Common Read for Liberation - St. Ann & the Holy Trinity

Common Read for Liberation: Queer Theology

Dates: Mondays, October 5 through November 16 (no session November 2)
Time: 6:30 to 7:30pm (optionally followed by 30 minutes of contemplative prayer)
Location: Christ Church Cobble Hill (326 Clinton Street, at the corner of Clinton and Kane)

St. Ann’s is joining with our Episcopal neighbors from Christ Church Cobble Hill and St. Paul’s Carroll Street to explore queer theology. Through a series of short readings, we’ll encounter LGBTQ+ theologians, biblical scholars, and writers who invite us to think expansively about God, Scripture, gender and sexuality, power, and liberation. Readings are provided below as PDFs.

Each session stands on its own, so come every week or drop in when you’re able. Our discussion time is optionally followed by 30 minutes of contemplative prayer for those who wish to stay.

Questions? Email Rev. Brendan Nee (bnee@stannholytrinity.org).

Special Guest: The Rev. Miguel Castilleja Escobar

Monday, October 26, 6:30–7:30pm at christ church cobble hill

We’re delighted to welcome the Rev. Miguel Castilleja Escobar for a special conversation about his chapter, “Dreams of Reversal,” in The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty, and the Church Today. Drawing on his own experiences as a gay Latino Christian and the grandson of migrant farmworkers, Rev. Escobar explores the Gospel’s vision of “reversal.”

“In the ancient heart of Christianity is a deep longing for God’s reversal of rich and poor. Its depiction of ‘the righteous poor and oppressive rich’ and God’s preferential option for ‘the least of these’ continues to represent something new, countercultural, and strange, both in ancient Rome and today. … The Unjust Steward presents a compelling case for a profound overhaul in the way the church and its people value the poor and transform into servants of God instead of stewards of wealth.” —Forward Movement

Join us Monday, October 26, 6:30–7:30pm at Christ Church Cobble Hill as Rev. Escobar shares from his work, followed by Q&A and group discussion.

THE REV. MIGUEL CASTILLEJA ESCOBAR

The Rev. Miguel Castilleja Escobar is an Episcopal priest and the author of The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty, and the Church Today. He was previously director of Anglican Studies at Episcopal Divinity School at Union and managing program director for leadership, communications and external affairs at the Episcopal Church Foundation. Rev. Escobar earned a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in 2007 and worked as the communications assistant to then-Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. He currently serves as curate at San Andrés Episcopal Church in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Follow him on Instagram @revmiguelescobar, and find his sermons and other writings at miguelcescobar.blogspot.com.

Reading Schedule

OCTOBER 5 | Patrick S. Cheng, “What Is Queer Theology?” in Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology (New York: Seabury Books, 2011). | Download PDF

Additional readings:

Timothy Koch, “A Homoerotic Approach to Scripture,” Theology & Sexuality 2001, no. 14: 10–22. | Download PDF → See p. 16 for Koch’s discussion of “cruising Scripture.”
Daniel Migliore, “The Task of Theology,” in Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014). | Download PDF
Brendan Nee, “The Bible Doesn’t Say That: Unpacking Anti-LGBTQ+ Interpretations of Scripture.” Class handout, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church and Pro-Cathedral, August 3 and 10, 2025. | Download PDF
Linn Marie Tonstad, “Queer Theologies to Come,” in Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018). | Download PDF

OCTOBER 12 | Chris Greenough, “Queer Bible,” in Queer Theologies: The Basics (London: Routledge, 2019). | Download PDF

OCTOBER 19 | M. W. Bychowski, “On Genesis: Transgender and Subcreation,” TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly 6, no. 3 (August 2019): 442–447. Duke University Press. | Download PDF

OCTOBER 26 | Miguel Escobar, “Dreams of Reversal,” in The Unjust Steward: Wealth, Poverty, and the Church Today (Cincinnati: Forward Movement, 2022). | Download PDF

NOVEMBER 2 | NO SESSION DUE TO ALL SOULS’ DAY

NOVEMBER 9 | Austen Hartke, “Afterword: Spiritual Care for Gender-Expansive Christians: A Conversation with Professor Susannah Cornwall,” in Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018). | Download PDF

NOVEMBER 16 | Wrap-up, reflection, and what’s next

Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk, by Delores S. Williams

Dates: Mondays, May 25 through July 13
Time: 6:30 to 7:30pm (optionally followed by 30 minutes of contemplative prayer)
Location: Christ Church Cobble Hill (326 Clinton Street, at the corner of Clinton and Kane)

St. Ann’s is joining with our Episcopal neighbors from Christ Church Cobble Hill and St. Paul’s Carroll Street to read Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk, a landmark text by Delores S. Williams that helped establish the field of womanist theology—that is, theology centering the experiences, perspectives, and wisdom of Black women. Free copies of the book will be provided to community read participants.

Drawing on the biblical figure of Hagar mother of Ishmael, cast into the desert by Abraham and Sarah, but protected by God Williams finds a proptype for the struggle of African-American women. … Sisters in the Wilderness offers a telling critique of theologies that promote liberation but ignore women of color. This is a book that defined a new theological project and charted a path that others continue to explore. — Orbis Books

All are welcome, whether or not you have participated in previous weeks. We encourage reading each chapter in advance to enrich our conversation (see the reading schedule below). Our discussion time is optionally followed by 30 minutes of contemplative prayer for those who wish to stay.

