FAITH AT WORLD PRIDE Sydney is about to experience our annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on steroids. For 17 days, Sydney turns queer for Sydney World Pride. There will be parties, exhibitions, cultural events, discussions, our world famous parade, fair day, the Harbour Bridge will be closed for a Pride March and there will [...]
What is conversion 'therapy' Everything you wanted to know about conversion 'therapy'. What is conversion 'therapy'? Where did conversion 'therapy' come from? How did conversion 'therapy' evolve? What are the conversion 'therapy' impacts? Why should conversion 'therapy' be banned? Questions? This presentation was given at the Included 2021 Conference hosted by Salvation Army members [...]
Disgusting, abominable, and reprehensible are the politest words I can find to describe the behaviour of some conservative Christians. As gays and lesbians, we have endured decades of accusations, condemnation and lies about our supposed “lifestyles”, lifespans, and the quality of our relationships. We’ve been labelled evil, perverts, deviates, abominations and child molesters. AIDS, [...]
LGBTQ Religious Trauma, Resolution Options and PTSD Having worked with 1,000s of LGBTQ people from Christian backgrounds, I've had lots of experience with LGBTQ Religious Trauma. I was invited to join a lineup of 15 speakers at the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference in the US. In my presentation ‘A Life of [...]
Tasmania to ban conversion “therapy” * After the release of the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) report, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conversion Practices, Tasmania is following other Australian states that have passed legislation banning what has become known as “conversion therapy”. Religious opponents are attempting to block the legislation by clouding the issues with smokescreens and resurrecting [...]
The YMCA and LGBT – thank you I was the Secretary General of the World Alliance of YMCAs 2011 – 2018. One of the potentially divisive challenges of those years was the LGBT – issue. Being an ordained minister of the Lutheran Church of Norway, I was passionate about the need for justice and [...]
LGBTQ PEOPLE OF FAITH Giving them visibility and a place at the table Background: In 2004, I had my first book launch. It was upstairs at the Midnight Shift Nightclub with about 350 people attending. The majority of those people had never been to a gay venue previously. It was a very exciting evening……all [...]
The old "ex-gay" and the new celibacy message In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality as a mental illness from its diagnostic manual. Whilst mental health professionals faced the reality they were wrong, and moved on, much of the Christian Church was not having any of it. In their eyes, homosexuality was more [...]
Free online viewing Thursday, 25 August, 8pm (AEST) REGISTER HERE Review Most people know there was a time when gay and lesbian people were considered mentally ill and mental health professionals used bizarre and cruel methods in their attempts to cure them. Probably fewer people could name the year that was reversed and fewer could detail [...]