Little Fires Everywhere

Dreaming about a hopeful path forward with other progressive Christians at the Ember Gathering

Alejandro and I had the privilege of participating in the first-ever Ember Gathering in Oakland this past weekend. It was organized by my friend Adam Evers, along with Kat Gonzales, Tamice Spencer-Helms, and Brian Recker, and billed as “a three-day, justice-centered, LGBTQ+-affirming gathering for seekers, dreamers, and builders to heal from religious harm, rebuild life-giving faith, and find your people.”

Featured speakers and panelists included Trey Ferguson, Drew Hart, Sarah Quint, Keri Ladouceur, Mike Maeshiro, Billie Hoard, Nya Abernathy, Micah Melody Taberner, Emily Hansen Curran, Chris Scott, Erin Edwards, and Ciarra Jones.

I want to share briefly about five things that felt particularly meaningful to me as I experienced the weekend.

First of all, after literally decades in “deconstruction” spaces, it felt so good to be in community that was focused on the “what’s next.” Healing. Rebuilding. Finding. The hopeful, imaginative, forward-focused vibes were strong. I felt the same way I felt when I was reading Brian McLaren’s Faith After Doubt. Like, let’s move forward together! Let’s talk about what our faith might look like after we’ve stripped it of fundamentalism, colonization, Whiteness, heteronormativity, patriarchy, and everything else that has infected it and tarnished the good news at the heart of the gospel.

Second, I loved being in a community where my queerness was not “allowed.” They didn’t make concessions to include LGBTQIA+ people, we just were included. We were well-represented at every level, from organizers to speakers and panelists to attendees. And our attendance, participation, and leadership were simply assumed as a normal, natural part of the diversity of God’s beloved ecosystem. No hiding, just being.

Third, I loved being with several friends from my former denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church. I was immersed in that movement for 16 years, but nearly a decade ago now, I had to surrender my credentials and resign from the church I was serving when I came out of the closet and decided to live in alignment with reality. It was lovely to be with people who remember, who understand where I was and where I am today. It’s so meaningful to grow and evolve with people. Friends for the journey are so important, and old friends matter deeply.

Fourth, I felt a strong reaffirmation of my faith and my call to ministry. The last decade has been tumultuous, and there were many times that I wondered whether Christianity was expansive enough to contain my beliefs, experiences, and identities, let alone whether I wanted to continue to pursue vocational ministry. But this weekend reminded me of who I am, who I have always been, that this beautiful faith still holds me, and that I am called and gifted to ministry. Not only that I am, but that I want to be.

And finally, perhaps the most personally meaningful part of the weekend was attending with my husband. This was the first time we had ever attended something like this together, after our years of long-distance marriage awaiting his green card and move to the US. So many of my friends were excited to finally meet this man whose story has become so deeply intertwined with mine, and who - despite being notoriously social media averse himself - is nonetheless well-known to my social media community. I even got a lovely surprise today when an artist named Brenna Hall, who we attended with but unfortunately never met, reached out to share a sketch she had drawn of us at one of the breakout sessions!

I’ll continue processing this last weekend for some time, I’m sure. But for today I’m grateful for the community, the camaraderie, and the hope I experienced. As we all return to our homes around the world, I can’t help but see in my mind’s eye the “little fires everywhere” that Dr. Tamice talked about in their Sunday morning talk. These little embers of hope and faith are still burning, perhaps stronger now. The warmth and light of God’s love continues to grow, and all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.