Sample of Programs

• Deconstructing Christian Erotophobia - Christianity has had little to say about human sexuality except that it must be marital, monogamous and heterosexual. Such a view emphasizes procreation and vilifies sexual pleasure. How did this view come about? This workshop will examine some of the lives, motivations, and teachings of the men who developed this theology of suspicion of sexual pleasure. Of interest will be the key passages of scripture that justify limits on human sexual pleasure, diversity, and freedom. This workshop will not question the legitimacy of Christianity, but it will deconstruct Christian erotophobia by revealing it to be inconsistent with the gospel that the church preaches.

• “Calling Missionaries of Pleasure” – a program for those who are already exploring outside traditional norms. This workshop challenges and empowers participants to share and celebrate values key to a body-positive society: body acceptance, diversity, intimacy and pleasure’s abundance. 

• “Seeing Biblical Women through New Eyes: Sassy, Sexy and Self-Confident” & “Reading the Bible with Sex-Positive Eyes” -- Both of these programs highlight the ways scripture is in dialogue with reason, science, Christian tradition, and our personal spiritual journeys. This perspective toward scripture helps open us to fresh insights that challenge biblical sex-negativity, religious rigidity, sexism and misogyny.

• “The Hook-Up Culture: The Good, Bad and the Ugly” – a program for singles that acknowledges that a “meat market” approach to dating is only slightly less appealing than enforced celibacy. This non- judgmental program makes a distinction between objectified, cheap, and meaningless hook-ups and mutually satisfying, but ethical and compassionate relationships of a short duration.

• “Introduction to a Gay-Friendly Christianity” – a program for the sexual minority communities and those people who love them. The focus is on inclusion and hospitality as hallmarks of Jesus’ life and teachings as well as a re-examination of the traditional “clobber passages” in the Bible that are used to justify Bible-bashing of this population.

• “Christianity or Polyamory: It’s Not Either/Or” -- This program is for those interested in multi- partnerships and has as a key focus the ways scripture and stories of the early church can teach us how to discern righteous behavior -- rather than simply obeying cultural norms.