- Maddie Zahm is an Empty Canvas
For Maddie Zahm, there's nothing more powerful than writing songs that scare her. On her debut EP You Might Not Like Her, the Boise-bred singer/songwriter intimately documents the massive upheaval she's experienced over the last year: a life-changing journey that includes leaving the stifling church community where she long served as a worship leader, moving to Los Angeles and coming out as queer.
With equal parts raw vulnerability and undeniable strength -- first glimpsed on her viral hit single "Fat Funny Friend" which has achieved over 30 million streams -- Maddie opens up about her personal trauma, her sexuality, and her relationship with her body, embracing the kind of unapologetic yet compassionate truth-telling that's transformative for artist and audience alike.
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy42m | Sep 6, 2022 - Fr. Shannon TL Kearns on His Trans Journey with Scripture
Shannon TL Kearns is a transgender man who believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story. He's the co-founder of QueerTheology.com and the podcast Queer Theology and his new book “In The Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey with Scripture” released last week
Shannon is a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and he was a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought-after speaker on transgender issues and religion as well as a skilled facilitator of a variety of workshops. His work with Brian G. Murphy at QueerTheology.com has reached more than a million people all over the world through videos, articles, online courses, and community
Links + Resources:
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy47m | Aug 16, 2022 - Mace Mooney Believes the Kids are All Right
Mace Mooney is a psychotherapist in training and a leader with Affirming Youth Ministries (AYM), a nonprofit dedicated to ministering to LGBTQIA+ youth and those that love them in the name of radical inclusion, authenticity, and God’s expansive love. They’re the cohost of the podcast, No Small Thing which invites folks to live less certain and more curious lives. Today, we're chatting about their work with AYM and what we can learn about living a more curious, less certain life.
Links + Resources
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy45m | Jul 26, 2022 - Dianna Anderson on Being Nonbinary in a World of Dichotomies
Dianna Anderson is a nonbinary, queer writer based in Minneapolis, MN. They are the author of several books, including Damaged Goods: New Perspectives on Christian Purity and Problematic: How Toxic Callout Culture is Destroying Feminism.
Dianna’s newest book, In Transit: Being Non-Binary In A World of Dichotomies, is out today! It’s an exploration of what it means to be non-binary in a world that genders everything, down to the very words we use. They start off exploring the long history of non-binary people, and then they tease out where non-binary identities fit within the idea of transgender identity, exploring what they all mean in a cisnormative society.
They hold a Master's in English from Baylor University and a Master's in Women’s Studies from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. When not working on books, Dianna is a grant writer and non-profit development professional. They live with two cats, Minerva and Tonks.
Links + Resources
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy44m | Jul 12, 2022 - Lucy Dacus is Still Figuring It Out
Lucy Dacus is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and author from Richmond, VA. She has released three studio albums including 2021’s highly lauded Home Video, which earned rave reviews from global outlets such as Variety,The Guardian, NPR, Rolling Stone and many more. In 2018, Dacus created the collaborative supergroup boygenius with close friends Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers. Their debut EP was one of the most talked about releases of 2018, landing on nearly every notable “Best Music of the Year” list. Today, she talks about growing up in church and how she doesn't have things figured out yet.
Links + Resources
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m | Jun 21, 2022 - Edafe Okporo Sought Asylum
Edafe Okporo is a global gay rights activist, the founder of Refuge America, and one of the country’s most visible voices on the issue of displacement, leading an organization with a vision to “strengthen the US as a place of welcome for LGBTQ displaced people.” He was born in Warri, Nigeria, and migrated to the United States in 2016 as an asylum seeker and is now a refugee of the United States. Edafe is among the inaugural winners of the David Prize, which honors individuals with bold visions for creating a better and brighter New York City. He is also a Logo 30 Honoree.
His new book, Asylum: A Memoir & Manifesto is a poignant, moving memoir and urgent call to action for immigration justice. The book imagines a future where immigrants and asylees are treated with fairness, transparency, and compassion.
Links + Resources
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy46m | Jun 7, 2022 - Rachel Kurtz Makes Music for All of Us
Rachel Kurtz is a Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter who has been touring and singing for almost 20 years. Her powerhouse voice and heartfelt performances have been electrifying crowds in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, New Orleans’ Superdome, Texas’ Alamo Dome, and hundreds of other concert venues from coast to coast. Recently, she came out as queer and released her new single “Gay Kids” a love song to every queer kid out there, from a queer mom.
Links + Resources
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m | May 17, 2022 - Matthew Paul Turner Writes Children's Books
Matthew Paul Turner is a New York Times bestselling author of multiple books, including his Children’s books — When God Made You and When I Pray For You. His newest children’s book, I Am God’s Dream released last week.
