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What happens when Jesus crosses boundaries, tells the truth, and turns gossip into gospel?

Join us for a one-night online Drag Queen Bible Study with Rev. Marge Erin Spread (she/her), also known as Rev. James Admans (they/them), as we explore John 4:1–30 — the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well — through the lens of queer theology.

Participants can expect:

• Scripture explored through a queer lens
• Historical and cultural context made clear and accessible
• Academic queer scholarship explained in plain language
• Space for honest questions, reflection, and discussion
• A brave, affirming digital gathering space

This event reflects our commitment to creating spaces where LGBTQIA+ people and allies can engage the Bible as a source of liberation, not harm.

About Rev. Marge Erin Spread / Rev. James Admans

She’s living proof that faith and fabulousness can coexist.

Rev. Marge Erin Spread is a dynamic drag minister, theologian, educator, writer, and creative leader whose work boldly proclaims love, justice, and collective liberation. Her alter-ego, Rev. James Admans, currently serves as Pastor at the Church of Christ, Congregational in Millis, Massachusetts.

Originally from Connecticut, Marge earned degrees in Anthropology and Forensic Anthropology before completing her Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she focused on Biblical studies, social ethics, and queer theology. During her final year at Union, her advocacy was honored with the Malcolm Boyd Veritas Award for impactful LGBTQIA+ justice work.

She is the editor of Beyond Worship: Meditations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, & Theology, which received a 2023 Independent Publishers Bronze Medal for its contributions to religious thought by queer and transgender theologians from diverse faith traditions.

Rev. Marge is widely known for her vibrant drag ministry, demonstrating that serious theology and bold self-expression belong in the same space.

Learn more at theologyqueen.com.

Registration & Contribution

We believe deeply in accessible spiritual formation, and we also believe in paying queer leaders and trained theologians fairly for their labor. Rev. Marge prepares original teaching materials and brings professional theological scholarship to this event. Your contribution helps sustain this work.

Click Here to Register!

Registration is offered on a sliding scale (honor system):

• Student Rate – $15
• Sages Rate (65+) – $15
• Standard Rate – $30
• Pay-It-Forward Rate – $45

Church Rates (per congregation registration):

• $75 for small churches (under 75 members)
• $125 for churches with 75 or more members

We trust you to choose what’s right for you.

Scholarships are available to reduce the registration fee, including a limited number of 100% scholarships. These are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

If cost is a barrier, please contact us at office@openandaffirming.org. We do not want finances to prevent anyone from participating.

Come ready to learn, reflect, and engage scripture in a way that is honest, liberating, and unapologetically queer.

Faith and fabulousness belong in the same room.

Recording & Privacy
This session will be recorded for registered participants only and will not be posted publicly. You are welcome to keep your camera off if you prefer. To maintain a safe and respectful space, AI meeting note-takers and transcription bots are not permitted.

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Purple Sunday and ONA Sunday: A Sacred Invitation to Raise Awareness and Extend Care

The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ is honored to partner with the Alzheimer’s Association to introduce two powerful new resources: the Clergy Guide and Purple Sunday Toolkit. These tools equip congregations to raise awareness, offer support, and build inclusive communities of care for those affected by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia—especially within LGBTQ+ communities.

What is Purple Sunday?

Purple Sunday is a special opportunity for congregations to shine a light on the realities of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Through worship, prayer, education, and community conversation, we can break the silence around memory loss, encourage early detection, and share life-changing support services available through the Alzheimer’s Association.

This initiative also lifts up the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals—many of whom experience greater barriers to diagnosis, fewer affirming care networks, and increased isolation. Purple Sunday invites us to respond with compassion, inclusion, and action.

Hold Purple Sunday on June 22, 2025 (or any other Sunday of the year)

We encourage all Open and Affirming congregations to observe Purple Sunday on June 22, 2025—the Sunday before ONA Sunday (June 29). Observing Purple Sunday is a powerful way to begin ONA Week by raising awareness and sharing vital information about a deeply important, yet often overlooked, part of our community. While ONA Sunday celebrates our commitment to LGBTQ+ inclusion and justice, Purple Sunday offers a meaningful lead-in—inviting congregations to live out those values through the lens of health equity, caregiving, and sacred community support.

Whether through a sermon, special prayer, Bible study, educational session, or community event, Purple Sunday is flexible and can be shaped to fit your congregation’s needs. If June 22 doesn’t align with your calendar, please choose another Sunday that works for your church. The key is to show up—with love, knowledge, and hope.

