Lesbian Nuns, Hildegard, and the Slow Work of Trusting Yourself

In this episode of The Priesthood of All Queer Believers:

Today, we sit down with musician and sacred arts coordinator Kirsten Marron for a conversation about growing up in conservative Christianity, finding the Episcopal Church, queer friendship, Hildegard von Bingen, lesbian nuns, communion, deconstruction, and the long, holy work of learning to trust yourself.

Kirsten shares about her childhood in the PCA, her family’s missionary legacy, the impact of fundamentalist theology, and the unexpected grace of finding a church where communion, liturgy, and community created room for transformation. Together, all three of us talk about how harmful theology gets lodged in the body, why “reading yourself into a new belief” does not always undo what was deeply formed, and what it means to reconstruct faith around grace, relationship, and belovedness.

Also discussed: Hildegard’s queer-adjacent mysticism, the strange universality of church camp, Jennifer Knapp, youth group songs, and why stories from queer people in the church still matter so much.

This conversation is about story, grace, queer belovedness, and what it means to reconstruct a faith that is not built on fear.

Quotes to ponder:

“We are not saved by doctrine. We are saved by grace.”

“God is big enough to cover up any mistakes I am making with my theology.”

“There is no lesbian representation in the church unless you go back to Hildegard.”

“I was a really good ally for a long time.”

“Communion was at the center, and that changed something.”

Join in the conversation:

What are some beliefs you have chosen to let go of? Have new ones replaced them?

OR

What happens when you grow up believing you can’t trust anything that comes from within yourself?

OR

What is this episode bringing up for you in this moment?