Shows
TransPreacher PodcastLiving in darknessHow do we respond to the darkness of the world we are living in today? Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-12-1902 min
TransPreacher PodcastJoy Ladin Presentation to United Methodist Alliance for Transgender InclusionWatch Joy Ladin’s talk to United Methodist Alliance for Transgender Inclusion (UMATI). Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-12-0828 min
TransPreacher PodcastSermon: Transgender Day of RemembranceIf you are in Central Ohio, join us for tonight’s Transgender Day of Remembrance Service on November 20, 2025 at 7pm at King Avenue United Methodist ChurchOF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHYA Sermon for Transgender Day of RemembranceHebrews 11:1–16Good afternoon. My name is Joelle Henneman, my pronouns are she/her, I serve as a pastor at the United Methodist Church for All People, and am on the socials @TransPreacher.Thank you for inviting me to speak today, as this week we honor Transgender Day of Remembrance, a da...
2025-11-2021 min
TransPreacher PodcastSermon: Joy of GivingSermon preached at the United Methodist Church for All People on the Joy of Giving.Support the ministries of Church for All People with a gift to https://c4ap.churchtrac.com/give Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-11-1016 min
TransPreacher PodcastTrans Lives MacedIn yesterday’s post I talked about Rene Girard and the cycle of violence.This week violence has been written into law. Representative Nancy Mace has introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that would prohibit TRICARE from covering gender-affirming care. That means people like me, military retirees, veterans, and our families, could lose access to the hormones and therapy that keep us alive. Perhaps this is the beginning of an across the board ban on transgender healthcare.But she didn’t stop with policy. In her testimony offering this amendment, she called us “tranni...
2025-09-1202 min
TransPreacher PodcastSilencing MaryToday the church calendar remembers St. Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome and one of the so-called “Doctors of the Church.” Gregory is remembered for his leadership, his writings, and his influence on shaping the medieval church.But he is also remembered for something else. In the year 591, Gregory preached a sermon that forever changed how the church viewed Mary Magdalene. In his sermon, he identified Mary as a prostitute, conflating her with the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. This was not based on the biblical text itself, but on his own interpretation and authority.That...
2025-09-0402 min
TransPreacher PodcastRespond with LoveHow do we respond to the anti-trans rhetoric that has erupted since yesterday’s shooting in Minneapolis? We must love this hatred out of existence. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-08-2900 min
TransPreacher PodcastPoem: I Will Be Who I Will BeI Will Be Who I Will Beby Trans Preacher You call Me HeAs if the whole of My beingCould be defined in one pronounAs if Eternity fit into a suitI am not your inventionI told MosesFrom a bush that refused to be consumed, I will be who I will beYet, you love the maskand hide from the face behind it...
2025-08-1501 min
TransPreacher PodcastTransfigured to ShineCelebrating our metamorphosis on the Feast of Transfiguration Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-08-0606 min
TransPreacher PodcastThe Serious Fairness IssuePete,Let’s talk about fairness.Because clearly,the most unfair element of late stage capitalismis a 14-year-old trans girltrying to join her high school swim team.Meanwhile—Trans people are losing healthcareWhile doctors are threatened with prison.We arebanned from bathrooms,kicked off sports teams,fired for showing up to workThe Democratic Party,the epitome of fairness,Loses electionsby a...
2025-07-3002 min
TransPreacher PodcastBuilding the kindom of God at RMN ConvocationTerra Greer shares her experience of where she finds the kindom of God. #RMNConvo2025 Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-2500 min
TransPreacher PodcastClick Bait: Ohio's Transgender Bigotry Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-1803 min
TransPreacher PodcastDream Johnson: Say Her NameRemembering Dream Johnson Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-1003 min
Coming Out Christian - A LOVEboldly Podcast"Refrigerator Rights" with Rev. Dr. Joelle Henneman "Season 1, Episode 12 - Refrigerator Rights" with the Rev. Dr. Joelle Henneman. Today Siobhan and Ben are joined by Rev. Dr. Joelle for a conversation being Queer, Trans, and Christian as well as building communities and doing life together with people diverse backgrounds. When are you in community with someone to the point that you have refrigerator rights in their home?You can find Rev. Dr. Joelle on social media, her website, and her SubStack at the links below.Instagram - @TransPreacherFacebook -Blue SkyWebsite - www.transpreacher.comSubStack - www.transpreacher.substack.comWant to learn...
