United by a faith life on the margins, more than 1,400 people gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the annual Gay Christian Network conference Jan. 5–8.
A group of Grand Rapids community members, including a number of Calvin students, faculty, staff and alumni, attended the conference. Including alumni from across the country and Canada, close to 20 people connected with Calvin were in attendance.
“The support of people — people you can be real with — made it worthwhile,” says junior Kai Giles. “It was nice to engage in intentional conversation to build stronger relationships that I wouldn’t have built otherwise.”
Giles also attended the 2016 conference in Houston, Texas. “Regardless of how many times you go, the community is large. You always feel so much of a connection,” she says. “It’s a moving and breathing safe space.”
The Gay Christian Network conference bills itself as “the world’s largest LGBTQ Christian event.” This year’s theme was “stories inspire,” focusing on the power of storytelling and God’s ability to speak through people’s stories.
The conference featured four keynote speakers, five breakout sessions and a liturgical worship service. The keynotes came from Jane Clementi, Rev. Dr. Paula Williams, Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson and Dr. Ling Lam. Rev. Emmy Kegler spoke at the Sunday morning service.
Clementi is founder and executive director of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, an organization working against bullying perpetrated by schools, families and churches. Williams is a former megachurch pastor and national transgender advocate. She now serves on the board of the Gay Christian Network. Lam is an onsite counselor at Google in Silicon Valley. He also provides pro-bono therapy with A Home Within, an organization concerned with the emotional needs of foster children.
In 2003, Robinson was the first openly gay and partnered bishop consecrated in the Episcopal church. He delivered the invocation at the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009. He has been retired from the clergy since 2013 and now serves on various boards with Lambda Legal.
Kegler is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. In 2016, she spoke at the conference’s Women’s Retreat.
Darren Calhoun, worship leader at Urban Village Church South Loop in Chicago, lead and organized worship for the weekend. Calhoun will be a guest at Calvin in March for the Sexuality Series event “Sexual Orientation, Change, & Healing.”
The night of Jan. 6, the conference hosted a concert of Bobby Jo Valentine and Everyday Sunday. Valentine, raised in a conservative Baptist church, has won two “Songwriter of the Year” awards from the West Coast Songwriter’s Association. Everyday Sunday made news in May 2016 when frontman Trey Pearson came out as gay. Pearson is the only remaining member of the band, which has been active since 1997.
The Gay Christian Network began as an online message board in 2001. It was a project of Justin Lee, author of “Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate.” This year’s was the 13th annual conference.
