LGBTQ+ Support

Thank you for visiting this part of my website. My work with the LGBTQ+ community is one of the most important, rewarding things that I do. As a non-binary, gay-identified person, I have first-hand experience with the heroic spiritual journey that many LGBTQ+ persons like you face. Like many other queer persons I know what it’s like to have a deep sense of spiritual connection seemingly come into conflict with my sexual orientation and/or gender identity. That experience, along with my education and training as a spiritual guidance coach, allows me to be of unique service to members of the LGBTQ+ community like you.

Spirituality should inspire you and help you cope effectively with your everyday challenges. For many LGBTQ+ persons, however, repeated messages that their sexuality or gender identity is unacceptable and incompatible with religious life may create a seemingly unconquerable divide. This conflict can lead to lower self-esteem, anxiety, anger, self-destructive behaviors, and intolerance toward spirituality in general. In a 2011 study, 68% of LGBTQ+ individuals said they felt depression over this conflict. Nearly a third reported feelings of self-blame, guilt, and anxiety. Many LGBTQ+ persons attempt to deal with this struggle by abandoning their spiritual identity, suppressing their LGBTQ+ identity, or trying to live two separate lives. None of these strategies support healthy authenticity.

Like many of you who will read this, I understand these challenges first-hand. While my sexual orientation began to become obvious in my teenage years, I was deeply involved in a demanding, conservative, non-affirming religion. Rather than embracing who I was, I tried to suppress my sexuality, even to the point of marrying an opposite-sex partner to satisfy the demands of our faith. The result was years of turmoil and frustration as I begged for the Divine to change me, and make me into the cisgender, heterosexual person that I had been taught was acceptable. Eventually, this struggle led me to a point at which I considered taking my own life in order to escape. Fortunately, a series of events changed my direction and helped me to accept myself as the person I was created to be. Over the next several years, I rebuilt my life, along with my sense of relationship with the Divine. That journey has inspired me to support and help others like you in the LGBTQ+ community.

My work begins with the understanding that LGBTQ+ persons like you are sacred in nature. Throughout history, those who we now call lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, etc., were honored parts of their communities. Your people served as religious functionaries, trusted advisors, and counsellors, gifted with the ability to see beyond the narrow confines experienced by others. Over time, however, many traditions began to condemn members of the LGBTQ+ community. The resulting rejection and persecution has left many LGBTQ+ persons with deep religious wounding. While some deal with that wounding by attempting to reject spirituality altogether, doing so can perpetuate those wounds. No LGBTQ+ person deserves this sort of suffering. Through experience and academic research, I have found practical, effective ways for modern LGBTQ+ persons like you to reclaim this sacred heritage and find a new sense of spirituality that is both affirming and sustaining.

Through spiritual guidance coaching, workshops, and classes, I help LGBTQ+ persons like you to perceive the Queer Divine–manifestations of the Divine that go far beyond the cisgender, heterosexual, and often patriarchal god images they were taught during childhood. I help LGBTQ+ persons like you take specific, practical steps that can empower them to rediscover your own sense of spirituality and reshape your relationship with the Divine in powerful, joyful ways.