New Exhibit Launch Party: Queer Spirit Podcast
Kristofer Stinson, Ph.D., curator
Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison & Rev. Tamara Torres McGovern, podcast producers
Queer Spirit was a radio show-turned-podcast that first aired in 2019 on OUT Cast radio, an LGBTQ+ talk show in Maine. Queer Spirit was a series of interviews with queer spiritual leaders in Maine that explored queer life and the power of the sacred as each worked to hold together their sexuality and spirituality. Thanks to the generosity of the Haney-Leighton Fund, LGBTQ-RAN invited Kristofer Stinson, Ph.D. to be the curator for this online exhibit. The exhibit not only houses the collection of podcast interviews but contextualizes the formation of the podcast and the history of the queer OUT Cast radio show. Additionally, the exhibit is set up as a guide for how others may produce their own podcast series and culminates in teaching resources that enable educators to bring Queer Spirit into the classroom. At the launch party on August 22, 2024, Kristofer interviewed the producers of Queer Spirit, Marvin Ellison and Tamara Torres-McGovern, before providing a walk-through of the exhibit itself. We share the stories of those whose lives are a testament to the ways sexuality and spirituality are of the same spirit.
Kristofer Stinson, Ph.D., is a historian of religion in America and is pursuing an M.Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary. His scholarship has examined such themes as religion, empire, sexuality, and stories and he is currently completing a book on the history of archaeology and religion. Kristofer was a longtime member of the Church of the Nazarene before having to resign his membership and ministry in 2021 due to his sexuality. He then became part of the Presbyterian Church, USA where he still serves today.
Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison Rev. Marvin Ellison (he/him) is a person of faith and cisgender white gay man whose career has unfolded at the intersection of these core identities. Marvin has a B.A. in religion from Davidson College, a M.A. in religion and society from University of Chicago Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Christian social ethics from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
As the Willard S. Bass Professor of Christian Ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary, he taught generations of clergy and chaplains and lectured widely on ethical issues related to human sexuality, health care, and economic justice. He has published numerous essays on same-sex marriage, gender justice in Protestant Christianity, and changing patterns of family life. In addition he is the author of multiple books: Erotic Justice: A Liberating Ethic of Sexuality; Body and Soul: Rethinking Sexuality as Justice-Love; Same-Sex Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis; Heterosexism in Contemporary World Religion: Problem and Prospect; Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological Reflection; and Making Love Just: Sexual Ethics for Perplexing Times. In 1994 Marvin founded the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination in Maine to support civil rights protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people,including the right to marry. In 1997 he founded the Maine Interfaith Council for Reproductive Choices. He has served on the “Out in Scripture” Advisory Board of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Project and the Advisory Board of the Religious Institute for Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing. After serving on the board of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, he founded a volunteer chaplaincy program at the health clinic in Portland. He developed and co-hosted the “Queer Spirit” radio series, a program sponsored by OUT Cast radio on WMPG and WERU, two community radio stations in Maine.
Rev. Tamara Torres McGovern (she/her) is both a person of faith and a queer woman. She found her way to ministry following a path which included spiritual formation as a yoga instructor, holistic cook, folk musician, and massage therapist. She has a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College and a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she spent time on the US/Mexico border and designed a focus in Voices from the Margins. Ordained at Judson Memorial Church in 2013, Tamara has served church congregations and emergent spiritual communities in Connecticut, Maine, and Colorado. She is a trained Interim Minister, helping to guide communities through identity formation and transition. She is also a passionate Enneagram educator, having trained with the Enneagram Institute. Alongside Marvin, she has volunteered as a Community Chaplain for Planned Parenthood of New England. She developed and co-hosted the “Queer Spirit” radio series, a program sponsored by OUT Cast radio on WMPG and WERU, two community radio stations in Maine.