On a very special live episode from the 2022 Q Christian Fellowship Conference, we speak with Lucas Wilson. Lucas attended gay conversion therapy while studying at Liberty University and not only lived to tell the tale, but became an advocate for abolishing this practice altogether. A PhD Candidate at Florida Atlantic University, with a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University, Lucas has begun working in the field of critical evangelicalism studies. In our conversation, we learn ...
Feb 10, 2022•51 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Brian Falduto is an actor, singer-songwriter, life coach, and host of The Gay Life Coach Podcast. At age 11, he was cast in the film, School of Rock , and later performed in various Off-Broadway and Regional theater productions. Brian attended Catholic school growing and has gone to predominantly protestant churches on and off throughout his life. After finding a church that accepted his sexuality, he was inspired to write his single, "God Loves Me Too." In our discussion, we hear the story behi...
Jan 13, 2022•52 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Keegan Osinski is the Librarian for Theological Studies and Ethics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington and studied Philosophy and Theology at Point Loma Nazarene University. Her work is naturally informed by her faith. Keegan belongs to the Church of the Nazarene, which is a tradition informed by John Wesley, a well-known theologian from the 1700s. In Keegan's book, Queering Wesley, Queering the Church...
Dec 09, 2021•50 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Tucker Shelton has studied and taught yoga for over a decade. He has also studied 200 hours of Thai Yoga Massage in Chiang Mai, Thailand and has a Masters with Honors in Contemplative Religious Studies and Sanskrit Language from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. While Tucker has taught and studied throughout the United States and around the world, from New Zealand to India to Mexico, he currently lives in Asheville, NC. We talk about Tucker's upbringing in the Episcopal church and how he eventua...
Nov 11, 2021•54 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Blake Haney is a musician in Nashville, TN. Born and raised in Chattanooga, he's lived in the South, and more specifically, the state of Tennessee his whole life. Blake went to school in Clarksville, studying english, and discovering a love of storytelling. That love blossomed into songwriting during his studies in seminary at Vanderbilt Divinity School . Nowadays, he writes music, while working full time, and continuing his theological studies at Iliff School of Theology . He released an EP in ...
May 13, 2021•58 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Katie Pruitt is a Nashville-based singer/songwriter and guitarist. She was born and raised in Georgia, grew up in the Catholic Church, went to Catholic school, and later attended Belmont University here in Nashville. She brings her whole self to her songwriting, tackling the shame of coming out in the south on her debut record, “Expectations.” In her own words, she calls it a record that's "really about letting go of what other people expect from you, and being free to just finally be yourself.”...
Apr 15, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Bliss Cortez has lived in Nashville for over a decade; focusing on their passion of film and multimedia production, creative direction, local art spaces, and being the Nashville Regional Producer for The Moth. Most recently, Bliss started "Bliss and the Trash Plants," a mutual aid organization that collects food donations and overstock from local gardens, farms, and businesses to build grocery and supply kits for straight, queer, or trans black, indigenous, people of color struggling with food, ...
Mar 11, 2021•27 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Justin Hiltner is a queer banjo player, songwriter, journalist, and activist living here in Nashville. We talk about how his faith has been tested throughout his life so far, from coming out to his conservative evangelical family in rural Ohio to his fight against cancer more recently. His journey toward healing has been one of an evolving worldview starting with accepting those who have not accepted him along the way, and gradually learning how to accept himself. Despite these hardships, Justin...
Dec 10, 2020•58 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Cody is a singer/songwriter here in Nashville, living into his identity as a gay man while making country music. You might recognize his name from Season 3 of The Voice , and he is now working on his first full length album. Cody was raised southern baptist and identifies as gay. Together, we talk about growing up and praying to not be gay, and how he eventually came out to his parents. Cody's found his own way to be spiritual outside of going to church, identifying as a, "spiritual being having...
Nov 12, 2020•57 min•Season 4Ep. 2
You may recognize Rachel's voice as one of the reporters on WPLN, Nashville’s NPR station . She's been in Nashville just a little over a year and is originally from Southwest Florida. Rachel was raised Roman Catholic by her parents who are Puerto Rican and Italian, and identifies as bi-sexual. And she currently attends West End United Methodist Church here in Nashville. In our conversation, we took a closer look at her family's history with faith, her own personal exploration of the Bible, and h...
