Queer and Faithful 2019: Evaluations, Q & A questions and Bike Rack ideas

Queer and Faithful, May 25-26, Winnipeg. 

We are happy to share the evaluations, Q & A questions and bike rack ideas from Queer and Faithful conference, 2019. 

1. Evaluations

Q1. What was your favourite part of the weekend?

Q2. Could you share with us something you learned this weekend or one way you were impacted by the event?

Q3. Any advice or suggestions? What should we do differently if we do this again?

Q1. What was your favourite part of the weekend?

Panels were named or referenced on (25) feedback forms:
Speakers' bios are available, here. Click: QueerBios 

• Hearing diverse stories/experiences/histories (8) shared with humility, courage, and compassion – truth telling.
• The sacred way we held people’s stories
• Diversity of speakers
• Loved the panel format and people’s courageousness to share from their hearts
• Exceptional panels on both days; their courage, reflections, and determinations
• Listening to people’s experiences and expanding my own experience of what it means to be in someone’s shoes
• Personal sharing of those who talked about how religion did or did not accept them and how that made them feel
• The determination, lessons, informations, and shared experiences from both days
• Many people shared their experience – I learned a lot from them and those make me think of my own life
• In addition, (2) people emphasized Saturday’s panel, (1) person emphasized both, and (1) person emphasized the presence of non-Christian voices. (5) people just stated, “the panels” as their favourite part
• (2) people named the Q&A sessions as their favourite part

Keynote Speech and Workshop – Jenna Tenn-Yuk

• Keynote speaker, and workshop led by Jenna
• Keynote address
• Jenna’s contribution
• Jenna’s talk on Saturday
• Hearing the main speaker
• Poetry
• Self-reflection through workshop on identity mapping
• Identity maps (2)
• Workshop (3)
• The workshop was healing

Community

• The way we created sacred safe spaces (smudge, silent prayer)
• Talking around the table
• Talking to community
• Meeting people
• Embracing space
• Having a room full of people of different faiths come together
• Interactions
• Final exercises that encouraged all of us
• Having everyone share what they were proud of – humanized and connected everyone in the room 

General comments:

• Everything! (5)
• I learned so much
• Good food! (4)
• A rich event 

Q2. Could you share with us something you learned this weekend or one way you were impacted by the event?

Awareness of 2SLGBTQ+ issues:

• LGBTQ is leading the way to help us have these conversations in humanizing and respectful ways
• Naïve about gender/sexual differentiation
• There is work to do to bring LGBTQ awareness and acceptance in nearly all faiths
• I was unaware that struggles with faith impacted one’s sexuality to the extent it does
• Lot of people who are faithful, queer, and questioning

Identity:

• I feel a much stronger sense of identity, and a stronger need to express that identity
• People too often feel that their sense of self disappears when faced with the pressure of not fitting in to society.
• Idea of bringing whole self to table
• That it is difficult to communicate between the various parts of my life
• Motivated me to be more of myself, and hoping more gatherings like this – can save lives!
• To remember to love self and to share that love with everyone
• Everyone is many ones in one
• “What stage to start speaking truth”

Pain and Trauma:

• How much suffering we can potentially cause others, and our capacity to heal others’ traumatic experiences
• Depth of the pain of being ‘other’
• Impacted by the hurt  - religious communities have hurt some in our midst
• Trauma is deep, trauma speaks to trauma
• The sins of religions & the damage done to LGBTQ2S communities
• It was hard to hear islamophobia in LGBT+ community (2)
• Antisemitism 
• I think my awareness of being a person of privilege has increased. My awareness of ways God has been put in a box has increased. 
• Look for which voices are missing and who are missing

Multifaith/Interfaith:

• Impact of multifaith backgrounds
• Learned that I didn’t know much about other faiths, and that it is important to work interfaith across differences
• I am very aware of my desire to pursue interfaith relationships and learnings
• I appreciated discussion of ways people of different faiths can be together 
• I’m considering the difference/interaction between faith and religion

Spirituality

• Learned it is important for Indigenous people to reconnect spiritually. I think all of us are connected spiritually.
• Intersections of Metis identity and spirituality
• Appreciated reflections of coming home: to ritual, ceremony, family, chosen family, etc.
• Increase in Awareness of ways God has been put in a box

The need for this space:

