What Does It Mean to Love Our Neighbor?
This year’s MTR Connect theme is As Yourself , because loving our neighbor changes everything.
We’re kicking off our 2026 MTR Connect season with Sally Gary and Karen Keen, sitting down together for a conversation on what it looks like to love across deep differences, and the personal stories that brought each of them to this work. This episode also celebrates 20 years of CenterPeace, the ministry Sally founded and leads, which has spent two decades creating a place to belong for LGBTQ people in Christian community. We’ll also dig into the Bakos Project, the mentoring initiative Sally and Karen co-founded to nurture the next generation of Christian LGBTQ leaders.
Sally Gary
Sally is the founder and Executive Director of CenterPeace, a Christian non-profit that has provided community and support for LGBTQ people since 2006, and works for their full integration into the life of the Church. She is also co-founder of the Bakos Project, which operates under the auspices of CenterPeace. Gifted in pastoral care, Sally has spent years working with young adults, including as a former professor in the Communication Department at Abilene Christian University. She holds an MA in Communication from ACU and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech University School of Law.
Karen Keen
Karen is co-founder and Executive Coordinator of the Bakos Project, a biblical scholar and spiritual care provider who has spent much of her career working with young adults, pastors, and ministry leaders. She’s the author of several books, including Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships and The Word of a Humble God, and co-editor of Christlike Acceptance Across Deep Difference. Karen holds a ThM from Duke Divinity School and is a spiritual director trained by the Faithful Companions of Jesus, a Catholic order in the Ignatian tradition.
Registration Form 8/11/26
Explore the “As Yourself” Season:
