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Panelists:  Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL, Bill Baird, and Brian McNaught; Moderated by Jason Steidl
Time: 7:30 PM Thursday

Celebrating 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Ministry Opening Plenary Panel 

Plenary Sessions 

Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL

Sr. Jeannine has been involved in a pastoral outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics since 1971 and co-founded New Ways Ministry, a national organization dedicated to this cause. In 2021, Pope Francis sent her a letter, saying “your 50 years of ministry…were 50 years with ‘God’s style.’…You have not been afraid of ‘closeness,’ and in getting close you did it...without condemning anyone, but with the ‘tenderness’ of a sister and a mother."

Bill Baird

Bill was an unlikely participant at the Bergamo conference as he had no background in ministry and had only started coming out, but was sponsored to attend as a graduate student. Bill started the Denver chapter of Dignity and he remains involved with Dignity today. He met his husband at a retreat co-led by Sr. Jeannine, and they were together for 42 years until John passed away in 2021. Bill lives in Santa Rosa at a LGBT focused retirement community.

Brian McNaught

Fired by the Michigan Catholic for coming out as the Dignity/Detroit founder, Brian started an unchartered but inspired 50 year career as an educator on LGBTQ issues. He did so as the author of a 12-year syndicated column and 14 books. Today, he writes a regular column in OUT South Florida and does a biweekly podcast. Brian and his husband Ray live with their Aussiedoodle Sebastian in Wilton Manors, FL.

Jason Steidl Jack

Jason is a gay Catholic theologian and assistant teaching professor of religious studies at St. Joseph's University, New York. His first book, LGBTQ Catholic Ministry: Past and Present, was published by Paulist Press in 2023. Jason currently resides in Brooklyn with his husband, Damian.
Keynote Speaker: Fr. James Martin, SJ
Time: 10:00 AM Friday

SYNODALITY AND LGBTQ+ INCLUSION
IN THE CHURCH

FATHER JAMES MARTIN, SJ

F.r James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, editor-at-large of America magazine and editor of Outreach, an LGBTQ Catholic resource. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Jesus: A Pilgrimage and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him to be a consultor for the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications. He was later appointed by the pope as a U.S. delegate to the Synod on Synodality. Father Martin, a frequent guest on major radio and television networks, has appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, PBS NewsHour, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Christine Zuba

Christine (she/her) is a lifelong Catholic and transgender woman from Blackwood, NJ. She is a parishioner of Saints Peter & Paul Church, a Eucharistic Minister at her parish, and a facilitator of her parish LGBTQ+ ministry “Together In Prayer”. Christine is on the Board of Directors of Fortunate Families Inc. and is Chair of the Fortunate Families Transgender Ministry. She participated on panels at Outreach in 2022 and 2023. 

Leo Holbrook

Leo is a Catholic transgender man who was raised in Long Island, is a proud graduate of the University of Dayton, and works as an engineer. Because of the support and acceptance he received from students, professors, and clergy at UD, Leo continues to mentor LGBTQ+ students there. Leo currently volunteers at a local LGBTQ+ youth center and enjoys going the gym and designing 3D print crosses as gifts and memorial pieces.

Sister Luisa Derouen, OP

Sister Luisa is a Dominican Sister of Peace and has been ministering as a spiritual companion among the transgender and non-binary community nationally for 25 years. She is now mostly retired and lives in Kentucky.
Panelists: Christine Zuba, Leo Holbrook, and Breanna E. Sinclair; Moderated by Sr. Luisa Derouen, OP
Time: 10:00 AM Saturday

MINISTRY WITH TRANSGENDER PERSONS

Panelists: Yunuen Trujillo, Miguel Ochoa and Erin Anderson-White Face
Time: 5:00 PM Saturday

THE BLESSING OF LGBTQ+ PERSONS IN THE CHURCH: A RESPONSE TO FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS

Concurrent Sessions 

Titles and Presenters

SESSION 2:
3:30 PM Friday

Building Trans Ministries of Service and Care
Martha Marvel

Empowering Catholic Families: LGBTQ+ Youth Well-Being
David Palmieri & Caitlin Ryan

