This page lists (in reverse order) every past presentation in 2009 – 2012. (Click here for a sampling of presentations prior to 2009).

2012 Presentations

March 29-30 — a pair of campus keynotes at University of Wisconsin-Platteville,

• “Paying It Forward: The Christian Basis for Welcome to LGBT persons”
• “Uganda: hatred, homophobia, and Christianity — the toxic mix”
  

March 1-2 — campus-community keynote for Morris area PFLAG & the University of Minnesota-Morris, Morris, Minnesota

• “Paying It Forward: The Christian Basis for Welcome to LGBT persons”

February 9 — “Meet the Author” in Rosemount, Minnesota

• Informal session with the book group at Rosemount United Methodist Church.

February 5 — Adult forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Speaking about the proposed Minnesota amendment against marriage equality at Our Saviour Lutheran Church.

January 26-29 — Conference workshop in Baltimore, Maryland

• Workshop at the Creating Change conference (sponsored by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force) introducing a new faith-based children’s curriculum around welcome created by aMaze.

2011 Presentations

November 20 — Sermon and presentation in Fort Myers, Florida

• Morning sermons and afternoon public talk at Lamb of God Church, a Lutheran-Episcopal congregation.

November 17 — Hymnsing in Clearwater, Florida

• “Singing Welcome, Imagining Justice,” a hymnsing featuring a variety of my hymn texts offered at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

November 13 — Sermon and presentation in Lakeland, Florida

• “For we have heard that God is with you,” sermon, followed by a presentation on my work as an author and Ally at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

November 11-12 — Presentations in Leesburg, Florida

• “Singing Welcome, Imagining Justice,” a hymnsing featuring my hymn texts offered for the  opening program of the Fall Gathering of the Women of the ELCA, Florida/Bahamas Synod.
  
• “Paying the Welcome Forward: the Biblical basis for welcoming others who (like us!) sometimes seem a little too different for comfort,” a workshop for the Fall Gathering of the Women of the ELCA, Florida/Bahamas Synod.  

October 12 — Campus keynote at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Honoring the Promise to be There: Turning back the (anti-) marriage amendment in the name of God,” the Coming Out Week keynote for Augsburg College.

October 11-12 — Campus residency at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota

• a 2-day residency that including a variety of events: chapel talk, evening lecture, classroom visits, etc.

September 24 — Presentation in Red Wing, Minnesota

• “A Passion for Welcome, the Gospel and our Witness to LGBTQ Persons,” the keynote presentation at a community “Walking the Talk of Welcome” event.  

September 11 — Presentation in Bemidji, Minnesota

• “Paying It Forward: The Christian Basis for Welcoming LGBT Persons into our Communities,” reflections in word and song offered as a keynote presentation as part of a week-long “Respect Awareness Project” sponsored by Servant Hearts.

May17, 24-27 — Poetry workshops in Anoka & Arden Hills, Minnesota

• “Acrostics: Poetry that Hears at the Edges,” a workshop for the 21st Young Author’s Conference at Bethel University (4500 4th & 5th graders attending over 5 days).

April 2 — Presentation in Roseville, Minnesota

• “A Passion for Welcome, the Gospel and our Witness to LGBTQ Persons,” presentation at the Walking the Talk of Welcome workshop introducing congregations to the Reconciling in Christ program.
  

March 6 — Presentation in Elk River, Minnesota

• “Both Head & Heart: My Journey as an Ally,” community keynote at Union Congregational Church.

January 15 — Sermon and adult forum St. Peter, Minnesota

• “Are You Jesus?” Sermon for First Lutheran Church in honor of Reconciling in Christ Sunday.
• “Both Head & Heart: My Journey as an Ally,” adult forum.
  

2010 Presentations

December 1 — Session with a book group in Elkader, Iowa

• “Listening in, Behind the Tune,” conversation with the author for a book group at Bethany Lutheran Church.

November 20 — Session with a book group in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Listening in, Behind the Tune,” conversation with the author for a book group at Joyce United Methodist Church.

November 13 — Workshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• WWJQ: What Would Jesus Queer–Claiming the Power of the Jesus Story  in Our Justice Work,” a workshop offered at the Minnesota Out Campus Conference at Augsburg College.

