Identifying a need in his local ministry context, Lachlan Hassman created a new program for people who were curious about faith communities, but stayed away from them for reasons of identity. He partnered with his field education congregation, St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Durham, North Carolina to produce an entire series of talks with the overarching theme, “Queer Theology 101.”
During the Easter Season, Hassman designed and produced a series of four Sunday-afternoon lectures on topics in Queer theology: “Queer Theology and the Bible,” “The Queer witness of
the Saints,” “Trans Theology,” and “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin?”. Lecturers
included local scholars associated with Duke University. A catered dinner accompanied every lecture, which was offered free-of-charge for attendees. Following each occasion, attendees were invited to join in the congregation’s Sunday evening service of the Eucharist.
The community of St. Joseph’s experienced many successes, including incorporating more than a dozen new regular attendees to the Sunday Evening service. The aim of the program was to help the congregation unify the ministries of Christian formation and evangelism into one major offering to the community. The result was a resounding success.
While Lachlan Hassman and his team who helped offer this program were curious about how many people would attend, little did they know that the numbers of attendees grew each and every week. In Hassman’s own words, “We squeezed some 50 people into our little parish house, and the lectures were very well received. The majority (about 80%) of attendees were not related to the parish, and the vast majority identified themselves as queer.” Not only did attendance continue to increase, but the quality of questions offered by participants indicated a strong interest in the topic.
By the design of pushing the church to the margin, the people of St. Joseph’s began to see new opportunities for growth. Hassman states, “I’ve learned that hospitality is a great way to get people in the door. Many people were interested in the topic of our series, but so frequently the demands of life get in the way.” Offering dinner made a big difference because sharing a meal allowed connections to be made between attendees. People had multiple opportunities to connect with neighbors and friends before and after the lectures, too.
This project has not only helped the congregation recognize unmet needs in their community, but it has also opened new pathways of engagement with queer people in Durham. Now that relationships have been established, more people in Durham will know about the open and welcoming hospitality of St. Joseph’s Church, and that increased visibility will continue to benefit the congregation. This will also continue to assist the diocese in its outreach, as St. Joseph’s hosts the annual Pride Eucharist on behalf of their deanery. Each person who participated in Queer Theology 101 will be invited. As this program concludes, the opportunities for advancing Jesus’s way of love continues to increase, by creating a safe space for people to explore new ways in which each person can fully integrate their identities, their spiritual lives, and their belonging into the beloved community known as the Kingdom of God.