To learn more, secure a free copy, or arrange transportation to Christ Church Cobble Hill, email Rev. Brendan Nee (bnee@stannholytrinity.org).

READING SCHEDULE

MAY 25 | Introduction and Chapter 1, “Hagar’s Story: A Route to Black Women’s Issues”

JUNE 1 | Chapter 2, “Tensions in Motherhood: From Slavery to Freedom”

JUNE 8 | Chapter 3, “Social-Role Surrogacy: Naming Black Women’s Oppression”

JUNE 15 | Chapter 4, “Color Struck: A State of Mind”

JUNE 22 | Chapter 5, “Sisters in the Wilderness and Community Meanings”

JUNE 29 | Chapter 6, “Womanist God-Talk and Black Liberation Theology”

JULY 6 | Chapter 7, “Womanist-Feminist Dialogue: Differences and Commonalities”

JULY 13 | Chapter 8, “Womanist Reflections on ‘The Black Church,’ the African-American Denominational Churches and the Universal Hagar’s Spiritual Church”

The Cross and the Lynching Tree, by James H. Cone

Dates: Mondays in Lent, February 23 through March 30
Time: 6:30 to 7:30pm (optionally followed by 30 minutes of contemplative prayer)
Location: Christ Church Cobble Hill (326 Clinton Street, at the corner of Clinton and Kane)

St. Ann’s is joining with our Episcopal neighbors from Christ Church Cobble Hill and St. Paul’s Carroll Street to read The Cross and the Lynching Tree, a seminal work of Black liberation theology by the late and great James H. Cone. Free copies of the book will be provided to community read participants.

Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era. — Orbis Books

To learn more, secure a free copy, or arrange transportation to Christ Church Cobble Hill, email Rev. Brendan Nee (bnee@stannholytrinity.org).

READING SCHEDULE

FEBRUARY 23 | Introduction and Chapter 1, “‘Nobody Knows de Trouble I See’: The Cross and the Lynching Tree in the Black Experience”

MARCH 2 | Chapter 2, “‘The Terrible Beauty of the Cross’ and the Tragedy of the Lynching Tree: A Reflection on Reinhold Niebuhr”

MARCH 9 | Chapter 3, “Bearing the Cross and Staring Down the Lynching Tree: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Struggle to Redeem the Soul of America”

MARCH 16 | Chapter 4, “The Recrucified Christ in Black Literary Imagination”

MARCH 23 | Chapter 5, “‘Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep'”

MARCH 30 | Conclusion: Legacies of the Cross and the Lynching Tree

Community Read: The Cross and the Olive Tree

Dates: Mondays, October 27 through December 15
Time: 6:30 to 7:30pm
Location: Christ Church Cobble Hill (326 Clinton Street, at the corner of Clinton and Kane)

St. Ann’s is joining with our Episcopal neighbors from Christ Church Cobble Hill and St. Paul’s Carroll Street to read The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza, a new collection of Palestinian Christian liberation theology.

From the lived theology of grandmothers to traditions of scholarship, from ancient liturgies to contemporary resistance, eight Palestinian Christian theologians offer a crucial and vibrant perspective on liberation, reconciliation, and divine imagination. Written within the heart of suffering, the cross and the olive tree interpret each other in an unwavering hope, symbols of faith and homeland. — Orbis Books

All are welcome, whether you have participated in previous weeks or not. We encourage reading each chapter in advance to enrich our conversation—see the reading schedule below. Those who wish may stay after our meeting for Christ Church Cobble Hill’s contemplative prayer service from 7:30 to 8:00pm.

If you want to learn more, purchase a discounted copy*, or arrange transportation to Christ Church Cobble Hill, email Rev. Brendan Nee (bnee@stannholytrinity.org).

* Free copies are available if cost is a barrier. Just ask Rev. Brendan.

READING SCHEDULE

October 27: [click here for PDF] “Introduction,” John S. Munayer and Samuel S. Munayer
November 3: “Teita’s Faith: The Story of Palestinian Christians in Gaza through the Eyes of Grandmothers,” Yousef Kamal AlKhouri, Gaza and Bethlehem
November 10: “Guatemala and Gaza: Enfleshed Divinity in Women’s Ethics of Care,” Marah Sarji, Nazareth
November 17: “A New World Is Coming; She Is on Her Way,” Azmera Hammouri-Davis, Hebron and Kea’au, Hawai’i
November 24: “Imagination in the Valley of the Shadow of Death: A Palestinian Christian Perspective,” Lamma Mansour, Nazareth
December 1: “Reconciliation as Co-Resistance: A Redemptive Vision,” Daniel S. Munayer, Jerusalem and al-Lydd
December 8: “Noticing Sumac in Unexpected Places: Engaging Palestinian and North American Indigenous Writings on Land,” Shadia Qubti, Nazareth
December 15: “Palestinian Theology of Martyrdom,” John S. Munayer and Samuel S. Munayer, Jerusalem and al-Lydd