CenterPeace

06/23/2026

Check out the home of the 2026 CenterPeace Conference - First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas!

We’ve got a fantastic lineup of LGBTQ Christian speakers on the main stage, including Jonathan Merritt, PLUS breakout presenters from all over the country!

📍pastor workshop with Zach W. Lambert
📍parent workshop with Debbie & Al Causey
📍Spanish translation
📍Missiology Institute
📍20th Anniversary Celebration Dinner
📍Late night offerings
📍Concert with LGBTQ Christian artist

And COOKIES at every break!!

Don’t miss the lifegiving fellowship- register now while the EARLY BIRD RATE lasts at centerpeace.net/more

06/22/2026

“I wish my brother could see this,” she said, wiping tears away from her cheeks.

She and her husband were walking by our booth at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly last week when she did a double take and stopped dead in her tracks. I watched as she read the words on our banners about providing spiritual community for LGBTQ Christians. The tears began to flow.

I moved toward her and asked what those tears would tell me if they could talk. She began to tell me about her brother, now in his sixties, who had been kicked out of his church when he was younger and had never been able to find a faith community where he felt he belonged. And she and her husband had the same trouble, choosing to only be in spaces where her brother would be fully affirmed.

She was overjoyed to find us.

It’s easy to think that because there’s so much more awareness and open conversation nowadays that there’s no need to keep showing up in these spaces. Surely the money that it costs to travel and rent space at a Christian conference like this could be better spent elsewhere. But my conversation with this woman alone makes every penny we spent worthwhile.

Truth is, she wasn’t the only one. There’s a whole world out there who needs what we offer to LGBTQ folk, our families, and our churches - belonging.

Christopher and I didn’t see a Florida beach all week, and our best “getaway” was a scrumptious barbecue find at the Bearded Pig in Jacksonville with our dear friends from home. But every conversation, each interaction with dear ones of all ages made this a most meaningful trip!

06/19/2026

We’re grateful for partners like Robyn Morton who make our work possible!

June is a great reminder that every person has a story worth understanding. Curiosity, compassion, and conversation go a long way. 💛

At Embark, we’re committed to equipping people to create meaningful impact in their communities—and we’re grateful for organizations like CenterPeace who do that every day!

06/15/2026

Marcus Halley spends his days listening to & interacting with college students, serving as College Chaplain & Dean of Spiritual & Religious Life at Trinity College. Marcus is shaping the future, helping to mold the next generation more clearly into the likeness of Christ.

As an Episcopal priest who is part of the LGBTQ community, Marcus is passionate about reconciliation within the church. I first got to know Marcus as a fellow contributor to the anthology, “Christlike Acceptance across Deep Difference,” co-edited by Ron Pierce & Karen Keen. Marcus tells a story about an experience he had with a parishioner who wasn’t keen on having a gay priest at his church, sending Marcus messages that made those feelings of disgust very clear. Marcus’s response - which admittedly wasn’t at all what he wanted to do at the time - was perfect. He invited the parishioner to coffee and they began to get acquainted. You’ll have to read the book to find out how the story ends, but I promise, it will be worth it. And it told me everything I needed to know about Marcus’s heart.

He writes, “What a witness the church would make to a broken and atomizing world if we learned how to live together in love despite our vast differences in theology and ideology. We could teach the world how to speak the truth with humility, hold space for complexity and mystery, and love unconditionally. We haven’t yet arrived at the reign of God, but there are moments of reconciliation and healing where this reality becomes more apparent and where the body, broken by division, is healed.”

We have much to learn from Marcus as we welcome him for the first time to the 2026 CenterPeace Conference. In the meantime, you can get acquainted with more of Marcus’s heart by subscribing to his Substack newsletter & listening to his podcast “Everyday Liturgist.”

To register & learn more about the conference at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas, Oct 15-17, go to centerpeace.net/more.

🌈

06/13/2026

Every time I go to Stories & Tunes I think, this is the best one yet. And last night was no exception.

We heard stories from LGBTQ people who aren’t just “holding on” to their faith, but who are thriving and actively involved in their faith communities. And every time we gather like this, there are random people nearby, maybe from the coffeehouse who knew nothing about the event - who had never heard tell of CenterPeace - but who were drawn to the music and came to join us. At least three people I talked to last night!

Three more people who found a place to belong. And so many more of us simply encouraged to hold onto our faith in God, our love for Jesus, and our need for each other.

