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When they find out that their child is somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, parents are often forced to examine their faith in entirely new ways, and it’s hard stuff–earth shifting, ground shaking, life changing, relationship destroying sort of hard. Today’s In the Den guest is an expert at courageous conversations in the religious realm, because it isn’t just the individuals that are wrestling with the topic of religion and spirituality, but many religious organizations themselves. Special guest Bishop Karen Oliveto talks with Jen about the intersection of religion and LGBTQ+ identities. 

Special Guest: Bishop Karen P. Oliveto

Karen Oliveto was consecrated as a bishop of The United Methodist Church on July 16, 2016 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and assigned for the 2016-2020 quadrennium to the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes 320 congregations in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and a small section of Idaho. Bishop Oliveto was elected to the episcopacy after serving as the first woman pastor of the 12,000-member Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, Calif. She is the first woman to serve as senior pastor of one of The United Methodist Church’s 100 largest congregations. 

Bishop Oliveto is the co-author of Talking About Homosexuality: A Congregational Resource, and the author of Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into God's Call and Together at the Table: Diversity without Division in The United Methodist Church.

She has the distinction of being the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church. She and her wife, Robin Ridenour, a nurse anesthetist and United Methodist deaconess, met in Junior High Church Camp and have been together for 25 years. They were married in 2014. Bishop Oliveto was named by NBC as one of 30 contemporary LGBTQ change-makers as part of their #Pride50 series. She was also named one of the Faith Leaders to Watch in 2021 by the Center for American Progress. 

Links from the Show:

• Learn more about Bishop Oliveto here: https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/person-detail/2463386
• Bishop Oliveto on FB: https://www.facebook.com/BishopOliveto/
• Find Bishop Oliveto’s books here:https://bookshop.org/beta-search?keywords=Bishop+Oliveto
• Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org 

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