Start Planning with Free Resources

The Purple Sunday Toolkit and Clergy Guide include:

• Worship and education ideas
• Sample prayers and event templates
• Facts about Alzheimer’s in LGBTQ+ communities
• Promotional tools for bulletins, flyers, and social media
• Information about local resources, caregiving support, and next steps

Together, let us be communities that remember—honoring the stories, needs, and sacred dignity of all who walk the journey of dementia.

Because memory matters. Inclusion matters. And every story deserves to be held with care.

Download the toolkit and clergy guide today and plan your Purple Sunday for 2025!

Have questions or need help planning? Contact us at office@openandaffirming.org

Welcome:
Welcome to this sacred space. Whether you are full of faith or full of questions, whether you come with joy or with grief, whether you are here every week or today is your first time—you are welcome here. Whoever you are, wherever you are on life’s journey—you are sacred. You are seen by a love that knows no bounds. You are called into a life that holds beauty, truth, and purpose. Here, we make room for your whole self. Here, we honor the light you carry. Here, we worship a God who delights in every part of who you are. So come—let us live our truth, embrace our light, and worship together.

Congregational Hymn: For All the Children by David Lohman

Call to Worship:
Leader: Come, you who are weary and wounded, you who are radiant and rising—
People: We come as we are, beloved and becoming.
Leader: Come, you who have been told you’re too much or not enough—
People: We come with our stories, our scars, and our strength.
Leader: Come, for you are sacred. You are seen. You are called.
All: We come to worship the One who made us in love and calls us to live in joy.

Prayer:
Holy One, You who named us before we were born, You who claimed us in the waters of baptism, You who have walked with us through closets, protests, pulpits, and pews—Meet us here today. Make this space holy with your presence. Make our hearts soft enough to be moved and strong enough to be bold. Let joy rise, let fear fall away, and let your Spirit move freely among us. Amen.

Holy Communion:
Invitation to the Table:
This is Christ’s table. Not the church’s, not the pastor’s, not the denomination’s—but Christ’s. And Christ has always set a table where the outcast finds welcome, the forgotten are remembered, and the rejected are restored. Here, no one is excluded because of who they love, how they express their gender, the questions they carry, or the story they bring. If you are hungry for grace, thirsty for justice, or longing for a place to belong—come. In this Pride Month and on this Open and Affirming Sunday, we celebrate that each of us is sacred, seen, and called. So come as you are. Bring your whole self—your queerness, your softness, your resilience, your light. There is room for you here.

Prayer of Remembrance and Thanksgiving:
Let us pray. Holy and Loving God, you formed us in your image—diverse, radiant, and good. You called us by name—beloved, whole, and worthy. You have always moved among the margins, lifting up the voices that the world tried to silence. So today, we remember: the queer saints, trans trailblazers, and radical dreamers who lived their truth even when it cost them everything. We remember those who danced in defiance, who marched for liberation, who dared to believe in a church that could fully affirm them. We remember those we’ve lost—to violence, to silence, to shame—and we carry their light with us now. (Pause for reflection or spoken names.) Pour out your Spirit on these gifts of bread and cup. Make them for us the nourishment we need to live boldly, to love freely, to shine unapologetically.

Words of Institution:
On the night he gave himself for love, Jesus gathered with his friends. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: “This is my body, broken for you. Eat this, and remember me.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and shared it, saying: “This is the cup of the new covenant, poured out in love. Drink this, and remember me.” Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the mystery of faith: that love lived among us, that love was crucified, and that love rises again.

Sharing the Meal:
Beloveds, this is the bread of life—take and eat. This is the cup of blessing—take and drink. These are the gifts of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Prayer After Communion:
Let us pray. God of sacred bodies and burning bush light, thank you for this meal of mercy and memory. You have fed us with hope. You have filled us with courage. You have reminded us that we are sacred, seen, and called. Now send us out to live our truth, to embrace our light, and to be the church that the world so desperately needs. In the name of the Christ who still sets our tables—Amen.

Offering Invitation:
Leader:
We give not only our money, but our energy, our talents, our time, and our love.
Your gifts sustain this ministry and help us embody the inclusive, liberating love we proclaim.
Let us give with joy and gratitude.

Closing Prayer:
Gracious God,
Thank you for meeting us in this space—
In song, in scripture, in bread and cup, in each other.

Now send us out as people who know who we are: Sacred. Seen. Called.

Let our love be bold.
Let our light be impossible to ignore.
Let our joy be a sign of the world you are still creating.
Amen.