LGBTQ-RAN NEWSNovember 20, 2025

History is written from the perspective of those who preserve their records.

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OUR NEXT WEBINAR: DECEMBER 11
“When We All Get To Heaven”: How One MCC Church Faced AIDS
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Join us as we look back and learn from the dark days of the AIDS crisis and how the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco faced the personal, social, and political trials of this epidemic. Our guests, Siri Colom and Lynne Gerber, are co-creators of a 10-part podcast series, "When We All Get to Heaven," now available on Slate, that draws from an archive of 1,200 cassette tapes recorded during that period. They will be interviewed by Danny Ballon-Garst of Emory University. The Metropolitan Community Church and MCC San Francisco are co-sponsoring this event.

Sign up now to attend this online webinar on Thursday, December 11, at 5 pm Pacific/6 pm Mountain/7 pm Central/8 pm Eastern.
 
SPECIAL WORLD AIDS DAY COMMEMORATION
Queer Legacies and the Living Story of HIV/AIDS
Between Memory and Hope

LGBTQ-RAN is co-sponsoring a special World AIDS Day online event, “Between Memory and Hope: Queer Legacies and the Living Story of HIV/AIDS,” hosted by the Episcopal Divinity School. It will take place on Wednesday, December 3 at 1 pm Eastern, noon Central, 11 am Mountain, 10 am Pacific. Rev. Canon Ted Karpf, Louis “L.J.” Mitchell, and Rev. Dr. Pernessa Seele will help us remember the lives lost and lessons learned as we honor the enduring faith of queer communities shaped by the HIV/AIDS movement. Use this link to  sign up for this event.

 
Deadline Only a Few Days Away for Mollenkott Award Submissions

It’s just around the corner: the December 1 deadline for papers to be submitted for the 2025-26 Virginia Ramey Mollenkott Award. This award comes with a $1,000 honorarium for the author of a work selected for outstanding research and scholarship in LGBTQ+ religious history. Get more information about the award, the lesbian-feminist-trans scholar for whom it is named, past honorees and submission guidelines at https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/vrm-award
UPCOMING WEBINAR: JANUARY 21
Exploring Stories of Surviving Conversion Therapy
Shame-Sex Attraction

Sign up now to see Lucas Wilson, PhD discuss his recently published anthology, Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy, in an interview with Australian historian Timothy Jones, PhD. Wilson uses 17 firsthand stories to expose conversion practices as pseudoscientific, ineffective and wildly traumatic. A pending U.S. Supreme Court case related to conversion therapy makes this topic especially timely.

Tap this link now to register for this online webinar on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 5 pm Pacific/6 pm Mountain/7 pm Central/8 pm Eastern.
HOLY TROUBLEMAKERS
Honoring Rev. Rhina Ramos
Honoring Rev. Rhina Ramos

Rev. Rhina Ramos was honored during our Holy Troublemakers GALA in October for her leadership in creating a welcoming space for Spanish-speaking LGBTQ+ people of faith in Northern California. If you missed the GALA, you can watch her acceptance speech as well as the stirring introduction by Rev. Yadi Martínez-Reyna. You can also watch the full Holy Troublemakers GALA on our website and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our extensive video library.
Remember Those No Longer With Us
In loving memory

This video during our Holy Troublemakers GALA paid tribute to LGBTQ+ faith elders who have left us in the past year. Please take a moment to watch this remembrance in gratitude for the legacy they leave behind. 
 
YOUR GIFT MAKES HISTORY
 
Added to the Website
Rev. Elder Nokathula Dhladhla
 Nokuthula Dhladhla

South African MCC elder and global interfaith leader.

Rev. Elder Héctor Gutiérrez
Héctor Gutiérrez

Mexican-born MCC clergyman leading church development in Latin America.

Rev. Paul Mokgethi‐Heath
Paul Mokgethi‐Heath

Activist who helped organize South Africa's first gay pride march.
Rev. Alberto Najera
Alberto Najera

Founder of MCC churches and mission groups  in Nicaragua

Ulises Perez
Ulises Perez

Venezuelan-born founder of an inclusive  Spanish-speaking  congregation.

