MEET THE FOUNDERS
GABRIEL MUDD
A&R AND VOCAL ARRANGEMENTS
(he/him)
Singer/Songwriter/Actor Gabriel Mudd, based out of Chicago, IL, Is so glad to worship with you. Gabriel co-founded Q Worship after leading the worship department of Q Christian Fellowship for a few years. After being asked to step down and shut out of numerous churches and organizations because of his sexuality, Gabriel strives to create a safe place people in the LGBTQ+ to have a place to worship in spirit and in truth and to connect with their creator. Gabriel works with Affirming Worship and co-leads at MCC, A Church for Me in Chicago.
A performer and recording artist in his own right, Gabriel has been seen around the world in numerous theatrical performances and found on Apple Music and Spotify (stream "Starting to Get to Me").
TASH HOLMES
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT & SONGWRITER
(she/her)
Tash is an enthusiastic advocate for the LGBTIQ creative community who have experienced rejection from religious organisations. Across Australasia, Tash has worked & mentored many artists & worship leaders with the desire of creating a thriving network of passionate people who bring light, creativity and healing through innovative theology & music.
Recovering from a soul crushing experience of 'coming out' after serving years at Hillsong Church. Tash spent many years working in the secular music industry, writing, performing & touring before rediscovering a deeper passion for raw authentic worship. Facing a personal awakening to a misguided calling & turning what was a rejection into a blessing & revolution. Tash is now dedicated to creating a global platform for artists together with the Q Worship Collective to find a new sound that is life changing, fully affirming & transformative.
JESS GRACE GARCIA
MUSIC PRODUCER & SONGWRITER
(they/them)
Jess Grace Garcia is a cofounder of Q Worship Collective, Co-Host of Lavender Mafia Podcast, Music Director at CCUCC and the Worship Pastor at Haven Fellowship in Los Angeles where they lives with their wife and fiance. They spent a number of years leading worship in non affirming spaces until they took a break to rediscover what it looks like to be a queer person of faith. After spending 20 years in Baltimore Jess and their beautiful wife Erica moved to Los Angeles in hopes of finding better care and weather for Erica’s health. After moving, they quickly got connected to an affirming church community and with their love and support got super engaged in ways to give back to the LGBTQ+ Progressive Christian Community. In 2021 they met their gorgeous fiance Janna at a QCF (Virtual) Conference.
Jess is passionate about writing and producing songs that provide healing and reflection on the beauty, holiness and God's image within us. They love to love people, creating safe spaces for healing from religious trauma/spiritual abuse and to deconstruct/ reconstruct at their own pace.
When Jess isn’t leading and loving their community they own and operates a video production company & studio called Springwood Productions that they started over 10 years ago. They love to help artists tell their stories in unique and compassionate ways of connecting with their audience.
Stefie Dominguez
Pastoral Care
(she/her)
Hailing from Puerto Rico and now living in California, Stefie Dominguez (she/her) has been drumming for as long as she can remember. Stefie is the daughter of worship pastors and music has been a key part of her development from an early age. At the age of 6 she asked her parents for her first drumset and by the age of 9 she was drumming at church during Sunday services.
Stefie had to reconcile her faith and sexuality during the later part of her 20s when she could no longer ignore the deafening dissonance that being a queer person of faith caused. At 27 she decided to come out while discovering the unexpected peace that came from authentically holding on to her faith and embracing her sexuality.
Stefie is a mental health clinician with hopes of walking with people through the turbulent waters of trauma and coming out, with self-compassion and acceptance as the ultimate goal. She hopes to utilize her skills as a therapist to help pastor and love our QWC community. Stefie is the percussionist for some of QWC’s original releases, a local funk band in the Bay Area called Pawn Shop Soul and an acoustic soul trio called 24/7. You can also catch her covering songs on Instagram with her beloved cajón. Connect with Stefie via email, Instagram or Twitter!
