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.

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

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

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 10 Guest: Rev. Tyler Moquin-Lee

What does it look like to lead an affirming congregation — and to do it with joy?

Rev. Tyler Moquin-Lee (he/him) is the Pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (ELCA) on the west side of Cincinnati, where he has served for three years. Beyond his congregation, Tyler is deeply invested in his community, serving on the board of My Neighbor's Place and working with Westside Churches United, a collective of ecumenical faith communities dedicated to building relationships and working for social justice. He's also the host of an upcoming podcast, Spilling Grace.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tyler to explore what it means to lead an affirming congregation in 2026, the joys, the challenges, and the ongoing work of building a community where everyone truly belongs. The conversation also takes a turn toward music and worship, touching on the role of the arts in creating spaces of welcome and transformation. (It helps that Tyler's husband, Dr. Matthew Moquin-Lee, is a conductor, choral director, and worship arts director. Music is very much in the family.)

Warm, grounded, and full of grace, this one is for anyone who has ever wondered what the church could be.

• 📲 Follow Tyler on Instagram and Threads: @tylermokie
• 🌐 Learn about Westside Churches United: westsideimagination.com
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly on Instagram: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 9 Guest: Gwendolyn DeRosa

What if the church's teaching on sex and bodies has been doing more harm than good and what would it look like to tell a different story?

Gwendolyn "Gwen" DeRosa (she/they) is a storyteller, queer theologian, and community builder with a passion for inclusive faith. As Director of Student Ministries at King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio, she leads faith education and fellowship for birth through high school, and serves as director of Kinship Campus Ministry, which builds connections within the Ohio State University campus and beyond. Gwen, who is bi/pan/Queer, and their wife Felicia, who is transgender, are Queer activists in Columbus — and Felicia's transition journey was documented in the 2021 film DeRosa: Life, Love & Art in Transition, available on major streaming platforms.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Gwen for a candid conversation about purity culture, sex, and the ways the church has used sexual shame and guilt to marginalize women and people of other genders. It's an honest reckoning with the damage done and a hopeful look at what the church could be instead.

Brave, necessary, and long overdue.

• 📲 Follow Gwen on Instagram: @gwendolynderosa
• ⛪ Visit King Avenue UMC: kingave.org
• 🎓 Learn about Kinship Campus Ministry: kingave.org/ministries/kinship-campus-ministry
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 8 Guest: Anna Ray

What does it look like to grow up Queer, Biracial, and Christian — and actually feel seen by your church?

Anna Ray (she/her) is a dynamic leader and community connector whose career has spanned insurance underwriting, executive and nonprofit administration, event management, and catering. Originally from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Anna earned her BA in Business from Howard University and fell in love with Washington, DC, in the process. Today she serves as a Cannabis Licensing Program Specialist with the District of Columbia and a League Cycling Instructor with the League of American Bicyclists, and shares her life with her husband Dane and their children.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Anna to explore what it meant to grow up biracial in the suburban Midwest and then arrive at Howard University and Washington, DC, and how both shaped her sense of self. Anna shares about finding faith communities that affirmed not only her Queer identity but also her role as a mother and her children's identities. It's a refreshingly hopeful conversation about what the church can be when it gets things right.

Warm, grounded, and genuinely encouraging — this one will leave you hopeful.

• 📲 Follow Anna: @meettherays
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 7 Guest: Rev. Dale Lykins

What happens when a pastor spends 30 years serving the church — and then realizes the church isn't serving the people it's meant to reach?

Rev. Dale Lykins gave more than three decades to United Methodist ministry before stepping away to found The Open Table, an inclusive and affirming community where people are welcomed exactly as they are. Around the same time, Dale came out as gay — and began a new chapter of authenticity, creativity, and connection through coaching, writing, podcasting, and his memoir Hush, Child.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Dale to explore his journey from UMC pastor to founder of a new kind of faith community. They also have an honest and nuanced conversation about mixed-orientation marriages — what they are, how they can work, and what it looks like for couples navigating faith, identity, and commitment together when one partner comes out.

Honest, courageous, and full of grace — this is a conversation the church needs to have.

• 📖 Get Dale's memoir: Hush, Child
• 📝 Read The Unlearning Blog: theunlearningblog.substack.com
• 🌐 Visit Dale's website: dalelykins.com
• 📲 Follow Dale: dale.lykins (Facebook) | @wdlykins (Instagram & TikTok)
• 🎧 Listen to Dale's podcast, "Hear it From Me," on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
• 🎙️ Follow "Coming Out Christian" on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 6 | Guest: Rev. Jim Keat

What does it mean to use the internet for good — and what does faith look like in a digital world?

Rev. Jim Keat is the Minister of Digital Worship & Education at The Riverside Church in New York City and Director of Online Innovation at the Convergence Network, where he creates original content, cultivates online faith communities, and equips progressive faith leaders to use digital ministry well. His projects include Bible in a Minute, The Word Made Fresh, Sermon on the Runs, and more.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Jim to explore what digital ministry looks like in 2026 and why it matters more than ever. They dig into Bible in a Minute, Jim's current big project, and talk about how Jim became an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community — and how he's intentionally raising his sons to be allies too. And because Siobhan and Jim share a love of running, that comes up too.

Warm, visionary, and practically inspiring — this one is for anyone who's ever wondered if the church can meet people where they actually are.

• 💻 Visit Jim's website: jimkeat.com
• 📲 Follow Jim: @RevJimRuns (TikTok, YouTube & Instagram) | @JimKeat on Substack
• 📖 Follow Bible in a Minute: @bibleinamin
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly