The Bridge Project is mainly about bringing more interfaith communities together to think about ways we can help heal not just the queer community, but all communities — finding ways we can work together to face some of the challenges we're seeing in our world today.
One of the reasons we started this project is because of the trauma, hurt, and disconnection that many people have experienced in both spiritual and religious communities. Many queer people — gay, bisexual, transgender, and others — have struggled to feel safe, seen, or accepted in those spaces.
We're not here to "fix" anybody. We're here to create healing, understanding, connection, and space for people to be heard.
This idea actually came out of the Unity Urban School. African American churches helped bring people together, especially after people were taken from their own land, culture, families, and communities. Those churches became more than places of worship. They became places where people could find safety, identity, dignity, support, leadership, hope, and belonging during times of deep oppression and pain. They helped people reconnect with themselves, with each other, and with God when the world around them was trying to dehumanize them.
Spiritual communities should still be places where people can come to heal, grow, be heard, and remember their humanity. If we can begin bridging the gap between spiritual communities and people who have felt hurt, rejected, or disconnected, then maybe we can begin building something better together. That's why it's called the Bridge Project.
More details and information will be presented in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, would like to participate, or want to help in any way, please call Michael Small at 505-292-1998 or email ministerassistant@abqunity.org
