BBCBB Conference

two hands hold a rainbow flame. one hand has the trans flag colors and the other has nonbinary flag colors. Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary surrounds the hands

Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary.

Saturday, April 26th, 2025 • 8:30am-5:00pm

First Unitarian Universalist Society of Syracuse
109 Waring Road, Syracuse, NY – and virtually!

A place to find community with transgender, nonbinary folx and our allies. A conference for us to gather, learn, and grow.

 Sponsored by 

Registration.

Please choose carefully from the options below.

In-person registration

In Syracuse, masking required (see Covid precautions)

Childcare Registration: email

BBCBB@FIRSTUUSYR.ORG

Virtual registration

Workshops.

The following workshops will be available both in-person and online. Additional workshops will be offered in-person only

Session 1: Eastern Time 9-9:50am

Option 1: Trans 101 for the new, curious, and open: This workshop will focus on “the basics,” of what might help you understand and support trans, non-binary, genderqueer, and other gender non-conforming folks, with tools to support us that don’t require you to completely understand.

Option 2: Supporting Your Neuroqueer Kin: Several studies have shown that autistic individuals are significantly more likely to be transgender than allistic (non-autistic) individuals. Multiple researchers suggest that neurodivergent ways of interpreting the world and neurodivergent resistance to conventional thinking contribute to the comparatively high population of transgender autistics. This workshop guides caregivers and supporters of trans autistic youth and adults through that research, describes the experiences at the nexus of trans and neurodivergent, and shares practical strategies for supporting the neuroqueer individuals in participants’ lives. The workshop will hold space for ample discussion and include time for strategizing individualized supports.

Session 2: Eastern Time 10-10:50am

Option 1: Let’s Deconstruct the Binary Together: We call this Building Beloved Community Beyond the Binary, but what IS the binary and how do we build community beyond it? Join us as we discuss the long history and development of the binary paradigm, how it is hurting all of us, and spend some time together practicing thought processes to move your own thinking beyond the binary. This workshop welcomes people of all genders and experiences, though at least a 101 level of understanding trans allyship is required.

Option 2: Relational Resilience: Building Secure, Authentic Connections. Learn skills and strategies for fostering strong, meaningful relationships that can withstand challenges and foster emotional security.

Session 3: Eastern Time 11-11:50am

Option 1: Creating Fat Liberation in Trans Spaces: This workshop will be a blend of personal story sharing, education and discussion around anti-fat bias and how it can be perpetuated in Trans spaces. Education will be centered on anti-fat bias and how it intersects with anti-trans rhetoric. Please come prepared to ask questions and share some of your experiences of fat joy and resistance. By the end, you will walk away with a basic understanding of anti-fat bias and how to spot it, as well as a few tips on how to make your spaces more inclusive of all bodies.

Option 2: Shapeshifters: Exploring and Affirming Gender Diversity thru Art and Stories Thru beautiful pictures and intimate, personal language, the book ‘Shapeshifters’ tells the stories of seven artists who share their gender explorations ‘beyond the binary.’ Using the book as a jumping off point, this workshop will provide folks the opportunity to discuss their journey with gender, both for ourselves and with significant people in our lives. A special emphasis will be on how we can be allies to nonbinary, queer, and trans folks.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS Spencer Bergstedt 1-2:30pm

Session 4: Eastern Time 2:45-3:50

Option 1: Queering Belonging on a College Campus: How To Support LGBTQ+ Students in Challenging Times: This workshop is focused on sharing best practices of creating community, building sense of belonging, and allyships on college campuses for trans and non binary students.

Option 2: Secondhand Masculinity: This is workshop dedicated to exploring the way we currently understand masculinity and how we can challenge it to be so much more. The presentation will define masculinity as we see it currently, exploring the influences on what builds those ideas. The workshop will unpack toxic gender roles and their impact on both people who are masculine as well as those they interact with. Further, the workshop helps participants understand the impact and importance this holds for generations to come, laying the foundation for a new way of understanding masculinity. The workshop utilizes audience participation and activities to cultivate a safe and interactive way to learn.

*Subject to change

Announcing Our Keynote Speaker: Spencer Bergstedt

Spencer Bergstedt is a consultant, public speaker, educator, and author specializing in LGBTQ workplace, health care, and educational inclusion issues. Spencer has been advocating for LGBTQ people for over 30 years. His work on transgender legal issues has garnered him an international reputation for both scholarly theory and practical application. Spencer’s work has impacted birth certificate and driver’s license policies, youth participation in after-school activities, and self-help legal information for trans people throughout the US. His lived experience as a transman combined with his legal expertise and executive leadership roles bring a unique breadth of understanding to his clients. Spencer is an engaging presenter who fosters greater understanding on the topic of gender diversity in an open and supportive manner.

white bald man with blue eyes and long grey beard smiles

Spencer Bergstedt

Schedule.  All Times Eastern Standard

  • 8:15AM – Registration
  • 9:00AM – Workshop 1
  • 10:00AM – Workshop 2

  • 11:00AM Workshop 3

  • 12:00PM – Lunch
  • 1:00PM – Welcome and Keynote

  • 2:45PM – Workshop 4

  • 4:00PM – Community gathering and closing

Community Space (in Fellowship Hall)
Find resources, speak with representatives from area organizations, make art together, network and socialize

Covid.

Based on our values of radical hospitality, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our most vulnerable members to the greatest extent possible.

If you are attending in person, we require N95/KN95 or KF94 masks, covering both mouth and nose, in all indoor spaces, for everyone age 2 and older. When outside, masks are highly encouraged. Masks will be available at the conference if you need one.

Air purifiers are used in every room. Ventilation is increased by opening windows when weather allows.

Lunch seating will be available outside weather permitting, and you will be encouraged to spread out throughout the building if inside.

If you have symptoms of illness, please stay home. We have an online conference option.

Rapid testing is encouraged the day of the event. Tests are available at the church for those who need them. Again, if you have symptoms of any illness, please stay home and participate virtually.

Accessibility.

Our building is fully accessible to those using wheelchairs or mobility aides. We have accessible and all gender bathrooms available. We have assistive hearing devices in our sanctuary. Seating in the sanctuary is mainly pews. Other rooms have folding chairs. Couches are located in the Parlor and East Room. Fidgets are available throughout the building.

Conference materials are available in large print and electronically (please let us know ahead of time if this will be helpful for you).

If you would like an orientation tour of the church prior to the conference, contact us to make arrangements.

About Us.

First UU Syracuse is a non-dogmatic congregation in Syracuse, NY. We are focused on the effects we can have on the world around us, including through social action, justice, spirituality, love and mutual understanding.

“Moments like this are precisely why we do the inclusion-centered work that we do at First UU. In many ways, our congregation has spent years investing in preparation for this fearful time, so we can meet the moment with resolve and with the conviction that trans people are sacred, holy, and deserve to live, survive, and thrive in this world.” – Rev. Molly Hammerhand

The Q Center at ACR Health is a safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth, their families, and allies to gather, share, and receive support. Q Center programming promotes equality, celebrates diversity, provides resources that cultivate pride and leadership skills, and strives to create a safe and inclusive community for all.

Through our programs and services, we provide the guidance and support LGBTQ+ youth, young adults and their families need to thrive, and the foundation from which LGBTQ+ youth can succeed throughout their lives.

The Q Center program provides services in Central New York, Northern New York, and The Mohawk Valley.