Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith

On a very special live episode from the 2022 Q Christian Fellowship Conference, we speak with Lucas Wilson.

Lucas attended gay conversion therapy while studying at Liberty University and not only lived to tell the tale, but became an advocate for abolishing this practice altogether. A PhD Candidate at Florida Atlantic University, with a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University, Lucas has begun working in the field of critical evangelicalism studies.

In our conversation, we learn about Lucas' conversion therapy experience and how inauthentic it made him feel. He also shares how eye-opening it was to continue his education after Liberty, which ultimately shaped what his faith and studies looks like today. He also tells us more about the recent lawsuit he helped file, calling to question whether religious colleges should receive federal funding while actively discriminating against LGBTQ+ students.

Lucas identifies as gay and uses the gender pronouns he/him/his.

Follow Lucas on Instagram @lukeslamdunkwilson

For Reflection: 

How have your beliefs changed over time, and what’s a question that you still don’t have the answer to?

Resources:

Learn more about the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP).

About Out Loud: 

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website.

Hosted and Produced by Greg Thompson. Follow Greg on Instagram @itsgregthompson. Learn more about his yoga and spirituality offerings at gregthompson.me.

Theme music by JP Rugierri.

Recorded in Richmond, VA.

Brian Falduto is an actor, singer-songwriter, life coach, and host of The Gay Life Coach Podcast. At age 11, he was cast in the film, School of Rock, and later performed in various Off-Broadway and Regional theater productions. Brian attended Catholic school growing and has gone to predominantly protestant churches on and off throughout his life.

After finding a church that accepted his sexuality, he was inspired to write his single, "God Loves Me Too." In our discussion, we hear the story behind the music, as well as how Brian overcame the internalized homophobia he felt growing up. Brian also shares his perspective on spirituality and mindfulness, as well as his favorite self-care practices. Brian uses the gender pronouns he/him/they/them.

Follow Brian on Instagram @brianfalduto

For Reflection: What are your favorite self-care practices, and how do you remember to practice them?

Be a part of our LIVE episode on January 20 by registering for the Q Christian Conference.

To join Greg this month for yoga in Richmond, VA, sign up here.

Brian mentioned a handful of authors worth checking out during our conversation. Greg personally recommends reading both Untamed by Glennon Doyle and True Refuge by Tara Brach. All of those authors mentioned are Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Tara Brach, Byron Katie, and Glennon Doyle.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted and Produced by Greg Thompson. Follow Greg on Instagram @itsgregthompson. Learn more about his yoga and spirituality offerings at gregthompson.me. Theme music by JP Rugierri.

Keegan Osinski is the Librarian for Theological Studies and Ethics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington and studied Philosophy and Theology at Point Loma Nazarene University. Her work is naturally informed by her faith. Keegan belongs to the Church of the Nazarene, which is a tradition informed by John Wesley, a well-known theologian from the 1700s. In Keegan's book, Queering Wesley, Queering the Church, she examines Wesley's sermons through a queer lens.

Together we talk about her choice to stay in the Church of the Nazarene and her positive experiences within her churches, despite the denomination's unaffirming stance on queer inclusion. And while Keegan feels comfortable towing the line in her own denomination, we talk about the boundaries all of us might need to keep in mind when we disagree with a church's beliefs. Keegan identifies as queer or bisexual and uses she/her/hers pronouns.

Follow Keegan on Instagram @keegz and learn more on her website, keeganosinski.com.

You can snag a copy of Keegan's book, "Queering Wesley, Queering the Church" through Wipf and Stock Publishers and on Amazon.

For Reflection: On the topic of attending church, whether affirming or non-affirming, Keegan shares the question, “What is the church allowed to do to me?” How can you set healthy boundaries in your relationship with church?

Resources: Keegan also recommends reading, "Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity" by Elizabeth Edman, as well as, "From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ" by Patrick S. Cheng. And to join Greg this month for yoga in Richmond, VA, sign up here.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted and Produced by Greg Thompson. Follow Greg on Instagram @itsgregthompson. Learn more about his yoga and spirituality offerings at gregthompson.me. Theme music by JP Rugierri.

Tucker Shelton has studied and taught yoga for over a decade. He has also studied 200 hours of Thai Yoga Massage in Chiang Mai, Thailand and has a Masters with Honors in Contemplative Religious Studies and Sanskrit Language from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. While Tucker has taught and studied throughout the United States and around the world, from New Zealand to India to Mexico, he currently lives in Asheville, NC.

We talk about Tucker's upbringing in the Episcopal church and how he eventually found a deeper connection to ritual through practicing and teaching yoga. We compare the meaning behind yoga to other religions and discuss how he presents and identifies as a queer person on his yoga mat. Tucker also helps us begin to unpack what the word "yoga" really means and how the practice of yoga is often misappropriated in our culture today.