Bishop Susan Murch Morrison
Susan Murch Morrison

Pioneering United Methodist feminist and gay inclusion supporter.
Ross Murray
Ross Murray

Evangelical Lutheran Church deacon bridging LGBTQ and faith communities.

Bishop Durrell Watkins
Durrell Watkins

Senior minister of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, author and TV commentator.

Bishop Robert Griffin
Robert Griffin

Sunshine Cathedral executive minister and advocate for LGBTQ+ Caribbeans.

Bet Mishpachah Archive contains the institutional records of this Washington, D.C. Jewish congregation launched in 1975.

Elena Rose Vera Interview explores the history of this internationally recognized interfaith justice activist, theologian, and writer.

Albert Tauriac Oral History Interview covers his involvement in Louisiana's civil rights movement, his life in Boston's gay community and his faith journey.

Shepherd Initiative Records include materials related to the organization formed in Columbus, Ohio in 1998 after the murder of Matthew Shepard.

Susan Shaw Oral History documents this scholar's path from a conservative Baptist environment in the Deep South to being an outspoken lesbian feminist.

Megan Rohrer Papers trace the history of this trans theologian, activist, and former Evangelical Lutheran bishop.

Ina Mae Murri Papers document her work securing LGBTQ and women’s rights within the Mormon Church.
FROM THE ARCHIVIST | DORIS MALKMUS
Saving History Helps Change History

In my school days in the 1960s, history classes consisted of textbooks and fill-in-the-blank worksheets.  No mention of LGBTQ people and no attempt to teach how or why change happened. 

Change did happen for LGBTQ people.  Today's teachers use primary sources to help students analyze, contextualize, and relate to historical events.  They find these digitized primary sources on databases aggregated by content providers. When LGBTQ documents are readily found in archives, databases include them, teachers find and use them, and students get a more nuanced understanding of LGBTQ movements, including in religious settings. 

Donating your records or your organizations' photographs, banners, and flyers is how the coming generations can learn how change happens. We provide guidance on how to donate your records through our Archiving Toolkit at lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/toolkit. Feel free to contact me at doris@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org.
Meet Angela Gustafson, Our New Web Developer

Angie Gustafson (she/her) has joined LGBTQ-RAN as our new web developer. She will assume the duties of Carl Foote, who is retiring after having served as technical coordinator for us since we launched in 2001.

Angie was raised in Cameroon as a Lutheran missionary kid exposed to a diverse range of cultural and faith traditions. She has an MLIS from St. Catherine University and worked as a librarian for several years before succumbing to the even nerdier side of her brain that wanted to learn how to code. She is excited to put her skills to work ensuring that LGBTQ-RAN’s website serves the archival and informational needs of its dynamic community.

Angie currently lives in Sogn Valley, Minnesota, where she likes to take long walks with her dog, cuddle with her cat, and chase after her seven chickens, four ducks, and two guinea fowl. She can be reached at angie@lgbtqreligiousarchives.org.
MESSAGE FROM A BOARD MEMBER
The Evidence of What’s Possible
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I’m Camille Shira Angel, the campus rabbi at the Jesuit University of San Francisco, where thanks to the financial support of the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, I’ve created a multi-faith and no-faith-needed queer ministry.

In my course, “Queering Religion and Honoring Our LGBTQ Religious Elders,” my students learn history by investigating the LGBTQ Religious Archives Network. When young people discover the free, digital and accessible, amazing reservoir of this collection, they tell me they feel more hopeful, inspired and supported. 

My financial contribution (and yours, too!) can uplift a new generation of queers at a time of historical anxiety and despair. We can give them evidence of what’s possible by securing our legacies in this archive.

Our efforts and life's work must not be in vain. We must do what we can to help them carry the work forward. Preserving and growing our collection will embolden students, activists and scholars for the work ahead. Join me in supporting this work.
YOUR GIFT MAKES HISTORY
 
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LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
P.O. Box 408565
Chicago, IL 60640
United States

lgbtqreligiousarchives.org