachings of grace, love, justice and inclusion for all of God’s children.

Minnesota Reconciling Congregations is RMN’s Annual Conference Team for the Minnesota Annual Conference .

Websites & Curricula

Accompanying LGBTQ+ YouthYale Divinity School's Youth Ministry Institute offers a free, online/downloadable curriculum and other resources to support leaders, volunteers, mentors and peers in welcoming and affirming 2-SLGBTQIA+ siblings, including:

SALT Project

Cindy Bohrer (United student and admissions counselor) is passionate about creating safe, inclusive spaces, particularly when it comes to gender, identity, and pronoun usage. As part of her Social Transformation capstone, she has just released "Becoming in the New Year," a fun downloadable resource to help churches become more generous, kind, and affirming — because y'all means all!

Click here for more information. Click here to download the free resources from Dropbox.

Coming InComing In: Gays and lesbians reclaiming the spiritual journey
Urs Mattmann

The author explores a mystic spirituality and describes numerous practical steps that gay men and women can take in order to connect with their innate spiritual nature and express it in their daily lives and relationships. He provides prayers, meditations, rituals, exercises and other suggestions to foster spiritual discovery.

(book and e-book)

Black woman hugging black teenager.Supporting Parents of LGBTQIA+ Youth

By Leah Dail

Includes a list of additional online resources for developing your own small group or support network.

Safe and Healthy Relationships - Youth Guide

This four-session guide is for middle- and high school youth (confirmation classes or youth groups); for exploring safe and healthy relationships and imparting lifelong skills to make safe and healthy choices.

Sessions include:

  • Healthy Relationships
  • Online Safety
  • Understanding and Preventing Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking
  • Making a Safety Plan and Resources

Hope Church (UMC) offers a great list of resources for parents, faith formation leaders, clergy, and allies to create justice, hospitality, and study.

Other Book Lists

Social Justice Books shared their Pride LGBTQ+ Booklists and Reviews:

Pride-Month-Picture-Books-slide image - Children's Booklist

 

 

Pride-Month-MiddleHS-1400-x-500-px image - Middle & High School Booklist

 

 

Full Booklist

BL_PrideMonth2023_Photo2Personal Transformation

It can be difficult to love ourselves and others when we live in a society that isn't always affirming of queerness. These books inspire us to overcome our fears and transform more fully into the person we are meant to be.

Blogs, Podcasts, & Articles

 During Pride Month, the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC will launch a new podcast called “The Intersection” beginning June 6. The biweekly podcast will be available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Transgender or devoutly Christian? An Iowa teen refuses to choose.Transgender or devoutly Christian? An Iowa teen refuses to choose.

Sid High was 18 and trans in a world that felt increasingly hostile for young people like him. But as the U.S. grew more divided, he found himself growing deeper in his faith.

By Casey Parks

December 23, 2022 at 7:00 AM CST

Beyond the Binary: Retelling the Diné Creation Story

by Charlie Amáyá Scott

 

Illustration by Polo Heredia/Yes! Media

"For this was First Woman’s gift: a choice to be, to love, and a small power of creation. For some, the power of pregnancy. For a select few, the power to call forth rain. And for everyone, the power to create bonds that last a lifetime."

 

Austen Hartke shares The Blessings of a Complex Story

In RevGalBlogPals, The Pastoral Is Political blog, Rev. Emily Heitzman clarifies the importance of creating Affirming Spaces for LGBTQIA+ Youth.

In Our Library - Children

     Con Tango son tres                    Hardcover Uncle Bobby's Wedding Book     We're All Wonders by R. J. Palacio     When God Made You by Matthew Paul Turner

Multi-Media

Illustrated Ministry's swag is available in 5 different designs - all available in t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies! 

Look Inside The Dress in the WindowA resource list for parents and caregivers who want to learn more about gender identity and expression in children, along with coloring pages featuring the dress and other clothes from the shop, is available at flyawaybooks.com/resources.

October is LGBTQ+ History month, Church Safety and Security month, and Emotional Wellness month. Find resources for ministry to your youth here:

LGBTQ+ History Month

A photo of panelists speaking at Wild Goose.

Standing for Love is Required of All

A panel of spiritual thought leaders discuss what we can all do to create more inclusive communities of faith at the Wild Goose Festival

What can we do to affirm our queer and LGBTQ friends and family seeking spiritual community? Watch this panel from the Wild Goose Festival about what we all can do better to cultivate truly inclusive and welcoming communities of faith.

READ MORE

Lakeland PBSWhat to Watch: Celebrate LGBTQIA Pride Month” by Beatrice Alvarez (PBS, June 1, 2022) – an article with a number of PBS documentary videos featuring people who identify as LGBTQIA+ and their stories

"The trans community is very small, it’s a microcosm of the society, even smaller than the LGB community,” says Ebony Harper, executive director of California TRANScends. Harper joined Lambda legal attorney Carl Charles and congressional candidate Maebe A. Girl on a special videotaped roundtable marking Transgender Day of Visibility, which falls on March 31. The three panelists engaged in a sweeping discussion of how a small minority of Americans has become a target of conservative culture wars as a way to distract people from issues like climate change and economic injustices, and how resistance to right-wing attacks takes many forms: litigation, political engagement, and individual acts of solidarity.

Watch the full interview.

MANY VOICES - GuideStar ProfileTransgender Renaming Service

Ceremony to honor and commemorate persons coming into the fullness of their identity with the support of their worshipping community.

In Our Library

Arm in Arm with Adolescent Girls  -     By: Emily A. Peck-McClain     Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt          The Bible and the Transgender Experience | How Scripture Supports Gender Variance (Herzer)     A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth     35482569. sy475      15818238                    Good Christian Sex     10283787     Liberating Sexuality: Justice Between The Sheets          Ministry Among God's Queer Folk | LGBT Pastoral Care (Kundtz and Schlager)     Mom, I'm Gay, Revised and Expanded Edition: Loving Your LGBTQ Child and Keeping Your Faith  -     By: Susan Cottrell, Justin Lee     Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith          Reclaiming Two-Spirits     The Sacred Selves of Adolescent Girls  -     Edited By: Evelyn L. Parker          Sex and the Spirit | The Romance of Heaven and Earth (Copeland and Rosenberger)     Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and  Spirituality by Rob Bell          Amazon.com: Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American  Religious Perspectives: 9781594736025: Copeland MTS, Mychal, Rose BCC,  D'vorah, Zonneveld, Ani, Robinson, Bishop Gene: Books     13529091          29452445. sy475      When Kids Ask Hard Questions: Faith-filled Responses for Tough Topics