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