2025-07-0650 min
TransPreacher PodcastWhat does independence look like? Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-07-0500 min
TransPreacher PodcastSermon: Queerfully and Wonderfully Made Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-2924 min
TransPreacher PodcastSkrmetti: We must care for each otherThe Skrmetti decision is another reminder that we must care for each other. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-1900 min
TransPreacher PodcastRevelation is a Drag Wedding Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-1802 min
TransPreacher PodcastWisdom in Drag: Jesus as the Feminine Nature of God Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-1703 min
TransPreacher PodcastWhat is Pride?Testimony given by Deacon Nick Bates at the Ohio Statehouse on June 10, 2025, in response to proposed legislation recognizing “natural families”. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-1302 min
TransPreacher PodcastShine with your God colorWe are in the midst of pride month and now is the time for us to shine.In the political world we live in today, we might feel vulnerable and want to hide our rainbow light. But Jesus says in Matthew 5:You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m...
2025-06-1001 min
TransPreacher Podcast1946 ReviewedReview of the documentary “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture” Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-0700 min
TransPreacher PodcastSacred IndecencyHB 249, “The Indecent Exposure Modernization Act,” lists five specific types of performers that would be banned from performing in public places under the law:* “Topless dancers”* “Go-go dancers”* “Exotic dancers”* “Strippers”* “Performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer’s or entertainer’s biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or other physical markers.”Sacred Indecency Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-06-0600 min
TransPreacher PodcastWest Ohio Annual Conference: Love Wins Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-3102 min
TransPreacher PodcastMedicaid Cuts-Whatsoever You Do to the Least of These Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-2302 min
TransPreacher PodcastTRANSitions: Radical Self CareIn Chapter Three of TRANSitions I share that Angela Davis speaks about the importance of developing an individual and communal practice of radical self-care. She reflects on her experiencing working for social justice and learning to recognize the need for this practice:For a long time, activists did not necessarily think that it mattered to take care of themselves; in terms of what they eat, in terms of mental self care, corporal self care, spiritual self care… I know that there were some people who emphasised it.. I’m thinking about one of the leaders of the Blac...
2025-05-1604 min
TransPreacher PodcastTRANSition: Speak LoveSummary of Chapter 2 of the book “TRANSitions-Queering Faith Leadership” Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-1500 min
TransPreacher PodcastTRANSitions: Divine Calling Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-1302 min
TransPreacher PodcastBook Published: TRANSitions-Queering Faith LeadershipI have just published the result of my doctoral work in this book, TRANSitions-Queering Faith Leadership.This book primarily looks at the gifts gender-diverse people bring to ministry. Instead of being defensive about who we are, this book asks questions like: what unique experiences have we had that particularly equip us to offer spiritual care? As a people who have distinctly experienced transformation, what voice can we offer to interpreting and proclaiming scripture? How do we bring ourselves to justice work and have a social media presence?While the book focuses on equipping transgender people...
2025-05-1201 min
TransPreacher Podcasttrans+ history week: Saint MarinaToday we continue our journey through trans+ history week.Saint Marina the Monk, also known as Marinos, is a lesser-known but powerful figure whose story resonates deeply within transgender history. Born in the 5th century in Lebanon, Marina was assigned female at birth but chose to live as a man in order to enter a monastery with their father. Adopting the name Marinos, Marina lived as a monk for many years, their identity accepted by fellow monks.Marina’s life challenges reflects a historic example of gender variance being lived authentically—even within a religious cont...
