Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D.

Pastor, Old Cambridge Baptist Church 
American Baptist Chaplain, Harvard University 
Advisor for LGBTQ+ Affairs, Office of Religious Spiritual & Ethical Life, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Affiliated Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology & Chaplaincy Studies, Chicago Theological Seminary 

1151 Massachusetts Avenue 
Cambridge, MA 02138 

Email: cody.j.sanders@gmail.com 
Phone: 617-864-9275 ext 201 
Weblinks:  Old Cambridge Baptist Church, Harvard Chaplaincy,
MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual & Ethical Life, LGBTQ+ Affairs, Chicago Theological Seminary


Cody is an ordained Baptist minister and pastoral theologian who works in both community and academic settings, serving as pastor to a congregation, cultivating religious, spiritual, and ethical life in two institutes of higher education, and through researching, writing, and teaching in theological higher education. His work has most often addressed the intersection of religion and embodiments of human difference and he holds a particular interest in queer theory and theology, narrative therapeutic theory, the cultivation of care with LGBTQIA people, and practices of care in the Anthropocene. He has published several books including, Christianity, LGBTQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk(Lexington, 2020), A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth (Westminster John Knox, 2017), and Microaggressions in Ministry: Confronting the Hidden Violence of Everyday Church with Angela Yarber (Westminster John Knox, 2015). 

Current projects include:

“A Practical Theology of Corpse Care” – A project funded by the Louisville Institute undertaken by a multidisciplinary collaborative inquiry team. How we think theologically about our bodies when they die in light of the economic and ecological justice critiques should lead to emerging practices of death care among faith communities, from care for the dead body itself, to practices of burial and other emerging methods of disposition, to means of memorialization. This project will culminate in a co-authored book scheduled to be published in 2022 by Fortress Press.

Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D. Files & Links

Selected Articles:

  • Sanders, C.J. (2019). Mor(t)al remains: Pastoral theology & corpse care. Journal of Pastoral Theology 29(2), 116-131.
  • Sanders, C. J. (2013). Preaching messages we never intended: LGBTIQ-based microaggressions in classroom and pulpit. Theology & Sexuality, 19(1), 21-35. 
  • Sanders, C. J. (2013). Dying to believe or dying to belief? Systemic violence and the possibilities of constructive nihilism in pastoral theology. Pastoral Psychology, 63(4), 437-452. 
  • Sanders, C. J. (2012). Queer shifts in therapy: Appropriating queer theory in pastoral counselingSacred Spaces: The E-Journal of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, 4, 94-127.
  • Sanders, C. J. (2011). An exploration of knowledge and power in narrative, collaborative-based, postmodern therapies: A commentaryThe Professional Counselor: Research and Practice, 1(3), 201-207.
  • Bozard, R. L., & Sanders, C. J. (2011). Helping Christian lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients recover religion as a source of strength: Developing a model for assessment and integration of religious identity in counseling. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 5(1), 47-74.