BIG THANKS to Jesse Lee Watts Music for leading our worship! If you’re not already familiar with his music, go check it out - he’s AMAZING! Another BIG THANKS to Chelsea Hopkins for sharing her story with us and to all of you who stepped up courageously, in the spur of the moment and shared your hearts! All of you were such an encouragement.

And thanks to Union ☕️ for allowing us to use your space!

Until next time, friends.

06/12/2026

TONIGHT!!

Union Coffee on Cedar Springs, next to Oak Lawn UMC in Dallas. Friday, June 12, from 7 - 9 pm

Join us for a night of fellowship and music, hearing stories from LGBTQ Christians about how they're holding onto faith.

Bring friends and lawn chairs for a night of encouragement and inspiration out under the stars! Can't wait to see you!

06/11/2026

If we believe God can really do “more than we can ask or imagine,” what could that mean for us as LGBTQ Christians? For our families? For our churches?

What if there really is more of God’s goodness for us?

Katherine Johnson explores those questions every day in her role as programming manager for The Reformation Project. And for the last several months, she’s asked that question in our Shiloh group for LGBTQ folk at Wilshire Baptist, a fully affirming church in Dallas. Katherine has taken us on a deep dive through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where our conference theme passage is found (Eph 3:18-21). Looking more closely, our eyes have been opened to the expansive love of God that’s been there all along.

Katherine holds master’s degrees in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary with a focus on Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis. Her teaching is brilliant and insightful, and sure to make us think about this God who can do “more than we can ask or imagine.”

Even more, Katherine will help us feel God’s deep and abiding love for us.

All of us.

Katherine is no stranger to the hardships that LGBTQ individuals face, particularly rejection from family and church. And yet she has thrived, continuing to serve, caring for orphans in Africa, and being mom to children she and her wife Erin have committed to love as their own.

We’re thrilled to welcome Katherine to the main stage at the 2026 CenterPeace Conference at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas, October 15-17. For more information and to sign up at the early bird rate, visit our website at centerpeace.net/more .

06/10/2026

Brent Bailey grew up like so many of us, in a devoutly Christian family with parents who took him to church and instilled a love for Jesus in Brent from an early age. When he went off to college at a Christian university, he had every intention of majoring in Bible and following a calling into ministry.

And yet, like so many of us, Brent began to realize there was something different about him. Something that he would wrestle with throughout his college years and beyond.

But Brent knew he loved God and was born to serve. He would come to realize that his sexuality doesn’t disqualify him from ministry, but in fact has equipped him to pastor more authentically.

Today he lives with his husband Steve and their dog Hank, affectionately named after Henri Nouwen, where Brent serves as associate pastor at LaSalle Street Church in Chicago.

We’re thrilled to welcome Brent Bailey to the main-stage at the CenterPeace Conference, Oct 15-17, at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas. Register now at centerpeace.net/more.

06/09/2026

Theirs is the story every LGBTQ child hopes and prays for - parents who are willing to stay connected, to move in closer, and to trust God to lead them to a place of greater understanding. Irvina Edwards grew up in church, at a time when there was no talk of sexuality. So when her own daughter came out to her, she had no idea how to respond.

But she was open to the Spirit’s prompting. And she knew more than anything, her daughter Erin loved God.

That’s where their story begins, and at the CenterPeace Conference we’ll hear more of how Mom Irvina’s and Daughter Erin’s lives have unfolded since then. Sharing their story through Irvina’s beautiful singing voice and Erin’s powerful preaching, we’re sure to be moved to more.

“More than we can ask or imagine.” Ephesians 3:18-21

If you’re an LGBTQ individual, or an ally, or parents of LGBTQ children, or a pastor in need of a thriving Christian community, join us at the CenterPeace Conference in Dallas, October 15 - 17, at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas. For more information and to sign up with the early bird rate (while you still can!), go to centerpeace.net/more and sign up today!

And follow us to get the whole lineup of conference keynoters - ALL LGBTQ CHRISTIAN VOICES! - coming this week!

05/26/2026

CenterPeace has been providing resources for parents of LGBTQ children for 20 years. In addition to breakouts specifically for parents at the main event, we offer a post-conference workshop just for moms and dads! Our family members, allies, and pastors are an integral part of the CenterPeace Conference - so join us in Dallas at First UMC downtown, October 15-17. Learn more/sign up at centerpeace.net/more