2025-05-0701 min
TransPreacher Podcasttrans+ history week: ElagabulusToday is the beginning of trans+ history week. Trans+ History Week is a global week-long observance dedicated to celebrating the history of all gender diverse people – including trans, non-binary and Intersex people. This week began with the work of Marty Davies who discovered the historical raid of transgender clinic by the Nazi’s on May 6, 1933. Davies said, “the week they tried to erase us is the week we will remember.”As a former historian myself, I want to go way back and highlight one of the earliest transgender people in recorded history,Elagabulus served as a Roman...
2025-05-0502 min
TransPreacher PodcastWhy are you persecuting me? Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-05-0400 min
TransPreacher PodcastIndecent: Banning Trans People in PublicWelcome to Ohio where the state legislature is continuing its efforts to ban transgender people--to make me illegal.Reintroduced this week, the proposed drag ban. But the actual name of the bill is, the Indecent Exposure Modernization Act.Who is labeled indecent?“Performers or entertainers who exhibit a gender identity that is different from the performer's or entertainer's biological sex using clothing, makeup, prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, or other physical markers”So, basically anyone who publically performs wearing clothes different than their “biological sex”.Let’s say, hypothetic...
2025-05-0102 min
TransPreacher PodcastThis is America: Barber Arrested for PrayerRev William Barber and two others arrested for praying in the Capitol Rotunda against the immoral federal budget Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-2905 min
TransPreacher PodcastScars of Strength Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-2803 min
TransPreacher PodcastIt is okay for you to be youEveryone wants to be fully known, fully loved, and fully celebrated.But when we take off our masks, some will wish that we put the mask back on. Over the years I have had people say to me that they don’t understand who I am. Yesterday, I got a text from my mom saying the same thing.I don’t understand what that means. I would not dismiss a woman of Color, a senior citizen, or a person from another country because that isn’t my experience. I wouldn’t tell someone different from me I don...
2025-04-2403 min
TransPreacher PodcastPope Francis: Daughters of GodLife without Pope Francis feels dark and uncertain.For the last dozen years he challenged the church to be more loving to all people, more like the grace of God that knows no limits.This morning I talked with a Roman Catholic friend of mine that worries for her, and other people’s, inclusion in the church. Pope Francis did a lot to recognize the sacred value of LGBT+ people. From asking, “who am I to judge” to sitting at tables and sharing meals with transgender Women of Color who are sex workers, Francis showed incred...
2025-04-2302 min
TransPreacher PodcastWhere is Christ?Pope Francis, in his final homily, said we must set out to look for the risen Christ, “everywhere except in the tomb.” Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-2200 min
TransPreacher PodcastSunday: God does a new thing Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-2000 min
TransPreacher PodcastSaturday: The Space BetweenToday is Holy Saturday, the quiet space between the execution of Jesus on Friday and the empty tomb on Sunday.Much of our lives are lived in the space between, liminal space The space of the now and the not yet The space between life and death. The space between the notes that shapes the music.Yesterday, over 150 people gathered for Good Trouble Friday in Columbus, Ohio. Fourteen faith leaders spoke in a justice-oriented interpretation of the Stations of the Cross. People called out realities of food insecurity, Palastinian genocide, violence against Black trans women...
2025-04-1902 min
TransPreacher PodcastFinding myself on the crossFinding myself on the crossThe philosopher Rene Girard wrote that societies rely on a scapegoat. Girard argued that when social tensions arise, a scapegoat is identified and blamed, and violence is directed at them, which temporarily restores order.Today is Good Friday. The day Jesus’ was unjustly executed. Jesus was sacrificed by the religious leaders of his day to maintain order and appease empire.While we live on the other side of the cross and the empty tomb, scapegoating continues.We scapegoat the immigrant who scripture calls us to welcome, we...
2025-04-1803 min
TransPreacher PodcastThe Queer Allies Bible Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-1002 min
TransPreacher PodcastLiving Holy ChaosLast year, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released an album titled “Wild God”. The title track sings of a God who flies like a prehistoric bird, who swims at the end of a rotting pier, who searches for a faraway girl.A wild GodWhen we look at creation we can see wildness in the connected roots of aspens, we can hear it in the cry of wolves, we can touch it in oceans tides. Untamed creation reflects an untamed creator.In order to feel safe and in control we have tried to c...