Oct 08, 2020•51 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Our Spring Finale! We’ll return with new episodes this Fall. Raised Catholic and a native to Nashville, TN, Alan now has a home in the United Methodist Church. He works at Cumberland Heights, an alcohol and drug treatment center in Nashville, where he specializes in substance abuse. My conversation with Alan is a journey of finding self-worth that I know so many of us go through. After coming out, Alan struggled with his faith to the point that he turned to drugs and alcohol. He went into recove...
Jun 25, 2020•51 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Dawn is a queer female Lutheran pastor, recently ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (also known as ELCA). Her family is truly, as she would say, a "rainbow family." Her own siblings as well as her own children have come out to her throughout her life. We delve into a discussion about her coming out later in life, and responding to a call to be a pastor 20 years after she had first heard it. Dawn is a proud queer woman who has come into her own and accepted her entire self. Sh...
Jun 11, 2020•43 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Wesley was raised Southern Baptist in Alabama, and now finds himself as the Minister of Music at Eastwood Christian Church , a Disciples of Christ church here in Nashville. Wesley has his Bachelors of Education in music from the University of Alabama, and is currently attending Lexington Theological Seminary. He's also the incoming Artistic Director for the local affirming choir, Nashville in Harmony . Wesley identifies as gay, with the gender pronouns he/him/his. Our conversation is a journey t...
May 28, 2020•53 min•Season 3Ep. 3
My conversation with Kashif Andrew Graham ebbs and flows through his experience of coming out to his pentecostal family and friends, as well as institutions here in the south. In what he refers to as his "deliverance years," Kashif has gone from praying that God would change his sexuality to thanking God for being gay. His story is one of moving away from shame and into acceptance, with strong doses of reality that are refreshingly punctuated by laughter. As a librarian for religion and theology...
May 14, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Our Season 3 Premiere! Lindsey Dye is a Case Worker at the Mental Health Cooperative here in Nashville. Growing up Baptist, she struggled to find a church after coming out, eventually finding one in the United Methodist Church. Lindsey is from Mt. Juliet, TN, where it was difficult to find the resources she needed for support in coming out. Today, her focus is on guiding LGBTQIA+ youth through coming out and the journey beyond. She identifies as lesbian or gay, with the gender pronouns she/her/h...
Apr 30, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Bonus Episode in response to the COVID-19 Health Crisis. Originally broadcasted March 26, 2020 on Instagram Live. Pardon the audio quality as this was not recorded in the studio. How are you taking care of yourself? It's a question I ask most guests toward the end of their interview, and it's especially pertinent now. In this bonus episode, I brought Kelsey Davis back on the show to share her thoughts about gathering and self-care during these uncertain times. Since moving away from Tennessee, K...
Mar 27, 2020•48 min
Our Season 2 Finale! Emily Joy is a poet, writer, and yoga teacher here in Nashville. She identifies as an embodied justice enthusiast which she describes as helping others make peace with their bodies. With an extensive online following, Emily co-founded the #churchtoo hashtag alongside Hannah Paasch, to address sexual abuse in church settings. Emily was raised in the fundamentalist evangelical church and identifies as gay with the gender pronouns she/her/hers. Together, we discuss the fluidity...
Jun 27, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Damien is originally from Peru, and grew up in Southern CA raised in the Foursquare evangelical faith tradition. He eventually found himself in Nashville for his Masters of Divinity at Vanderbilt Divinity School concentrating in Latin American Studies, Religion and the Arts, as well as Gender and Sexuality studies. Damien is a founding member of The Audre Lorde Project’s TransJustice in New York City, and collectively organized the first ever Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice i...
Jun 13, 2019•59 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Recorded live at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, TN, we reconnect with season 1 guests, Zack Eccleston, Maria Michonski, and Lee Catoe, about the importance of storytelling for LGBTQIA+ people of faith. Hearing their voices again was a reminder that our stories are never completely finished. We catch up with where they have been since their episodes from 2018, how telling their story on the show impacted them, and how they view their faith and their communities today. Connect with the p...
