Blessed Are the Binary Breakers

I offer up some reflections moving from Jesus's path to the cross into those twilit hours before he rose. I interweave my own story of deep trauma and hope of healing on the way. After church hurt and religious trauma, how do we rise to new spiritual life? Content warning: discussions of religious trauma and queerphobia; brief, non-specific suicide mention. Click here for an episode transcript...

Avery and Micah offer a conversational primer in queer theology — from its origins in queer theory, to distinctions between queer and simply affirming theologies, to fabulously queer passages from scripture. This episode was originally published on The Word in Black and Red, a podcast moving chapter by chapter through the Bible with co-hosts offering perspectives informed by anarcho-communism, que...

First Laura Sommer and then Rowan share their experiences at AutScape, an annual meeting of autistic folk of all ages in England. Both discuss how AutScape has given them glimpses of what it would be like to live in a world where autistic culture is celebrated, diverse communication styles and sensory needs are accommodated, and special interests received with joy. Be sure to check out ⁠Laura'...

John Hamilton is a non-theist pastor whose lifelong search for transcendence has taken him from altar boy to rock-and-roll musician, from preaching with certainty into embracing the unknowable nature of God. In this episode, John and I discuss his upcoming memoir, Honest to God, which comes out September 15. Get book info at Wildhouse Publishing here . Click here for an episode transcript . Conten...

How can we use this last week of Disability Pride Month to celebrate the unique insights into human and divine nature that disability can bring? For starters, we can learn from the wisdom of disabled activists and theologians, which is what you'll find in this episode. Click here for an episode transcript . Talking Points: (0:00) Intro + Eli Clare on intersectional pride (5:35) Pastor Lamar Ha...

In 2017, Kate Davoli (they/them, MDiv) was dismissed from the ordination process for being polyamorous. In spite of this heartache, they have remained steadfastly part of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Listen — or read along in the transcript — as Kate recalls the events leading up to & following their dismissal; ponders what we learn about God through polyamorous people's lives & call...

Listen or read along in the episode transcript for two reflections kicking off the Lenten season: Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine's Day this year — what can Ash Wednesday + the story of Saint Valentine teach us about facing our own mortality and resisting the pressure to put romantic love on a pedestal? Next, let's connect the glowing coal touched to the prophet's lips in Isaiah...

Listen to — or read along in the episode transcript — Jewish, Christian, and Muslim poems by Palestinians and their supporters. Poetry empowers us to imagine liberation that we can then work towards, together. Some pieces explore the Nativity story through this lens: Christmas joy must break bread with pain, birthing solidarity with all oppressed peoples. Talking Points: (0:00) Ross Gay on mixing...

I sit down with public historian Emma Cieslik (she/her) to hear all about her Queer and Catholic Oral History Project , supported by the Pacific School of Religion. For Emma, the word catholic is truly "universal" — she's interviewed Roman Catholics and folk Catholics, ex-Catholics and "it's complicated" Catholics, queer religious and lay folk. In documenting these dive...

Isaiah 56:1-8 shares God's message of not only tolerance but radical welcome for the ultimate Others of the biblical world: eunuchs. How did Isaiah 56's author come to understand Divine affirmation for this denigrated group, when Deuteronomy 23's author had offered only rejection? And why does this scripture resonate deeply with many transgender persons of faith today? Click here for a...

Jayne X Praxis (she/they) is many things — she’s Buddhist and a tantric witch; she’s an ordained minister and a Satanist; she’s a Sister of Perpetual Indulgence and a licensed therapist — but above all, Jayne is forever becoming more and more their authentic self, and they invite you to do the same through curiosity, humor, and embodied self-exploration. Content Warning: swearing and sex talk; rel...

June was Queer Pride Month, July is Disability Pride Month, and that means it's the prime time of year for certain people to remind us that "pride is a sin, didn't you know?" So I called up my dear friend Laura, a fellow disabled trans Christian, to discuss how the kind of pride that marginalized communities use as an antidote to shame is not sinful, but indeed essential in our p...

Matthew 25:31-46 is sometimes misused to preach hellfire & brimstone, but its focus is on compassion & community, mutual aid in the here & now. In this sermon, minister Avery Arden explores how the Divine identification with the world's outcasts has empowered disenfranchised Christians to envision Christ as Black, disabled, gay, trans, and more. Click here for an episode transcript...