MEET THE TEAM
KELLY RAVENSCRAFT
SPIRITUAL CARE & MUSICIAN
(she/they)
Kelly Ravenscraft is a San Diego-based hospital chaplain and also works as the worship arts director at Mission Hills Christian Church. She is involved in several justice initiatives and is passionate about creating places for worship, reclamation, and connection in unconventional spaces. They have been involved in starting experiential art ministries and has been privileged to assist Michael McBride in starting Affirming Worship in Chicago, a casual space for worship in a gay bar. She just graduated with her Master’s in Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary, is under the care of the Pacific Southwest Region of the Disciples of Christ for their ordination process, and is currently pursuing board certification. Kelly is working on writing and creating worship songs that affirm the LGBTQ+ Christian experience, finding trauma-informed ways to communicate a continual discovery of ourselves and of our relationship with God, in all of its nuances and beauty.
Ben Mann
PASTOR & SPIRITUAL CARE
(They/Them)
Prior to their featured role in Netflix’s Coming Out Colton, Pastor Ben Mann had spent nearly 20 years dedicated to helping people strive for equity and healing. As pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Rockies in Denver, Colorado, Pastor Ben has been instrumental in expanding services, including starting a low-cost, no-cost mental health clinic and a youth group for transgender teens. In addition, Pastor Ben serves as a chaplain at UCHealth, the University of Colorado Hospital, where they are presently contributing to research and services for victims of trauma. This work is in conjunction with their current studies as a Trauma Therapist through Central Seminary, where they already hold a Masters in Divinity, including holding the student record for awards for excellence within their graduating class.
Pastor Ben is passionate about the arts and music, and leveraged their prior chairpersonship of Q Christian Fellowship (formerly GCN) to help in launching Q Worship. They aspire to use this platform to promote talented queer artists and to help guide those impacted by trauma in the Church to health.
When not working, Pastor Ben enjoys the Colorado lifestyle with their dog, Aster. They can be found around Denver frequently karaoke nights.
Caro Beresford-Wood
DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY
(She/Her)
Caro is a chronically ill queer person of faith who lives in San Diego, CA with her fiancée. She aspires to be a jane-of-all-trades and loves the stories that she can tell when she’s behind the camera taking photos.
After growing up in conservative evangelical spaces, she earned her B.A. in Christian Theological Studies and afterward pivoted to get an M.A. in Strategic Communication Design, focusing on accessibility. These years of research, paper-writing, long conversations with professors, and protesting homophobic school policies were the best kind of space to reimagine what faith could mean. She believes that we are built for connection and finds joy in fostering it. Her faith is inextricably linked to grief, justice, and curiosity.
Caro currently works in user experience and begins seminary soon to work toward being a chaplain. When she’s not working, she’s at the San Diego Zoo, playing on the queer kickball league, spending time with her cats, or starting a new project.
Jaz Waring
PASTORAL CARE
(They/Them)
From a former evangelical Children’s pastor, to a queer Lutheran rabble-rouser, Jaz Waring (They/Them) has spent their adult life pursuing the call of God and creating spaces where people feel they belong. Jaz is on their way to be an ordained minister in the ELCA, and has a Master’s of Divinity from Luther Theological Seminary. Currently they are serving at The Table OC and First Lutheran Church in Fullerton, CA. In January 2019, they launched an LGBTQ+ centered ministry called Queerfully & Wonderfully Made, a queer variety show with depth and meaning. When Jaz isn’t manically obsessing over ministry and queer theology, they like to spend time with their gracious partner, Melanie, and their dog, Bowie.
Priscilla Cheng
PASTORAL CARE
(They/Them)
Priscilla is a non-binary, trans, SF Bay Area native, second generation Chinese-American, Christian, and licensed psychotherapist. They see mental health as one of many foundational pillars of wellness and offer therapy with them as a journey of self-discovery, tool-building, and the sacred witness of experience.
Priscilla specializes in religious trauma, navigating Asian American identity, re-authoring historical values and familial beliefs, and recovery. They take an eclectic approach to treatment, employing among others Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Strength-Based.
They hold a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and worked in a variety of clinical settings including schools, community mental health, and non profits.
When Priscilla isn’t working, they enjoy trying matcha/ube foods, volunteering with local organizations, gardening, playing video games, reading, and spending time with friends.