Tucker identifies as gender non-binary and uses he, she, and they pronouns interchangeably.

Find Tucker at tuckeryoga.com and on Instagram @tucker_yoga.

For Reflection: How do you balance the masculine and feminine within yourself?

Resources: On cultural appropriation,Tucker mentioned two influential teachers: Dr. Shyam Ranganathan and Anusha Wijeyakumar. Tucker also recommends visiting, https://decolonizingyoga.com, https://www.offthematintotheworld.org, https://yogainaction.org

New to yoga? Here are a few resources from Greg Greg recommends. On the physical benefits of yoga, visit webmd.com. For a look at yoga's spiritual roots, read The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda). For a deeper dive into the practice and poses of yoga, read Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted and Produced by Greg Thompson. Follow Greg on Instagram @itsgregthompson. Theme music by JP Rugierri. Recorded in Richmond, VA.

Blake Haney is a musician in Nashville, TN. Born and raised in Chattanooga, he's lived in the South, and more specifically, the state of Tennessee his whole life. Blake went to school in Clarksville, studying english, and discovering a love of storytelling. That love blossomed into songwriting during his studies in seminary at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Nowadays, he writes music, while working full time, and continuing his theological studies at Iliff School of Theology.

He released an EP in 2018 entitled, "Bottle Rockets, Booze, and Boys," and kicked off 2021 with a new single, "Call You Mine," where divinity and queer love take center stage. He identifies as gay, with the gender pronouns he/him/his.

We talk about walking out of his childhood church and stepping into a new one, his decision to quit drinking eight years ago, and the God moment that led him to write this latest single.

Follow Blake on Instagram @ablakehaney.

For Reflection: What did prayer look like for you growing up? And how does your prayer look today?

Resources: We discuss “Lectio Divina” in this episode, which is a “sacred reading” of a spiritual text. Watch this explainer video from Fr. James Martin, SJ for more guidance on how this practice works.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted and produced by Greg Thompson. Theme music by JP Rugierri. Recorded in Nashville, TN.

Katie Pruitt is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter and guitarist. She was born and raised in Georgia, grew up in the Catholic Church, went to Catholic school, and later attended Belmont University here in Nashville. She brings her whole self to her songwriting, tackling the shame of coming out in the south on her debut record, “Expectations.” In her own words, she calls it a record that's "really about letting go of what other people expect from you, and being free to just finally be yourself.” Katie identifies as gay or lesbian, with the gender pronouns she/her/hers

In our conversation, we discuss how she came out through her songwriting, who she could turn to, and how she came around to trusting herself, seeing God as a "force of good."

Learn more about Katie over at katiepruitt.com and follow her on Instagram @katiepruittmusic and on Twitter @KPmusik. “Expectations” is available wherever you stream or download your music.

For Reflection: How have you experienced churches or other organizations being silent about their views on LGBTQIA+ inclusion? When did you start to see queer representation in your life? How did that impact your own view of sexuality?

Music featured during this episode (in order as it played): “Georgia,” “Grace Has a Gun,” and “Normal,” from Katie’s album, “Expectations.” Listen to the album on Apple Music and Spotify.

Resources: Some of Katie’s influences mentioned during the episode include Brandi Carlile and the Indigo Girls. We also discuss Bible passages that have been used to form an argument against homosexuality. A great resource for unpacking these “clobber passages” is Unclobber by Colby Martin.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted and produced by Greg Thompson. Editing Contributions from Cariad Harmon. Theme music by JP Rugierri. Recorded in Nashville, TN.

Bliss Cortez has lived in Nashville for over a decade; focusing on their passion of film and multimedia production, creative direction, local art spaces, and being the Nashville Regional Producer for The Moth. Most recently, Bliss started "Bliss and the Trash Plants," a mutual aid organization that collects food donations and overstock from local gardens, farms, and businesses to build grocery and supply kits for straight, queer, or trans black, indigenous, people of color struggling with food, housing, and finances.

In our conversation, Bliss shares the quandary of never quite feeling like they belonged in church. And yet, we learn that it's the community service efforts of churches over the years that have inspired the work Bliss organizes today.

Bliss was raised Mexican Catholic and is still loosely spiritual. They identify as black latinx, nonbinary, poly, and queer with the gender pronouns they/them.

Follow Bliss on Instagram @blissfulpinkmaggit. To learn more about Bliss and the Trash Plants and how you can donate and volunteer, be sure to follow @blissandthetrashplants and sign up for their mailing list.

For Reflection: How do you create a sense of belonging in your neighborhood?