2025-04-0801 min
TransPreacher PodcastSacred SpacesWhere are the place you can let your burdens down and be fully known? feat. Grace Downer, the Mediocre Mystic Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-04-0600 min
TransPreacher PodcastThis just turned darkThe attack on transgender people took a dark turn yesterday.In the first 10 weeks of the Trump presidency I saw their attacks against transgender people as a continuation of the distraction and scapegoating from the election cycle. But yesterday, their actions took a dark turn.First, after cutting hundreds of millions of dollars of funding for LBGTQIA+ health, the National Institute of Health was instructed to conduct research on “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children and adults.Second was an executive order on child abuse. Child abuse is an epidemic in this country and...
2025-04-0403 min
TransPreacher PodcastYou can do itIn our current political climate, it can feel like a world of dwindling possibilities for gender diverse folk. And, with bans on military service and the elimination of DEI programs, there is some truth to that.But to counter that narrative, it is important to emphasize that genderqueer people are capable of anything.In the book of Genesis, we hear the story of a person named Jacob.Jacob is the second born twin child of Isaac and Rebekah.Jacob’s brother is the archetypal man: hairy, a hunter, and masculine....
2025-04-0202 min
TransPreacher PodcastTotalitarianism is HereIt feels like every day I say the phrase, “I can’t believe this is the country we are living in.”On Friday, our country slid further down the road of totalitarianism.Here in Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 1, which will severely restrict what can be taught in colleges and universities. Not only does the bill prohibit teachers from striking, but prohibits education on the controversial topics of climate change, electoral politics, foreign policy, diversity and inclusion programs, immigration policy, marriage, or abortion. I have a master’s degree in international relations, which I imagin...
2025-04-0102 min
TransPreacher PodcastTransgender Day of VisibilityShare this image with a transgender person in your life: Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-3101 min
TransPreacher Podcast“We are the light at the end of our own tunnel.” @waverlyevans“We are the light at the end of our own tunnel.” @waverlyevans Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-2900 min
TransPreacher PodcastWe Have Already OvercomeWe Have Already OvercomeThe present moment we are living in feels overwhelming and sometimes unprecedented.But we have been here before.We have never really left here.We live on land stolen from Indigenous people and made rich by the enslavement of African people.Slavery and Jim Crow were not that long ago.In my lifetime, people were arrested for being in a gay bar or for wearing clothes different than their gender assigned at birth.A generation of our queercestors died from AIDS...
2025-03-2801 min
TransPreacher PodcastWhat’s in a nameThe Ohio Republican party and the Heritage Foundation need to get a room already. If anyone gets pregnant from that hookup, be careful what you name the baby.Coming to a Statehouse near me is House Bill 190, the Given Name Act. This bill, with language gifted from the Heritage Foundation, would prohibit teachers from calling students by a name or pronoun different from their birth certificate, and would prohibit educators from asking the same of students.I guess my teachers should’ve called me, Baby. I was not given a first name at birth and my...
2025-03-2602 min
TransPreacher PodcastBe Yourself as an Act of ResistanceBe Yourself as an Act of Resistance Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-2002 min
TransPreacher PodcastCourts restore"Blessings of Liberty""We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."The preamble to the constitution calls us to live in to our best ideals: establishing justice and promoting the general warfare.Over the last two months, we have witnessed the dismantling of justice and promoting the agenda of the top one percent over the common good.But...
2025-03-1901 min
TransPreacher PodcastDisrespect: VA announces end to transgender healthcareResponse to the VA stopping transgender healthcare. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-1800 min
TransPreacher PodcastLazarus Coming Out PartyToday, “coming out” is a common phrase for a person publically sharing a gender or sexual orientation that is different from the dominant culture.But coming out is not a new phrase, Jesus uses it in the gospel of John as he raises his friend Lazarus from the dead.Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out.”Father James Martin writes that to come out means to “accept, embrace, and love who you are, especially your sexuality and the way God made you.”To come out is a bold statement that who we are does not nee...