October 28 — Campus keynote at University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin

• “Christian & Queer — Identities Made for Each Other: Reflections on the power of claiming them both” a keynote lecture during Coming Out Month.
  

October 24-27, Campus residency at Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa

• A talk-back session with cast and audience following the performance of “Stop Kiss,” the fall theatre production on campus.
• “Writing My Way Out,” a reading in the college library.
• Additionally, four classroom visits, in each case relating my work to the specific class, and a chapel message.

October 19-20 — Multiple events in St. Louis, Missouri

• “The Body as Burning Bush: Coming Out & Other Holy Acts of Human Sexuality,” campus keynote at St. Louis University sponsored by the SLU Rainbow Alliance.
• “Ecology & Faith: A Dialogue,” class presentation at St. Louis University.
• “Both Head & Heart: My Journey as an Ally,” presentation for the Friendship & Justice Ministry of the Tower Grove Park Catholic Parishes.

October 15-17 — Multiple events in Springfield, Missouri

• “Putting the ‘Queer’ back in Christianity: How extending a full welcome to LGBT persons reclaims the work of Jesus for today,” presentation at “Subverting the Norm: The Emerging Church, Post-Modernism, and the Future of Christianity” conference at Drury University.
• “Listening in, Behind the Tune,” adult forum about my journey as an Ally, how my book came to be, and what I think the future holds for the church when it comes to welcome, at Brentwood Christian Church.
• “Both Head & Heart: My Journey as an Ally,” presentation for PFLAG Springfield.
  

October 13 — Reading in St. Paul, Minnesota

• “Writing My Way Out: Readings in Honor of National Coming Out Day,” part of the  fall Neighborhood Voices series  at the Hamline-Midway Library.
  

October 13 — Presentation in Winona, Minnesota

• “Coming Out as Christian Vocation,” lunch presentation hosted by the Lutheran Campus Center at Winona State University.

October 11-12 — Campus keynote in La Crosse, Wisconsin

• “Christian & Queer — Identities Made for Each Other: Reflections on the power of claiming them both,” campus keynote in honor of National Coming Out Day sponsored by the UWL Pride Center. Followed the next day by classroom visits and conversational sessions with interested faculty and the Rainbow Unity student group.

October 9-11 — Presentation in Orlando, Florida

• “Moving Beyond Biblical Self-Defense: Claiming the Biblical Arc of Welcome … and its Affirmation of a Queer God,” workshop for the Believe Out Loud Power Summit sponsored by the Institute for Welcoming Resources.
  

October 1-3 — Multiple events in Austin, Texas

• “Christian & Queer — Identities Made for Each Other: Reflections on the power of claiming them both,” celebration keynote for the 35th anniversary at the Metropolitan Community Church of Austin.
• “Both Head & Heart: My Journey as an Ally,” presentation at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. 

September 27-30 — Multiple events in Houston, Texas

• “When Spirituality Becomes a Queer Thing: The power of claiming identities made for each other,” campus keynote at the University of Houston, sponsored by the UH-LGBT Resource Center.
• “Singing Welcome, Imagining Justice,” a hymn sing at Grace Lutheran Church.
• “Writing our Faith Journeys,” reflections for the writing group at Christ the King Lutheran Church.
• “Paying the Welcome Forward: My journey–Bible in hand–as an Ally welcoming LGBT persons into the family of God,” lunch presentation hosted by Lutheran Campus Ministry at Rice University.
• “Acrostic Poetry: Finding Your Voice at the Edge,” a workshop for homeless youth at Grace Place, Grace Lutheran Church.

July 7-11 — Workshops at Lutherans Concerned/North America Biennial Assembly and Reconciling in Christ Conference at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Inhabiting Texts of Welcome: Using Readers Theater to reclaim our biblical voice,” a workshop to increase biblical literacy about (and confidence in) the “arc of welcome” in the biblical story.

• “Speaking Truth from the Margins: The power (and play) of acrostic poetry,” a workshop on using acrostic poetry for self-expression — and for guerrilla theology.

May 18 & May 25-28, 2010 — Young Authors Conference at Bethel University, Arden Hills, Minnesota

• “Acrostics: poetry that finds hope at the edge,” a poetry workshop for 4th-8th grade students at the 2010 Young Authors Conference, run by Success Beyond the Classroom. Under the overarching theme of Stories of Hope, my workshop was one of many available to the 800+ kids/day who attend during the week.

