September 19, 2026!
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
3313 Wade Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
SAVE THE DATE!
Gather is a CHRIST-CENTERED conference for LGBTQ+ individuals and those who love them, in and adjacent to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
YOUR GATHER SOUTHEAST 2026 CONFERENCE STARTS IN
What Happens at Gather Southeast?
We create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in and around the LDS church
Parts of this event is only open to the LGBTQ+ community, including a Meet & Greet.
Education and Support
Presentations, discussion groups, and lectures will educate and support family members, allies, and leaders as we learn to better love ALL of God's children.
How long is the conference
We will have a friday night potluck or casual gathering. The conference will run all day Saturday and end with a keynote speaker from 7-9pm.
Food
You may bring your own food or choose a lunch box from Panera (with GF options) when you register. There will be plenty of time to eat dinner at a local restaurant (we will give you a long list of recommendations!) We will also have snacks available during the day.
Travel
People attended last year from as far away as Florida and Chicago. We might have locals available to host travelers from out of town. We are looking into reserving a hotel block to see if we can get a discount. Raleigh is a GREAT place to visit in the fall!
What Ages Are Invited
Teens an up are welcome to participate in our sessions. This is a family friendly conference but there is no childcare provided. Please use your discretion.
Tom Christofferson
2026 Keynote Speaker
Tom Christofferson is the author of That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family and A Better Heart: The Impact of Christ’s Pure Love.
Through his writing and speaking, he shares a thoughtful perspective on faith, belonging, and the complex experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals connected to the Latter-day Saint tradition. Raised in a faithful LDS family, Tom served a mission, attended BYU, and married in the temple before later recognizing and embracing his identity as a gay man.
After stepping away from the Church for many years, he eventually chose to return and was rebaptized in 2014. His journey has included navigating the intersection of faith, family, sexuality, and community, often in public view as the brother of LDS apostle Elder D. Todd Christofferson.
Tom spent many years in a successful career in institutional investing and now lives in Phoenix, Arizona. He teaches Sunday School in his local congregation and continues to explore what it means to build a life that honors both faith and personal truth.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE 2026
FRIDAY, September 18
POTLUCK PICNIC!
6 - 9 Pm
Apex Community Park
Everyone is Invited
(more information later)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2026
9:00 - 10:30 am Registration tables open
We begin our day in community, coming together to
Listen, Learn, and Love.
10:00 am - 11:40 pm Join us in the Sanctuary
LGBTQ+ Community Listening Session
In this session attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions before the conference and listen to answers from a panel of our beloved LGTBQ+ community.
Discover how being a "safe" ally for your LGBTQ+ friends and family can make all the difference. Learn practical ways to better love and support your loved ones. This sessions offers better tools to foster acceptance, understanding, and unwavering support.
Moderated by Deb Grizzell
We will have FOUR workshop sessions
each participant will attend 3 sessions (#4 is your lunch break)
some workshops will be repeated
Session A 11:50 am - 1:10 pm
Session B 1:20 - 2:40 pm
Session C 2:55 - 4:10 pm
Session D 4:20 - 5:35 pm
Lunches in shifts in Founder Hall
box lunches available for purchase during registration
or bring your own
Ask a Therapist — LGBTQ+ Individuals & Allies in the LDS Community
with Rachelle Leckie, MSW, LCSW
This breakout session provides an affirming space for LGBTQ+ individuals and allies with connections to the LDS community--whether you remain connected to the church, are navigating questions about your faith, or have chosen a different path--to ask questions and explore the emotional and relational experiences that can arise at the intersection of faith, identity, and belonging. A licensed therapist will be available to respond to participant questions and offer supportive insight grounded in mental health and lived experience.
Participants are invited to ask questions and engage with topics such as navigating faith transitions, coming out, family relationships, identity development, grief or loss related to religious change, and finding community and self-acceptance. This session centers respect for each person’s path and aims to create a compassionate and supportive environment where LGBTQ+ people and their allies can feel seen, supported, and empowered in their journey.
Leadership Session:
Leaving the Ninety and Nine: Ministering to LGBTQ Saints and Families
with Ben Schilaty
This workshop invites leaders to reflect on Christ's example of seeking out, listening to, and loving those who may feel unseen or marginalized.
Together, we will explore what meaningful, compassionate ministering can look like for LGBTQ members and their families.
We will explore church-provided resources available through the Church's Counceling Resources website.
Parenting Queer Kids
with Allison Dayton
Allison started the Lift and Love Foundation to support LGBTQ individuals and their families in the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Allison lost her brother, who was gay, to suicide at the same time her 17-year-old son was coming out. Looking for resources to help her family, she couldn’t find anything that embraced her religious beliefs and her son’s divine identity. Lift and Love has grown to fill that much-needed space supporting thousands of individuals and families as they navigate their unique journeys of protecting their identity or that of their precious children and integrating their new reality into their devotion to Jesus Christ. Allison is a writer, speaker, including at BYU Women’s Conferences. In 2022 she moderated an lgbtq Conversation Circle at the UN Women’s Conference. Allison and her husband, Kenn, live in the foothills of Salt Lake City, Utah, have three grown children, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Georgia, who rules their world. You can read more about Allison’s experiences in her recent LDSLiving article here
Being an Ally
with Aaron Thacker
Aaron Thacker is an accomplished pianist, who has performed extensively in the realm of Opera. He has served as rehearsal pianist for North Carolina Opera, Baltimore Lyric Opera, Peabody Conservatory, and The Ford’s Theatre
He currently is full-time faculty at a specialty high school, George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology, in Towson, MD.
Navigating Family and Church as a Faithful LBGTQ+ Couple
Nathan Tenney & Thomas Smith
Info Coming Soon
Transgender Journeys
with Michael Soto
Michael Soto’s is a name widely known and respected in the LGBTQ+ equality space. As the former director and now President of Equality Arizona, and as a political consultant for over 25 years intrinsically involved in the LGBTQ+ movement, Michael has watched the ebb and flow and now crux of policy change.
With his generous, hearty laugh and impressive grasp of legislative history, Michael feels uniquely qualified to reach across the aisle and have these tough conversations. It doesn’t hurt that he himself identifies as a trans man and queer individual who knows what it’s like to have grown up in a conservative regional and religious environment before the internet, when the right terminology to describe how he had been feeling since he could walk was not within reach.
5:35 - 7:00 pm dinner break
We encourage you to spend time with your community!
7:15 - 8:15 Keynote with Tom Christofferson
We will be standing by in the Sanctuary lobby to organize dinner groups.
There is plenty of time to meet new people and really spend time making connections.