Água (they/them) shares the story of their lifelong relationship with Weelaunee Forest, whose leaves form the second half of the lungs that begin in Água's own body. After discussing the Stop Cop City movement's past and present, Água guides us through abolishing the cop in our own head; recognizing the interconnectedness and sacredness of all bodies; and breaking down binaries of "us...

For Shining Oak (she/her), activism and queerness have been catalysts for reconnecting to her Jewish faith. Learn about Shining Oak's experiences with the movement to Stop Cop City, from organizing a kid-friendly event for a 2021 Week of Action to attending a powerful Shabbat service in Atlanta's Weelaunee Forest. Click here for an episode transcript . Find out about the new, nonviolence-f...

Learn about the Movement to Defend Atlanta's Forest through the stories of forest defenders for whom queerness and faith intertwine with activism. In this episode, Tov shares the dream that drew them to March's Week of Action, discusses Weelaunee's history and the environmental threat Cop City poses, and uplifts the power of humor in the face of police intimidation. Click here for an e...

Coal (he/they) is organizing a solidarity group in Springfield, Illinois, for the Movement to Defend Atlanta's Forest and Stop Cop City. He understands that what happens in Atlanta will have wide-reaching impacts — from environmental devastation to the way such a huge, hyper-militarized police training facility would set a precedent for similar projects across the nation. In this second episod...

Learn about the Movement to Stop Cop City and Defend Atlanta's Forest through the stories of forest defenders for whom queerness and faith intertwine with activism. In this first episode, Siihasin describes their experiences as a Diné nádleehi, frontliner, and land defender. Siihasin was one of around 20 Indigenous two spirit persons invited to the latest Stop Cop City Week of Action to facili...

The world is a scary place right now — particularly for trans people. Our youth are being targeted. Our bodily autonomy is under threat. We are made into scapegoats by extremists who want to eradicate us. In these tumultuous times, where is the hope? In this special episode, you'll hear from people of various genders and faith experiences about what keeps them going — from Higher Powers to the...

In the anti-trans flood, I don't want my anger and hurt to wither into bitterness; I want to channel it into planting a garden of trans joy, queer rest, intersectional justice. Click here for the episode transcript . Content warning: anti-trans rhetoric & legislation, swearing. Talking points: (0:00 - 2:07) Garden dreams (2:08) The frustrations of seeking healthcare while trans; finding trans...

In saying yes to bearing God Themself outside of marriage, Mary said yes to disgrace in the eyes of the world — not unlike the rejection LGBTQA+ persons can face when we accept God's call to live into our full, beautiful, queer selves. In this short story from Squirrel House Publishing's 2021 anthology Reconstructing Christmas , the Mother of God emboldens a nonbinary college student to take a cou...

K Kriesel (they/them or she/her) is not afraid of "messy," with a spiritual life that blends Catholicism and Wicca, and holds space for time adrift.  K has broken away from a variety of groups that proved too limiting to uplift the most marginalized, including any feminism that prioritizes white, cis women. As they search for a spiritual community built with people like them in mind, K serves...

After growing up Southern Baptist and pressured to conform to gender norms, it took time for Ynza Morgan Star (she/her & zey/zeir) to live fully into her genderqueer, agnostic, pagan, game designer self. In this episode, Ynza shares how neurodivergence and the power of story have shaped her journey; how zey crafted zeir own name; how zey joined zeir local Unitarian Universalist fellowship; and...

This episode is a slightly abridged version of part 1 of the Neuroqueer Joseph series over on The Autistic Liberation Theology podcast . Be sure to visit Laura's podcast for parts 2 & 3 once you've finished this episode! My friend Laura and I explore all the queer + autistic elements of Joseph's story, starting with Genesis 37. Joseph wears makeup and the colorful dress of a princess, toe-walk...

Avery reads more passages from Leslie Feinberg's 1996 work Transgender Warriors — this time ones that respond to the same tired arguments people have been making against the trans community for decades now. How do you respond when someone insists that women's spaces shouldn't include trans women, that drag queens make a mockery of femininity, that trans women have male privilege? Feinberg offered...