May 19, 2010 — Presentation at Rushford Lutheran Church, Rushford, Minnesota

• “Paying the Welcome Forward: A biblical basis for welcoming others who (like us!) sometimes seem a little too different for comfort,” a presentation at a Lutheran church discerning their response to the actions taken at ELCA Churchwide Assembly 2009.

May 16, 2010 — Adult Forum at St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota

• “Table Grace: Thinking about Food from a Faith Perspective,” a thought-provoking conversation about the connections between food and faith.

April 17 — Workshop at Deepening the Welcome Conference, Edina, Minnesota

• “Welcome in Worship,” a break-out session on how liturgy, language, and hymn choices send powerful messages about how full a congregation’s welcome is. Part of a workshop “on Living Out Our Welcome to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in our Congregations” sponsored by the Twin Cities Reconciling in Christ Team.

April 13-14 — Campus keynote at Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota

• “Christian and Queer – Identities Made for Each Other: Reflections on the power of claiming them both,” a campus keynote lecture sponsored by the WSU GLBTA Issues Faculty Committee and the WSU GLBTA Student Partnership. Followed the next day by classroom visits.

April 10 — Panel at Rainbow Families Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Spirituality over the Rainbow.” A panel on faith in Rainbow Families. I was one of five panelists (the only Ally), sharing about my work as a Sunday School teacher and traveling writer/speaker.

March 21, 2010 — Keynote talk for the Peace Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “A Welcoming God.” A luncheon keynote for the Peace Forum, a monthly series of talks sponsored by the Peace with Justice Committee of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods of the ELCA.

March 18 — Community keynote    at Good Shepherd Lutheran, Decorah, Iowa

• “Paying the Welcome Forward: From Isaiah 56 to Acts 10 and beyond – a biblical basis for welcoming others who (like us!) sometimes seem a little too different for comfort.” A community event co-sponsored by: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, WelcomeInDecorah.com, PFLAG of Northeast Iowa, Northeast Iowa Peace & Justice Center, the Northeast Iowa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and First Lutheran Church.
  

March 15 – April 7 — Poetry workshop at Youth Link, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “At the Edge of the Street: Claiming a Voice at the Margins (through Acrostic poetry).” A 4-week/8-session workshop introducing homeless and marginally housed youth to acrostic poetry as a means of self-expression.

March 7, 2010 — Presentation at First Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota

• “My Journey as an Ally: the Relationships that marked the Way,” an adult forum hosted by the Reconciling in Christ committee guiding this congregation’s welcoming process.
  

February 28, 2010 — Adult forum at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Roseville, Minnesota

• “The State of Welcome after Churchwide 2009: Missteps and Opportunities.”

February 23, 2010 — Res Life program at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minnesota

• “When God was a Little Girl” picturing creation in a whole new way. A res hall program at this women’s college using a short story of mine that retells the creation account through the metaphor of God as a little girl doing an art project. Joan Lindeman brought along her beautiful oil paintings and helped lead conversation afterwards.

February 21, 2010 — Presentation at Rivers Falls United Methodist Church, Rivers Falls, Wisconsin

• “My Journey … to the Tune of a Welcoming God … and Insights along the Way,” lunch keynote hosted by this congregation’s “Wide is our Welcome” committee.

February 18, 2010 — Presentation at Bethel University, Arden Hills, Minnesota

• “My Spiritual Journey as an Ally,” presented to a group of students at this conservative Baptist school.

February 13, 2010 — Community keynote in Northfield, Minnesota

• “The Text-ure of Grace: Reading the Bible Graciously for LGBT persons,” a keynote talk for this UU Fellowship’s annual “Stand on the Side of Love” dinner.

February 10-12, 2010 — Multiple events at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa

• “Bodied Grace: Re-thinking sexuality from the Bible to the body—as though both the Body of Christ and the Earth depended on it (because they do),” a public lecture.
• “Transfiguration: where text and life meet,” reflections at evening Eucharist.
• Lunch and conversation with College Ministries staff.
• “Vocation and Ministry after Churchwide 2009,” reflections and conversation with students.
• “Paying the Welcome Forward,” reflections in morning chapel.

