Join our Office of Evangelism, in partnership with Great Lakes Bay Pride, for an afternoon training for congregational leaders intended to build knowledge about this large and underrepresented demographic, to learn steps to make your congregation’s culture and physical plant more safe for our LGBTQ+ siblings, and opportunities to connect in new ways for church growth and the sharing of the Good News. Participants will walk away with increased language, knowledge, and practical tools to implement in their congregation and local community.
There are LGBTQ+ identifying people in every community — this training is applicable to your congregation regardless of your size, age demographics, location, or local politics.
This training is open to all participants and may be of particular interest to clergy, vestry members, communications and evangelism staff and volunteers, welcome teams, and more.
With questions, please contact Canon for Evangelism and Networking Katie Forsyth at kforsyth@eastmich.org.
In addition to leaders from our diocesan staff and congregations, we will welcome two trainers from Great Lakes Bay Pride to share their expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with our congregations.
Scott Ellis (he/him)
Scott is the Executive Director of Great Lakes Bay Pride, a role he stepped into in 2019 (fun fact, the former ED is Chris Lauckner,
member of St. John’s, Midland!).
Under Scott’s leadership and with the board of the organization, Great Lakes Bay Pride has become the predominant leader and resource for LGBTQ inclusion throughout Mid-Michigan, up through northeast Michigan and through the Thumb. Their work includes organization for Pride Month festivities, trans support groups, education, social gatherings, advocacy, and more.
A native of Atlanta, Michigan, Scott now lives in Bay City.
Lee Ann Keller (she/her)
Lee Ann serves as President of the Board for Great Lakes Bay Pride.
She is also President and CEO of Omni Tech International, a Midland-based business that provides consulting services around several areas, including strategic planning and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) training for nonprofits and businesses.
She and her wife, Tamara, live in Sanford.
This event takes place on Saturday, February 11th from Noon-4pm. We will begin with lunch.
The cost for this training has been subsidized by the Office of Evangelism for the dioceses. We will offer this pricing structure for participants to self-select:
Individuals – $15/person
Groups of three or more from a congregation – $10/person
If this cost is prohibitive, please contact Canon Katie Forsyth at kforsyth@eastmich.org to request assistance.
—
The deadline to register is February 5th.
