October 8–11, 2026

QUEER + Called Retreat 2026

The National Center for Civil + Human Rights, Atlanta, GA

Fly into ATL – Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Theme:

Living One’s Call While Holding Sacred Authenticity

A Sacred Gathering for Those Who Are Queer + Called

In October 2026, AllianceQ will gather in Atlanta for a sacred time of rest, reconnection, and renewal for leaders who are Queer + Called.

This year’s gathering takes place in collaboration with several partner organizations, including The Rustin Institute for Leadership Development through their IGNYTE 2026 Symposium, which shares our commitment to resourcing LGBTQIA+ leadership and strengthening justice-centered communities.

This year’s Queer + Called Retreat is centered around the theme: Living One’s Call While Holding Sacred Authenticity.

Not to be confused with a conference, training, or strategy space, Queer + Called is a sanctuary in motion—a space shaped by care, community, and the understanding that many leaders arrive already carrying fatigue, grief, holy anger, and tenderness.

We do not gather to become more productive.

We gather to be held.

This retreat centers care, presence, and belonging.

Rather than asking leaders to harden themselves for the world, this space is designed to support them in continuing their work without losing themselves in the process.

Guiding Themes

This year’s gathering will be shaped by:

Sacred Authenticity

Refusing to fragment self, calling, or identity

Mental Health + Wholeness

Addressing burnout, trauma, anxiety, and exhaustion without shame

Intersectionality

Honoring the layered realities of race, gender, class, disability, geography, and theology

Communal Holding

Allowing community to carry what individuals should not bear alone

Queer Joy + Play

Reclaiming delight as spiritual resistance

Together we will gather at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, a place that reflects the moral and historical commitments that shape our work.

At the center of the AllianceQ experience is Queer + Called — a dedicated space created especially for leaders connected to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and those who are discerning, living into, or sustaining their call.

For four days, we will create space for grounding, relationship, imagination, and renewal.

This gathering is intentionally slower and more spacious than a traditional conference.

It is designed to be a place to rest, reconnect, and refill our cups together.

What It Means to be “Queer + Called”

At this gathering, the phrase Queer + Called holds an intentionally expansive meaning.

“Queer” in this context includes LGBTQIA+ identities as well as all people whose lives and leadership exist outside the normativity of white, cisgender, heterosexual male dominance. We use the word queer as a justice-rooted and intersectional framework that honors those whose identities, bodies, and experiences challenge systems of exclusion across race, gender identity, sexuality, ability, and socioeconomic realities.

“Called” speaks to the many ways people experience vocation. It includes clergy and seminarians, but it also includes lay leaders, organizers, advocates, scholars, artists, counselors, and community builders. Calling is not limited to ordained ministry. It is the work of those who feel compelled toward justice, care, imagination, and transformation in their communities.

Because of this expansive understanding, not every participant will identify as LGBTQIA+. However, all participants must understand themselves as part of this broader queer framework—people whose identities, leadership, or commitments exist outside normative constraints and who are committed to building communities rooted in justice, dignity, and liberation.

Queer + Called is about gathering people whose lives and leadership challenge harmful norms, reflect the courage to live beyond imposed limits, and who are seeking community, rest, and renewal as they continue their work in the world.

Why This Gathering Matters

Many leaders whose lives fall outside dominant cultural norms carry the weight of ministry, advocacy, organizing, and community care.

Too often, they do this work without spaces where their full identities are honored and sustained.

Queer + Called exists to create something different.

A space where our leadership is recognized.

A space where our call is honored.

A space where our identities are not obstacles to ministry but sources of wisdom and strength.

For four days in Atlanta, we will gather to remember that we are not alone in this work.

What to Expect

Participants in the AllianceQ Queer + Called track will experience:

• Sacred relational space centered on LGBTQIA+ and other Quuer leaders and those connected to AllianceQ’s work

• Time for reflection, prayer, conversation, and community-building

• Facilitated dialogue around call, leadership, and sustaining ministry

• Opportunities to connect with leaders across generations and movements

• Shared meals and informal gathering time

• Museum access at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

• Participation in Atlanta Pride Weekend activities in Piedmont Park

Rather than a packed conference schedule, this gathering prioritizes rest, reconnection, and meaningful conversation.

Collaborative Gathering

The 2026 AllianceQ gathering is part of a broader collaborative event designed to bring together organizations whose work overlaps in supporting LGBTQ+ leadership.

Core collaborators include:

• The Rustin Institute for Leadership Development

• The National Center for Civil and Human Rights

• The Alain Locke Initiative

• The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries

• The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

This collaborative model allows us to share resources, deepen relationships, and strengthen the networks that support LGBTQ+ leaders across communities and generations.

Registration

Registration for the retreat is $200 per participant.

Our fundraising efforts are focused on helping offset these costs so participation remains accessible for as many leaders as possible.

Registration includes:

• Access to the AllianceQ Queer + Called retreat space

• Gathering space at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

• Three shared meals during the retreat

• Museum access and an individual museum pass

• Participation in collaborative gathering programming

👉🏾REGISTER NOW👈🏾

Support a Queer + Called Leader

We believe that access to spaces like Queer + Called should never be limited by cost.

If you are financially able, we invite you to:

• Cover your own registration
• Give an additional $25–$50 (or more) to support another leader
• Encourage your congregation or ministry to sponsor participants

Every additional gift helps create space for someone else to rest, reconnect, and be renewed in community.

Give today: https://tinyurl.com/queercalled2026give

Sponsorship Opportunities

We are partnering with congregations and ministries to expand access to this gathering.

We invite:

• Congregations to sponsor 2–3 Queer + Called leaders
• Regional bodies, ministries, and partners to sponsor 5 leaders or more

Sponsorship is more than financial support.

It is an investment in the formation, sustainability, and care of leaders within our shared communities.

Sponsor today: https://tinyurl.com/queercalled2026give

Lodging

Participants are responsible for booking their own hotel accommodations.

We have a group rate at SpringHill Suites by Marriott Atlanta Downtown, a 3-minute walk from the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

Hotel rooms are approximately:

$192 plus tax per night

Include complimentary breakfast and Wi-fi

Most participants will stay for three nights during the gathering.

You can book your hotel today: https://tinyurl.com/queercalled2026hotel

Join Us

Spots for the AllianceQ Queer + Called track are limited to 50 participants.

We encourage early registration.

We hope you will join us in Atlanta for this sacred time of rest, connection, and renewal.

Flunorococo Safety

Flunorococo describes the simultaneous high-circulation of four major illnesses—Flu (influenza), Norovirus, Covid-19, and the Common Cold

Masks are optional + we trust each individual to make choices that align with their health needs + comfort. Some of our siblings in Christ may be cautious due to disability, chronic illness, immunocompromisation, or neurodivergence. We honor that. Let’s support one another with care + compassion—for our health, our community + our collective well-being.

For questions, contact us at alliance@disciplesallianceq.org