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This workshop will take about three hours total, and is designed to be done in three phases:

                Personal Exploration                      Done by yourself on your own time.

                Sharing and Connecting                Done with a Covina Community Church group or clergy.

                Personal Reflection                        Done by yourself on your own time.

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Phase 1:        Personal Exploration

 

Pray – Center yourself in prayer, and ask God to help you learn and grow, regardless of your comfort level with the topics you are engaging. Here are some words if you need them:

 

Creator of light and dark, and everything in between, help us see the spectrums of life and identity all around us. Creator of male and female, and everything in between, help us move beyond our own experience and make space for expressions of self and relationship that are not bound by the binary constraints of our world. Amen.

 

Reflect  - What do the following words mean to you? Consider writing out your answers in a journal or on a piece of paper. You might even want to draw what domes to mind if your brain processes in more creative ways.

                Gay – Pride – Queer – Strait – Binary – Sexuality – Gender – Normal – Feminine - Masculine

 

Watch – Follow this link to view a presentation by Summer Gomez: 

For those who are curious about some of the less understood identities, we recommend these videos, but they are not required:

Watch – Follow this link to a video on what the Bible says about “being gay.”

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Read– You can download more detailed notes and look up different verses yourself using this handout. 

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Read– You can read a narrative overview of what the Bible does and does not say in this document. â€‹

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Reflect – Look back over the list of words in the first reflection section.

  • How has your understanding of these words changed or shifted?

  • What new insights have emerged for you?

  • What questions are you left with?

If you are keeping a journal for this process, take some time to record your thoughts.

 

Read -   Turn to Genesis 1 – 2:4a in your Bible and then take time for the reflection questions.

 

Reflect  - Time to add to that journal, or doodle some more feelings as you reflect.

  • What can we see spectrums within the things God creates (i.e., light, and dark)?

  • What does it mean for people, male and female, to be created in God’s image?

  • Why are less comfortable in spectrums of gender than in day and night, seasons, or others?

  • Where do our gender norms and expectations come from?

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Phase 2:        Sharing and Connecting

 

Pray – Center yourself in prayer, and ask God to help you learn and grow, regardless of your comfort level with the topics. Here are some words if you need them:

               

Loving God, who meets us where we are and loves us as we are, help us see each other and listen to each other. As we do, may our hearts make space for all your people.  Amen.

 

Share  - Use these prompts to guide your conversations:

 

Revisit the word list from the Phase 1 reflection and share what wisdom you have received around them.

  • How did the videos or readings impact your understanding of these words?

             Gay – Pride – Queer – Strait – Binary – Sexuality – Gender – Normal – Feminine - Masculine

 

  • How do you describe your own gender identity?

  • How does your faith inform your identity and the ways you form intimate relationships?

  • What messages have you received from faith centered communities about sexuality and identity?

  • What questions or concerns are most prominent for you around these issues?

  • What role have shame or guilt played in your own experience around sexuality and identity?

  • How can we become more comfortable with these issues and more affirming of all God's people?

Phase 3:        Personal Reflection

 

Pray – Center yourself in prayer and ask God to help you find the words for your thoughts and feelings. Here are some words if you need them:

 

Lord whose love knows no ending, help me learn to love myself and remove the lenses of shame and fear. Help me see others as they are and help me love them without needing to define them. Give me the strength to open my arms and my mind to identities and experiences that are different from my own. Amen.

 

Reflect  - On paper or in a digital document, answer the following questions and send them to the Church office.  

 

  • What factors impact the ways you understand God’s love and grace?

  • What identities or aspects of human sexuality and relationships do you still struggle to understand?

  • What role does the modern Church have in repairing centuries of harm within the LGBTQ+ community?

  • What issues do we, as a Church, have to face in order to truly welcome all God’s people?

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