Spiritual communities often offer an important healing experience for people who have been marginalized. But because so many LGBTQ+ people have been wounded by religious teachings, leaders, and churches – it can be very easy to cause further harm or neglect to realize the impact of certain language, dogma, beliefs, and even songs and prayers.
As a trauma informed worship leader who has survived a cultish church and held onto faith despite the hatred and discrimination I’ve experienced as a lesbian in the south – I get it – and my perspective includes not just the harm I’ve experienced – but also the healing and freedom of being in beloved community and experiencing the rejuvenating power of the affirmation within the progressive church. Through all of my coaching and consultation for inclusive worship, I incorporate the importance of connection to nature, rewilding our ideas of worship and God, and remembering our deep connections to each other.
With my experience as a former therapist who specialized in spiritual trauma and LGBTQ+ identity, I provide coaching and consultation to help you move from welcoming to affirming, affirming to inclusive, inclusive to celebratory – and work alongside you to get the language, best practices, music, and prayers in line with extravagant love and celebration of ALL people. I also offer 1:1 coaching and consultation with worship leaders to help rewrite hymns, revise language in songs to be more inclusive, and work toward a more inclusive approach to musical worship.
Set up a time for us to speak about how we can work together to help your spiritual community be more inclusive.
“I have attended two of Charity’s trainings: Safe Zone for helpers and LGBTQ– spiritual issues. As a pastor and an ally, I found these trainings very informative and helpful. I highly recommend them and will take other training Charity offers because she does a wonderful job of it.”
~ Rev. Debra Dickerson, PFLAG Chattanooga