2025-03-1602 min
TransPreacher PodcastLove Wins Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-1400 min
TransPreacher PodcastGood news, not Fox newsThis coming Sunday, the second Sunday of Lent, many Christian churches will hear a scripture from Luke 13, Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem.In this scripture Jesus describes Herod as a fox. Jesus says, “Go and tell that fox for me…”In contrast to Herod the fox, Jesus describes themselves as a mother hen, “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”In Christianity’s one-sided portrayal of God as male, we have often turned God in to an insecure, veng...
2025-03-1201 min
TransPreacher PodcastMisgendering God Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-1100 min
TransPreacher Podcastimago TheyImago TheyOne of my core theological groundings is stated in the Latin phrase, imago Dei. Based on Genesis 1:27, the statement that all people are created in the image of God has powerful implications in how we see and treat one other. An ethic of imago Dei means that every person we see reflects the image of God, the person like me and the person completely different from me.But what is the image of God who every person is created from? Most traditional Christian images of God are of an older, bearded, white man...
2025-03-0902 min
TransPreacher PodcastInternational Women's Day 2025International Women’s DayToday is International Women’s Day with the theme: “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”Recognition of this day began in 1911 with a focus on women's equality, women's achievement, and to raise awareness about discrimination.Over 100 years later, we are still fighting for the same basic recognition and dignity.This year’s theme is on point: liberation for ALL women and girls.Watching the political events of the last two months, we can see how women are pitted against each other.Wealthy wo...
2025-03-0802 min
TransPreacher PodcastRepent, until there are no more ashesOn this Ash Wednesday, let us repent from the ashes on our hands and stop the hatred. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-03-0500 min
TransPreacher PodcastLet us practice a holy TransFastToday is Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, the feast before the 40 day fast of lent.Historically, Christians have used this season of lent to prepare to encounter the resurrected Christ by denying their own bodies. You might’ve heard people say things like I have given up chocolate for lent. I did that once, but to be honest it didn’t make me a more loving, kind, or just person.Jesus themself fasted for 40 days in the wilderness.But I would like to offer a different perspective.I grew up in a chur...
2025-03-0402 min
TransPreacher PodcastTransfiguration Sunday: Cultivating DiversityGod’s love is deep and wideGod loves all peopleBeyond differences that may divide us…We start every worship service, Sunday and weekdays before the Free Store opens, saying that God loves all people, beyond differences that may divide us.This is a counter-cultural statement.We live in a world where the differences that divide us are used to separate us and keep us in fear from one another.It has long been a political strategy to pit poor white people against poor Black people.
2025-03-0218 min
TransPreacher PodcastTransgender Military Ban is an affront to democracyIn a court document filed last night, the Trump administration has unjustly outlined the removal of transgender people from the military.Like so many executive orders, this did not go through Congress. It was not reviewed by appropriate DoD agencies and channels.The executive branch used the judicial branch to implement a ban during an ongoing court case.Not only is this action an affront to democracy, the filing is hatelful.The justification for this action, according to the court filing, reads:“ It is the policy of the United St...
2025-02-2702 min
TransPreacher PodcastChurch for All People Community Video Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-02-2704 min
TransPreacher PodcastColumbus march for trans liberationSpeech by Charles from BQIC at the Columbus march for trans liberation. On Feb 25, Ohio’s bathroom bill went in to effect, requiring schools to segregate students based on “biological sex”. Hundreds of people took to the streets calling out this harmful legislation. Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-02-2600 min
TransPreacher Podcasti gotta peeToday in Ohio, SB 104, the bathroom bill has gone in to effect.This law mandates that school bathrooms and facilities be restricted by assigned sex at birth, putting transgender youth at risk of harm, harassment, and isolation.This morning protestors occupied buildings at the University of Cincinnati who removed gender neutral restrooms, put up bathroom signs reading “biological male” and “biological female” and required the reporting of students violating the law.Despite the rhetoric that espouses the natural separation of sexes, it has only been in the last hundred years that states passed laws seg...
