Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith

Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith

By Greg ThompsonReligion & SpiritualitySpirituality
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Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith episodes

  • Amber Cantorna and Coming Out Well into Christianity

    Amber Cantorna is a national speaker and author dedicated to supporting LGBTQ people throughout their coming-out process. In her new book Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians, Amber tackles topics like finding an affirming faith community, deciding when and how to come out, and how to re-establish a relationship with God. She uses her platform to inspire others and works to dissolve shame, foster self-acceptance, and generate a message of love and inclusion for all.

    Our conversation covers resources for coming out, understanding how loss and grief are incorporated in the coming out process, and a new-self care tip that you probably haven't heard of before.

    Learn more about Amber at ambercantorna.com and follow her on Instagram at @amberncantorna.

    Resources
    • Books: Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians by Amber Cantorna, Unclobber by Colby Martin, Changing Our Mind by David Gushee
    • Term: "Clobber Passages" are passages in the Bible that refer to homosexuality and have become the subject for debate between Christians for many years.
    • Organization: Q Christian Fellowship (QCF) is a great place to get connected with LGBTQIA+ Christians online and in person. Visit qchristian.org.

      • 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/

      57 min
    • Rj Robles and Searching for a Home Church

      Rj discuss their journey finding an affirming home church. Communities that seem to be inclusive and loving, sometimes do not live up to those statements. But Rj demonstrates for us a resilience, and an ongoing curiosity about how to honor trans lives in our churches. They identify as queer and transgender with the gender pronouns they/them/theirs.

      Find Rj on Facebook. International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31. Learn more.

      Terms:
      • Queer - A term people often use to express fluid identities and orientations. Often used interchangeably with "LGBTQ."
      • Genderqueer - Genderqueer people typically reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as "genderqueer" may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.
      • Pansexual - Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.

        • Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign.

        Faith Denominations Mentioned: Morelight Presbyterians, New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Nashville, TN)

        Trans Resources Mentioned in Nashville: Middle TN Transgender Support Group (TVALS), Southerners on New Ground (SONG), Transbuddy at Vanderbilt Medical Center

        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/

        58 min
      • Help Make Season 2 Happen
        Out Loud is on its way back for a second season in 2019, but we need your help to make it happen. If you've been a fan of the show so far, I'd love to have your support on Patreon, a website dedicated to funding the lives of creators and artists.
        Learn more and become a patron at patreon.com/outloudstories
        Join our mailing list to be the first to know when new episodes drop for season two.
        And be sure to follow @outloudstories on Facebook and Instagram.
        3 min
      • Greg Thompson on Listening and Understanding

        Our Season 1 Finale! Greg talks with his sister Meg McEllen, about coming out to himself, to his family, and to the Catholic Church. The issue of identity arises, and whether faith or sexuality can fully define us. We also discuss the prospect of talking to people of other faiths, and forging conversation past differences to commonalities.

        Greg Thompson is a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School pursuing his Masters in Theological Studies with a focus on Religion and the Arts. He studies LGBT issues in the Catholic Church through a lens of storytelling and new media. Greg's gender pronouns are he/him/his, and he identifies as gay and Roman Catholic.

        Learn more about Greg at gregthompsonmedia.com and follow him on Instagram @gregthompson_17

        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's interview was recorded at Full Circle Recording, in Chester, VA.

        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/

        1 hr 17 min
      • Lee Catoe Gets Real About Body Image

        Lee Catoe offers his reflections on the role body image plays in the LGBTQI community, and how we can begin to seek out the divine in one another. While studying Pre-Med at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, Lee began to realize that his call to helping others had less to do with medicine, and more to do with ordained ministry. As a gay man now seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church USA, Lee currently serves as a supply pastor for local congregations in Middle TN. He's also in his final year at Vanderbilt Divinity School pursuing a Masters of Divinity, and his gender pronouns are he/him/his.

        Until somewhat recently, the Presbyterian Church did not ordain LGBTQI-identifying folks. Lee's role as a minister opens up a conversation of how to serve people in your community who may disagree with you, or may disagree with your entire identity.

        Find Lee on Instagram, Soundcloud, and on his podcast, Breaking Church.

