Judson has a long history of working with sex workers to fight for dignity, equity, safety, and liberation. This Sunday, join us as sex workers speak at the pulpit on life, love, faith and justice.
Please note: This service will feature frank and explicit discussion of sexuality and sex work and is most suitable for those over the age of 18. Discretion and discernment is advised for all potential attendees.
Join us in-person or online here.
>>ABOUT<<
The "Arlene" trailer is the working title of a documentary in development about Arlene Carmen (Judson staff 1967-1994) that is being produced and directed by Tessa Carmen De Roy (Arlene’s niece) and Linda Goldstein Knowlton of LadyLike Films. Leslie Dennis, who was on staff with Arlene and is now one of the church archivists, will introduce the film.
DALE CORVINO found his voice at the underground literary salon “Dean Johnson’s Reading for Filth,” recounting his interactions with sex work. His essays include a profile of Chilean writer Pedro Lemebel for the Gay & Lesbian Review and a meditation on queer longing in the digital era for Matt Keegan’s 1996. BONDS & BOUNDARIES, his debut short story collection, was published in 2023 by Rebel Satori Press. His memoir of sex work, AFTERLIFE OF A KEPT BOY, won the C&R Press Nonfiction Prize and is out now.
APRIL FLORES is a muse, model, performer, writer, and Intimacy Coordinator. She was the first BBW to win two consecutive AVN Awards for her groundbreaking work. She has modeled for fine art photographers, appeared in adult films in every genre of the adult industry, and spoken out about body image through her presence, powerful sexuality, and her activism. Flores co-wrote the fine art book FAT GIRL with her late husband, visual artist Carlos Batts. She is an advocate for positive body image, published in multiple anthologies and journals speaking on her experience as a plus size artist, activist, and sex worker. Ph. Carlos Batts
Veronica Vera, is a writer, educator and activist whose freelance career spans nearly fifty years. She is the author of three books and hundreds of columns on sexuality and gender. Miss Vera’s Academy, the internationally known school she founded in 1989 for the transgender and gender fluid community flourished for thirty years. As an 80s porn star Veronica testified in Washington, DC for free expression. She is a Doctor of Human Sexuality. A consultant to TV and movies, her archives were acquired by Harvard U. Veronica is on the Board of Judson Memorial Church. Ph: Sprinkle, Lock, van Kempen. www.veronicaverawrites.com
Not Your Rescue Project: Migrant Sex Workers Fighting for Justice, (Nov. 2024), edited by activist organizers Chanelle Gallant and Elene Lam with input from the Butterfly Community(Canada) ad Red Canary Song (U.S)
“A landmark abolitionist primer on migration, sex work, policing, and the “anti-trafficking industry”―and a powerful argument about who is really leading the way toward justice: migrant sex workers themselves.”
Chanelle Gallant is an author, activist, and movement strategist who has worked in the areas of sexuality and criminalization for over two decades. Chanelle is on the national board for Showing Up For Racial Justice and has helped to found or support numerous sex worker organizations. She has an MA in sociology and was a Lambda Literary Fellow.
Elene Lam is an activist, artist, community organizer, educator, and human rights defender. She has fought for sex worker, migrant, gender, labor, and racial justice for over twenty years, She is the founder of Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and the cofounder of Migrant Sex Workers Project. She holds a master’s of law and master’s of social work. She is a PhD candidate at McMaster University (School of Social Work) and is studying the harm of the anti-trafficking movement. She was awarded the Constance E. Hamilton Award for Women’s Equality by the City of Toronto.