Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith

Our Spring Finale! We’ll return with new episodes this Fall.

Raised Catholic and a native to Nashville, TN, Alan now has a home in the United Methodist Church. He works at Cumberland Heights, an alcohol and drug treatment center in Nashville, where he specializes in substance abuse.

My conversation with Alan is a journey of finding self-worth that I know so many of us go through. After coming out, Alan struggled with his faith to the point that he turned to drugs and alcohol. He went into recovery and will celebrate seven years of sobriety next month. He has since found a home in Glendale United Methodist Church which has put meaning and ministry back into his life.

Find Alan on Facebook and Instagram.

For Reflection: 1.) Recall a time when you felt like you were at your lowest. Where did you turn? How did you get back up? 2.) How does religion inform your view or yourself? Do you view yourself positively or negatively? Has that shifted recently or in recent years? If so, how?

Episode Sponsor: Glendale United Methodist Church - Glendale UMC is inclusive, affirming, and reconciling, a community that shares God's love for all people. Glendale UMC is a faith community that includes people of many diverse backgrounds and faith journeys – old and young, raised in the church, new to church, those from other denominations and faith traditions, and some who question it all. Come as you are to worship on Sundays at 10:00 AM in-person (when it is healthy to do so) or online at GlendaleUMC.org/Live. And be sure to find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Resources: Based on this conversation, Greg recommends reading: People of a Compassionate God, edited by Janet F. Fishburn, which tells several accounts of churches becoming more open and affirming to various populations. Also check out, Cumberland Heights (Website) and Hot Mess Sports (Website), which were both mentioned in the episode.

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website. Editing by Cariad Harmon. Theme music by JP Rugierri. Special Thanks on this episode to Will Potter, and again to Cariad Harmon, for sound consulting as we record from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dawn is a queer female Lutheran pastor, recently ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (also known as ELCA). Her family is truly, as she would say, a "rainbow family." Her own siblings as well as her own children have come out to her throughout her life.

We delve into a discussion about her coming out later in life, and responding to a call to be a pastor 20 years after she had first heard it. Dawn is a proud queer woman who has come into her own and accepted her entire self. She now serves the Nashville and Middle TN areas through a new ELCA Lutheran collective called, The Table. And her gender pronouns are she/her/hers.

Find Dawn on Facebook and Instagram.

For Reflection - When have you felt like a part of you had been rejected by someone else? How did you respond? Who makes you feel whole and accepted, and how did they do that?

Episode Sponsor - The Table: Promoting spiritual well being for LGBTQIA+ and minority people groups in the exploration of self, faith, community and the deeper issues of being and belonging. A transgender support group meets twice a month and a Dinner & Devotion will be coming later this summer. To learn more, visit thetablenashville.org, or find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Resource Mentioned - Vanderbilt Divinity School: Website, Facebook, Instagram

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website.

Editing by Cariad Harmon

Music by JP Rugierri

Recorded at We Own This Town in Nashville, TN

Wesley was raised Southern Baptist in Alabama, and now finds himself as the Minister of Music at Eastwood Christian Church, a Disciples of Christ church here in Nashville. Wesley has his Bachelors of Education in music from the University of Alabama, and is currently attending Lexington Theological Seminary. He's also the incoming Artistic Director for the local affirming choir, Nashville in Harmony. Wesley identifies as gay, with the gender pronouns he/him/his.

Our conversation is a journey through Wesley's gradual shift from the strict and literal adherence to scripture growing up, to asking questions about everything, particularly when he arrived here in Nashville. As he's been able to be more true to himself and how he identifies, we hear him living into his role as a minister at his church and in his community.

Find Wesley on Instagram and on Tumblr.

For Reflection: How have your beliefs changed over your lifetime? And how do you manage conversations today with those who believe differently from you?

Episode Sponsor: West End United Methodist Church - In-person worship times are Sundays at 8:45AM and 11AM. To learn more and view their livestream worship, visit westendumc.org or give them a follow on Facebook.

Resources: 

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website.

Editing by Cariad Harmon

Music by JP Rugierri

Recorded at We Own This Town in Nashville, TN

My conversation with Kashif Andrew Graham ebbs and flows through his experience of coming out to his pentecostal family and friends, as well as institutions here in the south. In what he refers to as his "deliverance years," Kashif has gone from praying that God would change his sexuality to thanking God for being gay. His story is one of moving away from shame and into acceptance, with strong doses of reality that are refreshingly punctuated by laughter.

