The Church's Call to Embrace All

Join Tara as she discusses the intersection of faith, pride, and visibility with special guest Reverend Serena Gideon Rice, an ally and LGBTQIA+ community member. Reverend Serena shares her profound theological insights on seeing and valuing each person as a creation of God, her personal journey within the church, and powerful stories of advocacy and acceptance. We also hear about her family’s touching experience supporting their trans son and her own journey of self-discovery as part of the queer community. Don't miss this inspiring conversation about love, acceptance, and standing up for the LGBTQIA+ community within the faith context.

Resources:

https://www.abidingpeacechurch.org/

www.gaychurch.org

Transcript

The Church’s Call to Embrace All: Pride 2025

Tara Lamont Eastman: [00:00:00] Hello, my friends. Welcome to Holy Shenanigans podcast, where we share stories of the sacred showing up in everyday life as we celebrate the church season of Pentecost of the Holy Spirit, showing up and welcoming all peoples Holy Shenanigans.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Podcast is leaning into this Pentecost season to welcome all people as we celebrate Pride Month. This month, we are excited to host guests that are allies, or who identify as part of the queer community. This week we welcome L-G-B-T-Q-I-A, ally and community member, Reverend Serena, Gideon Rice. Thank you Reverend Serena for being here with us today.

Serena Rice: Thank you so much for the invitation.

Tara Lamont Eastman: here at holy Shenanigans podcast, we love to tell stories of sacred showing up in every day. And one of those little holy shenanigans [00:01:00] was that my spouse came across the article in L-G-B-T-Q Nation and he said, Hey, hey, I think Pastor Serena would be a great person to talk to for Pride Month.

Tara Lamont Eastman: And so here we are. 

Serena Rice: and for that story to have, 

Tara Lamont Eastman: wonderful. So, this interview with L-G-B-T-Q Nation was titled Pastor and Mother of Trans Son Pens. Beautiful ode to visibility. God made them trans on purpose. And I wonder if you could say more about your theological perspective of being seen and how that is supportive of those who are in the queer community.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I.

Serena Rice: One of my favorite names for God. One of my favorite ways to address God is as the God who sees if we believe in a creator God. Which I do I believe that. One of the most fundamental truths of reality is that [00:02:00] God, the source of all life, the source of all being also sees all life, sees all being, and what's more God delights.

Serena Rice: Life in the wholeness of creation because it all comes from God's intention. so for me, one of the most holy things that we can do is to pause long enough in our busy lives to see. The beautiful creativity, including the incredible diversity of everything that God has made, and that the diversity of human being, of human sexuality, of human gender which is so much more expansive than the binary categories that are society tends to focus on and value.

Serena Rice: Which is really. That kind of focus is a way of blinding us to what God has created. And so to instead focus on seeing, focus on the visibility of the gender spectrum of the [00:03:00] sexuality spectrum is actually a way of celebrating God and how incredibly creative our God is.

Tara Lamont Eastman: something I totally passed by was for you to talk a little bit about who you are and the context that you work and serve in the world. So could you tell us a little bit more about that? Because your perspective on God seeing gives me some clue that you might be connected to church world.

Serena Rice: Yes, I am pastor in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Have had the great privilege of having that vocation for the last eight and a half years. Is not my first. Vocation in the world. And actually being Lutheran is not how I sort of started out in the world either.

Serena Rice: My faith journey began as a young child in the Evangelical church which back in the eighties was a, a different entity than it is now. in still been quite a journey to get to where I am. [00:04:00] I, I grew up in a church where, as a woman it was kind of unimaginable that I would be a pastor because there just wasn't a vision for that. We couldn't see the possibility. And you know, certain texts of scripture that are.

Serena Rice: Interpreted, I believe much too narrowly just sort of shut that door. So it was a, path for me on my faith journey to go from growing up in that kind of a world, which gave me a great deep love for God. But attached a lot of gatekeeping to The responsibility of Christian.

