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| i.V KiNG has created the Queer Revival. Photo credit: Andie Bottrell |
By Ed Peaco
For Ed’s Occasional Posts
National Avenue Christian Church has accepted an invitation to be the venue for an untraditional, king-sized event.
It’s The Queer Revival, with a title that provides a fair amount of information about the gathering. But there is a lot more to unpack.
The impresario, i.V KiNG (Ivy Allison Schulte), has a background as a youth pastor, a musician and a gay woman who has had difficulty with church. She is the creator of The Queer Revival, which will premiere at 6:30 p.m., Friday, November 12, at the church.
• Welcome and cocktail hour
• Concept show: speaker, life coach Madison Morrigan; performance by KiNG
• Concert with full band, i.V KiNG
• Drag show: Tania Carrington, Kris Kohl, Liz Anya
• After party at Hold Fast Brewing
KiNG stressed that any person of any faith, or none, would be welcome: “We’re not trying to convert anyone.” She has developed this event as a transformative experience.
During KiNG’s early years in Springfield, she kept her orientation private.
“I didn’t realize that other people of faith in the queer community existed. I felt so alone,” she said. “If I’d seen something like this [NACC] 10 years ago, it probably would have changed the trajectory of my life. I wouldn’t have had as much trauma, as much shame.”
Several years ago, she went to Los Angeles to work on her music.
“Now, my big thing is we can have God, if we want to have God. No one can take that from us,” she said.
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| Pastor Jennifer Simmons at NACC Photo credit: Stephanie Scott-Huffman |
KiNG asked Pastor Jennifer Simmons at NACC to provide the church, specifically the sanctuary, for The Queer Revival. They spoke of reclaiming spaces of faith that were stolen from the LBGTQ+ community.
“The biggest thing I told her, I want the LBGTQ+ community to show up exactly as they are,” she said. “So, I’m very excited. And her response was magical.”
In an interview with Pastor Jenn, she emphasized that the church had long been open and affirming, welcoming people of the LBGTQ+ community and providing space for groups such as the Ozarks Dharma Community and a Hindu group.
She called this approach “radically inclusive,” meaning the church welcomes all. “So when we say all, we really have to live and proclaim that message.” In the case of The Queer Revival, Pastor Jenn alongside the NACC board and leadership, accepted the invitation to provide space and helped with how the event would happen, she said.
“Go, do what you need to do, take the space and run, provide a space for healing, make beautiful music, and we’ll be here,” Pastor Jenn said. “The beauty of this event is that it is KiNG’s dream and vision — wanting to come back to church and claim it, and work toward healing, and transforming the space from her own experience.”
On the note of healing in the context of entering a church after a long hiatus, Pastor Jenn suggested that this walk might be a difficult one.
“I have walked alongside many folks for whom, just coming back to the church, that first day was a hard day because of what they have been taught, what they were told throughout their lifetimes by pastors, from pulpits, that has been so hurtful,” Pastor Jenn said. The intention is to seek potential healing.
In this way, the church does not expect anything from anyone.
As Pastor Jenn has said, “Just bring your full, beautiful, authentic self.”
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