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<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(F\u0101VS News) \u2014 The Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, Washington, has maintained Camp Cross \u2014 a 130-acre property on the west side of Lake Coeur d\u2019Alene, Idaho \u2014 for more than a century. Each week throughout summer, the church hosts themed retreats, from Arts and Music Camp to Clergy Camp.<\/p>\n<p>One of those retreats is Queer Camp, a session for LGBTQ+ people and allies of all ages that the church has hosted since 2024. Its <a href=\"https:\/\/campcross.org\/sessions\/\">third year will run<\/a> Aug. 28-31.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy hope is folks can know there is a place where they can be Christian and be their full self,\u201d said camp director Alex Flannagan. \u201cIt\u2019s not conditional, no one\u2019s trying to change you, you\u2019re fully welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Idaho\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.equaldex.com\/equality-index\/united-states\">ranks low compared with other states in legal protections for LGBTQ+<\/a> people, according to Equaldex data, but the Episcopal Church in the region has marked its history differently. The Episcopal Church has historically supported LGBTQ+ expression in the Inland Northwest region. In 2025, under the direction of Bishop Gretchen Rehberg, the diocese became a major sponsor of Spokane Pride.<\/p>\n<p>Flannagan joined the Diocese of Spokane and Camp Cross in 2024, after 10 years running camps for the Diocese of Olympia. Rehberg immediately supported Flannagan\u2019s idea to start Queer Camp when he pitched it, Flannagan said.<\/p>\n<p>The first session of Queer Camp hosted 25 campers, while 21 attended last year. All camp sessions, including Queer Camp, are open to campers outside the church.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have people who go to church every Sunday, then people who never go at all, then people from other denominations,\u201d said Andy Hartwig, a program director. \u201cQueer Camp has opened up our reach more because it\u2019s more unique.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Intergenerational friendships<\/h4>\n<p>Activities at Queer Camp are similar to those at Camp Cross\u2019 other sessions, from prayer services to traditional camp activities like crafts and canoeing. A major highlight, according to several participants, is the time set aside for intentional conversations about faith, identity and emotions across different generations.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Wickham, an active member of the Episcopal community in Lake Coeur d\u2019Alene, has been attending the camp with her husband and children since its first year.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u201cYou get a view into everyone\u2019s life journey, and just to see others\u2019 hopes and dreams and experience their needs together is pretty powerful,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very eye-opening experience from a child\u2019s point of view to see adults being vulnerable with their pain, with their struggles with God and the church community, and that those are very human real things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During a conversation last summer, the cohort was divided into two groups: one for queer youth and adults, and one for family members and allies. In the former, participants\u2019 ages ranged up to the 50s and 60s.<\/p>\n<p>Hartwig said this gave young queer people, including a young transgender camper who met a trans man in his 30s, an opportunity to see themselves represented in their community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe shared that it was so nice to see older trans people,\u201d Hartwig said. \u201cHe said he didn\u2019t realize we could live that long. And that really hit me. To just be in a group where you can meet other people like you of all different ages, that can be really powerful in shaping your confidence in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Allies and family members of LGBTQ+ youth, particularly transgender youth, said they also appreciated the opportunity to connect with one another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis a space where they can be a bit clumsy, they can be candid about whatever is on their hearts, if they have feelings of guilt or shame about their ability to accept their child,\u201d Flannagan said. \u201cThen they can get back to loving their child or loved one fully for who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Loeffelbein, the music director for St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church in Ephrata, Washington, has attended Queer Camp with his partner since 2024 and plans to go again this summer. He said the diocese has always embraced LGBTQ+ members and encouraged them to take on active roles in the church.<\/p>\n<p>The Episcopal Church\u2019s openness was a factor in joining it in 2017, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrowing up in a rather conservative fundamentalist community, I\u2019ve always felt like the outsider looking in,\u201d Loeffelbein said. \u201cBut I always felt in my heart, I know that I\u2019m OK with God. And I want that for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since the first session, more church members have been involved in leadership and planning. With many campers repeating attendance, some said the second summer felt like a family reunion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis camp is a natural outflowing of \u2026 reaching queer families in our diocese that need time together,\u201d Loeffelbein said. \u201cSome people just need to see other queer folks being spiritual to know that it\u2019s OK. And spiritual folk need to see queer folk being queer and know that that\u2019s OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>Creating a safe space<\/h4>\n<p>For this year\u2019s session, Flannagan said he\u2019s preparing to hold emotional space during a \u201cheavy time\u201d for the LGBTQ+ community. He hopes to show participants that Christianity can be inclusive and accepting.<\/p>\n<p>Idaho\u2019s openly LGBTQ+ community is small, representing about 2.8% of the population, according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acluidaho.org\/issues\/lgbtq-justice\/\">the state\u2019s ACLU chapter<\/a>. Lawmakers introduced 27 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2025, including 19 that targeted transgender people.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative Christian organizations such as the Idaho Family Policy Center have <a href=\"https:\/\/idahocapitalsun.com\/2026\/02\/02\/idaho-bill-to-ban-local-protections-against-lgbtq-discrimination-heads-to-house\/\">introduced and lobbied for<\/a>\u00a0many of these bills, including one to remove local protections against LGBTQ+ discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>The Episcopal Church, however, has officially affirmed LGBTQ+ members since 1976.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve run, time and time again, into people who are shocked that my church is so supportive,\u201d Hartwig said. \u201cHow do we show people that we\u2019re actually a supportive church? A message that has guided me a lot is, you can just be welcoming, you don\u2019t have to say it. Be a happy faithful queer person and be part of the Episcopal Church.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For campers, an affirming space with other LGBTQ+ people can provide a break from the fear of discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou walk around all day, carrying this heavy thing, and sometimes you\u2019re judged for it, and having to explain that part of who you are is tiring,\u201d Flannagan said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have a space where everyone there is already in the loop. You have the shared language, the shared experience, you don\u2019t have to explain who you are and who you love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wickham and other parents said their faith is a source of love for all people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like there\u2019s so many people in the LGBTQ+ community who have such severe religious trauma, and it\u2019s the people, and not God, that is the issue,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cAs a Christian, it\u2019s my responsibility to be that light of God, to be the person that\u2019s willing to step up and say, \u2018I love you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>This story was published in partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/9c23474b.streaklinks.com\/C7IVT_7PT1-Bm6b8gQeTG-Of\/https%3A%2F%2F19thnews.org%2F\">The 19th<\/a>, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, policy and power.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/16\/an-episcopal-camp-offers-queer-christians-an-affirming-haven-in-idaho\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(F\u0101VS News) \u2014 The Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, Washington, has maintained Camp Cross \u2014 a 130-acre property on the west side of Lake Coeur d\u2019Alene, Idaho \u2014 for more than a century. Each week throughout summer, the church hosts themed retreats, from Arts and Music Camp to Clergy Camp. One of those retreats is Queer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}