Young Prophet Collective: A light in the darkness

This week has been another reminder that the forces of misogyny, patriarchy, and white supremacy continue to shape our world.

The Southern Baptist Convention voted to further exclude women from pastoral ministry. In Ohio, HB 472, originally intended to help unhoused people obtain free identification, has been transformed into a vehicle for voter suppression. The Cleveland Clinic reached a settlement that will end gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth and establish a detransition clinic.

These actions may seem disconnected, but they are rooted in the same belief: that power belongs to a select few, while everyone else should know their place. Women. Transgender people. Poor people. Black and Brown communities. Disabled people. Anyone who challenges the expectations of patriarchy and white supremacy becomes a target.

Yet this week, I am ending my week in a very different place.

I am at the 2026 retreat of the Young Prophet Collective, an LGBTQ+ led community that welcomes people across race, ability, gender, sexual orientation, and neurodiversity. The mission is to empower people to “speak and act boldly and compassionately for justice.”

In a world that keeps trying to narrow who belongs, communities like this expand the circle. They create spaces where excluded voices are not merely tolerated but celebrated, where leadership is shared, where people are encouraged to bring their whole selves, and where justice is not an abstract idea but a daily practice.

The forces of exclusion may dominate headlines, but gatherings like this are how the world changes. Not through fear. Not through control. But through communities of courage, compassion, and belonging.

This is what gives me hope.

And this is what will transform the world.