UCC minister appointed national LGBTQ Task Force faith director

A former church pastor in the United Church of Christ has accepted the call to advance the causes of freedom and equality for LGBTQ people. Naomi Leapheart was appointed as the faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force, where she will put her penchant for facilitating difficult and transformative conversations about race, gender, sexuality, and faith to work.

The Task Force is the country’s oldest national advocacy group for LGBT people, advocating for their rights to equal housing, healthcare, employment, retirement and basic human rights.

“What a joy it is to be able to go to work every day and use my experience and energy to challenge and disrupt the ways that faith has been turned into a weapon that devastates the lives of LGBTQ people! I’m so grateful to be able to heed this call surrounded by incredible colleagues at the Task Force, and I’m looking forward to working with LGBTQ people and our comrades to pave the road to our collective freedom,” Leapheart said.

Leapheart was the co-pastor and minister of music for St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Penn., where she earned her M. Div. from Lancaster Theological Seminary, a UCC seminary. She received the UCC’s Joseph H. Evans Scholarship for her justice advocacy and leadership abilities.

Leapheart is also affiliated with the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. Read more about her appointment at the LGBTQ Task Force website.