Our Leadership Team

Julie Rogers

Like many in my LGBTQ community, I grew up being told homosexuality was a sin.  To stay as connected as I could to those I love, I had to not talk about this part of me.  I couldn’t share my love, my sorrows or even my day-to-day activities.  This only estranged me from my family and took me into a world of addiction.  

At 26 years of age, I went to a treatment centre, and through this process and other community groups, I was able to begin to sort my life out and start to heal these parts of me I felt were broken.  I went back to university and worked a career as an Addictions Counsellor.  

Some of the greatest moments in my life were giving birth to my eldest son, adopting my two younger sons, and marrying my soul mate (in a public park).  

I believe a reconciliation needs to be done between the church and the queer community. There is much healing still to be done in this area.

The Arc is a place for me to continue this healing within myself and for me to heal with others who also feel they have been hurt by the church. I feel safe, loved, and able to explore spiritual beliefs that are important to me. I’ve looked for a community like this for some time. Now, I hope we can be here for others seeking this reconciliation. 

Rebecca Hill

My desire to participate in the creation of a place such as the Ark resulted from my watching and learning from my child as they embraced and declared their sexual orientation and gender identity.  Doing this within a Christian high school and advocating for a safe space for LGBTQ+ students within this community required an immense amount of bravery and resulted in a tremendous amount of hurt, rejection and conflict.  I had always believed that those in the LGBTQ2+ community should be embraced within our religious communities. Still, the hurt of experiencing the opposite firsthand caused me to question my place within that community.  There was so much I had been silent about, so many unanswered questions of faith that I just ignored.  I felt compelled and called by God to create this space for those in the LGBTQ2+ community to worship, heal, rest, and explore.  I have discovered that it is a place that I too desperately needed as I grieve the losses I have experienced, have the freedom to challenge and question what I have believed, and rest my weary and wounded soul.  I hope the Ark is a place for all to come to rest, heal, and be unequivocally embraced and celebrated for all of who they are.