January 31, 2010 — Reading in St. Paul, Minnesota

• Reading & Signing to celebrate Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday, at Borders Books in St. Paul.

January 29, 2010 — Arden Hills, Minnesota

• “Acrostics: poetry that finds hope at the edge,” a poetry workshop offered to 4th-8th grade students at the 2010 Young Authors Conference, run by Success Beyond the Classroom.

January 26-28, 2010 — Multiple events at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa

• Lunch and conversation with progressive pastors in the NE Iowa Synod.
• Readers Theater exploration of Acts 10 at a local Lutheran church (and reprised in a college classroom).
• Sharing my journey as an Ally with Wartburg College’s Alliance (GLBTA) group.
• “Paying the Welcome Forward,” reflections in morning chapel.
• “The Text-ure of Grace: The Bible, Christian Faith, and Sexuality” an informal conversation with students.
• “The Poet as Theologian,” reflections and conversation in a class on Christian spirituality.

January 17, 2010 — Adult forum at Salem English Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Listening in, Behind the Tune.” An adult forum about my journey as an Ally, how my book came to be, and what I think the future holds for the church when it comes to welcome.

January 10, 2010 — Adult forum at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church, St. Paul, Minnesota

• “When God was a Little Girl” picturing creation in a whole new way. An adult forum at my church using a short story I wrote retelling the creation account through the metaphor of God as a little girl doing an art project. Also, Joan Lindeman displayed her beautiful oil paintings bringing us one step closer to an illustrated children’s book!

January 5, 2010 — Presentation at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa

• “Public Theology: bringing God to the agora (marketplace) in diverse ways” to members of the Luther College Religion Society (comprised of Religion majors & minors) about my work as a public theologian and my specific work doing public theology around sexuality and welcome.

2009 Presentations

November 23, 2009 — Presentation in St. Paul, Minnesota

• “666, Dirty Laundry, and Adrienne Rich” — readings from my blogs written at last August’s ELCA Churchwide Assembly as well as an excerpt or two from my book, along with good conversation.

November 7, 2009 — Presentation in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Talking about WELCOME from a biblical–and Lutheran perspective” — a presentation as part of a half-day “Walking the Talk of Welcome” workshop for congregations exploring a wider welcome to GLBT persons.

October 17-18, 2009 — Multiple Events in Duluth, Minnesota

• Signing at Northern Lights Books
• “Listening in, behind the Tune: how the book came to be” – adult forum for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
• “The Body of Christ, both Whole and Wounded” – sermon for the Lutherans Concerned Lake Country chapter.
• “Altogether Different Oceans? Reflections on ELCA Churchwide” – informal dinner presentation for the Lutherans Concerned Lake Country chapter.

October 14, 2009 — Campus keynote at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota

• “The Body as Burning Bush: Coming Out and Other Holy Acts of Human Sexuality” — Coming Out Week lecture for students.

October 12, 2009 — Campus keynote at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

• “The Body as Burning Bush: Coming Out and Other Holy Acts of Human Sexuality” — Coming Out Week lecture for students.

July 10-12, 2009 — Multiple events in Columbia, Missouri

• Radio interview on KFRU.
• “Bodied Grace: Sexuality, Gender, and the Life of the Church” — public lecture at Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia.
• “Poetry and Hymns: softening the soul for welcome” — reading and conversation at The Center in Columbia.
• “Hope for a wider welcome to come” — adult forum Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia.
• (All events co-sponsored by Open Door Ministry of MUMC, MO-PFLAG, and Lutherans Concerned/Columbia.)

June 19-20, 2009 — Book-signing in the Twin Cities, Minnesota

• Signings at Borders Books in Roseville and Richfield.

June 12, 2009 — Worship Reflections in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• “Words offered at the end of the day, for an unknown friend living in fear” — reading and conversation in worship with Dignity/Twin Cities

February 15, 2009 — Adult Forum in St. Paul, Minnesota

• “The importance of being earthy: from erotic poetry to planetary justice” — adult forum for St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church.

January 25, 2009 — Sermon and Adult Forum in St. Paul, Minnesota

• “Jesus is Here to Recruit You to Follow” — sermon based on “Milk” (film bio of Harvey Milk).
• “Listening in, behind the Tune: how the book came to be” adult forum
• Both events at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, St. Paul.

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