Beacon Hill Friends House Events

Registering on this page will get you access to all of the events in this series! 

If you are interested in registering for just one event, please see the individual events on this page: 

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.

Beacon Hill Friends House is working on making our historic space accessible to everyone. 

(Covid policies for onsite attendees are below).

Attending onsite at BHFH (Covid policy and directions)

 holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Temple University, with extensive academic research and published writings examining the role that Quakers played in gay rights movements and the inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the Quaker tradition during the mid-twentieth century. He is a Quaker educator and community builder whose career has focused on religion, social justice, and peacemaking.  

 is a dynamic and experienced facilitator and program designer. Jennifer is queer, a Quaker, and holds a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she focused her studies on Religion, Gender, and Sexuality. She became the Executive Director of Beacon Hill Friends House in April 2023.

Beacon Hill Friends House is a Quaker Center for Learning and Action in downtown Boston, MA. Founded in 1957, its mission is "to embody the Quaker principles of faith, simplicity, integrity, community, and social responsibility in order to nurture and call forth the Light in all of us." BHFH lives into its mission by: 

Making Queer Quaker history - Entire Series Registration