Licensed local pastor Carmen Daugherty was reluctant at first to talk with a reporter about the Indiana Conference's newly endorsed extension ministry, Our Kaleidoscope Community, based at Roberts Park United Methodist Church in downtown Indianapolis.
"The court just unblocked Indiana's anti-trans law!" exclaimed Pastrix Carmen. "Now our transgender kids will have to go out of state for gender-affirming care!"
However, she added, said she decided to go ahead with an interview with United Methodist Insight after talking with some friends. She added that a Feb. 28 federal court ruling allowing Indiana to ban gender-affirming care for transgender children and youths "just shows how much Our Kaleidoscope Community is needed."
Kaleidoscope Co-founders
Creative specialist Joshua Sanders (left) and licensed local pastor Carmen Daugherty co-founded Our Kaleidoscope Community with support from leaders and members at Roberts Park United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. (Courtesy Photo)
Pastrix Carmen said Kaleidoscope began in 2021 as a ministry of Roberts Park UMC, a congregation whose welcome video describes it as "place where everyone fits." Kaleidoscope was the brainchild of Pastrix Carmen and Joshua Sanders, a transgender man who leads Roberts Park UMC's audiovisual team. Now Kaleidoscope has an eight-person board of directors – "they're putting in hours of work," she says – and licensed mental health professionals are writing letters supporting Kaleidoscope as a source for gender-affirming care.
As the ministry grew, its leaders decided in summer 2023 to spin Kaleidoscope off as an independent non-profit entity. Roberts Park UMC has provided seed money to cover operations and given Kaleidoscope the entire fourth floor of its education building for office space, Pastrix Carmen said.
"We're very fortunate that Roberts Park gave us a generous grant and space in the educational building," said Pastrix Carmen. "It covered staff costs and location costs; now we're trying to raise as much money as we can to fulfill our mission and keep going."
Another major step came in January 2024, when the Indiana Conference endorsed Kaleidoscope as an official extension ministry with Pastrix Carmen appointed as its executive director. As a licensed local pastor, she remains connected to Roberts Park but has been released from local-church duties by its senior pastor, the Rev. Andrew Scanlan-Holmes.
"Pastor Andrew turned me loose from worship duties every Sunday until Easter," said Pastrix Carmen. "He said, 'Go promote Kaleidoscope.'"
Weekly gatherings
The community meets weekly in Roberts Park's fellowship hall with no agenda other than sharing friendship, inspiration and support. The eclectic weekly mix of 20 to 25 participants includes LGBTQ+ persons along with families, senior citizens, non-LGBTQ youths, and a rainbow of beliefs, according to some of its leaders. A special project is SelfMade, a program that provides gender-affirming kits free of charge to transgender and non-binary persons who apply.
"We have Christians, Wiccans, Buddhists, pagans, atheists and some who follow Norse beliefs or no beliefs," said Faye Camp, a member of Roberts Park's staff-parish relations committee who served on Kaleidoscope's interim board while it sought tax-exempt designation.
"One of the things participants love is that we accept them regardless of their persuasion," Mrs. Camp said.
Faye's spouse Steve Camp, Roberts Park's lay leader and a Kaleidoscope co-founder, concurred. "Sometimes Carmen will read an inspirational text from the Qu'ran or the Jewish book of values, but she doesn't call it a devotional," he said. "It's more contemplative."
The Camps said they joined Roberts Park UMC seeking a LGBTQ-affirming church after one of their grandchildren came out as gay. They were among Kaleidoscope's earliest supporters despite some initial tension between the outreach and church members.
"Kaleidoscope has been a challenge to Roberts Park," Mrs. Camp acknowledged. "But the members realized it wasn't taking away from the church but adding to it."
Mr. Camp agreed. "Every Sunday we have five or six Kaleidoscope people running tech for worship," he said. "Some of them work as online hosts to welcome visitors immediately when they click on our service."
Full Table
Our Kaleidoscope Community participants enjoy a family-style meal on the first Thursday of each month at Roberts Park UMC. (Courtesy Photo)
The Camps said that while they're not as active in community events as they initially were, what with their grandchildren now active in school and extracurricular activities, they still connect with the gatherings. In fact, they're thought of as Kaleidoscope's "grandma" and "grandpa," said another board member, Alexandra Nicholas.
A transgender woman who uses she/her pronouns, Ms. Nicholas said Kaleidoscope was so welcoming that she joined the community on her second visit. Kaleidoscope doesn't require membership vows or other commitments; it's open to anyone who wants to come, Ms. Nicholas said.
"At that point, I had just come out," she said. "I was a 'baby trans' and I didn't know who to talk to. An online friend posted an invite to Kaleidoscope, and I saw that it was in Indianapolis. At the time I was living a 40-minute drive from downtown, but I was desperate to find more people like me."
Kaleidoscope provided her with a more nurturing community than her biological family, where acceptance of her transgender identity was mixed, Ms. Nicholas said. Her maternal grandmother and a cousin who had worked at a transgender clinic were among those who accepted Ms. Nicholas' transition, but her grandfather, a retired United Methodist minister, objected to the point of physical abuse, she said. Kaleidoscope gave her the community she needed.
Something different every Thursday
The community offers a range of activities, according to the Camps and Ms. Nicholas.
"Every Thursday we're doing something different -- cooking classes, art projects, game night, 'freestyle' Thursday," said Ms. Nicholas. "Freestyle has become really popular because people come just to hang out and talk and play games, whatever."
Kaleidoscope's most successful event, The Table, offers a family-style dinner monthly, drawing as many as 40 to 50 people at a time, said Ms. Nicholas. Pastrix Carmen said the emotional impact of a welcoming family meal caused one visitor to weep.
"He told me, 'It's been a year since I had any sort of family,'" she said. "I just melted."
Ms. Nicholas also confirmed Kaleidoscope's value as an uncommon community for LGBTQ+ persons.
"A lot of LGBTQ+ people are searching for a place to go and be themselves and unfortunately that's not that common in Indiana," she said. "We do meet in the church, so some people are reluctant because there's a lot of religious trauma in our community, but we want people to know we're a safe space; we don't push religion."
Steve Camp said he believes Kaleidoscope's new designation as a conference extension ministry has helped Roberts Park members appreciate its outreach better.
"I know people don't always agree on LGBTQ+ acceptance, but when they see the outcome at church, that's important," he said.
Faye Camp stressed that the ties created by Kaleidoscope go beyond its church connections.
"The people in Kaleidoscope aren't that different from the rest of the people in church," she said. "Kaleidoscope people have children, grandchildren, friends, and they just want the same things from their lives that we want -- to be loved, accepted and appreciated, not merely tolerated."
Now that Kaleidoscope has become more established, its ties to Roberts Park have strengthened as well.
"These relationships extend 'way beyond Kaleidoscope meetings," Mrs. Camp said. "They know one another's kids; they participate with the kids and their families in school events and sports. Their friendships go beyond Roberts Park; they're there for one another."
"For those who've turned their back on church, Kaleidoscope is bringing them back," Mrs. Camp said.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, a media channel she founded in 2011 to amplify news and views for and by marginalized and under-served United Methodists. Please email Insight for permission to use this content elsewhere.