Seeking Sanctuary began life as a standard oral history project, one that sought to record the memories and experiences of those associated with the LGBT Ministry. It was not until the project was well under way that the idea of a book was first floated. By then it was clear that the stories would be of interest to a broader audience; what had begun to emerge were tales of family pressures, social policing, economic struggles, state neglect, institutional discrimination and interpersonal violence. The narrators spoke of multiple forms of prejudice, of long struggles to feel comfortable in their skins, and of difficult journeys – sometimes across multiple borders – in search of safety. Yet, within each story, no matter how bleak, was an unmistakeable will to survive, to connect, to grow and to love.

The project itself came about because of a long-standing relationship between the GALA Queer Archive and the LGBT Ministry. On top of providing financial and institutional support, GALA wanted to document the crucial work being undertaken at Holy Trinity, both to cement the LGBT Ministry’s place within the historical record and to make sure that other religious institutions could learn from its experiences. What form this documentation process would take took longer to establish.

As a scholar of LGBT migration and a long-time GALA collaborator, I was approached to see if I would manage the project. It was an invitation I accepted without hesitation. Although I don’t identify as a person of faith, I have long been interested in the nexus between religion and mobility. When these concepts are mentioned in my line of work, it is usually in reference to migration catalysts (for example, when people flee due to religious persecution), but I have long been intrigued by the possibility of faith communities being sites of belonging, especially for those on the margins of society. Over the years, I have heard LGBT migrants of various backgrounds speak of traumatic experiences justified on faith grounds, yet seldom do these individuals frame religion in wholly negative terms. At first this would catch me off guard, shocking my humanist sensibilities, but with time I began to recognise the narrowness of my own position.