Natasha Helfer Parker interviews Dr. Sharon Groves from the Human Rights Campaign. They discuss important issues that directly affect the Mormon LGBT population, research implications for families wanting to support their LGBT youth, interfaith efforts that HRC is heading, and implications of the current dialogue of “religious freedom” happening in parts of the USA. They also have a discussion on transgender individuals and the unique challenges they face in faith communities and our culture at large.
Sharon joined HRC in September 2005 and brings considerable experience through editing and writing skills. She has overseen the creation of numerous new resources, including a weekly preaching resource, a guide to living openly in your place of worship, a curriculum that follows the movie For the Bible Tells Me So and another that helps congregations wrestle with issues of gender identity within their faith communities. She has published a number of articles on such topics as religion and marriage equality, the importance of religious advocacy within the LGBT movement and the struggle for equality within world religions.
She is a lay leader at All Souls Church, Unitarian, where she has chaired the Committee on Ministry and worked extensively on issues of racial justice, community voting rights and neighborhood outreach. Sharon received her Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Maryland in 2000 and since then has engaged in extensive course work in theology and sexuality from Wesley Theological Seminary and the Chicago Theological Seminary.
Many thanks to The Lower Lights for the beautiful bumper music and to James Estrada of Oak Street Audio for audio production of this podcast.
We apologize for some of the audio issues on this podcast – they were not picked up on during taping, and we thought the interview was too important not to include.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
2 comments for “032: Human Rights Campaign – Working for LGBT Mormons”