Join Peterson Toscano – performance artist, podcaster, and longtime Friend –for a heartfelt and humorous storytelling session exploring how he found spiritual belonging among Quakers.
Peterson shares moments from his early encounters with Friends, including the Quaker meeting he was too afraid to enter, his coming out journey after conversion therapy, and the surprising letter that confused his first clearness committee. With warmth and wit, he reflects on how Quaker values continue to shape his life as a gay person of faith and a climate advocate.
Blending personal story, spiritual reflection, and audience conversation, this After Meeting gathering invites both newcomers and longtime Friends into a deeper exploration of identity, faith, and the expansive welcome at the heart of Quaker practice.
This special event is hosted by South Belfast Quaker Meeting. All are welcome. Attendees are welcome to join The Quaker Worship Meeting prior to this event at 10.45am. The After-Meeting Conversation starts at 12 pm, after a cup of coffee.
Peterson Toscano is an American Quaker who lives between the United States and South Africa with his partner, Glen Retief. He became a member of the Religious Society of Friends in 2001 at Hartford Monthly Meeting in New England Yearly Meeting, where he was active as an adult facilitator and organiser. He is a member of Millville, PA Monthly Meeting and maintains the meeting’s website.
He is a writer, performance artist, podcaster, and long-time campaigner for LGBTQ+ liberation and climate justice. His work brings humour and storytelling into conversation with faith, social change, and the lived experience of marginalised communities.
Peterson has presented widely among Friends in the United States and Britain. He has spoken at Friends General Conference gatherings and at numerous yearly meetings, including New England, Southeastern, and Appalachian Yearly Meetings. He has led workshops and retreats at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre and Pendle Hill, and has given presentations at more than fifty Quaker meetings across the Americas and the UK, including in Havana, Philadelphia, Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Reading, and London.
Peterson’s essays, stories, and reflections on faith, identity, and social change have been published widely. His work has appeared in Friends Journal and The Friend (UK), as well as in literary and cultural publications including The Advocate, The New Statesman, and The Gay & Lesbian Review. His writing has also been included in several anthologies, among them Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, Rainbow in the Word: LGBTQ Christians’ Biblical Memoirs, Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis, and Lighting the Way: Short Plays about the Climate Crisis. Across these publications, he brings personal narrative, humour, and careful theological reflection into conversation with contemporary social and political concerns.
He is a Bible scholar with a particular interest in how Friends engage scripture through the Inward Light, and he has taken part in public Quaker conversations on faith and the Bible through podcasts and online forums, including the British YouTube channel Quake It Up.
Peterson is the co-host of the podcast Quakers Today and produces The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope for Pendle Hill. His writing has appeared in Friends Journal, The Friend (UK), The Advocate, and The New Statesman. His work and activism have also been covered by The Guardian, The Times, The New York Times, Malta Today, and PinkNews.
His other events in this year’s programme include:
Everything Is Connected: An Evening of Stories, Most Weird, Many True – Tuesday 24th March
Bubble & Squeak: Live podcast recording – Tuesday 24th March
The Weight of Carbon Dioxide and Chihuahuas: What do Chihuahuas, chickens, and climate change have in common? More than you’d think. – Saturday 28th March
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