Matthew’s writing career started nearly 20 years ago, and he has published a book every year. Called “one of Christianity’s fresh voices” by Publisher’s Weekly, Matthew’s other notable works include Our Great Big American God, Churched, Coffeehouse Gospel and The Christian Culture Survival Guide.
But, when he came out nearly two years ago and announced an impending divorce with his wife, his entire career was threatened. Today we’re chatting about his experience coming out and what he has learned along the way.
Links + Resources
Join Matthias and Dr. Robyn Henderson Espinoza on May 12 at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology as they engage in conversation around Dr. Robyn's new book Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation. This event has both in-person and online attendance options. All the details can be found at https://theseattleschool.edu/event/body-becoming-a-path-to-our-liberation/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy45m | May 3, 2022 - Bridget Eileen Rivera on How the Church Harms Queer People
Bridget Eileen Rivera is a sociologist completing her Ph.D. at the City University of New York Graduate Center. She’s the author of “Heavy Burdens: Seven Ways LGBTQ+ Christians Experience Harm in the Church.”
Today she chats with Matthias about the ways LGBTQ+ people are harmed in the church, especially in regards to forced celibacy. She explains how she uses her choice to be celibate to undermine traditional arguments and carve a path for all LGBTQ+ people.
Links + Resources
Join Matthias and Dr. Robyn Henderson Espinoza on May 12 at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology as they engage in conversation around Dr. Robyn's new book Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation. This event has both in-person and online attendance options. All the details can be found at https://theseattleschool.edu/event/body-becoming-a-path-to-our-liberation/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy39m | Apr 19, 2022 - Jo Luehmann is Invested in Liberation
Jo Luehmann is a Colombian-born and raised pastor who moved to the US to get her master's degree in ministry and theology. After 10 years working inside churches, she found in personal and systemic ways how harmful and abusive the evangelical church can be. Jo quit her job and committed to finding a faith that wasn’t abusive.
Alongside her partner, she started the Living Room a non-profit reclaiming faith and Christianity as spiritual expressions that can lead us toward wholeness and healing. In the summer of 2020 alongside a group of victims and survivors of church abuse, Jo started @doBetterChurch an online space where people abused in churches can be seen, heard, believed, and connected to others who can offer tools in their journey toward healing, as well as an initiative to invite churches to do better. Jo speaks and teaches about decolonizing faith and theology, as well as the importance of dismantling white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism both individually and collectively.
Links + Resources
Join Matthias and Dr. Robyn Henderson Espinoza on May 12 at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology as they engage in conversation around Dr. Robyn's new book Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation. This event has both in-person and online attendance options. All the details can be found at https://theseattleschool.edu/event/body-becoming-a-path-to-our-liberation/
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy53m | Apr 5, 2022 - Brenda Marie Davies: Live from Wild Goose Festival
Brenda Marie Davies is an author, podcaster and YouTuber. Her channel God Is Grey—a guide to becoming an inquisitive, fearless, SEX POSITIVE, free thinking Christian in the modern world —has over 135,000 subscribers.
Her debut book, On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel, chronicles Brenda’s spiritual journey over the course of a decade in LA, through marriage, divorce, unlikely friendship, and sexual exploration. Told with raw honesty, sans obligatory shame, this is a story for anyone who wonders if it’s possible to love God without fearing sex, in all its shades of grey.
Recorded live from the GooseCast podcast stage at Wild Goose Festival.
This episode is brought to you by the 2022 Q Christian Fellowship Conference. Use code QUEEROLOGY to save 10% off your registration at qcfconf.org.
Links and Resources:
Q Christian Fellowship Conference
On Her Knees: Memoir of a Prayerful Jezebel
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy43m | Sep 21, 2021 - Intersectional Justice with Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder (Encore)
This episode first aired Sep 10, 2019. Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder (she, her), a San Francisco native, has served her call through prophetic action and ministry for justice for over thirty years. This call to “blend proclamation, worship, service and advocacy on behalf of those most marginalized in church and in society” led to the founding of the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in 1991. In 2003, Rev. Dr. Flunder was consecrated Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a multi-denominational coalition of over 100 primarily African American Christian leaders and laity.
Rev. Dr. Flunder is on the Board of Starr King School for the Ministry and DEMOS and has taught at many theological schools. She is a graduate of the Certificate of Ministry and Master of Arts programs at PSR, and received her Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She is also an award-winning gospel music artist and author of Where the Edge Gathers: A Theology of Homiletic and Radical Inclusion.
This episode is brought to you by the 2022 Q Christian Fellowship Conference. Use code QUEEROLOGY to save 10% off your registration at qcfconf.org.
Links and Resources:
2022 Q Christian Fellowship Conference
Where the Edge Gathers: A Theology of Homiletic and Radical Inclusion
City of Refuge United Church of Christ
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy43m | Sep 7, 2021 - You're A Person! with Jamie Lee Finch
Jamie Lee Finch is a sexuality and embodiment coach, speaker, poet, and author of "You Are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity".
