Coming Out – Coming In: Faith, Identity and Belonging is a 30-minute video documentary that presents personal stories from gay and lesbian Christians who live and worship in North Carolina.
Produced and distributed by the Wildacres Leadership Initiative, the program gives voice to gay and lesbian Christians who have struggled to reconcile faith with sexual orientation. The interview subjects take viewers beyond the current debate in churches about homosexuality to reveal the everyday efforts of faithful people.
“I think that before I could come out to anyone else I had to come out to God — and that was probably one of the toughest things.”
— Steve
“In my daily conversations with God I would ask Him: ‘Is this okay with You that this is who I am?’ ”
— Tina
“I went to a church where there was still fire and brimstone type of sermons, but I needed the spiritual part so badly that I was willing to sit and hear some of that.”
— Jeffrey
The documentary is a collaborative project of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative, conceived and designed by four members of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations – Susan Acker-Walsh, Andy Baxter, Rev. Laurie Hays Coffman and Keith Martin. It was produced by Minnow Media, a video production company based in Carrboro, N.C. Recorded in Durham, Charlotte, and Salisbury, North Carolina, over the past two years, Coming Out – Coming In is offered as a vehicle to start new and meaningful conversations among people who do not always agree.
The program is available for purchase on DVD and VHS tape with comprehensive Study Guide included. The program and study guide are intended for use by families, study groups, church congregations, civic organizations, Sunday School classes, clergy and lay ministers, and the general public to provide a launching point for safe and productive conversations about this complex issue.
The Wildacres Leadership Initiative, based in Durham, fosters open and respectful public dialogue in which often marginalized voices can be heard. The William C. Friday Fellowship encourages participants to work in collaboration, even across profound differences in identities, backgrounds, attitudes, and moral beliefs.
For more information, www.coming-out-coming-in.net