As a librarian for religion and theology at Vanderbilt University's Divinity Library, Kashif carries a reverence for the written word. He reminded me of that old adage, that you are what you read. And he shares with us the story of how the small but powerful gesture of handing a book to someone at just the right moment has the power to change us at our core.

Kashif identifies as a queer Jamaican American, with the gender pronouns he/him/his.

Find Kashif on Instagram, @kashifandrewgraham

And follow his poetry on Instagram, @kagwrites

For Reflection: Have you ever needed to be delivered from a belief that was harmful to you, and how did that unfold? How does it feel for someone to affirm you entirely for who you are? Who has been a positive guiding light for you in your life? Name a book that fundamentally changed how you viewed yourself. What did you do differently after reading it?

Books Mentioned: The Birth of the Living God by Ana-Maria Rizzuto, The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World by Alan Downs, How to Survive a Summer by Nick White, Boy Erased by Garrard Conley, God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationship by Matthew Vines

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website.

Editing by Cariad Harmon

Music by JP Rugierri

Recorded at We Own This Town in Nashville, TN

Our Season 3 Premiere! Lindsey Dye is a Case Worker at the Mental Health Cooperative here in Nashville. Growing up Baptist, she struggled to find a church after coming out, eventually finding one in the United Methodist Church. Lindsey is from Mt. Juliet, TN, where it was difficult to find the resources she needed for support in coming out. Today, her focus is on guiding LGBTQIA+ youth through coming out and the journey beyond. She identifies as lesbian or gay, with the gender pronouns she/her/hers. Find Lindsey on Instagram, @lindseygayle.

For Discussion: When have you been told you had to be/act a certain way by your church, and how did that affect your view of yourself and your sexuality?

Full episode transcript available at outloudstories.com.

Episode Sponsor: Edgehill United Methodist Church - Worship times are Sundays at 8:15 AM (for a smaller contemplative service) and 10:45 AM (for a larger service with their choir). To learn more, visit edgehill.org.

Books:

Organizations in Nashville:

Mental Health Resources, recommended by Lindsey:

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise. Or leave a one-time donation on our website. Editing by Cariad Harmon. Music by JP Rugierri. Recorded at We Own This Town in Nashville, TN.

Bonus Episode in response to the COVID-19 Health Crisis. Originally broadcasted March 26, 2020 on Instagram Live. Pardon the audio quality as this was not recorded in the studio.

How are you taking care of yourself? It's a question I ask most guests toward the end of their interview, and it's especially pertinent now.

In this bonus episode, I brought Kelsey Davis back on the show to share her thoughts about gathering and self-care during these uncertain times.

Since moving away from Tennessee, Kelsey has continued her work with emerging communities for the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real in California. Most recently, she's been a part of the Theosophia Podcast, and in response to COVID-19, she’s also been hosting a regular night prayer online.

Our conversation touches on surprise happy hours with loved ones and yoga classes with landladies, and the new roles that we find ourselves in as hosts of so many new gatherings right now. Together we ponder how to create gatherings that are mutually beneficial even when we feel drained. Kelsey offers the refreshing advice of “We’ll see!” as we make new plans and let old ones go. We also discuss the importance of owning your own story and sticking to it, especially if you find yourself at home right now with unaffirming friends or family members.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did in the midst of these trying times.

We mentioned a few people and books/articles during our discussion:

Looking for more affirming resources right now? Head on over to my blog for a list of resources that I’m compiling with friends of the show.

Season 3 will return in April! To be in the know for when new episodes drop, follow @outloudstories on Facebook and Instagram, and while you’re at it join our mailing list, too! And consider becoming a Patron to help offset production costs and support this growing ministry of affirming resources for queer people of faith here in the south.

Our Season 2 Finale! Emily Joy is a poet, writer, and yoga teacher here in Nashville. She identifies as an embodied justice enthusiast which she describes as helping others make peace with their bodies. With an extensive online following, Emily co-founded the #churchtoo hashtag alongside Hannah Paasch, to address sexual abuse in church settings. Emily was raised in the fundamentalist evangelical church and identifies as gay with the gender pronouns she/her/hers.

Together, we discuss the fluidity of understanding her faith and sexuality and not sticking to just one category, as well as the impact purity culture has had in her life, her work to give voice to issues of sexual abuse in church settings, and the healing that has come from telling her own story to her followers.

We talk a lot about impurity culture on this episode. I'll let Emily Joy explain that as, "abstinence until heterosexual, monogamous marriage — or else. … Secondary characteristics of purity culture often include an emphasis on male leadership, modesty in clothing for women, and eschewing common ways of dating." (Source: Scarleteen.com)

Connect with Emily at emilyjoypoetry.com and on Instagram @emilyjoypoetry. Also, check out the Twitter thread where she shared her own story that sparked the #churchtoo hashtag. You can also learn more about how #churchtoo came into being on her website. And follow her latest work, "Impurity Culture" on Twitter @impurityculture.

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise.

Music: Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/

This concludes Season 2! Look for more episodes soon, and thanks to everyone who has helped support the production of the show. Got questions or other ideas while we're on break? Let us know at [email protected].

Damien is originally from Peru, and grew up in Southern CA raised in the Foursquare evangelical faith tradition. He eventually found himself in Nashville for his Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School concentrating in Latin American Studies, Religion and the Arts, as well as Gender and Sexuality studies. Damien is a founding member of The Audre Lorde Project’s TransJustice in New York City, and collectively organized the first ever Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice in New York. Damien has also worked in the Hospitality Industry for 15 years, from the Gramercy Park hotel restaurant in New York to a spot I love to visit called Pinewood Social here in Nashville. Damien identifies as queer and his gender pronouns are he/him/his.

From helping form a church as a child, to finding church in queer activist spaces as an adult, Damien finds hope in places both religious and secular. He reflects on his Afro-Peruvian heritage and embodied memory which has become the focus of his studies of Peruvian culture  and how dance has been a form of worship for centuries and continues to be today.

Connect with Damien on Instagram @damienpascal.

We discuss the difference between "queer" and "bi/pan/fluid" at the top of the show. Here are some definitions to help from the Human Rights Campaign:

And being "fluid" recognizes that your attractions and orientation may change.

We also discuss different religious practices, like Santería, an originally African religion, and the Foursquare Church which developed out of mission-work abroad and evangelism in the US.

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise.

Music: Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Recorded live at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, TN, we reconnect with season 1 guests, Zack Eccleston, Maria Michonski, and Lee Catoe, about the importance of storytelling for LGBTQIA+ people of faith. Hearing their voices again was a reminder that our stories are never completely finished. We catch up with where they have been since their episodes from 2018, how telling their story on the show impacted them, and how they view their faith and their communities today.

Connect with the panel and listen to their original episodes:

We mentioned a few resources throughout the episode, including Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians by Amber Cantorna and The Reformation Project by Matthew Vines. Also mentioned was the story of Jesus healing the Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20).

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise.

This episode was recorded Live at the Vanderbilt Divinity School Arts Room:

Poem: “Narrative Theology #1” used with permission of Pádraig Ó Tuama. Found in Readings from the Book of Exile, Pádraig Ó Tuama (Canterbury Press, 2012).

Music: Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/

Lina is currently a Master of Theological Studies student at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Her gender pronouns are she/her/hers, identifying both as lesbian and queer. She is originally from Sweden where the Swedish Lutheran Church is the state church, and has become a member in the United Methodist Church since moving to the US.

Throughout our conversation, Lina demonstrates a resilience in her reaction to the recent General Conference vote by the Methodist Church that affirmed the church's doctrine against full LGBTQIA+ inclusion. We also discuss her hopes for marriage someday in the church, misconceptions about marriage for LGBTQIA+ people of faith, and her upcoming research trip to Eurovision, held in Israel this May.

Connect with Lina @landstromlina on Twitter and Instagram.

We discussed several items regarding the United Methodist Church. For an explanation on the outcomes of the 2019 General Conference vote regarding matters of LGBTQIA+ inclusion, visit umc.org. For ongoing updates regarding inclusion and churches that are stepping up as affirming despite the vote, follow the Reconciling Ministries Network. They have a long history of sustaining this conversation over the past four decades in the UMC. While you're there, you can also learn more about Bishop Karen Oliveto, who we mentioned on the show.

Also mentioned on the show was the Q Christian Fellowship. Learn more at qchristian.org. And if you've never heard of the Eurovision song contest, educate yourself at eurovision.tv.

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 and receive exclusive content and merchandise.

Music: Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/