She's coached over 400 people in the past 5 years and sees her role in her work as that of a conflict mediator between human beings and their bodies.
She's just released her very first online course called "Your Body is a Person" that walks you through her entire methodology and practice of Personified Embodiment
Links and Resources:
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 0m | Aug 24, 2021 - Fighting for Wellbeing in Uganda with Samson Turinawe
Samson Turinawe is the Executive Director of Universal Love Alliance (ULA), a Ugandan humanitarian, educator and human rights defender. He believes that "every human being should be respected simply for being who they are, a part of Life's creation." Tolerance, inclusiveness, love, compassion, dialogue and reconciliation are all central themes in his work.
Through his teaching and activism, Samson is working for a new generation -- one that is open-minded, open-hearted, diversity-embracing, and committed to serving all of humanity.
Links and Resources:
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy40m | Aug 10, 2021 - Emily Regenstreif has Supportive Parents
Emily Regenstreif has supportive parents. The best thing that they could do and ever did was to listen and then wanting to learn and know more by asking questions.
Emily grew up queer in Portland, Oregon, in a Jewish faith community. She had a lovely and lucky experience — very different from the traumatic backgrounds of others who grew up queer in faith communities. That’s not Emily’s story.
Emily is a 31-year-old receptionist who spends most of her free time playing Dungeons and Dragons as well as writing her first novel, which she has been working on since she was 18 years old.
Topics Discussed:
- Faith Forms Identity: Emily’s supportive journey with queerness being Jewish
- Jonas Brothers to Julia Stiles: Emily’s evolution of queerness started with a girl
- Coming out to friends, family, and faith community was easy for Emily
- Attraction vs. Asexuality: There’s far more to being a person than sex
- Exploration: Be comfortable with who and what you are to feel free, not shameful
- Religious Trauma: Luckily, Emily’s challenges weren’t related to queerness, faith
- Choosing My Religion: Converting to Judaism was Emily’s choice over church
- Proud Every Day: Emily never felt need to project or celebrate Pride Month
Links and Resources:
Queerology - QYF Day: Don’t Give Up Everything You Believe In and Everyone You Love (rerelease)
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy40m | Jul 20, 2021 - Julie Rodgers Survived
Julie Rodgers is a writer, speaker, and leader in the movement working for full inclusion for LGBTQ people in Christian communities. She played a significant role in shutting down Exodus International, the largest conversion therapy organization in the world, and she was also the first openly gay person to be hired by an evangelical Christian college. She is featured in Pray Away (2020), a documentary about the movement to pray the gay away. Her writing has been featured in Sojourners, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Time. She lives with her wife in Washington, DC.
Her new book, Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story, is a memoir of her experience growing up evangelical, while knowing she was gay. It’s about love and losses, political and religious power-plays, and the cost to those who sought to stay in a faith community that wouldn’t accept them.
For more queer reflections on faith, public life, and chosen family, join Julie’s substack, Reimagining Belonging.
Topics Discussed:
- Faith & Identity: Lesbian, queer, Christian, cat mom with conflicting, complex faith
- Coming Out, Conversion, Coping: Julie didn’t want to change, but initially gave in
- Don’t be a part of something that makes you hate and harm yourself or others
- Who to trust? Choose to question or follow religious leaders or your own truth
- Breaking Point: Reality behind closed doors vs. belief that things are changing
- Pray the Gay Away: Story that is still present reality in today’s world
- Reasons for Disconnect: Lack of nuance and understanding in liberal spaces
- Save Yourself, Not Everyone: Don’t stay rooted in trauma; live and thrive
Links and Resources:
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy48m | Jul 6, 2021 - QYF Day: Don’t Give Up Everything You Believe In and Everyone You Love
How are you celebrating national Queer Youth of Faith (QYF) Day on June 30, 2021?
On this episode of Queerology, a panel celebrates the life, creativity, and gifts of queer youth of faith.
The panel includes Ameera, a trans-Svengolie American Muslim; Taline, a bisexual Armenian Christian; Daniel, a gay Jew; and Sebastian, a trans-Christian.
Happy QYF Day!
Topics Discussed:
- QYF Panel: How each identifies and how faith formed their identity
- Honor, Celebrate, Center: Importance and meaning of QYF Day to each panelist
- Affirming Theology: Spread awareness that God doesn’t hate you
- Queer Realization: Born this way and the continual struggle to find hope and support
- Advice: Nobody’s perfect, don’t change, you’re not alone, find your people
Links and Resources:
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy45m | Jun 29, 2021 - Eating the Forbidden Apple with Melissa Weisz and Pelayo Alvarez
Melissa Weisz and Pelayo Alvarez are hosts of the Forbidden Apple Podcast, which creates space for LGBTQ+ people to reclaim their spirituality—whatever that means to them.
