Jul 8, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min · 14 segments
Dan Shenk (he/him) grew up the son of Mennonite missionaries in Tanzania, East Africa, spent his teenage years boarding at a mission school, and later found himself ordained as a chaplain working…
Dan ShenkGuestEliseHostCarrieHosta
cornerstone of queer history.
Like, that's awesome.
Wow.
Yeah, I feel like you've seen so much.
I mean, the pendulum swing from the AIDS crisis to same-sex marriage being legalized to a general positive outlook on the LGBTQ plus community.
And now... with everything going on currently politically, seeing that downturn again.
Do you have any thoughts on the climate right now?
Some of my thinking around all that is that It's the AIDS epidemic, paradoxically, like I said, brought people together.
And I think the result is that, I don't think, I know, I know that a key result was that we came out of it with a greater sense of pride about who we are.
We met the challenge, and there was so much tragedy going on all around us, all through it.
So one thing I would say to young LGBTQ plus people today is, I don't know what I would say, because I think that they become spoiled.
Obergefell versus Hodges the right to marry and all of that all of that is comparatively recent and yet so quickly young people have come to assume that take it for granted I think that things are starting to go in reverse and I think that it's going to result in the gay community having to stand up again And I think that that's where we're headed.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
You know, it's a scary time, but there's also, I had this strong belief that, and here I can use the God word.
I think that God has put something in people, in human beings that wants to be treated with respect.
a
cornerstone of queer history.
Like, that's awesome.
Wow.
Yeah, I feel like you've seen so much.
I mean, the pendulum swing from the AIDS crisis to same-sex marriage being legalized to a general positive outlook on the LGBTQ plus community.
And now... with everything going on currently politically, seeing that downturn again.
Do you have any thoughts on the climate right now?
Some of my thinking around all that is that It's the AIDS epidemic, paradoxically, like I said, brought people together.
And I think the result is that, I don't think, I know, I know that a key result was that we came out of it with a greater sense of pride about who we are.
We met the challenge, and there was so much tragedy going on all around us, all through it.
So one thing I would say to young LGBTQ plus people today is, I don't know what I would say, because I think that they become spoiled.
Obergefell versus Hodges the right to marry and all of that all of that is comparatively recent and yet so quickly young people have come to assume that take it for granted I think that things are starting to go in reverse and I think that it's going to result in the gay community having to stand up again And I think that that's where we're headed.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
You know, it's a scary time, but there's also, I had this strong belief that, and here I can use the God word.
I think that God has put something in people, in human beings that wants to be treated with respect.
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