• I found it an inspiring space – a needed space, to talk about intersections of identity, race, gender, and spirituality. LGBTQ is leading the way to help us have these conversations in humanizing and respectful ways
• That there is a need for a queer and faithful space in the world and in my life – a need I didn’t know was so great in me and in others
• People are out there to journey with
• We are all connected
• There are people of faith who are open and accepting
• “Those who have loved are those who have found God.”
• Everyone has different experiences but sometimes we have the same feeling on it
• Humanity needs to be more open, inclusive, live with less fear

Hope:

• Gives me hope for continued bridge building – listening with your heart
• Reaffirmed my faith and hope

General comments:

• Always more ways to grow
• Stimulated lots of thoughts. 
• How to engage with audience (speaker)

Q3. Any advice or suggestions? What should we do differently if we do this again?

Time:

• More breaks during whole day event
• Fewer long breaks
• Start earlier in day 1 – end by 3:15.
• Started too early on Sunday (coming from church)

Format:

• More conversations regarding the dynamics of rural life and all these intersections. The world is bigger than cities and rural areas have fewer resources.
• Would be better if there were more forms, and better for people who are not good at English if there were more text prompts
• Would appreciate a list of resources
• Sunday keynote reflection, mapping self-reflection was powerful but I would have found it more healing to have some quiet time after it. It didn’t feel to me that enough depth of community was developed in such a short time to create the sense safety and trust for sharing anything but most shallow experiences
• Begin the notification process 6 months earlier than this event
• More workshops
• Community building – hard to meet new people and would have liked some structured ways to do that.
• Do community building early on to create a more comfortable space for sharing so we know who we all are.
• More intentional mixing at tables with opportunity to share
• Perhaps charge more
• Keynote speech was somewhat low-key
• Include music next time

Things to be aware of:

• Trigger warnings would have been good before panelists to avoid audience being re-traumatized
• Food could be more diverse
• Food with meat please!

Missing from the conversation:

• No pagan or heathen people? Maybe I missed them?
• Bringing Two-Spirit artists next time?

Next time:

• As someone who would like to make our church a place where anyone can feel acceptance and God, I’d love another conference where we can hear from the Queer community on how to do this. 
• Do this again / more often (2)

Anything else you would like to say?

• Well planned and organized (3)
• Good balance between interaction and listening 
• Full marks for the format, time allotment, consideration of church obligations
• I was encouraged by the resilience of people, regardless of their struggles
• Appreciated the diversity of voices
• Inspired/inspiring event
• Openness and honesty was overwhelming
• Thanks to all organizers for thought, energy and time
• Congratulations for planning a great event.
• Reiterated by many people: I had a great time, Thanks so much, This is awesome, Good job!

2. Q & A Questions

Several panelists said, they are done with religion. What is the role of queer folks to transform the religion, or religion to be saved. Can religion be saved?

What can we do to increase queer visibility in LGBT community spaces

What makes you feel like you belong in a space?

Tia, when you came out as a “Lebanese” to your family, how did that go (at 13)

Was there a breaking point, a moment where you found yourself unable or unwilling to hold the various parts of yourself separate?

Tia, What was India’s relationship with queer sexuality before colonization?

How can queer people of different faith groups work together?

How can we have a presence at Pride?

Jenna, Do you have any advice for balancing survival (Tokenism) and honouring our queer POC identities?

Given the impediments in your social and personal life - whether related to your sexual orientation or practice - what in your religion or faith has empowered you to go forward?

It’s spring cleaning time. Have any of you cleaned out your religious closet?

What are the teachings in your faith that strengthen and nurture you?

Don’t have to be in a “house” of God to worship God. Do you believe that the racism that may show up is from the religion vs from person “practicing” the religion? 

Tia, when you came out at 13 how did you identify/have you found that that identity has evolved or changed from then to now?

3. Bike Rack ideas 

I’d be really interested in ongoing events throughout the year/ an inclusive worship space. If there are plans for this (by anyone!) could you post details to the Facebook group?

I came from out of town and an interfaith queer community would be amazing to see, especially with a broader reach, perhaps Manitoba wide with an online community. That would be something that, I believe, would make a huge difference in spaces and towns like mine that are very religious and have small queer communities. 

If this is done again it would be super cool to encourage people when coming back from break to sit at a new table!