        Be sure to visit our website, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, join our mailing list for updates, and become a Patreon member for 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/

        51 min
      • Luther Young and Sexuality as a Spiritual Gift

        Luther and I discuss black liberation theology and reimagining scripture, as well as the difficulties in coming out to his family, and being seen as a fully participating member of his church.

        Luther grew up in South Carolina with a love of music that brought him to Nashville, to study Audio Engineering at Belmont University. While he has continued to perform, sing, and play, he is also a recent graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School with his Masters in Divinity. Luther was raised Pentecostal, and is now part of the Disciples of Christ. He identifies as bisexual, and goes by gender pronouns he/him/his.

        Find Luther at lutheryoung.com and on Instagram @lutheryoung.

        Books:

        • Their Own Receive Them Not by Horace Griffin
        • Sexuality and the Black Church: A Womanist Perspective by Kelly B. Douglas
        • Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South by E. Patrick Johnson

          • Terms:

          • Gender Binaries: Defining gender in a binary of male and female exclusively. (More queer terminology at the Human Rights Campaign.)
          • Biblical Exegesis: Just a fancy term for interpreting the Bible, and examining it through various scholarly lenses.

            • 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/

            1 hr
          • Kelsey Davis and Showing Up to our Community

            Kelsey shares her perspective as being both queer and Episcopalian. Fresh off of graduating from Vanderbilt Divinity School with her Masters in Divinity, she's about to begin a new role as "Curator for Emerging Communities" for the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real in CA. She shares with us her journey of coming out into Christianity which came only shortly after coming out to herself and beginning to date girls. After a career in pro soccer, her values of teamwork continue to inform how she commits herself to her communities.

            Find Kelsey on Instagram @kelseyl_davis and in collaboration with the Theosophia podcast @theosophiapodcast.

            Terms: Spiritual Direction, Pub Churches, Contemplative Eucharist

            Books: These Are Our Bodies by Leslie Choplin and Jenny Beaumont, and A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth by Cody J. Sanders.

            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/

            58 min
          • Maria Michonski and How Catholicism Won't Let Go of Her

            Maria identifies as pansexual and has grown up Roman Catholic. She shares with us her experiences coming out within her campus ministry in undergraduate and seeking out a new community of worship with her husband. Maria now studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, pursuing her Masters in Divinity.

            During our conversation a few terms came up that some listeners may want a second look at:

            • Cisgender (or Cis) - "used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth."
            • Transgender (or Trans) - "An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, transgender people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc."
            • Pansexual - "Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree."
            • Definitions provided by the Human Rights Campaign.

              • A few other topics came up regarding Catholicism, specifically, which you can learn more about below: Jesuit Spirituality (or Ignatian Spirituality), Jesuit Education, Pope Francis' 2015 remarks on gender theory, Independent Catholicism, and the Ecumenical Catholic Communion. Finally, Maria mentions a new initiative at Vanderbilt Divinity School: the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative.

              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/

              1 hr 2 min
            • Zack Eccleston and Reconciliation Through Empathy

              Zack speaks with us about coming out and his understanding of masculinity early on in life, while also developing his understanding of the Bible as a student of theology. After finding a spiritual home in the Church of Christ, Zack aims to help others who struggle to reconcile faith with sexuality. A musician at heart, he also shares with us about how he expresses himself on this journey of self-discovery.

              A Note for Children and Parents of Children: We discuss some adult situations in this episode, which you can skip by jumping ahead to minute 8:15.

              In our conversation, Zack mentioned these authors and poets:
              • God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines (@VinesMatthew)
              • "Against Dying"and "What Seems Like Joy"by Iranian-American poet, Kaveh Akbar (@kavehakbar)
              • "How to Say"by Safia Elhillo (@mafiasafia) who gave us this quote during the show: "How dare I love a word without knowing it in Arabic."

                • And be sure to follow Zack @zackleston on 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.

                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/

                56 min
              • Coming Out May 24
                Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app to join us for our first season starting May 24.
                Learn more at our website, outloudstories.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
                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/
                2 min

              About Out Loud: LGBT Stories of Faith

              From the publisher's feed

              LGBTQIA+ individuals tell their stories about faith, community, and the divine, hosted by Greg Thompson.