FreeXone4Us is a programmatic actualization of lessons learned from the convening of queer and trans people where the sacred is intentionally invoked. It is a project intentionally outside of the walls of the church to promote safety for its members who have trauma from within the institution. FreeXone applies my research of Queer Womanist ethic of the Sacred Queer Imagination and fictive kinships. The Sacred Queer Imagination explores the formation of fictive kinships of community, solidarity, and connection of Queer and Transgender People of Color. This ethic posits that when LGBTQ+ people convene in a sober space through holistic gatherings, the Spirit manifests with directed intention toward a sacred and holy destination, similar to New Testament account of Pentecost in Acts 2 or as in the clearing field gatherings in Toni Morison’s “Beloved”.

What would happen if this ethic were translated into the church's walls? This project seeks to broaden the work of the Sacred Queer imagination and investigate how LGBTQ+ people remain in religious institutions This project is deployed through mini sessions inside churches throughout NYC with LGBTQ+ members of all ethnicities to discover how fictive kinships form. What do these churches do to support their lives? What are the specified advocacy and pastoral care needs for LGBTQ+ community members? What steps do churches need to take to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ people in integritous ways? The results will be used to offer training for churches, provide spiritual care for LGBTQ+ members, and broaden the scope of LGBTBQ+ leadership, membership and participation within the institution of the church.

*Womanist Scholar Nikki Young defines fictive kinships as, "a community engaged in relationships that are not usually valued, certainly not legally sanctioned, and not biologically connected. A relationship that draws on concepts of love, justice, mutuality, embodiment, and interconnectedness."*