Speaking the Unspoken: Spilling the T
Neomi DeAnda

Praying the Scriptures: Listening with an LGBTQ+ Heart
Sam Albano 

Queer Ecology: Please Don't Step on any Lesbians
Tara Poling
SESSION 1:
1:30 PM Friday

Names, Pronouns, and Transgender Inclusion 
Hilary Howes and Kori Pacyniak 

LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Catholic High Schools
Dr. Colleen Karchunas  and Nick Fagnant 

Stories as Activism: Preserving LGBTQ+ Oral Histories
Emma Cieslik

OutLoud: Racial Justice and Queer Ministry
Dr. Craig Ford, Alex Gruber, and and Marge Hills

Living Our Marianist Charism: Embracing the LGBTQ+ Community
Bro.  Jack Ventura
SESSION 3:
1:30 PM Saturday

The Gift of the Non-Binary Child
Kevin & Brenda Fitzpatrick

LGBTQ+ Persona and Catholic Moral Theology
Dr. Ish Ruiz

Inclusive Parish Ministries: Best Practices
Yunuen Trujillo

Why Stay? Ignatian Discernment & LGBTQ+ Spirituality
Kevin Molloy

LGBTQ+ Support in Colleges: The University of Dayton Panel 
Christine Schramm, Crystal Sullivan, Kristen Keen, Anya Gaili Robertson, Sabina Marroquin

More About the Assembly Theme

This assembly commemorates 50 years of LGBTQ+ ministry in our Marianist family. The first assembly, which took place in 1974 and was called “The Gay Christian,” brought together many ministry leaders for a weekend of learning and reflection. In 2024, we look forward to celebrating the legacy of this conference by reflecting on the most important challenges and opportunities for Catholic LGBTQ+ ministry today. 

Our theme for the conference centers around the concept of Imago Dei, which translates to “the Image of God.” The Catholic Church has long taught that all persons are made in the Image of God and, therefore, are worthy of a life of dignity. Responding to this call, this assembly seeks to celebrate the many ways LGBTQ+ persons reflect God’s image in their daily lives. More specifically, this gathering offers an opportunity for collective discernment about LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Church through ministry, education, and other programs that help uphold their dignity and seek to fully recognize their rightful place as an integral part of the Mystical Body of Christ. 

History

Yunuen Trujillo

Yunuen is a Catholic lay minister, a faith-based Community Organizer, an Attorney, and Author. She is one of the leading figures for inclusive Catholic LGBT Ministry in the United States. She is also a Religious Formation Coordinator (Spanish) with the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She is the author of the book LGBTQ Catholics: A Guide to Inclusive Ministry, published by Paulist Press.

Miguel OchoA

Miguel, a pastoral musician for nearly thirty years, has turned his love of music into a career as a high school choir director and actor in San Antonio. Miguel, alongside his husband Jose, has served for eight years on MSJC’s LGBTQ+ Initiative and has lead the planning and facilitation of numerous retreats for LGBTQ+ persons and their allies. Miguel continues to work for all LGBTQ+ persons to be fully included in the Catholic Church.

Erin Anderson-White Face

Erin is a Lesbian Catholic, Lay Marianist, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative. She graduated from the University of Dayton and has spent nearly the past twenty years living and working on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Erin currently resides between western South Dakota and Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her wife Lisa, their adopted daughter Keyshia, and everyone's favorite family member - their rescue dog - Victor.  

BReanna E. Sinclair

Breanna E. Sinclair is an artist and opera singer who has performed on stage and in film throughout the US abroad. A graduate of Calearts and the San Francisco Conservatory of music, her talents have been featured in various operatic productions in the Bay Area, DC, Los Angeles, Canada, and Berlin as well as various appearances on tv. She has also sung in various Christian congregations. In 2015, she was recognized by OUT Magazine as the LGBT Hero of the Year.

Registration

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