Queering Contemplation

Father William Hart McNichols (he/him) is widely known as one of the world’s most gifted iconographers. A former Jesuit and student of Franciscan iconographer Robert Lentz, Fr. Bill’s icons have been in exhibitions across the U.S. In 1980, a year after becoming a priest, he moved to NYC where he ministered to people with HIV/AIDS. From 1983 - 1990 he worked with the AIDS Hospice team of St. Vincen...

James Crews (he/him) is the editor of several bestselling anthologies, including The Path to Kindness: Poems of Connection and Joy and How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope , which has over 100,000 copies in print. He has been featured in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, and on NPR’s Morning Edition. J...

The Rev. Larry J. Morris III (he/they) is an apostle, digital marketer, scholar, and spiritual director based in Chicago, IL. In his work, he “helps individuals and organizations realize their extraordinary purpose.” Larry is also Executive Director of the Inclusive Collective, a campus ministry in the Chicagoland area. Larry is a Ph. D. student in the African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetori...

Jessica Jacobs is the author of unalone , poems in conversation with the Book of Genesis (Four Way Books, March 2024); Take Me with You, Wherever You’re Going (Four Way Books, 2019), one of Library Journal ’s Best Poetry Books of the Year, winner of the Devil’s Kitchen and Goldie Awards, and a finalist for the Brockman-Campbell, American Fiction, and Julie Suk Book Awards; Pelvis with Distance (Wh...

Jon Carl Lewis (he/him/his) is a spiritual guide and liberative educator in the queer, contemplative Christian tradition. He loves helping people recognize vital connections among the various aspects of themselves as a way of grounding their exploration of what brings them deep meaning, connection, and joy. You can learn more about him and read his work on his substack here : https://queerchristia...

Dr. Staples’s research takes seriously the productive intersection of theology—specifically mystical theology—and poetry in the development of alternative modes of critical thinking in the Middle Ages. Studying the Middle Ages through the lenses of queer theory, posthumanism, gender and sexuality studies, and critical race theory, Dr. Staples demonstrates the disorienting value of reading the past...

lenny duncan (they/them) is a writer, speaker, scholar, and media producer working at the forefront of racial justice in America. lenny is the author of Dear Church , United States of Grace , and Dear Revolutionaries, and co-creator of the podcast BlackBerryJams with PRX. A PhD student in Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion, lenny's current research is what they have termed "a peoples hist...

Assata de la Cruz is a Black and Indigenous Queer mother. She is the Executive Director of Savage Daughters and Director of Community Outreach for Soulforce , an organization for Queer folks reclaiming our spirits from weaponized religion. She is certified and trained a variety of embodied practices including Birth Work, Spirit Work, Heart Work, and Body Work. The Rev. Cassidy Hall (she/her/hers)...

The Rev. Nicole M. Garcia (she/her) , M.A. LPC, is a queer transgender Latina who currently serves as the Faith Work Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force. Nicole earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from CU Denver and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado. Nicole earned a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN and is an ordained minister in...

The Rev. Jes Kast is a progressive minister, constructive theologian, and gardener. Raised in Michigan, Jes took her second call to ministry in New York City. After the 2016 election, she longed to share healing and desired a slower way of life. Those passions, among many others led her to taking a call as the settled pastor at Faith UCC in State College, Pennsylvania where she now resides with he...

Dr. Miguel H. Díaz is the John Courtney Murray University Chair in Public Service and was selected by President Barack Obama as the 9th U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. Prof. Díaz obtained his doctorate in Systematic Theology from the University of Notre Dame. Among his scholarly interests include trinitarian theology, theological anthropology, queer theologies, liberation theologies, and Latin@ t...

The Rev. Mihee Kim-Kort is a Presbyterian minister, agitator, speaker, and writer. Her writing and commentary can be found in the New York Times, TIME, BBC World Service, USA Today, Huffington Post, Christian Century, On Being, Sojourners, and the author of the book Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith . She is co-pastor with her spouse of First Presbyterian Church...

Professor Lisa Isherwood is the first Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies in the UK. Professor of Practice and Research Supervisor at the University of Wales and is an extensively published researcher with 28 books and numerous articles. Her work explores such areas as liberation theologies, feminist theologies, eco-theologies, Psychology of Religion, Mysticism, Queer theory and theology....

Alicia T. Crosby ( she/her/hers ) is a justice educator, activist, and minister whose work addresses the spiritual, systemic, and interpersonal harm people experience. Alicia helps individuals, communities, and institutions explore and unpack topics related to identity, justice, journey, and intersectional equity. Her passions for justice, spiritually engaged activism, and community engagement led...