Making Queer Quaker History - Beacon Hill Friends House

Hybrid (Zoom and Onsite Options) | Pay-as-led/Sliding Scale | Open to all interested

About this series

The stories of how congregations in the Religious Society of Friends became open and affirming for LGBTQ+ people during the mid-twentieth century need to be told to shape the future.

Most scholarly accounts of twentieth-century Quaker history do not describe Quaker views on LGBTQ+ people during this period, and most scholarly works about gay rights history do not examine the influence and involvement of Quakers in the project of gay liberation during the mid-twentieth century. And while there are limited scholarly texts and studies devoted to this understanding, there are even more limited resources for audiences outside of academia.

Amidst increasing efforts to erase queer lives from the public narrative today, highlighting and sharing scholarship on this subject has become vital work. Bringing to light this crucial history offers the opportunity for us to reaffirm Quakerism’s commitment to inclusion and justice and to learn from our past, helping us know ourselves better, to be able to effect positive change in the future.

The “Making Queer Quaker History” series by Beacon Hill Friends House is intended to share these – often deeply personal- stories and bring the Quaker community together for further exploration of unexamined aspects of queer Quaker history.

We are offering this series on a pay-as-led/sliding scale in a hybrid format (zoom and onsite) and as both lectures and workshops.

Jump to Event Accessibility, Directions, and Frequently Asked Questions.

Events in this series

Lectures

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 7:30 – 8:30 PM: “The Evolution of Quaker inclusion of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people” (Lecture)

Tuesday, Sept. 17, 7:30 – 8:30 PM: “The Quaker Civilian Readjustment Committee: The first social service organization for gay people in the United States” (Lecture)

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 7:30 – 8:30 PM “Towards a Quaker View of Sex: The First Public and Positive Evaluation of Lesbian and Gay Sexuality from a Religious Group” (Lecture)

Monday, Oct. 7, 7:30 – 9:00 PM ET – Partnership with Pendle Hill: “Too Queer To Be Quaker:” The Limits of Liberal Quaker Inclusion of Lesbian and Gay People during the Cold War and Today. (Lecture)

Sunday, Oct. 27, 1 – 3 PM – BHFH Ernest and Esther Weed Memorial Lecture: “Quakers and the Gay Rights Movement” (Lecture)

Workshops

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 7:00 – 9:00 PM “Towards a more inclusive Religious Society of Friends for LGBTQ+ people” (Workshop)

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 7:00 – 9:00 PM “The Quaker Peace Testimony, Quaker Abolitionism, and Quaker support for Gay Rights” (Workshop)

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7:00 – 9:00 PM “Queer Approaches to the Inner Light and Unprogrammed Worship” (Workshop)

Event Registration

Select the best option for you as you know right now (onsite vs on Zoom). All onsite registrants will also receive a Zoom link. There is limited space onsite.

For sliding scale/pay-as-led: Select the ticket option you want and select “get ticket.” In the pop-up, where it says “Name your price,” type in the amount you wish to pay. It can go all the way down to “0” and up to any amount.

Register for the entire series here

Register for individual events in this series below

About the team

Supporting Organizations

This project was supported in part by a grant from the NEYM Future Fund, administered by the NEYM Legacy Gift Committee.

Event Accessibility

Beacon Hill Friends House is working on making our historic space accessible to everyone. (Covid policies for onsite attendees are listed separately).

Covid policies: Out of care for community, all in-person attendees are required to wear a well-fitting KN95 (or similar) mask while inside. Masks will be available for those who forget them.
Automated Closed Captions will be available for all participants (on Zoom and in-person).

Physical space: Most of these events will take place in the BHFH Parlor, which does not have a ground-level entrance. The Ernest and Esther Weed Memorial Lecture will take place in our Meeting Room, which does have a ground-level entrance (available by an external doorbell). Our primary entrance is up a flight of stairs. If you would like to attend this event but need it to be held in a different space, please indicate so on your registration (we are committed to working on solutions that allow all to attend who wish to!). On the basement level, we have a single-user, all-gender bathroom with wall-mounted handrails and ample space for chairs and/or aides. We are not a scent-free space but tend to be low-scent.

Please let us know on your registration if there are other things BHFH can do to make this event more accessible for you!

Directions

Getting to BHFH: Use the address “8 Chestnut St., Boston, MA, 02108” for navigation. We recommend taking public transit to get here: We are a short walk from every transit line in Boston. If you choose to drive in, paid street parking is available on Charles Street (and on Beacon Street before 6 pm). We also have parking passes available for $9 to the Boston Common Garage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pay-as-led/Sliding Scale
What does hybrid mean?
What are the lectures?
What are the workshops?

We are suggesting a price of $25 per session. We do not want cost to be a barrier for any participant, and we also understand that some folks can afford more. Participants are able to change the registration price to any number down to $0 and up to any number they feel led to. No questions asked, no applications needed. Contributions to the series help us pay our facilitators, cover administrative costs, and ensure we can continue to offer programming into the future.

Sliding scale registration is made possible in part by a grant from the NEYM Future Fund, administered by the NEYM Legacy Gift Committee.

This series will be available for attendees onsite at Beacon Hill Friends House in Boston and on Zoom (and for one lecture, onsite at Pendle Hill Quaker Retreat Center). Both ways receive the same experience — there is no difference in treatment between onsite and Zoom attendees, and all will be able to see and hear each other.

All registrants who choose "onsite at BHFH" will also receive the Zoom link.

We welcome groups from the same location to attend together. Please let us know if you are interested in doing so on your registration!

Lectures are intended to be more one-way content, with lecturer Brian Blackmore offering a presentation for the first hour, and then opportunities for Q&A.

Workshops are more participatory events, with content from Brian Blackmore interspersed with participatory activities for small and large groups. Jennifer Newman will co-facilitate with Brian, and additional co-facilitators are likely as well.