Creating safe and welcoming spaces in our churches and community for LGBTQIA+ people and bearing authentic public witness to the loving, liberating, life-giving God that we follow.

The Episcopal Church is dedicated to full inclusion and equality in the church as well as in society as a whole.

Jesus calls us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In our Baptismal Covenant, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. When we use the name and pronouns that someone asks us to use for them, we respect their dignity as a beloved child of God and we treat them as we would hope others would treat us.

We are incredibly thankful to have received an Evangelism Grant from The Episcopal Church for our Episco-PRIDE ministry, allowing us to equip teams from up to 15 congregations with the tools and training to create these safe, welcoming spaces.

Why is this ministry needed?

Because every person is a beloved child of God and deserves to be treated with dignity and affirmed in that belovedness, but that is not what is happening in many places across our state.

In 2023 Iowa passed a record number of anti-LGBTQIA+ laws that significantly limit queer students’ and families’ ability to thrive in our state. From book bans, forced outings of trans students without consent, bans on youth gender-affirming care, and bans on discussing gender identity or sexual orientation with K-6 students, these laws are already negatively impacting LGBTQIA+ lives. Nationally the Trevor Project reports that nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQIA+ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to the anti LGBTQIA+ policies and legislation. Nearly 2 of 3 young people said that hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQIA+ people at school made their mental health worse. The laws are supported by a growing network of Christian organizations in our state, and in far too many areas the local Episcopal church is one of the only safe and affirming places of faith where an LGBTQIA+ person might hear that they are a beloved child of God. This grant will allow the witness of those outposts to be amplified in their communities in ways they do not yet have the capacity to do themselves.

Interested in participating? Here’s what’s involved:

STEP 1: Form Your Leadership Team

There is no set number for how many people are on your team, and we expect most leadership teams to be church-based (as in, you get together a group of people from your church who are interested in participating). However, we are increasingly seeing groups, especially diocesan young adults, who are not necessarily affiliated with a particular congregation, so a team may be from a group like this. We will have space/materials for up to 15 leadership teams to participate in this initiative so spots are limited.

STEP 2: Attend Trainings & Meetings

Your team will need to have at least one representative present at each of the meeting/training dates listed below, and those representatives need to be willing and able to share what they learn with those who cannot attend. Everything will be online using Zoom.

Tuesday March 5th at 1pm OR Thursday March 21 at 6pm: Information Q&A session
Monday April 8, 6-8pm: Safe Zone Training
May 8, 6-7pm: Workshop (date tentative, awaiting confirmation with potential partner organization)
May 22, 6-7pm: Evangelism workshop with diocesan team & other participating teams
August 21, 6-7pm: Debrief meeting - share learnings

Step 3: Receive Customized Materials

In addition to the specialized trainings listed above, we'll work with your team to customize a variety of evangelism materials for you to share at your community event. The kits may include custom graphics, stickers, postcards, signage, videos, and social media posts you can share. You'll also have access to borrow one of our festival kits (including a table, banner, and pop-up tent).

Step 4: Participate in a Community Event

Such as: PRIDE events, farmers markets, community festivals, campus fairs, or other gatherings.

Step 5: Share Your Learnings

Some of this will happen during our sharing/debrief meeting on August 21st. Additionally, you'll be asked to fill out an evaluation survey, and share pictures, videos, and stories with the diocesan Communications Missioner.

Cost

We are thrilled to be able to offer this at no cost.

However, there may be a cost to your team to have space at your chosen community event, or if you would like more materials (stickers, postcards, etc.) than what is included in our kits, so you may want to factor these into your planning.

Local Events:

2024:

Quad Cities Unity Pride (Davenport to Rock Island): June 1

Capital City Pride Fest (Des Moines): June 7-9

Iowa City Pride: June 15

Fort Dodge Pride: June 22

Cedar Rapids Pride Festival: July 6

Mason City Pride: July 20

Cedar Valley Pride (Waterloo): August 23-24

Ames Pride: Fall (date TBD)

2025:

Iowa Safe Schools’ 20th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth: April 11

Boone Pride: April

Questions? Contact:

Amy Mellies, Children & Youth Missioner

Traci Ruhland Petty, Communications & GILEAD Grant Missioner

Rev. Cn. Meg Wagner, Canon to the Ordinary

Resources

CONGREGATION GUIDES

Interfaith Alliance of Iowa created "Becoming an LGBTQ Ally in Your Faith Community: best practices for welcoming persons into sacred spaces," a guide designed specifically for helping faith communities become more welcoming to people who are LGBTQ

The Rainbow Initiative Toolkit for Congregations, for those who work with and for people who have been forced from their home countries in search of safety; from Episcopal Migration Ministries.