Held outside Portland for the first time, it is May 29 in Pendleton

PENDLETON — The 2025 Collins Lecture will explore the duty and responsibility of faith leaders to protect the human rights of all people, specifically for the LGBTQ community.

For the first time, the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon will host the event outside the Portland area. According to a press release, the statewide organization is committed to reaching beyond the Willamette Valley while focusing further on rural-urban equity in Oregon.

“A Call to Justice: How faith communities can support LGBTQIA2S+ rights” is May 29, 7 p.m. at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St. Guest speakers include Christopher Craun, Ari Grubner, Brad Harper and Aaron Ridings. Tickets are $25 and scholarships are available. In addition, a virtual option to watch via livestream is available.

Craun is an Episcopal Church of Western Oregon staff member. She previously served at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church as the first woman and openly gay rector of the parish. Grubner, pastor of Portland’s Grant Park Church, is an openly gay minister in the American Baptist community. Harper is a retired professor/assistant dean of the School of Biblical and Theological Studies at Multnomah University. Along with his son, Drew, he co-authored “Space at the Table: Conversations between an Evangelical Theologian and His Gay Son.” Ridings has served as a nonprofit executive at the local, state and national level for more than 25 years, including as the executive vice president of PFLAG National.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is an association of faith partners, whose focus is to improve the lives of Oregonians through public policy advocacy, direct service programs, creation justice and interreligious education and dialogue programming. Funded by The Collins Foundation, the Collins Lecture began in 1967 under the Portland Council of Churches and has been affiliated with EMO since its founding in 1974. To register or for more information, visit www.emoregon.or/events.