May 09, 2019•59 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Lina is currently a Master of Theological Studies student at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Her gender pronouns are she/her/hers, identifying both as lesbian and queer. She is originally from Sweden where the Swedish Lutheran Church is the state church, and has become a member in the United Methodist Church since moving to the US. Throughout our conversation, Lina demonstrates a resilience in her reaction to the recent General Conference vote by the Methodist Church that affirmed the church's doctr...
Apr 25, 2019•58 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Amber Cantorna is a national speaker and author dedicated to supporting LGBTQ people throughout their coming-out process. In her new book Unashamed: A Coming Out Guide for LGBTQ Christians , Amber tackles topics like finding an affirming faith community, deciding when and how to come out, and how to re-establish a relationship with God. She uses her platform to inspire others and works to dissolve shame, foster self-acceptance, and generate a message of love and inclusion for all. Our conversati...
Apr 11, 2019•57 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Rj discuss their journey finding an affirming home church. Communities that seem to be inclusive and loving, sometimes do not live up to those statements. But Rj demonstrates for us a resilience, and an ongoing curiosity about how to honor trans lives in our churches. They identify as queer and transgender with the gender pronouns they/them/theirs. Find Rj on Facebook . International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31. Learn more . Terms: Queer - A term people often use to express fluid i...
Mar 28, 2019•58 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Out Loud is on its way back for a second season in 2019, but we need your help to make it happen. If you've been a fan of the show so far, I'd love to have your support on Patreon, a website dedicated to funding the lives of creators and artists. Learn more and become a patron at patreon.com/outloudstories Join our mailing list to be the first to know when new episodes drop for season two. And be sure to follow @outloudstories on Facebook and Instagram.
Mar 14, 2019•2 min
Our Season 1 Finale! Greg talks with his sister Meg McEllen, about coming out to himself, to his family, and to the Catholic Church. The issue of identity arises, and whether faith or sexuality can fully define us. We also discuss the prospect of talking to people of other faiths, and forging conversation past differences to commonalities. Greg Thompson is a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School pursuing his Masters in Theological Studies with a focus on Religion and the Arts. He studies LGBT is...
Oct 25, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Lee Catoe offers his reflections on the role body image plays in the LGBTQI community, and how we can begin to seek out the divine in one another. While studying Pre-Med at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, Lee began to realize that his call to helping others had less to do with medicine, and more to do with ordained ministry. As a gay man now seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church USA, Lee currently serves as a supply pastor for local congregations in Middle TN. He's also in his final...
Oct 11, 2018•50 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Luther and I discuss black liberation theology and reimagining scripture, as well as the difficulties in coming out to his family, and being seen as a fully participating member of his church. Luther grew up in South Carolina with a love of music that brought him to Nashville, to study Audio Engineering at Belmont University. While he has continued to perform, sing, and play, he is also a recent graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School with his Masters in Divinity. Luther was raised Pentecostal, a...
Sep 27, 2018•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 4
Kelsey shares her perspective as being both queer and Episcopalian. Fresh off of graduating from Vanderbilt Divinity School with her Masters in Divinity, she's about to begin a new role as "Curator for Emerging Communities" for the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real in CA. She shares with us her journey of coming out into Christianity which came only shortly after coming out to herself and beginning to date girls. After a career in pro soccer, her values of teamwork continue to inform how she c...
Jun 21, 2018•57 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Maria identifies as pansexual and has grown up Roman Catholic. She shares with us her experiences coming out within her campus ministry in undergraduate and seeking out a new community of worship with her husband. Maria now studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, pursuing her Masters in Divinity. During our conversation a few terms came up that some listeners may want a second look at: Cisgender (or Cis) - "used to describe a person whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated wit...
Jun 07, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Zack speaks with us about coming out and his understanding of masculinity early on in life, while also developing his understanding of the Bible as a student of theology. After finding a spiritual home in the Church of Christ, Zack aims to help others who struggle to reconcile faith with sexuality. A musician at heart, he also shares with us about how he expresses himself on this journey of self-discovery. A Note for Children and Parents of Children: We discuss some adult situations in this epis...
May 24, 2018•55 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Subscribe now on your favorite podcast app to join us for our first season starting May 24. Learn more at our website, outloudstories.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Music: Acoustic Meditation 2 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Artist: http://audionautix.com/
May 16, 2018•2 min
