"A Fluid, Nonlinear, Living Spirituality" with Zé Soza

"A Fluid, Nonlinear, Living Spirituality" with Zé Soza

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 15 Guest: Joseph "Zé" Soza What happens when the faith you were raised in no longer fits and you find yourself building something new from the pieces? Joseph "Zé" Soza (he/him/el) grew up in a deeply Pentecostal household in Ohio, shaped by long Sundays filled with ecstatic worship, speaking in tongues, and teary altar calls. His father is a theologian, Bible scholar, and pastor; his mother a devoted pastor's wife and public servant. Faith wasn't just part of Zé's upbringing, it was the air he breathed. And yet, after years of being torturously closeted, Zé came out as a gay Queer man in his early 20s and began a journey of self-actualization that eventually led him away from Christianity and toward Buddhism, though he'd be the first to tell you it's more complicated than that. In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Zé to explore his journey from Pentecostal pastor's kid to Buddhist practitioner and yoga teacher and his deeply thoughtful approach to spirituality, not adopting a tradition wholesale, but using the tools and practices of multiple faiths to build a life of meaning and authenticity. Honest, searching, and beautifully human. * 📲 Follow Zé on Instagram: @zesoza8 * 🧘 Find Zé at Modo Yoga Columbus: modoyoga.com/columbus [http://modoyoga.com/columbus] * 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast * 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly Note - Since this episode was recorded the date of "Over the Rainbow: A Symposium on LGBTQIA+ Death and Dying" has changed to August 22, 2026. For more information visit https://www.loveboldly.org/overtherainbow [https://www.loveboldly.org/overtherainbow].

"I'm Not Christian with an Asterisk" with Tyler Chernesky

What if you could tell your whole story in just six words? Tyler Chernesky is a storyteller, writer, placemaker, and strategist with a resume that defies easy categorization: pastor, art gallery co-director, mixed-media collage artist, Six-Word Memoirs resource developer, and currently Executive Director of Community Happens Here, a neighborhood-focused nonprofit dedicated to connecting neighbors across difference in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's also an openly queer leader whose journey from evangelical Christianity to full affirmation has shaped everything about how he shows up in the world. In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tyler to explore his path from evangelical church kid to fully affirming, openly queer pastor and community leader. They dig into his neighborhood work with Community Happens Here and the ways that connecting people across difference is itself a deeply theological act. And they have a little fun with Six-Word Memoirs, the deceptively simple practice of distilling a life, a moment, or a story into exactly six words. Creative, grounded, and quietly revolutionary. * 🌐 Visit Tyler's website: tylerchernesky.com [http://tylerchernesky.com] * 🏘️ Learn about Community Happens Here: communityhappenshere.org [http://communityhappenshere.org] * 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast * 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

"A Co-Conspirator for Justice" with the Rev. Charles Unique

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 13 Guest: Rev. Charles Unique What does it look like when ministry and justice aren't two separate callings — but one? Rev. Charles Unique is a gender anarchist, organizer, and ordained clergy whose life work centers the dismantling of oppressive systems and the liberation of marginalized communities. With over a decade of community-rooted experience, Charles serves as Legal Empowerment Organizer at Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis and is the founder of Flower Boi STL, a peer-led space for masculine people of color to dismantle toxic masculinity and build alternative modes of expression. They are also a co-founder and board member of THISTL, supporting trans housing access across St. Louis, and a Master of Divinity student at Eden Theological Seminary. Their organizing, writing, and movement work have been featured in STL Magazine, KSDK News, and NPR, among others. In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Charles to explore their experiences as a Black trans man of faith, their path toward ordination, and their tireless work at the intersection of housing justice, food sovereignty, gender freedom, and Black trans liberation. It's a conversation that refuses to separate the spiritual from the political — because for Charles, they never have been. Fierce, tender, and utterly necessary.

"Called to Heal in Many Ways" with the Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 12 Guest: Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse What happens when a life of healing — as a nurse, as a priest, as a mother, as a spouse — finally includes healing yourself? Rev. Julia Joyce-Miesse is a cradle Episcopalian, a registered emergency nurse of 23 years, and an ordained priest whose call to healing has taken many forms. Formed in the Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, Julia's path to ordination was shaped by luminaries like Bishop Barbara Harris and tested by the crucible of a global pandemic — for which she received the Dean's Cross for Servant Leadership from Virginia Theological Seminary, an honor shared by the likes of Madeleine Albright and Wendell Berry. She is now serving in Ohio, married to the Rev. Iva Joyce-Miesse, and mother to an incredible adult son, Taylor. In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Julia for a rich, wide-ranging conversation about growing up biracial in predominantly white spaces, the intertwining calls to heal as a nurse and as a priest, the experience of being a parent, and spending many years in the closet — alongside her husband — before stepping into a life lived fully and openly as an LGBTQIA+ person, married to another female priest, and thriving in ministry. Generous, courageous, and deeply human — this one is not to be missed. * 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast * 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

"Being Openly Christian in a Different Way" with Pastor Rory Chumney

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 11 Guest: Pastor Rory Chumney What does faith look like when it's built for the people the church has always left out? Pastor Rory Chumney is a Queer, trans man, seminary student, professional activist, and Christian Anarchist. Rory grew up in a deeply Christian Nationalist, evangelical environment before leaving the church in his teens. He describes the next fifteen years as his "Jonah" arc — running from God and the church despite constant brushes with both — until he finally accepted his calling to become a pastor in 2022. His heart, as he puts it, is with "the broke bitches, the queer and kinky and non-monogamous, the tattooed and pierced punks and protestors, and all those who prefer disorganized religion." In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Rory to explore his journey back to faith, what it means to be a trans person of faith and faith leader, the work of healing religious trauma, and what Christian anarchism actually is. It's a wide-ranging, boundary-pushing conversation about who the church is for — and who it could be for. Punk, prophetic, and absolutely worth your time. * 📲 Follow Rory: @punkpastor * 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast * 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly