Inclusive ‘Faith & Family LGBTQ Power Summit’ set for Salt Lake next week

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Over 200 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer advocates and faith leaders will take part in the Faith & Family LGBTQ Power Summit October 20–23, at the Radisson Hotel in Salt Lake City. Hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force, the four-day gathering will focus on elevating the voices of LGBTQ faith leaders, addressing attacks by anti-LGBTQ politicians using religion to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and providing communities of faith with tools to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ people.

Bishop Yvette Flunder of The Fellowship, a coalition of over 100 Christian churches and ministries, will give the keynote address days before the World Congress of Families.

Rev. Rodney McKenzie, National LGBTQ Task Force Faith Work Director, said: “Bishop Flunder is a leader who personifies the values that are at the heart of our gathering — the glorious diversity of our faith traditions and a power that’s radical, prophetic, and intersectional.”

According to organizers, the Summit is a four-day gathering that, “through the lens of racial and gender justice, will provide inspiration, skills, capacity building and concrete strategies as we explore how our faith and the practice of radical welcome can build grassroots power.”

Organizations that will present include the Southern Poverty Law Center, Political Research Associates, Center for Constitutional Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, IPAS, Equality Utah, Auburn Theological Seminary, and SoulForce.

“Our worship, plenaries, and workshops will culminate in thirty days of local and national actions, coupled with media exposure supported with a ‘Media Outreach’ toolkit,” leaders said in a statement. “You’ll be equipped and inspired to immediately mobilize in your home communities for LGBTQ families — especially transgender and gender non-conforming people, people of color, and young people. Our time together will be deeply rooted in the glorious diversity of our faith traditions, and infused with a POWER that’s radical, prophetic, and intersectional.”

For more information and to sign up for the summit, go to thetaskforce.org/utah-faith-family-lgbtq-summit/