January 10 to February 14
Welcoming the LGBTQ+ Adventist
January 10: UnClobber,
with Author Colby Martin
Churches in America are experiencing an unprecedented fracturing due to their belief and attitude toward the LGBTQ community. Armed with only six passages in the Bible often known as the clobber passages the traditional Christian position has been one that stands against the full inclusion of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.(source)
We recommend obtaining the Kindle book and reading it before attending the presentation. Read the Spectrum review too.
January 17: Mama Bears, the Movie
10:30 in CC 3208
and in the afternoon, after class potluck:
Mama Bears Film Screening & Discussion Panel Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. Damazo Amphitheater, Centennial Complex, 24760 Stewart Street, Loma Linda, CA 92354
Co-sponsored by the LLU School of Religion Humanities Program
“This event ... offers an opportunity for meaningful reflection and dialogue within our faith and academic community.”
Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears” because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people. Although some may have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to keep their offspring safe even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart.
MAMA BEARS is an intimate, thought-provoking exploration of the journeys taken by Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, two “mama bears” whose profound love for their LGBTQ children has turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community and Tammi Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance perfectly exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important. (MORE)
January 24: The Biology of Gender
with Dr. Kerby Oberg
The evidence for gender diversity has always existed, but Dr. Oberg’s research reveals an incredible wealth of biological evidence for understanding the roots of gender identity. We also recommend the accessible and powerful 2017 sermon in which he is interviewed by his wife, Pastor Chris Oberg, in 2017. See also the excellent introduction by Spectrum.
Sermon Interviewing Dr. Oberg
January 31: Members of the LGBTQIA+
Adventist Community Present
A panel of members of the LGBTQIA+ community will describe their families. Discussion leader will be Barbara Orr Willey
February 7: Allies of the LBGTQ
Adventist Community Present
A panel of the supportive community: parents of children who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, allies, friends, and other supportive groups like Sabbath Seminars Sabbath School. Discussion leader will be Elizabeth Rogers.
February 14: Jim Walters, Soul Trauma:
The Plight of the LGBTQIA+
Church Members
Dr. Walters shares his compelling, empathetic essay presented to the 2026 Adventist Society of Religious Studies (Asrs) in November 2025.
Sabbath Seminars
Room 3208
Centennial Complex of Loma Linda University Sabbath Morning 10:30-12:30