Melissa is a former Orthodox Jew. Although she came out as queer, Melissa adores her family and the Hasidic Jewish community in which she was raised. As an actor, producer, and writer, Melissa aims to uplift the voices of marginalized people and communities.
Pelayo is originally from Spain and was raised catholic. He now lives in New York City and works for The United Nations in the field of international relations and global affairs.
Pelayo is passionate about discovering how different people around the world live their spirituality and appreciates what makes each story powerful. He asks for practical advice and takeaways from different life perspectives and uses them for personal development and growth. Also, Pelayo has a YouTube channel where he curates life-changing ideas with a fun twist.
As hosts of the Forbidden Apple Podcast, Pelayo wants to prove that although people celebrate religion and spirituality in so many ways, at the same time, they share so much in common; Melissa wants the podcast to become a platform that gives people a voice, creates a community, and celebrates queerness.
Topics Discussed:
- Faith and Identity: Observe other faiths to learn, love, and understand them
- Spiritual Toolbox: Difference between appropriation versus appreciation
- Podcast Purpose: Deep conversations about religion, spirituality, and queerness
- Deconstruction: What’s religion? Faith? Spirituality? Different but same elements
- Meaningful Blessings: What works and what doesn’t when reclaiming words
- Spiritual vs. Religious: What’s the separation? Good and right, or bad and wrong
- Divine Virtue: 81% of queer people in U.S. grow up in some organized religion
- Discover Why: Do you follow traditional values/morals or free to make your own?
Links and Resources:
Pelayo Alvarez’s YouTube Channel
Queer Virtue by Elizabeth Edman
Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry by Ross Murray
Rev. Elizabeth Edman on the Inherent Queerness of Christianity
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy54m | Jun 22, 2021 - Rev. Debra J. Hopkins Believes There's Still Hope
Rev. Debra J. Hopkins is a native New Yorker and trans woman of color who believes that there’s always hope because words have power and everybody can be a voice for change through action, activism, and community involvement. We can all help put an end to the social and economic discrimination that's ever present in this country.
Debra is the Founder of There's Still Hope, a non-profit organization that provides a Transitional Housing Program for transgender adults, trans victims of domestic violence, and trans individuals released from the correctional institutional system.
Debra earned her Masters of Theology degree from New York Theological Seminary and is a licensed non-denominational minister. She is actively involved in ministry through pastoral care, writing, and community activism. She is the author of three books and three anthologies, including her memoir, Not Until You Have Walked In My Shoes.
Through it all, Debra continues to spend time traveling around the country advocating for the marginalized people within the LGBTQIA community.
Topics Discussed:
- Faith/Identity: Formed via self-discovery of development, foundational footing
- Transition: Vehicle to expand audience and not allow naysayers’ negativity
- Words of Advice: Be authentic and use the tools that God has given you
- Community, therapy, and honesty brings healing, understanding, and activism
- Look in the Mirror: Convey the truth of life and how we should be treated equally
- There’s Still Hope: After losing it all, being homeless, and trying to clear name
- Platforms: Build, exercise, and cultivate spiritual, mental, and physical muscles
Links and Resources:
Not Until You Have Walked In My Shoes
Christine Jorgensen a Personal Autobiography
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy1h 4m | Jun 15, 2021 - Blair Imani Wants You to Get Smarter
Blair Imani is a critically acclaimed historian, author, educator, and influencer living at the intersections of black, bi-sexual, and Muslim identity.
Blair’s viral microlearning series, Smarter In Seconds, demonstrates her signature style of making abstract concepts more concrete in a well-researched, well-presented, and concise manner.
Also, Blair is the author of Read This to Get Smarter: About Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More, Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream, and Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History.
Blair’s work centers women and girls, global black communities, and the LGBTQ community. She is dedicated to making the world a better place and amplifying the voices and work of those fighting the good fight.
Topics Discussed:
- Faith and Identity: Too many identity labels and faith-based assumptions
- Becoming Muslim: Right path to express self-understanding externally
- Islam Education: Beautiful and innovative approach to replace fear, bullying
- Puzzle Piece: Perfection eludes people of faith, but being Muslim fit in perfectly
- Christian Parents: Not there to tell you what to think, but how to think
- Ability vs. Disability: Intelligence is how information is absorbed and duplicated
- Individualism: People are not always ordained to have basic human rights
- Human Interaction: Set boundaries and treat others with respect to build trust
Links and Resources:
Read This to Get Smarter: about Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More
Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream
Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Diversity of Sexual Orientation - Kinsey Institute
Masterclass: 4 Practices You Can Start Now to Move Beyond Shame
Queerology Podcast on Instagram
Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy55m | Jun 8, 2021
