OutFront Corvalis, OR - October 20-22, 2006

CLGS and The Community of Welcoming Congregations joined forces for a second year in a row to offer an OutFront conference in Oregon. With the additional support of the Religion and Faith Program of the Human Rights Campaign, OutFront Corvallis, a two-day conference designed to educate, inspire, nurture and celebrate the gifts of transgender persons within and among communities of faith, was held at First United Methodist Church from 20-22 October 2006.

With an attendance of almost 200 people OutFront Corvallis brought together trans scholars, religious leaders, political activists, and artists in a celebration of trans people of faith and their allies. In addition, a variety of resources were provided for congregational leaders, individuals, clergy and young adults interested in building up communities of faith that truly welcome and include trans people at all levels of congregational life. The Transcendence Choir of City of Refuge UCC congregation in San Francisco sang on Saturday evening to a full house.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

Dr. Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? A Positive Christian Response (co-authored with Letha Dawson Scanzoni) and Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach, offered the keynote address on transgender identity and spirituality.

Rev. Dr. Justin Tanis, Program Manager at the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, DC, and author of Transgender: Ministry, Theology and Communities of Faith led a discussion on public policy and transgender issues.

The documentary feature film Call Me Malcolm was shown in a Saturday morning plenary session with the Rev. Malcolm Himschott, subject of the film, answering questions from the audience.

Sabbath prayer was led by Rabbi Maurice Harris, rabbi at Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon, and the Rev. Dr. Erin Swensen, an ordained Presbyterian minister (PCUSA) and a licensed marriage and family therapist, preached at the Sunday morning worship service.

• Authenticity, Body Sexuality and Healing
• Communities of Color and Transgendered Experience
• Dismantling Binary Gender Constructs: Moving from Dualistic Identity Paradigms
• Families Transition Too: Partners/Families of Transgender Persons
• Inclusive Public Policy for Gender Identity
• The "Next" Generation: For the Under 30 Among Us
• Non-Christian Religious Perspectives on Gender and Gender Identity
• Pastoral Care within and among the Trans Community
• Political and Socio-economic implications for transgendered persons
• Transformative History

If you are interested in bringing OutFront to your congregation, please contact Bernard Schlager at bschlager@clgs.org.

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