40. Sara Cunningham (Free Mom Hugs) & Kelly Mellen (Making Things Right) – Women of Faith Showing Up for the Queer Community

40. Sara Cunningham (Free Mom Hugs) & Kelly Mellen (Making Things Right) – Women of Faith Showing Up for the Queer Community

40. Sara Cunningham (Free Mom Hugs) & Kelly Mellen (Making Things Right) – Women of Faith Showing Up for the Queer Community What does it look like when women of faith choose love over fear and show up for the queer community? Alexis sits down with Sara Cunningham, founder of Free Mom Hugs, and Kelly Mellen, Managing Director of Making Things Right, for a joyful, deeply personal conversation about faith, allyship, healing, and learning how to better love and support LGBTQ+ people. Together, these three women of faith reflect on growing up in Christian traditions that taught homosexuality was a sin, the relationships and experiences that changed their hearts, and why no one should ever have to choose between their faith and being fully known and loved. Sara shares the story behind Free Mom Hugs, which has become a source of hope and chosen family for countless LGBTQ+ people and parents around the world. Kelly discusses her work with Making Things Right and her "I'm Sorry Pride Tour," inviting Christians to move beyond good intentions and into repentance, repair, and love in action. They discuss church hurt, Christian nationalism, allyship, apology, belonging, and why showing up with compassion matters now more than ever. The conversation closes with a blessing for anyone who has ever wondered whether they belong, whether God could still love them, or whether hope is possible after spiritual harm. This conversation is for anyone exploring progressive Christianity, LGBTQ+ Christianity, allyship, church hurt, deconstruction, healing after evangelicalism, affirming theology, chosen family, Free Mom Hugs, faith after harm, and showing up with love. 💡 Key Takeaways • Love is bigger than fear • Relationships change hearts more effectively than arguments • Christians have a responsibility to repair harm done to LGBTQ+ people • Apologies matter, but showing up matters even more • Chosen family is sacred • LGBTQ+ people deserve to be fully known, loved, and celebrated About Our Guests Sara Cunningham (@saraphrased @freemomhugs) is the founder of Free Mom Hugs, a movement empowering people to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community through visibility, education, and conversation. Kelly Mellen (@kellymellen_) is the Managing Director of Making Things Right (@makingthingsright_mtr), helping Christians move toward responsibility, repair, and compassionate allyship. 📚 Resources & Voices Mentioned • Brian Neitzel (@brianneitzel) Co-founder of Making Things Right and leader of the "I'm Sorry Pride Tour." • Rocky Roggio (@rockyroggio @1946TheMovie) Director of 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture. • Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) • CenterPeace (@centerpeaceinc) • Q Christian Fellowship (@qchristianorg) • The Reformation Project (@thereformationproject) • The Necessary Conversation Podcast (@thenecessaryconversationpod) • Peppermint (@peppermint247) 🏳️‍🌈 Looking for an affirming church? Church Clarity (@churchclarity) Enter your ZIP code at ChurchClarity.org to find churches that are clear (and unclear) about: • LGBTQ+ affirmation • Same-sex weddings • Women in leadership • Queer leadership and belonging 🤗 Looking for your people? Free Mom Hugs (@freemomhugs) Find a local chapter, volunteer, or simply know that there are people looking for you, too. As Sara reminds us: "There's nothing you have done, nothing you will do, and nothing you can do that can separate you from the love of God." And as Kelly says: "I'm sorry you've been fed a narrative that you are less than. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, just the way you are." If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone navigating faith, sexuality, belonging, or healing from church hurt. Sometimes the most sacred thing we can do is simply show up with love. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

39. Rev. Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD (Baptist) – Becoming Human With One Another (Pride Month Reissue)

39. Rev. Roberto Che Espinoza (Baptist) – Becoming Human With One Another (Pride Month Reissue) This week, Alexis Rice welcomes Rev. Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD (@drrobertoche), pastor, scholar, and founder of Activist Theology and Our Collective Becoming. Roberto’s life and ministry embody a theology rooted in interdependence, tenderness, and justice. A Latinx trans man, theologian, and ordained Baptist minister, Roberto has devoted his work to spiritual formation, collective liberation, and radical ethics. He invites us to rediscover the practices of Jesus—not as abstractions, but as embodied acts of eating, walking, storytelling, and living in community. Song: Stay Safe provided by singer-songwriter and ally, Derek Webb @derekwebb. Alexis and Roberto explore: * Why oppositional politics fuels polarization—and how interdependence offers a better way * How embodiment and presence can reshape theology and ethics * Roberto’s call story: growing up in poverty and violence, finding home in the church, surviving abuse, and reclaiming his call to ministry * The painful reality of being pushed out of churches for living prophetically, and the hope of interspiritual community * What it means to become a stone catcher in a world of violence toward queer and trans people * How proximity, care, and hospitality can disrupt cycles of fear and build true solidarity 💡 Key Takeaways * Embodied presence is the starting point for repair * The fruit of the Spirit—not fear or exclusion—must guide Christian community * To follow Jesus is to risk proximity, solidarity, and radical love * Flourishing requires more than inclusion—it demands spaces where difference blooms ⛪ About Our Guest Rev. Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza is a pastor, visiting professor, activist, and scholar. A Latinx trans man, Roberto works at the intersections of embodiment, decolonial thought, moral imagination, and justice-rooted theology. He holds a BA in Bible, an MTS in Ethics, and a PhD in Constructive Philosophical Theology. He founded Activist Theology and Our Collective Becoming, is a visiting professor at Duke Divinity, and speaks nationally and internationally on gender justice, faith, and politics. Roberto lives in upstate New York. 📚 Resources Mentioned * Activist Theology & Body Becoming — @drrobertoche * Queer Virtue — @elizabethedman * Survival Songs album — @derekwebb * Homebrewed Christianity — @theologynerd * Exvangelical — @brchastain * Straight White American Jesus — @straightwhitejc & @bbonishi * Work by Sarah Heath — @revsarahheath * The Bible for Normal People — @thebiblefornormalpeople May you find sacred ground, may the fruit of the Spirit guide you. If you’re longing for community, may you be encouraged to find one that embraces your full, questioning, beautiful selves. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

38. Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez (Non-Denominational Megachurch Culture) - Conversion Therapy Dropout

38. Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez (Non-Denominational Megachurch Culture) - Conversion Therapy Dropout What if the choice between being gay and being Christian was never a choice at all? Alexis sits down with Timothy Schrader Rodriguez, author of Conversion Therapy Dropout, for a deeply personal conversation about surviving eight years of conversion therapy, working behind the scenes at some of the most influential evangelical megachurches in America, and discovering that faith and queerness do not have to be enemies. Tim shares his journey from growing up in evangelical megachurch culture to entering conversion therapy in pursuit of what he believed God required of him. Together, Alexis and Tim explore the devastating impact of spiritual abuse, the false binary many LGBTQ+ Christians are taught, and the healing that becomes possible when people are fully seen, loved, and affirmed. They discuss the rise of Christian nationalism, the continued attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, and why visibility, honesty, and relationships remain some of the most powerful tools for change. Tim also shares the story behind Church Clarity, the organization he helped launch to help people find churches that are honest about where they stand on LGBTQ+ inclusion and women in leadership. The conversation closes with a powerful benediction for anyone who has ever wondered whether they belong, whether God could love them as they are, or whether faith is still possible after spiritual harm. This conversation is for anyone exploring: progressive Christianity, LGBTQ+ Christianity, queer theology, deconstruction, church hurt, conversion therapy, Christian nationalism, faith after evangelicalism, and healing from spiritual abuse. 💡 Key Takeaways • Conversion therapy is harmful and does not work • Being gay and Christian is not a contradiction • Many LGBTQ+ people leave faith because of rejection, not because they stop seeking God • Relationships and stories change hearts more effectively than arguments • Churches should be clear about where they stand on LGBTQ+ inclusion and women in leadership • Healing is not becoming someone else - it's returning to who you've always been About Our Guest Timothy Schrader Rodriguez (@timothy.s.rodriguez [https://www.instagram.com/timothy.s.rodriguez/#]) is an author, speaker, church communications strategist, LGBTQ+ advocate, and one of the founders of Church Clarity. His memoir, Conversion Therapy Dropout, chronicles his experience surviving eight years of conversion therapy and finding a path toward healing, authenticity, and faith. 📚 Resources & Voices Mentioned • Jonathan Van Ness @jvn • Getting Better with JVN: @gettingbetterwithJVN • NBC News interview featuring Timothy Schrader Rodriguez: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYDZuzrsZ8L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== • Church Clarity @churchclarity • Q Christian Fellowship @qchristianorg [https://www.instagram.com/qchristianorg/#] https://www.qchristian.org/ • Rev. Brandan Robertson @brandanrobertson • Matthew Vines @matthewvines • Justin Telthorst @emptycharishome • Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel https://ginnybrowndaniel.substack.com/ • Brené Brown @brenebrown 🏳️‍🌈 Looking for a church? Visit ChurchClarity.org Is there a church near you that is clear about how they welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ people? Are queer people allowed in leadership? Will the church perform same-sex weddings? Do they affirm women in leadership? Enter your ZIP code and see what's around you. As Tim channels @BrenéBrown in this episode: "Clarity is kindness. Ambiguity can be harmful." Grab Conversion Therapy Dropout (I love Tim reading the audiobook!) Grab a copy https://bookshop.org/shop/thesacredslope If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone navigating questions around faith, sexuality, belonging, or healing from church hurt. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

37. Bishop Guðrún (Church of Iceland) – A Nation Led by Women, and a Bishop Who Says Queer People Should Be Safe in Christianity (Pride Month Reissue)

37. Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir (Church of Iceland) – A Nation Led by Women, and a Bishop Who Says Queer People Should Be Safe in Christianity When a nation is led by women at the highest levels - the President, the Prime Minister, the Mayor of Reykjavík, the National Police Commissioner, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Bishop of Iceland - something becomes visible: women in power isn’t an exception, it’s normal. Into that context steps Bishop Guðrún - the second woman ever to serve as Bishop of Iceland - who tells LGBTQ+ people that God’s creation is good — and that we are holy creations of God. Together, Alexis & Bishop Guðrún dive into: • Iceland’s 1975 Women’s Strike & gender equality milestones • From harm to repair - why churches MUST affirm LGBTQ+ people • The Bishop’s civic role - national funerals, ceremonies, moral voice • Mental health, suicide, and walking with people in suffering • A prayer in Icelandic for listeners who left church but not God 💡 Key Takeaways 🌈 Safety, dignity, and belonging for queer people is Christian discipleship - not deviation.  👩‍⚖️ When women lead at every level of national life, equality becomes ordinary - not symbolic.  🧭 The Bishop’s role is not partisan power - it is moral presence and public courage.  🕊️ True pastoral leadership walks with people in suffering, not above them. ⛪ About Our Guest Bishop Guðrún Karls Helgudóttir (@gudrun.biskup_) is the Bishop of Iceland - the spiritual head of the Church of Iceland (@kirkjan.is), a national Lutheran church interwoven into Icelandic cultural life, history, and state ceremonies. The Bishop’s office carries both sacred and civic weight: accompanying presidents and prime ministers at moments of national significance, offering moral clarity in public crises, and serving as a pastoral presence when the country gathers in grief, remembrance, or celebration. Bishop Guðrún is the second woman ever to serve as Bishop of Iceland. Her pathway includes parish leadership in Sweden and Iceland, and theological formation at the University of Iceland and the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Known internationally for her clear advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, Bishop Guðrún represents a model of Christian leadership rooted not in fear or exclusion, but in dignity, equality, and the conviction that God’s creation is good. 📚 Resources Mentioned Iceland Church Pride clip:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNBnMnFMtN8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNBnMnFMtN8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link] Bishop Guðrún Trans rights clip:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFvNaZ8tKeN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFvNaZ8tKeN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link] Suicide-awareness clip:  https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPCd44njMXo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPCd44njMXo/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link] Women’s Strike (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cy0ky4e4kzwo Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control

36. Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines (Disciples of Christ/UCC) - The Progressive, Open & Affirming Pastor Evangelicals Warned You About

Pride Month Series- 🌈 Happy Pride! 36. Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines (Disciples of Christ/UCC) - The Progressive, Open & Affirming Pastor Evangelicals Warned You About What does a conversation with a progressive, open and affirming pastor actually sound like? For many people raised in evangelical spaces, progressive pastors were often presented as people who had compromised biblical faith or wandered too far from Christianity. But what happens when you actually listen and decide for yourself? Alexis sits down with Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines, pastor, author, scholar, Co-Executive Director of the Center for Progressive Christianity, and one of the most visible progressive Christian voices online, for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, deconstruction, LGBTQ+ inclusion, Christian nationalism, biblical interpretation, raising children with a healthy faith, and why so many people are reimagining Christianity today. Caleb serves an open and affirming church in San Diego. Open and Affirming (ONA) churches fully welcome LGBTQ+ people into the life and leadership of the church. In many ONA churches, this includes marriage, ordination, leadership, and participation at every level. Together, Alexis and Caleb explore whether progressive Christianity is really as scary as many people were taught, why faith doesn't have to be rooted in certainty, and how Christianity can be a force for justice, compassion, curiosity, and human flourishing. 💬 In This Episode • What progressive Christianity actually is • What "Open and Affirming" means • Growing up progressive in the Bible Belt • Deconstruction, reconstruction, and resilient faith • Raising children who can ask hard questions • Christian nationalism and the politics of fear • LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church • How to find a safe, affirming church • Why people are leaving harmful religious spaces • Why some people are reclaiming Christianity instead of abandoning it • Interfaith relationships and finding common ground • Faith, doubt, mystery, and living without certainty 👥 People & Resources Mentioned • Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines: @revcalebjlines • The Center for Progressive Christianity: @progressivechristianity • Church Clarity: @churchclarity | churchclarity.org • GayChurch.org • Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin: @marksandlin • Marcus Borg • Barbara Brown Taylor: @barbarabrowntaylor • Holy Envy • Phyllis Tickle • Jerome Berryman / Godly Play • Imam Taha Hassane • Petra Costa: @petracostal • Apocalypse in the Tropics (Netflix) • The Moonshine Jesus Show: @moonshinejesusshow 📚 Books by Caleb • Awakened: A Path to Courageous Faith in an Uncertain World • The Great Digital Commission: Embracing Social Media for Church Growth and Transformation Website: calebjlines.com #ProgressiveChristianity #OpenAndAffirming #PrideMonth #Christianity #Deconstruction #Reconstruction #LGBTQChristianity #ChristianNationalism #Faith #ProgressiveFaith #ChurchHurt #InclusiveChurch #TheSacredSlope #CalebJLines #Pride 🌈 Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2471756/support] About The Sacred Slope Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground. For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity. Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion. 🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify      LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere      FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) 🔗 Connect 🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope [https://linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope?utm_source=chatgpt.com] 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: alexis@thesacredslope.com 🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿 Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control