Taking Our Place: Faith, Freedom, and Being Wonderfully Made

Dinner, a Bath, and the Queer Body with Dr. Peter Carlson cont'd

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Peter Carlson: queer theologian, committed Episcopalian, scholar of Christian history, gender, sexuality, sacred space, and editor and principal author of A Queer Lectionary: Improper Readings from the Margins. Together, we talk about queer theology, embodied faith, scripture, religious trauma, the limits of “all are welcome,” and why the church has so much to learn from queer people. Peter reminds us that queer theology is not simply about whether LGBTQ+ people are accepted. It is about asking deeper questions: Who holds power? Whose bodies are welcomed? Where is God actually found? This conversation moves from evangelical childhoods to medieval history, from Zacchaeus to Pulse, from dinner and a bath to the resurrection of the queer body. It is funny, tender, provocative, deeply theological, and full of holy trouble. At the heart of it all is this truth: God is not found only at the center. God is already alive in the margins.

Dinner, a Bath, and the Queer Body with Dr. Peter Carlson

This week, we’re joined by Dr. Peter Carlson: queer theologian, committed Episcopalian, scholar of Christian history, gender, sexuality, sacred space, and editor and principal author of A Queer Lectionary: Improper Readings from the Margins. Together, we talk about queer theology, embodied faith, scripture, religious trauma, the limits of “all are welcome,” and why the church has so much to learn from queer people. Peter reminds us that queer theology is not simply about whether LGBTQ+ people are accepted. It is about asking deeper questions: Who holds power? Whose bodies are welcomed? Where is God actually found? This conversation moves from evangelical childhoods to medieval history, from Zacchaeus to Pulse, from dinner and a bath to the resurrection of the queer body. It is funny, tender, provocative, deeply theological, and full of holy trouble. At the heart of it all is this truth: God is not found only at the center. God is already alive in the margins.

Pride Isn’t Over: Queer Joy, Belonging, and the Real Party Begins

In this Pride episode, Anny and Tym reflect on Pride Month, the Cincinnati Pride Festival, the diocesan Teen Zone, the Pride Mass, Twilight Tea, and the many sacred moments where queer joy, faith, and belonging showed up in real time. Throughout the episode, we hear voices from across the community responding to questions like: Can faith and queerness coexist? What does belonging feel like? What gives you hope right now? Where have you experienced queer joy recently? And what do you wish the church better understood about LGBTQ+ people? What emerges is a chorus of witness: queer people have always been here. Queer youth of faith are not a contradiction. Drag belongs at the table. The church is at its best when it makes room, gives the platform, and remembers that every body is sacred. Pride Month may be ending, but Pride is not over. The real party, the real work, and the real joy are just beginning.

Part 2 Sacred Art, Queer Joy, and the Audacity of Creation with Kirsten Marron

In Part 2 of our conversation with Kirsten, we explore the intersection of sacred art, music, queer identity, and liberation. Together, we ask what makes something sacred, reflect on God as creator and artist, and consider how queer people participate in the ongoing work of creation. Along the way, we wander through Hildegard of Bingen, convent life, liberation theology, church music, sacramentality, and the transformative power of community. Kirsten shares how music became a place of belonging when other spaces did not, how queer people have always shaped sacred art, and why the church still needs the witness of queer joy. From singing liberation songs in worship to cleaning up an overflowing sourdough starter named Dolene at 2:00 a.m., this conversation reminds us that holiness often appears in creativity, community, and the audacity to show up as our whole selves.

Part 1 Lesbian Nuns, Hildegard, and the Slow Work of Trusting Yourself with Kirsten Marron

In this episode of The Priesthood of All Queer Believers, Anny and Tym sit down with musician and sacred arts coordinator Kirsten Marron for a conversation about growing up in conservative Christianity, finding the Episcopal Church, queer friendship, Hildegard von Bingen, lesbian nuns, communion, deconstruction, and the long, holy work of learning to trust yourself. Kirsten shares about her childhood in the PCA, her family’s missionary legacy, the impact of fundamentalist theology, and the unexpected grace of finding a church where communion, liturgy, and community created room for transformation. Together, Anny, Tym, and Kirsten talk about how harmful theology gets lodged in the body, why “reading yourself into a new belief” does not always undo what was deeply formed, and what it means to reconstruct faith around grace, relationship, and belovedness. Also discussed: Hildegard’s queer-adjacent mysticism, the strange universality of church camp, Jennifer Knapp, youth group songs, and why stories from queer people in the church still matter so much.