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LGBTQ Faith Leaders ‘Come Out Of The Shadows’

WUNC News | By Anita Rao,
Frank Stasio
Published April 27, 2017 at 12:15 PM EDT

LGBTQindividuals have long been pushed out of religious and spiritual communities, but that has not made all of them lose their faith. In fact, many LGBTQ folks have taken on leadership roles to advocate for and heal their communities. 

A conversation with interfaith practitioners and leaders who will participate in the LGBTQ people of faith gathering, “come out of the shadows”.

A group of interfaith practitioners and leaders will gather in Durham this weekend to “come out of the shadows” as LGBTQ people of faith and discuss topics ranging from queering the Hebrew bible to the intersection of faith and activism.

Host Frank Stasio talks with participants Karen Ziegler, a retired pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of New York in Greenwich Village, Saba Taj, a queer Muslim artist and activist, Rinah Rachel Galper, an ordained Hebrew priestess, and choreographer Tony C. Johnson. He is also joined by festival organizer Rebecca Welper. “Coming Out of the Shadows: LGBTQ in Religious and Spiritual Communities” takes place at the Lyon Park Community Family Life & Recreation Center in Durham this Saturday, April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

A church choir practices in the Metropolitan Community Church in New York. Karen Ziegler was a pastor of that church in the 1980s.
Courtesy of Karen Ziegler /
A church choir practices in the Metropolitan Community Church in New York. Karen Ziegler was a pastor of that church in the 1980s.
"That Which Comes In The Night" is a piece by queer Muslim artist Saba Taj. She is one of the interfaith participants in this weekend's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."
Coutesy of Saba Taj /
"That Which Comes In The Night" is a piece by queer Muslim artist Saba Taj. She is one of the interfaith participants in this weekend's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."
"Banishment" is a piece by queer Muslim artist Saba Taj. She is one of the interfaith participants in this weekend's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."
Courtesy of Saba Taj /
"Banishment" is a piece by queer Muslim artist Saba Taj. She is one of the interfaith participants in this weekend's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."
Rinah Rachel Galper is an ordained Hebrew priestess and Jewish storyteller. She will participate in this Saturday's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."
Courtesy of Rinah Rachel Galper /
Rinah Rachel Galper is an ordained Hebrew priestess and Jewish storyteller. She will participate in this Saturday's conference "Coming Out Of The Shadows."

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
See stories by Anita Rao
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio