The Priesthood of All Queer Believers

From the Archives: From Salons to Supper Clubs: How Drag Shaped the Queen City

Anny is back from vacation, Tym recaps last week’s Cincinnati queer history episode with guest co-host Jake Hogue, and we launch our Drag Series with Jake’s riveting crash course on drag in Cincinnati and the Midwest. You’ll hear about early female and male impersonators, how minstrelsy and sexology shaped public perception, why some performers went mainstream while others were erased, and how drag threaded through churches, clubs, fundraisers, and everyday life long before modern politics tried to define it. 
 We also preview upcoming interviews with local drag performers about art, calling, and spirituality. 
Content note: This episode includes historical references to blackface minstrelsy, anti-cross-dressing laws, and police harassment, discussed critically and contextually. 

From the Archives: Activism, Faith, and Cincinnati’s Queer Roots with Jacob Hogue

In celebration of the release of Jacob Hogue’s new book, we’re returning to this two-part conversation on activism, faith, and Cincinnati’s queer roots. Jacob’s work invites us to remember the stories, communities, and movements that have shaped queer life in Cincinnati, and this episode offers a rich reflection on that history through the lens of faith, justice, and belonging.
Cincinnati has always been queer, long before Stonewall. Tym sits down with historian Jacob Hogue, author of Cincinnati Before Stonewall, to unearth hidden histories: Unitarian allies hosting the first gay rights meetings, FBI surveillance of affirming churches, obscenity trials, drag before baseball (!), and how the pendulum of progress swings—fast. 
They also name the church’s role (good and bad), why inclusive pulpits still matter, and what effective activism can look like right now. 

Beyond “You’re Welcome Here”

In this season-closing episode of The Priesthood of All Queer Believers, Anny and Tym reflect on what makes a space feel truly safe — and why simply saying “you’re welcome here” is not always enough.
They talk about the difference between inclusion and belonging, the ways queer people learn to shrink or code-switch, and the sacred work of reclaiming our bodies, voices, clothes, relationships, faith, and joy. From church spaces and queer-centered places to Disney, New Orleans, Procter, friendships, family, and the people who help us feel most like ourselves, this conversation asks what it means to be seen, held, and allowed to become.
It is funny, tender, reflective, and deeply honest—a conversation about the spaces that formed us, the spaces that failed us, and the kind of spaces we are called to create for one another.

Tacos, Sunburns, Street Preachers… and the Kingdom

There are places where you can just be…
…and places where you’re reminded you don’t belong.
In this episode, we’re talking about queer travel, Disney magic, San Diego tacos…and the deeper question underneath it all:
✨ Where do we actually feel safe to be fully ourselves?
Because the gospel we believe in?It’s not about fear.It’s about belonging…right now.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts 🎧
#QueerFaith #Episcopal #QueerJoy #FaithDeconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #LGBTQFaith #QueerBelievers

Easter Hangover & Holy Scars

In this post-Easter conversation, Anny and Tym reflect on what they call the “Easter hangover”—the physical, emotional, and spiritual aftermath of Holy Week. From there, they move into a deeply theological and embodied conversation about resurrection, scars, doubt, and the sacredness of our bodies.
Through stories, scripture (especially Thomas), and personal experiences—including Tym’s recent experience modeling in a queer charity event—they explore a radical idea: what if resurrection doesn’t mean perfection, but transformation that still honors our scars?
This episode invites listeners to consider how faith, queerness, and embodiment intersect—and how our lived experiences, doubts, and bodies are not obstacles to holiness, but part of it.

Queer Joy Report: Eastertide & Everyday Resurrection

What does queer joy look like in Eastertide?
In this episode of The Priesthood of All (Queer) Believers, Anny and Tym reflect on the season of resurrection—both in the Church and in their own lives. From Easter egg hunts and family traditions to deep theological reflections on creation, hell, and what it means to be fully human, this conversation moves between the playful and the profound.
They share stories of queer joy showing up in unexpected places: a powerful LGBTQ+ retreat, a teenager coming out with ease and honesty, musical theater rediscovered, and the simple sacredness of rest after Holy Week.
Together, they wrestle with big questions:
What if everything God created—including our identities—was always “very good”?
What if hell is empty?
What if queer joy isn’t just celebration, but resurrection itself?
This episode is a reminder that joy, in all its forms, is holy—and that the Church is more alive when all of us are fully ourselves.

Possibility Models & the Ministry of Becoming (Part 3)

What happens when the church makes space for people to show up as their whole selves?  In this episode, we sit down with Beckett to explore what it means to live into a call to ministry as a trans person—and why that presence isn’t just meaningful, but transformative. Through stories of sacrament, relationship, and holy vulnerability, Beckett invites us into moments where visibility becomes healing: a shared chalice between two trans leaders, a parent’s fear turning into love, and the quiet power of being fully known.  Together, we unpack the idea of “possibility models”—how seeing ourselves reflected in leadership can open doors we didn’t know were available—and what it looks like for the church to embrace the fullness of human dignity.  We also get into sacred harp music, sports as spiritual practice, and (of course) a little BTS.  This episode is about reconciliation, embodiment, and the sacred work of becoming. 

Trans Presence, Holy Change: Beckett on Church and Becoming (Part 2)

What does it mean to become more fully yourself in the church? 
In this episode of The Priesthood of All (Queer) Believers, Anny and Tym sit down with Beckett for a moving conversation about transition, call, and the holy work of discernment. Beckett shares the story of realizing he was transmasculine while filming online Bible studies during the pandemic, what it meant to come out while in the ordination process, and how being openly trans became a ministry of presence for queer young people in the church. 
The conversation also moves into bigger questions: what the church has and hasn’t said about sexuality, why affirming policy matters, and how trans experience can teach the church something profound about transformation, grief, joy, and what it means to follow God toward what feels right. 
This episode is tender, theological, funny, and deeply hopeful.

Holy Spirit Holy Spiriting: A Conversation with Deacon Beck Leclaire (Part 1)

In this episode, Anny and Tym welcome Deacon Beck Leclaire, ministry developer of the AuSable Inclusion Center, a faith-based community resource center serving LGBTQ+ people and others on the margins in northern Michigan. 
 
Beck shares their journey through multiple faith traditions—including Buddhism and Wicca—before a powerful spiritual experience led them back to the Episcopal Church. 
 
After stepping into Trinity Episcopal Church on Mackinac Island as a skeptical teenager, Beck encountered something that reshaped their understanding of church: genuine welcome. 
 
Not an attempt to save their soul. 
Not a theological argument. 
Just people who wanted to know them. 
 
That moment of radical hospitality eventually led to Beck’s work developing new forms of Episcopal ministry in rural communities. 

Imago Dei: God Beyond the Binary

What does it really mean to say humans are created in the image of God? 
In this episode of The Priesthood of All (Queer) Believers, hosts Anny Stevens-Gleason and Tym House explore the ancient theological idea of Imago Dei—and what it might mean for gender, identity, and belonging today. 
Beginning with the creation story in Genesis, Anny and Tym reflect on how scripture has often been used to enforce rigid gender binaries. But what if the story is actually pointing us toward something much bigger? 
Through personal stories about growing up in church, learning about gender in college, and unpacking long-held assumptions about scripture, they consider a different possibility: that creation itself reveals a spectrum rather than a binary—and that queer, trans, and nonbinary lives might help us see more of the divine image, not less. 
Because if all humanity reflects God’s image, that image must be far more expansive than we were ever taught.