On January 11th-14th, the Albuquerque Convention Center hosted various events, from archery workshops to military trainings. Amidst those events, the Q Christian Fellowship’s annual conference convened.
Q Christian Fellowship (QCF, formerly known as the Gay Christian Network) was founded by Justin Lee in 2001 to create a space where queer Christians from all walks of life could gather safely. To that end, QCF is theologically diverse. Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostals, Episcopalians, Mennonites and even those who aren’t sure they are Christians anymore gathered to learn from one another and build relationships.
Q Christian Fellowship also welcomes people who are Side A– who believe that being gay isn’t a sin and that queer people can get married, have sex and live in the world in the same ways that non-queer individuals can, and those who are Side B– who believe that having gay thoughts isn’t a sin, but acting on them is. Participants in the QCF community don’t have to ascribe to a specific queer theology.
To better reflect the theological diversity within the organization, it changed its name to Q Christian Fellowship in 2018 to hold space for those who are queer, questioning, and everything in between.
This year’s conference theme was “Renewal,” inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23, “Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through! They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”
Throughout the weekend, LGBTQ+ Christians and allies from all walks of life participated in worship services, breakout sessions and conversations based on the conference’s theme. Highlights included a viewing of the critically acclaimed documentary “1946: The Mistranslation that Shifted Culture,” a performance by chart-topping Christian Drag Queen Flamy Grant and powerful presentations from keynote speakers Myles Markham, Kathy Baldock, Brit Barron and Bishop Joseph William Tolton.
The conference was also a time for QCF Community Groups, which meet digitally throughout the year, to gather in person. These groups included support groups for people of various sexual orientations and gender identities, parents of LGBTQ+ children, and more.
Next year’s conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia and meet January 23- 26 with the theme “All That I Am,” inspired by 1 John 3:1-2, “See what love the Creator has given us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know God. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when God is revealed, we will be like God, for we will see God as God is.”
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