Making room when the industry won't: Flamy Grant's shame-slaying, hip-swaying Christian music debut

A Conversation With Progressive Christian Poet Marla Taviano

Marla Taviano is the author of Unbelieve. Jaded, and an upcoming third and final poetry collection named publicly for the first time in this special edition episode! Marla's poems are journeys through book-inspired thoughts and real-life observations of evangelical Christianity, crafted into bite sized narrative poems that often made me suck air in a gasp of recognition or horror, or, more commonly, both. She's also the creator behind @whitegirllearning, an instagram account devoted to elevating books by authors of color. Marla's personal instagram account @marlataviano is absurdly fun to follow--she pulls people into her world and treats them all as friends. Join me in getting to know my fellow sister-author and friend!

The One with the Intersex, transgender, lesbian, Christian, Baptist Minister: Laura Beth Buchleiter is here to upend assumptions.

CW: suicidal ideation Laura Beth Buchleiter is a self-described Intersex, transgender, lesbian, Christian, Baptist Minister. But her story upends just about every possible assumption or judgement that often comes along with those adjectives. Laura Beth was a husband, father, and minister who spent 20 years living with physical pain from an undiagnosed source and mental anguish from body dysmorphia. Prayer, Biblical manhood courses, and Christian therapy didn't help. "I was slowly dying," she says. Her story almost ended in suicide, but she found herself in the ER instead. That night began Laura Beth's journey of finding answers. And as she began to understand her body, peace of mind followed. Please join me for this conversation about the five biological systems that determine gender, Christian mysticism, and other life-giving topics. http://laura-bethany.com/

Addressing the Needs of Youth With No Address: Rev. Dr. Marian Edmonds-Allen

Our guest on this episode is Marian Edmonds-Allen, the Executive Director of Parity NYC. Parity is a faith-based organization headquartered in NYC that builds bridges across the LGBTQ+ and faith divide. Parity partners with diverse faith communities to foster understanding between traditionally rejecting faiths and LGBTQ+ people and their families. They create connections between the sacred and the secular by partnering with non-religious community-based organizations. Marian's work is focused on suicide prevention and homelessness in the LGBTQI+ youth population. She was instrumental in turning indifferent legislators into fierce advocates who ultimately fought for the new 988 national suicide prevention hotline, and insuring that the was equipped to handle the needs of the LGBTQI+ community, who are more than four times more likely to contemplate suicide than their heterosexual peers. Mentioned in the episode: Learn more about Marian and her work at Parity: https://parity.nyc/ The Salt Lake Tribune's story about Marian's interaction with Laura, the legislator turned advocate: https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2021/11/24/marian-edmonds-allen/ The 988 crisis Line: https://www.samhsa.gov/resource/dbhis/988-suicide-crisis-lifeline?gclid=Cj0KCQjw1rqkBhCTARIsAAHz7K02LGHGOj3iCfblIuD3E6wPn0BJ3VL1LnlLw_DxePuX-OAxqGO6SIIaAqHdEALw_wcB

Audio Book Narrator Jennifer Pickens tells her own (Intersex) Story

Jennifer Pickens [https://www.jenniferpickensaudio.com/] is an audio book narrator whose smooth, confident delivery brings stories from major publishers like MacMillan and Penguin to life. In this episode, Jennifer tells HER story of learning, as a 15 year-old Christian teen that she has XY--Male--chromosomes. Mentioned in this episode: Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras [Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banaras] Androgen Insensitivity [https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/androgen-insensitivity-syndrome/] Syndrome [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1429/] learn more about intersex [https://oiiusa.org/]

Making room when the industry won't: Flamy Grant's shame-slaying, hip-swaying Christian music debut

Flamy Grant doesn't care if Christian music is ready for drag--she's here to "move you, soothe you, help you heal some trauma and always leave you laughing." [https://www.flamygrant.com/] In this episode, Cynthia and Flamy discuss Flamy's pandemic origin story, faith and deconstruction, and their mutual respect for Christian music icon Amy Grant. Mentioned in the episode: Derek Webb [https://www.derekwebb.com/] Amy Grant [https://amygrant.com/] Semler [https://twitter.com/gracebaldridge/status/1584983520065523712] "What Did You Drag Me Into" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlsVNigFByk] churchclarity.org [https://www.churchclarity.org/] Jennifer Pickens [https://www.jenniferpickensaudio.com/] Curtis Michael Holland [https://www.curtismichaelholland.com/]