August Eliot 2024: "Exploring and Celebrating Sexuality, Gender, and Faith" with Zr. Alex Kapitan

Exploring and Celebrating Sexuality, Gender, and Faith

Program Description: Unitarian Universalism teaches that all of who you are belongs, all of who you are matters, all of who you are is worthy. In this faith, gender and sexuality are sources of wholeness and authenticity. Yet we receive far too many messages every day to the contrary. The pressure to conform and perpetuate stereotypes and norms is immense—for people of all genders and sexualities—and the threats to trans, nonbinary, intersex, queer, and gender nonconforming people are escalating. 

These seven days will be a time to let your light shine and celebrate the diversity of gender and sexuality in our world and in those around you. For those burdened by gender-based oppression, let the load down for a week, find joy and ease, and soak up the love and freedom of camp. For those who haven’t given much thought to gender and sexuality, consider this an invitation to immerse yourself in what it means to be a radically welcoming, heart-transforming community of people of all identities, ages, experiences, and backgrounds.   

Daily programming will engage with what queer and trans Unitarian Universalism looks like and the gifts such a perspective offers everyone, how oppressive gender norms and roles limit us all, and how we can create more room for the fullness of gender and sexuality in our lives, our congregations, and our larger world. (Hint: A key ingredient is glitter.)

 No matter what your identities are, you won’t want to miss this camp! Queer, trans, nonbinary, and questioning children, youth, and adults and family members of LGBTQ folks are particularly strongly encouraged to attend.

Bio: Zr. Alex Kapitan (ze/per) is a lay community minister, educator, editor, consultant, and activist. A queer and nonbinary lifelong Unitarian Universalist, ze does interfaith LGBTQ work and supports congregations in becoming places of radical welcome for all.

 Alex is the co-founder of the Transforming Hearts Collective, an organizing ministry that both supports spaces for LGBTQ people to access resilience, healing, and spirituality and resources faith communities and other groups for the work of radical welcome and culture shift. As part of that work ze co-created the program Trans Inclusion in Congregations for UU congregations, which has been engaged with by hundreds of congregations across the continent. Alex is also the founder of Radical Copyeditor, an anti-oppressive language project that helps people understand, among many other things, why using “they” singularly is a revolutionary and essential act. 

 Alex worked for many years at the UUA’s national office supporting Welcoming Congregation, anti-racism, and social justice projects, and is also a past steering committee member for TRUUsT, the organization of trans UU religious professionals. Ze lives in western Massachusetts with per partner Teo Drake and a menagerie of furry and feathered friends.