Hello Spiritual Misfits! 

This week I have another brilliant talk for you from Future Church conference which happened in January this year. We know the questions and themes we were exploring in the room that day are so pressing for many of us, and so it’s great to be able to share these talks with you if you weren’t able to join us.  

A reminder that there will be another Future Church Conference — and if these talks are wetting your appetite to be in the room if possible, make sure you give New City Church a follow on social media, or drop an email to [email protected]. We will make sure you’re in the loop when a date and other details are announced. You can also check out futurechurchcon.com — all these links will be in the show-notes too. 

This talk you’re about to hear is from the brilliant Karen Pack. Karen’s topic was ‘The Future Church is…LGBTQIA+ Inclusive’ — but as you’ll hear this talk actually has much broader applications. Karen weaves aspects of her personal story with a pretty confronting look at how histories are formed and told, and the power there is, in the way we tell the story. 

As with all of these Future Church conference talks really there are themes explored here that may bring up your own trauma — particularly if you are a queer person who has spent time in religious spaces that did not treat you with the full dignity and acceptance that you do deserve. Karen does touch on themes of suicide. And if this brings anything up for you as you listen, then please reach out for help. You can call lifeline on 13 11 14.  

Karen does reference the slides she was using on the day, but she does a fantastic job of explaining what’s on those slides, and I think you should be able to follow along without much trouble. 

Big shout-out to Kaz for this challenging, moving, vulnerable and deeply important message for anyone who finds themselves interested in what the church of tomorrow — and today, looks like. 

Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.

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