Scandalous, Episode 2: Bayard Rustin

Coming Out Christian's mini-season "Scandalous" continues as Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp welcome back the Rev. Dr. Mashaun D. Simon to discuss a holy tantrum thrower whose legacy has too often been pushed into the shadows: Bayard Rustin.

Born in 1912 to teenage parents and raised by his grandparents, Rustin was shaped by his grandmother Julia's Quaker faith, a faith he lived out for the rest of his life, from his training as a conscientious objector to his practice of nonviolence even while imprisoned. That same faith carried him into the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, where, largely uncredited, he helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and orchestrated the 1963 March on Washington.

Mashaun and the hosts explore how Rustin's identity as an openly gay Black man shaped both his activism and his place in history, the radical grace of his grandmother's love, and what it means to be a faith leader outside the traditional pulpit. The episode includes a candid historical assessment of Rustin, though it ultimately lands on the power of his activism and the depth of his faith.

Learn more about Rev. Dr. Mashaun D. Simon at mashaundsimon.com, and find his book, Faith Deconstruction for Dummies, at Bookshop.org. To hear Bayard Rustin tell his own story in his own words, visit the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice's Queer History Archive at rustincenter.org/brcsjqueerhistory.

Follow along at @comingoutchristian_podcast and @loveboldly, and find more at www.loveboldly.org.

"Coming Out Christian" kicks off a new mini-season, "Scandalous," inspired by the Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis's essay "Scandalous Confrontation: When a Temple Tantrum Is Transformative." In each episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp welcome back a favorite guest to spotlight a "holy tantrum thrower" whose scandalous faithfulness sparked real transformation.

This week, the Rev. Br. Ian Boden, OLF, returns to introduce Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, two thirteenth-century "young upstarts" whose radical rejection of wealth and status the church could hardly believe. Ben sets the historical stage before Ian dives into the good trouble Francis and Clare stirred up: Francis renouncing his father's fortune, and Clare defying the pope himself to write her own rule of life as the first woman in church history to do so. Along the way, the conversation explores medieval attitudes toward wealth and poverty, gender norms within religious orders, and how Francis' radical embrace of creation still challenges the church today.

For more on Ian's community, check out the Order of Lutheran Franciscans (lutheranfranciscans.org) or follow him on Instagram @ian.boden1.

Ian also recommends Francis: A New Biography by Fr. Augustine Thompson and Light of Assisi by Sr. Margaret Carney, along with the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition website (franciscantradition.org) for further reading.

Follow along at @comingoutchristian_podcast and @loveboldly, and find more at www.loveboldly.org.

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 15 Guest: Joseph "Zé" Soza

What happens when the faith you were raised in no longer fits and you find yourself building something new from the pieces?

Joseph "Zé" Soza (he/him/el) grew up in a deeply Pentecostal household in Ohio, shaped by long Sundays filled with ecstatic worship, speaking in tongues, and teary altar calls. His father is a theologian, Bible scholar, and pastor; his mother a devoted pastor's wife and public servant. Faith wasn't just part of Zé's upbringing, it was the air he breathed. And yet, after years of being torturously closeted, Zé came out as a gay Queer man in his early 20s and began a journey of self-actualization that eventually led him away from Christianity and toward Buddhism, though he'd be the first to tell you it's more complicated than that.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Zé to explore his journey from Pentecostal pastor's kid to Buddhist practitioner and yoga teacher and his deeply thoughtful approach to spirituality, not adopting a tradition wholesale, but using the tools and practices of multiple faiths to build a life of meaning and authenticity.

Honest, searching, and beautifully human.

• 📲 Follow Zé on Instagram: @zesoza8
• 🧘 Find Zé at Modo Yoga Columbus: modoyoga.com/columbus
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Note - Since this episode was recorded the date of "Over the Rainbow: A Symposium on LGBTQIA+ Death and Dying" has changed to August 22, 2026. For more information visit https://www.loveboldly.org/overtherainbow.

What if you could tell your whole story in just six words?

Tyler Chernesky is a storyteller, writer, placemaker, and strategist with a resume that defies easy categorization: pastor, art gallery co-director, mixed-media collage artist, Six-Word Memoirs resource developer, and currently Executive Director of Community Happens Here, a neighborhood-focused nonprofit dedicated to connecting neighbors across difference in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's also an openly queer leader whose journey from evangelical Christianity to full affirmation has shaped everything about how he shows up in the world.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tyler to explore his path from evangelical church kid to fully affirming, openly queer pastor and community leader. They dig into his neighborhood work with Community Happens Here and the ways that connecting people across difference is itself a deeply theological act. And they have a little fun with Six-Word Memoirs, the deceptively simple practice of distilling a life, a moment, or a story into exactly six words.

Creative, grounded, and quietly revolutionary.

• 🌐 Visit Tyler's website: tylerchernesky.com
• 🏘️ Learn about Community Happens Here: communityhappenshere.org
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 13 Guest: Rev. Charles Unique

What does it look like when ministry and justice aren't two separate callings — but one?

Rev. Charles Unique is a gender anarchist, organizer, and ordained clergy whose life work centers the dismantling of oppressive systems and the liberation of marginalized communities. With over a decade of community-rooted experience, Charles serves as Legal Empowerment Organizer at Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis and is the founder of Flower Boi STL, a peer-led space for masculine people of color to dismantle toxic masculinity and build alternative modes of expression. They are also a co-founder and board member of THISTL, supporting trans housing access across St. Louis, and a Master of Divinity student at Eden Theological Seminary. Their organizing, writing, and movement work have been featured in STL Magazine, KSDK News, and NPR, among others.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Charles to explore their experiences as a Black trans man of faith, their path toward ordination, and their tireless work at the intersection of housing justice, food sovereignty, gender freedom, and Black trans liberation. It's a conversation that refuses to separate the spiritual from the political — because for Charles, they never have been.

