Hi! We are Helena Cicero, Eric Seibert and Julie Weatherford, and we are all members of the Brethren in Christ (BIC) Church. We’ve been working on collecting stories from BIC people to put in a book titled Invitation to Conversation: Becoming More Inclusive of LGBTQ+ People in the Brethren In Christ Church (forthcoming May 2024). We’ve collected over 40 stories from former pastors, LGBTQ+ folks and their families, and LGBTQ+ allies. We are really excited about this project and believe it will help the denomination engage in important conversations about what it means for the Church to love, support, and celebrate people who identify as LGBTQ+.

Our goal is to raise $10,000. Some of this money will be used to cover the cost of purchasing and distributing copies of the book to senior pastors in the BIC Church. These funds may also be used to create and maintain a website (although we have someone who has generously agreed to create a website pro bono), to produce an audio book, to commission a Spanish translation of the book, to distribute the book to youth pastors, and other related efforts.

We have already raised over $2,000 toward our goal which is why our GoFundMe Goal is $8,000. In case you are curious, none of these funds go to us personally. They will only be used to produce and distribute the book and to engage in efforts designed to help the BIC Church become more inclusive of LGBTQ+ churchgoers in our midst.

Please share this with your friends and family. Word of mouth is the best way to spread the news about this unique and important project!