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SUMMARY:Conversion Therapy Dropout Chicago Release Party with Tim Schraeder Rodriguez
DESCRIPTION:Join former Chicagoan Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez to celebrate the release of Conversion Therapy Dropout with a reading\, conversation and signing. A gay Christian’s behind-the-scenes account of evangelical megachurches and eight years in conversion therapy before finding wholeness and authenticity. \nTimothy Schraeder Rodriguez was an invisible architect behind evangelical Christianity’s digital empire\, crafting messages of belonging for some of the most influential megachurches–Hillsong Church\, Elevation Church\, Willow Creek–all while secretly questioning his own place within the faith. \nIn a desperate attempt to “fix” himself\, he turned to conversion therapy\, spending eight years trying to pray the gay away. And he wasn’t alone. More than 700\,000 people in the US have undergone some form of conversion therapy. Even though Exodus International\, the largest ex-gay organization\, closed in 2013\, the practice still thrives in many conservative religious communities. After years of this harmful “therapy\,” Schraeder Rodriguez’s sexuality never changed. But his faith did.The more time he spent in evangelical Christianity\, the more he witnessed the hypocrisy of institutions that claimed to love everyone while quietly pushing people like him into silence. But Schraeder Rodriguez wouldn’t remain silent. Instead\, he forged a new path\, discovering a vibrant faith beyond the constraints of non-affirming theology and finding a community that embraced his whole self. \nConversion Therapy Dropout is a behind-the-scenes look at megachurch culture\, the hidden harm of non-affirming Christian spaces\, and the ongoing impact of conversion therapy on gay Christians. This isn’t just a coming-out story–it’s about what happens after. About rebuilding a life outside the only world you’ve ever known. And the radical act of stepping into the light after being told your whole life to stay in the shadows. Sometimes\, the greatest act of faith isn’t holding on–it’s letting go. \nTimothy will be in conversation with Kathy Khang. \nFree RSVP is requested
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/conversion-therapy-dropout-chicago-release-party-with-tim-schraeder-rodriguez/
LOCATION:City Lit Books\, 2523 N. Kedzie Blvd.\, Chicago\, IL\, United States
CATEGORIES:activism,literary-poetry
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260517T183000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260517T203000
DTSTAMP:20260514T225036Z
CREATED:20260514T225036Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260514T225036Z
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SUMMARY:Sunday Reading Series: Riva Lehrer
DESCRIPTION:The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s been invited to help curate the May edition of Sunday Reading Series: Poetry\, Prose\, & Cocktails. Host Kenyatta Rogers will be there to lead the program\, but Simone Muench has to miss this one. The program will be at the Hungry Brain on Sunday\, May 17. Noa Micaela Fields\, Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert\, and Riva Lehrer will read–all three authors have used their disabilities as artistic explorations and also advocated for awareness and accessibility. \nNoa Micaela Fields is an echodeviant enjambment queen (translation: trans poet with hearing aids) in search of the hypervivid in her one and only captionless life. No worries\, she’ll write the captions herself. She is the author of E (Nightboat Books\, 2026)\, an alterbook embracing the glitch of mishearing as a subversive technology of transformation. This spring\, poems from the book are on view at the Palais de Tokyo\, Paris. Born in California\, she now lives in Chicago\, where she curates public programs at the Poetry Foundation and edits poetry for Chrysalis\, a literary magazine by and for trans youth. \nTsehaye Geralyn Hébert is a nationally acclaimed citizen playwright and cultural architect whose work nuances and centers the African American experience. Hébert’s civic engagement catalyzes the move towards and beyond ADA compliance\, from idea to full inclusion and accessibility. As Community Lead\, she worked with Illinois Institute of Technology (IT) students to develop innovations in accessible and inclusive theatre. Currently\, her work with Artists Design the Future (ADtF) explores affordable accessible\, and inclusive Work Live spaces owned and designed by artists\, creatives\, and entrepreneurs. With Disability Lead (ADA 25 Advancing Leadership)\, she sat on its Program Committee\, and serves as an ambassador; as well as a current ambassador and recent member of The Cultural Collaborative (Chicago Cultural Accessibility Coalition) steering committee. A former president of the African American Arts Alliance\, she sits on the honorary board of Piven Theatre Workshop\, and volunteers with local and national arts organizations. \nRiva Lehrer is an artist\, writer and curator who focuses on the socially challenged body. She is best known for representations of people whose physical embodiment\, sexuality\, or gender identity have long been stigmatized. Riva’s work has been seen in venues including the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian\, Yale University\, the United Nations\, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington\, DC\, the Arnot Museum\, the DeCordova Museum\, the Frye Museum\, the Chicago Cultural Center\, and the State of Illinois Museum. Awards include the 2017 3Arts MacDowell Fellowship for writing\, 2015 3Arts Residency Fellowship at the University of Illinois; the 2014 Carnegie Mellon Fellowship at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges; the 2009 Prairie Fellowship at the Ragdale Foundation. Her memoir\, Golem Girl\, was published in October 2020. Riva is on faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago\, and instructor in the Medical Humanities Departments of Northwestern University.
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/sunday-reading-series-riva-lehrer/
LOCATION:Hungry Brain\, 2319 W. Belmont Ave.\, Chicago\, IL\, United States
CATEGORIES:education,literary-poetry
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260522T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260522T210000
DTSTAMP:20260514T235219Z
CREATED:20260514T234757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260514T235219Z
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SUMMARY:AN EVENING WITH HARVEY
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a powerful evening celebrating the life\, legacy\, and enduring impact of Harvey Milk in conjunction with what would have been his birthday on May 22. Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States and a visionary voice for equality. \nThe evening will include a staged reading of A LETTER TO HARVEY MILK by Lesléa Newman\, directed by Elayne LeTraunik\, a moving and deeply human work that reflects on friendship\, identity\, memory\, and the transformative power of connection\, featuring Douglas Levene.
URL:https://chicagosocialbutterflies.com/wp-events/an-evening-with-harvey/
LOCATION:Open Space Arts\, 1411 W Wilson Ave.\, Chicago\, IL\, 60640\, United States
CATEGORIES:literary-poetry,public-memorial,theater-performance
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