30. Bailey Brawner: Creating Spiritual Spaces for the LGBTQIA+ Community

On the podcast today, I'm talking to Bailey Brawner, a senior pastor in the United Methodist Church who is all about the boundary-breaking spirit she sees in the person of Jesus, particularly when it comes to creating spiritual spaces for people who've been hurt by the church.

Bailey has a particular heart for those in the LGBTQIA+ community, with which she also identifies.

In this episode, we talk about:

* How she noticed her call to become a pastor, especially when she wasn't looking for it, and what it was like for people to diminish her call because she was a woman

* How she came to identify as queer and how that's impacted and informed her ministry ever since

* How she is helping her congregation think through what it means to help people feel fully included once they walk through the doors of the church

* The difference location can make to pastors serving the LGBTQIA+ community or identifying as part of that community themselves

* Resources she'd recommend to those wanting to explore the intersection of faith and sexual identity for the first time

* Her concerns about the church's slowness to catch up to conversations happening outside the church

* Her heart for people to experience God outside the four walls of church and outside a one-hour church service on Sunday

Connect with Bailey on her website and on Instagram at @baileynbrawner.

Connect with Christianne on Instagram at @christiannesquires or by subscribing to the Light Notes email list.

And consider applying to be a guest on the show! Fill out the guest application form here.