In this episode, we discuss many examples of LGBTQ+ folks in religious history, from gay nuns to a non-binary Quaker in the 1800s to the deeply prayerful Marsha P. Johnson, and all kinds of other queer saints. April also brings up some of her favorite LGBTQ+ Christian scholars such as Marcella Althaus-Reid and Patrick Cheng. We encourage folks to look at the two main websites we used, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (which contains profiles on folks from many different religious traditions) and QSpirit!

Resources:

https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/ 

https://qspirit.net/ 

Strange Aeons on Gay Nuns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRty_UFx8uE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzyuYjIsYFE&t

Jessica Kelgren-Fozard on The Public Universal Friend:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vTQE7G648Q&list=PLhADVL2AiGX8NqRXFmtBzIuTc5V88k4eH&index=17&t 

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode (our 50th!!!), we have a conversation with Karen Huckaby, co-founder of The Reclaim Therapy Collective, a group of therapists specializing in helping folks heal from adverse religious experiences and spiritual trauma. Karen shares about her faith background and her intense experiences of evangelizing to people on the beach, her journey of questioning that led her to become a therapist, and the ways she has found healing and has helped others to reconnect with their full selves. 

You can find The Reclaim Therapy Collective on their Instagram @thereclaimtherapycollective and on Facebook or their website. 

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a more casual (but still passionate) discussion about current events, which inevitably was centered on the legislative and cultural attack on trans and gender-expansive people in the United States and the conservative moral panic over “wokeness.” We also discuss our disappointment with Megan Phelps-Roper’s podcast that paints J. K Rowling in a positive light, and April discusses DL Mayfield’s Substack post about the connection of ABA therapy for autistic people to conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ people.

Savy Writes Books YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SAVYLEISER/videos

DL's Newsletter: https://dlmayfield.substack.com/

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with freelance writer, film producer and playwright Peter Fenton! Peter talks about his experiences as a gay man in the evangelical church, including his time as a Christian camp counselor, and how he came to terms with accepting himself and how he has explored his evolving faith through his writing. We are so excited for Peter’s play, Abandon All Hope, to make its Off Broadway debut in June!!!!

You can follow Peter on Instagram and Twitter @peterfent. You can support the GoFundMe for Peter’s show here. 

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we get down and dirty and nerdy with Paul’s letter to Philemon, his shortest letter in the New Testament. We discuss the historical background and the gaps that the letter doesn’t tell us (why do people assume Philemon’s slave Onesimus was the one in the wrong?). We also rant about how Paul could have been clearer in his words that slavery is wrong. Although we can take some moral lessons from this letter (the example of deep friendship between Onesimus and Paul), it is important to remember that this was written to a specific person about an interpersonal conflict that we don’t know all the details about (and it definitely doesn’t mean that when you forgive you have to bring that person back into your life, yikes!).

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with our dear friend, bookstagrammer and aspiring author Briana Michelle Meyer!!! Briana talks to us about her upbringing at a Christian school, her love of literature and how that has impacted her faith, and her life as a teacher in South Korea. We'll be cheering her on as she goes to grad school in London in the fall!

You can find Briana on Instagram @brianamichellemeyer and on Twitter @margoroths.

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop 

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

Just in time for the release of Greg Laurie’s vanity film that erases Lonnie Frisbee’s queer identity (Jesus Revolution), we’re talking about films with religious (mostly Christian) themes! We discuss the God’s Not Dead and Left Behind movies, the Jesus Camp documentary, and films that explore religion in more nuanced ways, like Boy Erased, Philomena, Carrie, But I’m a Cheerleader, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and more.

Here's the Buzzfeed article we mentioned: https://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewhuff/25-films-that-discuss-religious-trauma?fbclid=IwAR3xr1HbD3xphPxnnV2YFJn3EZ0CzmQIQw8carVt3omZZIJJJn4yJLLIDug

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, we have a conversation with worship pastor and queer Christian podcaster Jess Grace Garcia at the 2023 Q Christian Fellowship Conference! Jess talks about their faith journey and with it their evolving relationship with worship music. Likewise, we also dive into Jess’ journeys with gender and sexuality and how it has impacted their life, and we learn about the amazing concept of “Do be do.”

You can find Jess on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @jessgracegarcia. You can find the podcast they host with Jonathan Quinn, Lavender Mafia, wherever you listen to podcasts. And of course, if you want some affirming worship music in your life, you can find Q Worship Collective on Instagram and Spotify!

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, April and Anna share our coming out stories (which are still always unfolding, never one and done). From our first crushes and “oh my God, how did you not know” moments, to the times we first spoke aloud that we might be queer, to openly living our joyfully queer lives, we talk about our journey towards accepting ourselves and having the bravery to start telling others. We hope that in being out and proud now, we invite folks to share their stories and bring their full selves.

April's post about her mom becoming LGBTQ+ affirming: https://aprilthewriter.substack.com/p/i-cant-look-at-that-and-call-it-wrong

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!

In this episode, Anna and April recount our experiences at the Q Christian Fellowship Conference. We got to meet (and hug!) so many dear friends in-person for the first time, hear talks from folks we admire, goof around in DC, hit up gay bars, and of course do a live podcast show! It was so much fun (even when we felt exhausted at times) and we can’t wait until we can be together with our queer Christian fam again.

If you want to sign up for a QCF Community Group, here's a link: https://www.qchristian.org/community/signup

If you want to come to conf next year, here’s the link to register: https://www.qcfconf.org/

We have merch! Get your Bible Dyke Energy Tee and more here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/rtgardenpodcast/shop

Our social media: @reclaimingthegarden on Insta, @RtGardenPodcast on Twitter, and Reclaiming the Garden on Facebook. Our personal accounts: @thatpunchabletheaternerd, @April_TheWriter (April is on Twitter and Insta). Also, our podcast account follows a bunch of awesome folks + podcasts in the exvangelical/deconstruction world and progressive Christian world, so if you’re looking for more resources, that’s a great place to start!