May 29-31, 2026 | Minneapolis, MN
Our BMC roots are powerfully deep and we’re celebrating our 50th Anniversary in queer and radical style! Join us in Minneapolis for a festive weekend of storytelling, singing, ritual/worship, workshops, artmaking, games, connecting over shared meals, and honoring this incredible 50-year legacy of LGBTQIA+ Anabaptist resistance and resilience. BMC is a multigenerational crew and people of all ages, including teens and younger kids, are welcome!
Throughout the weekend you’ll have a chance to tour and interact with BMC’s archival material, share and record your BMC stories and memories, contribute your BMC materials to the archive, and celebrate the living histories that shape our current and future activism.
Attendees agree to hold these Shared Commitments during the event.
Registration for this event is now closed. Please contact communication@bmclgbt.org if you have questions about your registration and gathering@bmclgbt.org to participate in local sacred space and livestream opportunities.
Are you unable to join us, but want to support this milestone anniversary? Share a BMC memory or photos here! Donate to our Solidarity Fund for our 50th event. Are you eager to ensure that BMC’s legacy continues? Join us as a BMC Dance Partner (click “monthly gift”).
Schedule
All events are held at the Tretter Collection (222 21st Ave South, Minneapolis, MN) except for Saturday afternoon and evening at Augsburg Hoversten Chapel.
Friday May 29, 2026
2:00pm - 5:30pm
BMC Welcome Table open (Tretter Atrium)
Sign-up Activities:
- Record your BMC Oral History
- Tretter Collection Archive Tours
Drop-in Activities:
BMC 50th Archive Pop-Up Exhibit, Scavenger Hunt, Vonderful Goot Games,
Craft Table, Photo Booth, Photo and Document Identification
3:00pm
Hotel check-in: Courtyard Marriott Downtown
3:30pm - 4:45pm
Choir rehearsal with Pax Ressler
4:30pm
BMC Scavenger Hunt
5:30pm
REVELING: Official welcome, singing, revelry! (Tretter Atrium)
6:15pm
Dinner catered for all registrants
Affinity Groups: Straight Allies, Queer/Trans Pastors, Trans/Non-Binary
7:30pm
GROUNDING & GATHERING: (Rm 120)
Evening program, Singing, Early Seed Stories, Ancestor Naming
9:00pm
Informal hang out at the Courtyard Marriott patio
Saturday May 30, 2026
8:00am - 3:00pm
Sign-up in advance:
- Record your BMC Oral History
- Tretter Collection Archive Tours
Drop-in Activities:
BMC 50th Archive Pop-Up Exhibit, Scavenger Hunt, Vonderful Goot Games, Craft Table, Photo Booth, Photo and Document Identification
8:00am
Optional Morning Nibi Water Ritual at the Mississippi River.
Meet at the Welcome Table. The walk is approximately 7 minutes.
8:45am - 9:15am
MORNING CENTERING: (Rm 120)
Singing, Movement, Place Naming
9:30am
Workshops:
- BMC 50th Zine-Making: India Johnson, Tretter Archive
- Singing Resistance: Jane Ramseyer Miller
- Queer Theology: Jonny Rashid
10:45am
Snack Break (Outside Tretter office)
11:00am
Workshops:
- Interplay: Randy Newswanger
- Solidarity Together, Supporting Immigrants in the LGBTQ+ Community: Josih Hostetler
- Journeys of Repair: Xaris A. Martínez
12:15pm
Lunch catered for all registrants (Rm 120)
Scavenger Hunt prizes
Affinity Groups – Queer/Trans BIPOC, Parents of Queer/Trans Youth, BMC First Decade Leaders
1:30pm
Vonderful Goot Tournament (Outdoor Green Space)
Sign-up in advance:
- Record your BMC Oral History
- Tretter Collection Archive Tours
- Walk to Owámniyomni (Stone Arch Bridge)
2:30pm
Choir rehearsal Augsburg College, Hoversten Chapel
2:45pm
Transition to Augsburg College. Shuttles available.
3:30pm
ROOTS, ROCKS & RIVERS: (Augsburg Hoversten Chapel)
Singing, Touchstone Stories, Ritual, Altar-building
Note: This gathering is open to local guests and congregations. Sign-up to attend if you are not registered for the weekend. FREE public parking in Augsburg lots K and L - map
Plan ahead to bring your evening Revelry-ware, it can be stored at the Hoversten Chapel during your dinner outing.
5:00pm
Dinner on your own - Cedar Riverside neighborhood
7:00pm
Doors open at Augsburg. Cash bar opens. (Augsburg Hoversten Chapel)
You will need actual cash for this bar. ATM at the Marriott.
7:15pm
ROOTED & REVELING: 50th Anniversary Story Showcase
Evening entertainment inspired by The Moth storyhour, 50th birthday party, toasts and treats. Come dressed in your finest revelry splendor!