Fierce, tender, and utterly necessary.

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 12 Guest: Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse

What happens when a life of healing — as a nurse, as a priest, as a mother, as a spouse — finally includes healing yourself?

Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse is a cradle Episcopalian, a registered emergency nurse of 23 years, and an ordained priest whose call to healing has taken many forms. Formed in the Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Julia's path to ordination was shaped by luminaries like Bishop Barbara Harris and tested by the crucible of a global pandemic — for which she received the Dean's Cross for Servant Leadership from Virginia Theological Seminary, an honor shared by the likes of Madeleine Albright and Wendell Berry. She is now serving in Ohio, married to the Rev. Iva Joyce-Miesse, and mother to an incredible adult son, Taylor.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Julia for a rich, wide-ranging conversation about growing up biracial in predominantly white spaces, the intertwining calls to heal as a nurse and as a priest, the experience of being a parent, and spending many years in the closet — alongside her husband — before stepping into a life lived fully and openly as an LGBTQIA+ person, married to another female priest, and thriving in ministry.

Generous, courageous, and deeply human — this one is not to be missed.

• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 11 Guest: Pastor Rory Chumney

What does faith look like when it's built for the people the church has always left out?

Pastor Rory Chumney is a Queer, trans man, seminary student, professional activist, and Christian Anarchist. Rory grew up in a deeply Christian Nationalist, evangelical environment before leaving the church in his teens. He describes the next fifteen years as his "Jonah" arc — running from God and the church despite constant brushes with both — until he finally accepted his calling to become a pastor in 2022. His heart, as he puts it, is with "the broke bitches, the queer and kinky and non-monogamous, the tattooed and pierced punks and protestors, and all those who prefer disorganized religion."

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Rory to explore his journey back to faith, what it means to be a trans person of faith and faith leader, the work of healing religious trauma, and what Christian anarchism actually is. It's a wide-ranging, boundary-pushing conversation about who the church is for — and who it could be for.

Punk, prophetic, and absolutely worth your time.

• 📲 Follow Rory: @punkpastor
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 10 Guest: Rev. Tyler Moquin-Lee

What does it look like to lead an affirming congregation — and to do it with joy?

Rev. Tyler Moquin-Lee (he/him) is the Pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (ELCA) on the west side of Cincinnati, where he has served for three years. Beyond his congregation, Tyler is deeply invested in his community, serving on the board of My Neighbor's Place and working with Westside Churches United, a collective of ecumenical faith communities dedicated to building relationships and working for social justice. He's also the host of an upcoming podcast, Spilling Grace.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tyler to explore what it means to lead an affirming congregation in 2026, the joys, the challenges, and the ongoing work of building a community where everyone truly belongs. The conversation also takes a turn toward music and worship, touching on the role of the arts in creating spaces of welcome and transformation. (It helps that Tyler's husband, Dr. Matthew Moquin-Lee, is a conductor, choral director, and worship arts director. Music is very much in the family.)

Warm, grounded, and full of grace, this one is for anyone who has ever wondered what the church could be.

• 📲 Follow Tyler on Instagram and Threads: @tylermokie
• 🌐 Learn about Westside Churches United: westsideimagination.com
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly on Instagram: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 9 Guest: Gwendolyn DeRosa

What if the church's teaching on sex and bodies has been doing more harm than good and what would it look like to tell a different story?

Gwendolyn "Gwen" DeRosa (she/they) is a storyteller, queer theologian, and community builder with a passion for inclusive faith. As Director of Student Ministries at King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio, she leads faith education and fellowship for birth through high school, and serves as director of Kinship Campus Ministry, which builds connections within the Ohio State University campus and beyond. Gwen, who is bi/pan/Queer, and their wife Felicia, who is transgender, are Queer activists in Columbus — and Felicia's transition journey was documented in the 2021 film DeRosa: Life, Love & Art in Transition, available on major streaming platforms.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Gwen for a candid conversation about purity culture, sex, and the ways the church has used sexual shame and guilt to marginalize women and people of other genders. It's an honest reckoning with the damage done and a hopeful look at what the church could be instead.

Brave, necessary, and long overdue.

• 📲 Follow Gwen on Instagram: @gwendolynderosa
• ⛪ Visit King Avenue UMC: kingave.org
• 🎓 Learn about Kinship Campus Ministry: kingave.org/ministries/kinship-campus-ministry
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 8 Guest: Anna Ray

What does it look like to grow up Queer, Biracial, and Christian — and actually feel seen by your church?

Anna Ray (she/her) is a dynamic leader and community connector whose career has spanned insurance underwriting, executive and nonprofit administration, event management, and catering. Originally from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Anna earned her BA in Business from Howard University and fell in love with Washington, DC, in the process. Today she serves as a Cannabis Licensing Program Specialist with the District of Columbia and a League Cycling Instructor with the League of American Bicyclists, and shares her life with her husband Dane and their children.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Anna to explore what it meant to grow up biracial in the suburban Midwest and then arrive at Howard University and Washington, DC, and how both shaped her sense of self. Anna shares about finding faith communities that affirmed not only her Queer identity but also her role as a mother and her children's identities. It's a refreshingly hopeful conversation about what the church can be when it gets things right.

Warm, grounded, and genuinely encouraging — this one will leave you hopeful.

• 📲 Follow Anna: @meettherays
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly