At this event, Fernando will share the story of his journey from globetrotting evangelist to gay atheist activist and author. 

Timeline for this event:

10:30 a.m. - coffee and conversation
11 a.m. - announcements and guest presentation
12:30 p.m. - lunch will be provided for those who wish to stay (suggested lunch donation: $10)

Parking:

The Community Parking Deck is a few feet from this event and accessible from both Walnut and 6th Streets. Street parking is available, but limited; meters are not enforced on Sundays. Plan to arrive early due to construction in the area. Click here for more information.

Donations:

We feel it's important to provide most of our events, including this speaker series, free to the public. However, we encourage guests, if able, to help offset the cost of these programs by making a cash contribution at the event or visiting this page to give a donation by credit card.

About Our Guest:

Fernando Alcántar was born and raised in Mexicali, Mexico. He was born into Roman Catholicism and converted to Christianity through the visit of American missionaries. He started his involvement in Christian leadership as a youth leader for his local church and ascended to become a state-wide denominational leader for the Foursquare Church in the state of Baja California.

He immigrated to the United States as a teenager and eventually transferred to Azusa Pacific University, the second largest evangelical college in the nation. He worked at APU's Mexico Outreach program for eight years as Senior Coordinator of North American Partnerships. There, he oversaw hundreds of churches in Mexico and helped mobilize over 9,000 missionaries a year from all over the United States and Canada.

He left APU to take the role of Director of Leadership Development for Young People for the California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church. "Cal-Pac" oversees almost 400 churches for about 83,000 members across Southern California, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. He oversaw youth and young adult ministries across the region and served as an ambassador to ethnic caucuses. He was considered by many as the spokesperson for emerging Methodism.

It was towards the end of his term with the UMC that Fernando reached the twilight of his theological process out of Christianity. He left the religious community and returned to Higher Education in the state of Utah—the place where he finally realized his identity as a gay man. He resigned in September of 2013 after constantly being personally and professionally attacked for issues administrators admitted were related to him being non-Mormon and his sexuality.

Fernando has written a book of his memoirs titled, To the Cross and Back: An Immigrant’s Journey from Faith to Reason. Once a high profile religious leader, Fernando is coming out as both Gay and Atheist—“gaytheist”—to help strengthen a national narrative of understanding, tolerance and acceptance. He also wants to help give a voice to those hiding in the shadows, afraid to publicly question their religious, cultural, and sexual identity for fear of isolation and retaliation.