Note: This gathering is open to local guests and congregations. Sign-up to attend if you are not registered for the weekend. FREE public parking in Augsburg lots K and L - map
9:15pm
50th Birthday Party Celebration: cake, ice cream, dancing and more revelry!
Sunday May 31, 2026
9:30am
GROUNDING & SENDING: A Queer Love Feast (Rm 120)
Weekend Reflections, Singing, Communion & Glitter Blessings
Brunch with shared reflection around tables (Rm 120)
10:45am
Closing program, blessing and sending
11:00am
Checkout at Marriot Hotel. We will have a room for bags at Tretter.
12:00pm
Event concludes
12:30pm
Sign-Up: Queer guided walk and tour of Weissman Art Museum
What to Bring to Minneapolis!
1. Water bottle
2. Fun “Revelry Splendor” outfit for our Saturday night party. Gender-queerness and drag encouraged!
3. Cash for cash-only bar (Sat PM)
4. Small sacred object: Our time together will include building an altar that will hold a variety of sacred things throughout the gathering: names/photos of people we love and remember, tiny artwork, mementos that mark a BMC highlight or significant part of your spiritual journey. You are encouraged to bring a memento or small sacred object to add to our collective altar.
5. BMC archival material: Think photos, letters, banners, buttons, tshirts, brochures, songs, liturgy, sermons, protest signs…If you plan to bring material to donate to BMC’s permanent collection at Tretter, please fill out
this form for instructions!
6. BMC photo albums for folks to enjoy (be sure to label and take home, unless you are donating them to archive!)
Lodging
The Courtyard Marriott Minneapolis Downtown is the host hotel for our event. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from our gathering space on the University of Minnesota Campus. Be sure to book your hotel room using this BMC link, for a discounted rate of $149/night. This rate is available for any number of nights between May 28 - May 31, and must be booked no later than May 7th in order to receive the discounted rate. You will receive the hotel booking link in an email immediately upon completing registration.
Note that lodging is not included in the event registration cost. Participants are also welcome to book their own lodging. We also have a limited number of homestays available; these can be requested on the registration form.
Location & Transportation
BMC’s 50th Anniversary Gathering will be held in Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota campus. Detailed venue information will be shared upon registration.
Parking is available for $5/day in a designated parking lot on campus near our venue. BMC registrants staying at the Courtyard Marriott may park in the designated parking lot overnight.
Parking is also available at the Courtyard Marriott for $32/day.
Public Transportation from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport (MSP) to the Courtyard Marriott Downtown (5 min walk from venue)
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Blue Line train from MSP to the Cedar/Riverside station. Purchase your ticket at the train kiosk at the airport. Cost is approximately $2.25 and takes ~17 min plus a 10-min walk to the hotel.
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Lyft and Uber rideshares are also available and take anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on traffic.
Accessibility & Safety
Our gathering will be held in a building with accessible entrances, elevators, and a nearby accessible parking lot. The building has gender-neutral restrooms. We will designate a low-stimulation space for those with sensory needs.
There’s a spot in the registration form to indicate other accessibility needs. Please be in touch with any questions or for accessibility details!
Minneapolis
We rise in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis, and we're in close contact with local BMCers who tell us that Minneapolis is an activated, engaged and beautiful place of resistance right now. We know we must do all that we can to support one another and be as safe as possible as we gather there in May. We are organizing a safety team which includes leaders on the ground in Minneapolis, and we will continue to factor in the local context as we take safety measures before and during this event.
BMC has a long history in Minneapolis – our office of 30 years and now permanent archives are here. Minneapolis is a sanctuary city for trans people and maintains a vibrant activist community. At the same time, we know that travelling is not safe for everyone right now, most notably those targeted due to immigration status, skin color, and gender identity, as well as those across international borders. Know that your presence will be acutely missed. We hope you will join us in marking BMC’s 50th Anniversary by sharing your own story or memory via writing/video – details coming soon.
We look forward to a BMC 50th Anniversary Gathering rooted in our histories of queer resistance and resilience! Reach out to gathering@bmclgbt.org with any logistics questions or concerns.
Planning Committee
Jane Ramseyer Miller (she/her), BMC 50th Anniversary Event Coordinator, Minneapolis, MN
Annabeth Roeschley (they/she), BMC staff, Chicago, IL
Hannah Kraenbring (they/them), BMC staff, Lancaster, PA
Jonny Rashid (he/him), West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
Michelle Burkholder (they/them), Hyattsville Mennonite Church, Hyattsville, MD
Amy Short (she/her), Yellow Springs, Ohio
Josih Hostetler (he/him), Indianapolis, IN
Xaris A. Martínez (ella/she/her), Durham, NC