The candlelit Muelder Chapel at Boston University’s School of Theology provided a safe space Wednesday night for those who identify as a part of the LGBT community. The setting was intimate, with just 17 people, mainly graduate students, sitting in a circle around a small table topped with candles, some left unlit.

The gathering, “Sacred Stories of Emergence,” was part of OUTober, an entire month dedicated to celebrating and bringing awareness to the LGBT community at BU. Presented by Sacred Worth, a student group within STH, Sacred Stories offered a space for members to share their personal experiences with coming out in a religious setting.

The event began with a recording of Barry Manilow’s “One Voice,” creating a peaceful mood in the room. The song was followed by an invocation led by Lambert Rahming, a third-year graduate student in STH who facilitated the evening.

“This event was one year in the making,” Rahming said. “We’ve been celebrating OUTober, but this was an idea to really make sacred those persons who come out or are struggling to do so.”

Katie Omberg, president of Sacred Worth and a third-year graduate student in STH, expanded on Rahming’s comment.

“We’ve done storytelling around coming out with Sacred Worth before, but it’s usually been very secularized and it’s just telling those stories,” Omberg said. “But we’re really looking to have it in a place framed in religious tradition.”

The event continued with a passing of the peace and another song of inspiration, “The Voice Within” by Christina Aguilera. Afterward, the floor was opened to those who felt encouraged to share their stories.

For the next hour, attendees told the stories that have impacted their lives the most. Emotional and personal, each story arose from a different background, experience and culture. At times, silence allowed the attendees to collect their own thoughts and reflect on the stories being shared. After each story, the storyteller was invited to light a candle on the center table.

As the session came to a close, there was an open invitation to light a candle for a person who had come out, was struggling to do so or was going through other issues, such as domestic violence and abuse. By the end, each candle was lit and honored a person of the LGBT community.

Nathan Bakken, a second-year graduate student in STH who helped plan the event, spoke of the impact Sacred Worth has had in their life.

“I think for me, coming from my background, my queerness and spiritual life has always existed in separate spaces and being apart of Sacred Worth for me has really given me a community and a space where I don’t feel the need to separate these aspects of myself,” they said.

Rahming also emphasized the important aspect of community within Sacred Worth.

“It’s a community of people who not only find their authentic selves, but have a vested interest in authentically knowing other people,” he said. “And community is such a valued part in the School of Theology.”

Towards the end of the event, the song “Just Do You” by India.Arie played. The opening lyrics of the song — “I hear a voice that told me I’m essential, how all my fears are limiting my potential” — reflected the message of the evening. Coming out is a process that often brings much anxiety, Bakken said, but it should not stop a person from having faith in their own self.

A litany of blessing ended the evening. With an emphasis on the combination of faith and coming out, Bakken predicted that the event would spark difficult conversations and encourage people to ask questions.

Referring to the impact the event and OUTober will leave on STH and BU as a whole, Bakken said, “It reminds the community that these stories are present and that queer people of faith and LGBT people of faith exist.”