What does justice look like when it moves beyond welcome and becomes true belonging?

In this episode of Creating Communities of Justice & Care, Mark Anderson and Bere Gil Soto talk with Rev. Dr. Katie Hays, founder and lead evangelist of Galileo Church in Fort Worth, Texas, about building communities where people who have been pushed to the margins can belong, participate, and thrive.

Katie shares her own journey toward ministry and Galileo Church’s work alongside LGBTQ+ people and other “spiritual refugees.” The conversation explores an important distinction between welcoming people into spaces we control and building community where power itself is shared.

Katie also shares the story of QueerQuest, Galileo’s Dungeons & Dragons community prioritizing LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse players, and what its growth has taught the church about loneliness, friendship, and creating community without requiring people to become church members.

In this episode

• Why hospitality and welcome are not necessarily the same as belonging
• How churches and organizations can practice justice by sharing power
• What QueerQuest teaches about responding creatively to loneliness and isolation
• Why meaningful justice work begins by building trust and coming alongside communities already doing the work
• How collaboration across faith traditions and organizations can create stronger communities

Episode highlights

09:03 – Katie describes what she means by “spiritual refugees” and the need for genuine community.
15:49 – Why welcoming someone as a guest still leaves a power difference, and what changes when the goal becomes shared community.
19:40 – The story behind QueerQuest and Galileo’s experiment in creating belonging through Dungeons & Dragons.
33:26 – Katie’s advice for leaders afraid of “getting it wrong”: show up, build trust, and come alongside people already doing the work.
39:50 – Holding on to Hope: Katie, Bere, and Mark share what is giving them hope right now.

Join the conversation

Where are you being invited to practice justice as belonging? Who has been pushed to the margins in your community, and what could it look like to create spaces where people can truly belong and thrive?

Learn more about Creating Communities of Justice & Care at NBA Cares.