2025-02-2502 min
TransPreacher PodcastErasedWe, transgender people, are being erased.The category of transgender has been removed from government websites from the State Department to the Center for Disease Control. Not only our identity erased, but access to important medical information removed.The National Park Service removed references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Monument website. This is an erasure of history, as so much of what happened at Stonewall is rooted in trying to prohibit gender expression. The sacrifices and struggles of people like Marsha P. Johnson erased. History erased.It is easy for us...
2025-02-1901 min
TransPreacher PodcastHappy Valentine’s DayYes, I know today is a commercialized, sentimentalized holiday probably designed more for capitalism than anything else.However, it provides a moment to hear the message of love.The world constantly tells us we are not good enough or we are too much.We are conditioned to compare ourselves to unrealistic standards.And over the last month, whether you are a Person of Color, disabled, from another country, or transgender you have even heard words of condemnation from the president of the United States.But let me say today...
2025-02-1401 min
TransPreacher PodcastWe Shall OvercomeRolling Stone magazine recently published a list of the 100 best protest songs of all time. Number eight on the list was Pete Seeger’s version of “We Shall Overcome.”The last month has been demoralizing.This is not the country I ever expected to live in. As a 20 year Air Force veteran I did not serve to protect our freedoms, only to give them away.But we have been through worse and we shall overcome.No executive order can take away the gift of diversity.We shall overcome.No I...
2025-02-1301 min
TransPreacher PodcastSpeak OutYesterday the Pentagon banned transgender people from entering the military.Today, a Gallup survey reported that a majority of Americans, 58%, continue to favor allowing openly transgender people to serve in the U.S. military.However, this number is significantly down from 71% in 2019 and 66% in 2021.Over the last few weeks the silence, even amongst Democrats, on executive orders around diversity, immigration, and gender has been deafening.When President Trump ordered a funding freeze there was an outcry because it impacted people’s bottom line.Where is the same outcry when pe...
2025-02-1101 min
TransPreacher PodcastBlack history is LGBT+ historyAlthough often pitted against each other, the history of Black people and LGBT+ people are intertwined.In the 19th century a former slave named Frances Thompson because the first transgender person to testify before congress.For three days, in May of 1866, white men rioted throughout a Black community in Memphis burning the homes, churches, and schools of the Black community. At least 48 African Americans were murdered, with close to 80 more injured, and five women testified to being raped.Thompson’s testimony helped to get laws passed to protect emancipated slaves.A de...
2025-02-0901 min
TransPreacher PodcastWords MatterThe term “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” could not be farther from the truth.This week Rep Nancy Mace repeatedly used an anti-trans slur during House committee hearings. Even when called out on it her response was “I don’t really care.”This is not only a Republican issue, but Democrats haven’t really seemed to care either as Mace has described transgender people as perverted rapists.This is not simply a matter of the language of Washington politics, it sets a tone for the whole countr...
2025-02-0901 min
TransPreacher PodcastNo one can legislate who we loveWe are not even even three weeks in to the Trump presidency and in many ways it feels like it has been three years.All of the promised legislation and executive orders are underway and it would be easy for us to be demoralized by this.But no matter what laws are passed no one can tell us who to love.No one can legislate away our care for one another. No one can take away the beauty of chosen family. No one can stop us from being the one’s who practice lo...
2025-02-0701 min
TransPreacher PodcastAttack of the Killer Trans WomanThrough the presidential campaign season we saw a barrage of anti-trans rhetoric. So, it is not surprising that yesterday President Trump issued an executive order addressing transgender people in sports.But the title and language of the executive order are interesting. The word trans only appears once in the order and in that case it is used in an innocuous way.The title of the order is “Keeping men out of women’s sports.” Likewise, in the rambling half hour press conference, Trump kept referring to men in women’s sports. On one hand, my reaction...
