Who We Are

In the Gospel of John, the woman at the well comes in the heat of the day. She would rather face this heat than face the rejection of her peers.

Jesus had to pass through Samaria just so he could seek her out and love her. He was excited to share the special news that He was the Messiah with this woman who may not have normally been acknowledged by the Jews at all for many reasons among which was her complicated journey with longing and relationship.

At the well, Jesus meets her and offers the living water of the Holy Spirit, inviting her to worship the Father through Him, the Truth. He invites her to bring her whole story, every experience and mistake, and to worship in Spirit and Truth.

We want to walk alongside you as you answer His invitation, to bring your whole story to Jesus and worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

Our Values

We believe every person who seeks to join our community should experience the light of Christ through compassionate individuals.

We believe there is great joy in allowing Christ to illuminate an individual’s most shameful parts.

We believe LGBTQ+ disciples who have let the light of Christ illuminate their hearts are crucial examples to those LGBTQ+ disciples younger in the faith.

We recognize individuals’ experiences of gender and sexuality as sacred ground.

We honor participants’ desires for confidentiality.

We respect the labels participants and leaders want to use to describe their experience of gender and sexuality, provided these labels don’t dishonor the dignity of the human person.

We refer to participants as LGBTQ+ disciples.

All of our activities are centered in Christ.

We are committed to encouraging a traditional Christian sexual ethic for all members while meeting individuals where they are in their faith journey.

We believe a participant’s desires in regards to gender and sexuality do not need to change to achieve salvation and holiness. All desires can be a part of the joy that comes from the Lord’s plan for our redemptive suffering.

Meet Our Leadership Team

  • Jessica Bailes

    FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

    Jessica is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in English and Music. Since first sharing her testimony about her own experience integrating faith and her LGBTQ+ experience, she has joyfully walked with other college students through similar experiences after beginning Spirit and Truth at her school in 2021. Her hobbies include playing the organ, swimming, and reading graphic novels.

  • Gabe Laughlin

    CHAPTER LEADER

    Gabe was born in Jackson, Mississippi to two loving parents and lived most of his life as an atheist until his father passed when he was sixteen leaving him confused and searching for answers. After moving for college, he found Christ, and Spirit and Truth was a big step along that journey. He finally discovered a community that loves Jesus and accepts his experiences as they are and always encouraged him to change for the better.

  • Elizabeth Thorner

    CHAPTER LEADER

    Elizabeth is a recent graduate from the University of Florida and works now as a software developer. She is interested in reading, embroidering, and playing video games. She appreciates how Spirit and Truth allows her to dive deeper into topics that people aren’t always willing to talk about in the wider Catholic community.

Meet Our Board

  • Ashley Hemingway

    Ashley Hemingway is the Senior Campus Minister at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center, home of the University of Florida. In her 17 years of ministry, she has found herself serving in nearly every ministerial role that campus ministry has to offer... with the exception of the kitchen crew, because she cannot cook to save her life. She lives in Gainesville, Florida, as the lone Gator in her household alongside her Florida State fan husband and her Louisiana State fan daughter (she's only 7, so there's still time). In her spare time she enjoys reading theology, writing poetry, and pretending she knows her way around a camera. If she has learned anything at all over the course of her career, it's that young adults (and older adults) desperately need to know that they are seen, known, and loved, uniquely and unrepeatably, by a God who will chase them to the ends of the earth and back to win their hearts, over and over and over again. 

  • Jim Grinaker

    Jim is a Florida native, and graduate of Ave Maria School of Law and the University of South Florida.  He has worked as an attorney since 2010.  Outside work, Jim has assisted with various Catholic and community arts organizations.  He currently serves as president of the Polish American Society of St. Petersburg and the McGivney Foundation.  Jim has a love of nature and the arts, enjoys polka and contra dance, and is learning to play the accordion.  He also has a pet rabbit named Maximillian.

  • Henry Seawright

    Henry was born in West Palm Beach, FL and studied accounting at the University of Florida starting in 2019. He became involved in the Catholic student center in 2021, eventually joining the church choir and UF Men's Choir in 2023. He graduated with his bachelors and masters in accounting with the goal of using his experience to help small businesses and nonprofits.