An open letter to Eastern University and the Justice Conference
By: Sabrina L. Valente, MA

In February, the Justice Conference will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Eastern University, my alma mater, is the local host for the conference. According to the Conference’s website “the vision of the conference is to reach tens of thousands of people over the next decade through an annual gathering that educates, inspires and connects a generation to a shared concern for the vulnerable and oppressed. This is motivated by the driving value of the conference, what Ken calls a theology of justice, that an understanding of God should compel love for others and engagement in justice.” The conference features speakers on a wide variety of topics from child trafficking to HIV/AIDS to poverty, always seeking to do right by those who are oppressed.

There’s just one problem. The Justice Conference completely ignores the very real need for justice with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
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