Entertainment
Camp Out
Camp Out is a feature documentary film that follows ten Mid-Western teenagers as they attend a first overnight camp for gay Christian youth. For these six boys and four girls, it’s just as hard to come out as Christian as it is to come out as gay. They’re caught in the battle between religion, politics and sexuality that’s raging in the United States today. But the kids who attend this camp have refused to turn their back on God and instead are struggling to find a way to be true to both their spirituality and their sexual identity… to be the whole person God intended them to be.
Camp Out showcases these brave kids by inter-cutting intimate cinema-verité scenes with candid interviews. The teens narrate their own personal journeys as they struggle to find acceptance in a religion that preaches that their sexuality is sinful. This film tackles the question of why, despite of the homophobic climate of many Christian churches, these kids yearn to be a part of the Christian faith.
Bread for the Journey
Bread for the Journey (pictured right) is a musical group that has appeared at hundreds of Lutheran events where music plays a key role. Bread for the Journey offers a spirited, eclectic repertoire, celebrating the faithful voices of Christian sisters and brothers from around the world. In addition to a diverse collection of songs of faith from North America, Bread for the Journey introduces a wealth of music resources from the church in Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe. While many of the group’s songs feature a capella singing, others are backed with a range of appropriate instrumentation — from guitars, flutes and fiddles to congas, claves and synthesizers.
Bread for the Journey teaches and leads songs that can easily be sung by people from many musical and liturgical backgrounds and introduces music in an accessible and non-threatening way. The group encourages congregational singing as an integral part of worship and emphasizes corporate singing over individual performance. Bread for the Journey collects and shares songs that will be remembered and used.
The music shared by Bread for the Journey reflects gospel values of justice, peace, liberation, the integrity of creation, and a spirit of inclusiveness that marked Jesus’ ministry. Bread for the Journey is committed to introducing powerful and theologically solid music that reflects our church’s increasing cultural diversity.
Transcendence Gospel Choir
The Transcendence Gospel Choir (TGC) is a local music ministry for the transgender community, performing gospel music in worship services, at pride events, and as outreach to the community itself.
Recognizing that religion is being used as one of the main weapons to justify and perpetuate misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and intolerance of diversity, the choir’s mission is to challenge those ideas from within a place of faith. Because transgendered people throughout history have played significant roles in spiritual worship, TGC strives to empower that community and reclaim that calling.
“We endeavor to demonstrate that the preconceived notion of a bi-polar, heterosexual, hetero-gendered ‘natural order’ is not reflected in the nature of God or the ministry of Jesus Christ. In this way we will challenge intolerance and hatred, transcend boundaries and restore hope to our communities.”
Both Bread for the Journey and Transcendence will participate in worship and entertainment activities.