2025-02-0601 min
TransPreacher PodcastIntersectionality is the only wayIn 2024, the Ohio Senate overrode Gov Mike DeWine’s veto and passed House Bill 68, eliminating transgender health care for youth.This vote happened after hearing the testimony of doctors, scientists, hospital presidents, parents, and youth. All avenues of traditional advocacy work, inside game and outside game were exhausted. And none of that changed one vote.We can never achieve justice within our own groups. If the only people working for environmental justice are environmentalists, if the only people working to dismantle racism are Black, if the only people standing up for trans rights are queer, we...
2025-02-0501 min
TransPreacher Podcast"Trans joy has to be protected "Over the last two weeks people of many backgrounds, nationalities, races, abilities, and genders have been assaulted by a shock and awe campaign from the Trump administration. This is intended to knock us off our footing and we have been shaken.But we will not be moved.Last night’s Grammy’s awards was an incredibly beautiful embodiment of queer strength. Billie Eilish, Janelle Monae, and so many others proudly celebrated that art that LGBTQIA+ people bring to the world.Chappel Roan set the tone for the evening on the red carpet as she...
2025-02-0301 min
TransPreacher PodcastDiversity is an opportunityThe Declaration of Independence reads:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Historically, we know that in 1776 all did not mean all.It did not mean women.It certainly did not mean indigenous peoples.And it certainly did not mean people who had been kidnapped from Africa.People like Dr King challenged us to have all mean all and...
2025-01-3101 min
TransPreacher PodcastTrans people are beautiful, not mutilatedTrans response to executive order, “PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION” Get full access to TransPreacher at transpreacher.substack.com/subscribe
2025-01-3001 min
TransPreacher PodcastTurning the Military against ItselfTwo days against president trump signed an executive order, restoring america’s fighting force. This order explicitiltly ends race and gender protections that have historically been a part of the military.In 1948, President Truman not only desegrated the military but also created the Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services.Yes, DEI, in 1948.I enlisted in the Air Force in 1986 and every year we received training on race and sex. We received clear messages that racial or sexual harassment were not tolerated.In basic training, two of my...
2025-01-2902 min
TransPreacher PodcastTrump Vilifies Trans People in Military BanLast night while you slept, President Trump signed another executive order. This one not only banned transgender people from serving in the military, but characterizes us as less than honest, selfish, even mentally ill.Sir, I served in the Air Force for 20 years, three months, and eight days. quite honorably.I deployed five times.I have three campaign credits.Many of my friends sacrificed so much of their lives because we were told we were fighting for freedom: freedom from the communists, freedom from terrorists.We never imagined the...
2025-01-2801 min
TransPreacher Podcastwhen they stare, don’t shrinkAfter all the anti-trans rhetoric of the last six months, all the executive orders of this week, and all the hatred that has fueled, it would be understandable to want to hide.Yesterday I was chatting with a friend of mine who said, “with everything going on I’ve had thoughts of going back in to the closet because white male privilege would let me be safer. I know I wouldn’t be happy.”In a time like this where we feel unsafe, the desire to hide makes sense.But if we hide our true...
2025-01-2501 min
TransPreacher PodcastDEI is a Gift and OpportunityThe executive orders of Donald Trump are not simply a matter of federal policies, as damaging as they are, they have impact at every level.Here in Columbus, Ohio, our county commissioner, Kevin Boyce, was scheduled to speak at a VA event honoring the legacy of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Two hours before the event he was told to restrict his comments without any mention of equity and inclusion. Boyce said, “I can’t separate diversity from the memory of Dr. King”Surely not.Somehow these principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion have b...
2025-01-2401 min
TransPreacher PodcastJoy as an Act of ResistanceJoy as an Act of ResistanceI am an old punk rocker.My favorite band from this century whose second album is titled, “Joy as an Act of Resistance.”I have been trying to embody that this week.In the midst of a spiteful inauguration, strangely worded executive orders, and being called “one of the worst among us” I am striving to practice joy as an act of resistance.Surrounding myself with people who love me—friends and chosen family.Singing at karaoke.Listening to music....
2025-01-2301 min