St. John’s on the Lake United Methodist Church is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 National LGBTQ Task Force Gala, which will be held on October 14. Led by Reverend Kipp Nelson, the first openly LGBTQ commissioned and appointed clergy member in the United Methodist Church in the State of Florida, St. John’s on the Lake is a reconciling, progressive congregation committed to full inclusion of ALL sexual orientations and gender identities.
Their congregation frequently participates in local mission opportunities, such as homeless ministries, immigrant rights, women’s rights, and human rights issues. The congregation also actively participates in and sponsors the LGBTQ+ community, including Miami Beach Pride, Safe Schools, Christ Chapel (a Reconciling church in Kenya), a weekly LGBTQ meetup, Justice for Our Neighbors, Branches, and, of course, the National LGBTQ Task Force Gala.
This partnership with St. John’s on the Lake builds upon the National LGBTQ Task Force’s long history of organizing with faith communities. Founded in 1973 by a group of LGBTQ activists, including a Roman Catholic priest, the Task Force has been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ people to practice their faith. For decades, we have seen the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment masquerading as religious morality, and the National LGBTQ Task Force has worked to dispel the harmful narratives that people of faith are our adversaries.
Over 50 years, the National LGBTQ Task Force launched the National Religious Leadership Roundtable, an interfaith network of queer faith leaders working to promote equality, spirituality, and justice, and the Trans Seminarian Leadership Cohort, which provides support and mentorship to transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming seminarians during their training for religious ministry.
We know that LGBTQ+ liberation and religious freedom are inextricable, and we are grateful to St. John’s on the Lake United Methodist Church for this generous support and for being Unapologetically Queer!
October 14, 2023 | Miami Beach Convention Center
Tickets Are Available for the National LGBTQ Task Force 50th Anniversary Gala!
CONTACT:
Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 917-757-6123, [email protected]
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we have made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. Those barriers must go.