Resources: Bliss founded and recommends joining the “QTPOC Nashville” Facebook Group for support here in Nashville. Definitely check that out.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted by Greg Thompson. Edited by Cariad Harmon. Theme music by JP Rugierri. Recorded in Nashville, TN.

Justin Hiltner is a queer banjo player, songwriter, journalist, and activist living here in Nashville. We talk about how his faith has been tested throughout his life so far, from coming out to his conservative evangelical family in rural Ohio to his fight against cancer more recently. His journey toward healing has been one of an evolving worldview starting with accepting those who have not accepted him along the way, and gradually learning how to accept himself.

Despite these hardships, Justin is flourishing as a bluegrass musician here in Middle Tennessee. He writes for the Bluegrass Situation, an online publication covering bluegrass, roots music. Justin's also the Chair of the Board for Bluegrass Pride, an organization that promotes inclusion in bluegrass music. And he's the first openly gay man to receive a nomination from the International Bluegrass Music Association. And if that weren't enough, Justin's working on his debut solo record set to come out in 2021.

Learn more at justinhiltner.com and find him over on Instagram @hiltnerj.

For Reflection: Consider a time when someone has made a judgment about you. How did you respond to it in the moment, and have you been able to rise above it? How do you make sense of suffering you've experienced in your own life? What coping mechanisms do you have for moving on?

Resources: We played “If I Were a Praying Man” during one of the breaks and “What I Miss the Most” as we closed the show. Both tracks are off of the album “Watch it Burn” by Justin Hiltner & Jon Weisberger which you can find on Apple Music and Spotify.

And be sure to check out some of the publications and programs that Justin mentioned during the show. There's The Bluegrass Situation and the article Justin mentions, "Letting Go of Time: My Soundtrack for a Year with Cancer." And be sure to check out Bluegrass Pride, the Shout and Shine Showcase 2020, and Gilda's Club of Middle TN.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted by Greg Thompson. Edited by Cariad Harmon. Theme music by JP Rugierri.

Cody is a singer/songwriter here in Nashville, living into his identity as a gay man while making country music. You might recognize his name from Season 3 of The Voice, and he is now working on his first full length album. Cody was raised southern baptist and identifies as gay.

Together, we talk about growing up and praying to not be gay, and how he eventually came out to his parents. Cody's found his own way to be spiritual outside of going to church, identifying as a, "spiritual being having a human experience," which is a phrase coined by the French Philosopher and Jesuit, Pierres Teilhard de Chardin. We also discuss Cody's songwriting, where he channels his own experiences and the experiences of those around him.

Find Cody at codybelew.com and on Instagram @codybelew.

For Reflection: What do you appreciate about your church or religious background? And which elements are more of a struggle? How has your form of prayer changed over your life? And in what ways has it stayed the same?

Resources: We gave a shoutout to our friends at The Forbidden Apple podcast at the top of the show. Be sure to check them out! And we played Cody’s single “Crimes” during the show. You can stream "Crimes" over on Apple Music and watch the music video on YouTube.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted by Greg Thompson. Edited by Cariad Harmon. Music by JP Rugierri. 

You may recognize Rachel's voice as one of the reporters on WPLN, Nashville’s NPR station. She's been in Nashville just a little over a year and is originally from Southwest Florida. Rachel was raised Roman Catholic by her parents who are Puerto Rican and Italian, and identifies as bi-sexual. And she currently attends West End United Methodist Church here in Nashville.

In our conversation, we took a closer look at her family's history with faith, her own personal exploration of the Bible, and how the Book of Esther is particularly relevant for finding hope in a year as tumultuous as 2020.

Find Rachel on Instagram @racheliacovone.

For Reflection: How have you been able to get more in touch with yourself or your own spiritual practices, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic? And, how do you feel particularly called to take action in your life during this time?

Episode Sponsor: St. Ann’s Episcopal Church - Wherever you are in your quest for belief, St. Ann’s welcomes you. They are a diverse, open and accepting community of faith that seeks and serves Christ in all persons, working for a just and inclusive world by embracing the risks of ministry and leadership as they encounter God in scripture, tradition and prayer. St. Ann's affirms and welcomes the full participation of LGBTQIA+ folks in the life, leadership, and sacraments of their church. Located in East Nashville. Worship with St. Ann's online on Sundays. Just visit stannsnashville.org to learn more.

Resources: The “spotlight” investigation mentioned refers largely to the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Since that story broke in 2002, numerous additional scandals in the Catholic Church have unfolded. The Book of Esther was also mentioned, which you can read in its entirety on Bible Gateway.

Out Loud is a podcast by and for queer people of faith in the South. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join our mailing list for updates. Support the show financially by becoming a Patreon member, or by leaving a one-time donation on our website. Hosted by Greg Thompson. Edited by Cariad Harmon. Music by JP Rugierri.