The LGBTQ Center has two exciting upcoming event series.
The first is a film series focused on faith and identity and is sponsored by the LGBTQ Center and the Office of the Chaplain. Each film will be followed by a moderated discussion, meant as an opportunity to create dialogue around deeply personal aspects of identity: religion and sexual orientation / gender identity.
The second is a brown bag lunch series called “Out to Lunch,” a series of lunchtime seminars on LGBTQ-related subjects that are free and open to everyone, but that are designed for faculty and staff. Each month will feature a different topic and different speakers from the community to answer questions and provide more in-depth information.
Film Series
A Jihad for Love
Summary: Documentary on gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims across the Muslim and Western worlds
Featured Speakers: Mustafa Abdullah, 2010 WFU graduate and recipient of the 2010 MLK Building the Dream Award, and graduate student Stephanie Yep, who studies gender in Islam in the Department of Religion
Switch: A Community in Transition
Summary: Documentary that explores the impact of a gender transition not on the individual going through transition but on the surrounding community of family, friends, co-workers and others
Tuesday, March 6 (7-9:30 p.m.); ZSR Library Auditorium
Featured Speakers: Dave and Joan Parker, founders of PFLAG’s transgender network, TNET, which focuses on support for transgender people and their parents, families, and friends
Trembling Before G-d
Summary: Cinematic portrait of various gay Orthodox Jews who struggle to reconcile their faith and their sexual orientation
Thursday, March 22 (7-9:30 p.m.); Pugh Auditorium
Featured Speaker: Rabbi Michael Gisser, Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Wake Forest
In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith
Summary: Documentary about Sister Jeannine Gramick, an American nun who ministers to gay and lesbian Catholics
Tuesday, April 18 (7-9:30 p.m.), ZSR Library Auditorium
Featured Speaker: Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SL, a Roman Catholic nun who ministers to LGBTQ Catholics, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, and the subject of the documentary
“Out to Lunch” seminars
Legal Challenges for LGBTQ People
Feb. 21, noon-1 p.m., Benson 410
Featured Speaker: Local attorney and Wake Forest School of Law alumnus Rick Rutledge
Finding an LGBTQ-Affirming Faith Community
March 27, noon-1 p.m., Benson 410
Featured Speakers: Reverend Angela Yarber of Wake Forest Baptist Church, Rabbi Josh Brown of Temple Emanuel, and Reverend Roger Hayes of Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship
Healthcare and Medical Services for LGBTQ People
April 25, noon-1 p.m., Benson 410
Featured Speakers: Local medical professionals Nancy Frye, MSN, FNP-C, and Aimee Lischke, MD, of Total Family Care