Serena Rice: And so from there, thankfully I was really guided with a lot of grace and gentleness by God's spirit to go to seminary. Even though I couldn't imagine being a pastor, because professors at my Christian college saw that gifting in me and said, you really need to go to seminary. I went to Princeton Theological Seminary, was exposed to a much wider church world than I had experienced in my childhood and [00:05:00] youth, for a while went to Presbyterian churches and found a lot of life and biblical depth in those expressions of Christ Church. And then actually my first career was in anti-poverty advocacy. I. research as a social worker. And it was through my advocacy work that I met a wonderful Lutheran pastor Ruth Davidson.

Serena Rice: And when my spouse and I were looking for a new church, I said, you know what? I agree with Bruce on so many things. I bet I would like his church. And he took us to my first ever Lutheran church, living Waters Lutheran in Ringo, New Jersey. And it was probably about a month of going there and just feeling like I'd come home feeling like I had found not only a community, but a theology that really resonated with me, where I sort of just discovered I was a Lutheran, that the theology I had built through my own scriptural study even without the language and the framing of that tradition [00:06:00] just was so resonant and so.

Serena Rice: I became a Lutheran. And in that context and eventually being able to attend a church with a female Lutheran pastor who I could for the first time envision, oh, that could be me. I could do what she's doing. And so a call that I had actually felt in my heart back when I was a young teen, I really felt called to the church and called to proclaiming witness to the.

Serena Rice: beauty of God's love for the world was finally realized in my late thirties and I entered candidacy at that point and have, yeah, have never looked back. So, so grateful to be able to serve as a Lutheran pastor and a, community that really is a community shaped by love.

Tara Lamont Eastman: That's beautiful. there's so many different points in you sharing your story. I was like, oh, that resonates with me. Oh, that resonates with me. Oh, oh, I saw that too. But to be able to hear your story and to know, even though our paths just barely have [00:07:00] touched. That, that, that seeing of something more expansive about God's love and who is called to be a part of the church and to lead in the church is just a beautiful story.

Tara Lamont Eastman: So could you tell me more about how you got connected through the essay that you wrote for the advocate? Holy witness. Did that come out of your work being a pastor, or did that come out of your previous social work or maybe a combination of both?

Serena Rice: I have a combination of both actually. she. The Holy Spirit showing up in unexpected places. And that's very much the story of this article that was published by The Advocate. it started with just a little Friday reflection. Every Friday I send something out to my congregation, just my thoughts about being a person of Jesus in the world.

Serena Rice: And, in late March as the trans day of visibility was coming up. I thought, oh, you know what? I'll write a [00:08:00] little bit about this. I'll, I'll write about why visibility for the trans community matters particularly from a lens of faith. And I had just hit send on that little Friday email, which I didn't expect to have any life beyond my, congregation and got a message from a friend from college whom I hadn't seen in over 25 years, but who is working in communications now, works with various media outlets and was reaching out to ask me actually to write something completely unrelated. I mean, not completely unrelated 'cause it all comes from my faith, but was asking me as a pastor who has a public voice because I have been involved in advocacy. I. and he, had tracked my work over the years in that field and was looking for something on the way that the voice of faith has really been corrupted and in the national dialogue at the moment and calling out.

Serena Rice: The [00:09:00] really problematic theological framing and social consequences of Christian nationalism. So he reached out to me to say, Hey, could you write something on this? Which I did. I ended up co-writing with a, a Presbyterian pastor friend of mine a piece that got published in Newsweek in April. But , in the course of that conversation, I talked about this piece I had just written for my congregation, and he said, you need to send that to the advocate.

Serena Rice: So I reworked it a bit as a piece that was for a broader audience, folks who didn't already know me and my story and my son's story. And yeah, they picked it up, said that this was something that really had a. message that transcended just trans day of visibility that, you know, the whole point of the day of visibility is that we see 365 days of the year, the importance of the trans community.

Serena Rice: And so they were able to, share it to much broader audience.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Wow, that's exciting. Wow. And so I just think it's beautiful that what started out as a sharing [00:10:00] of your heart with your community. Expanded to , an unexpected connection which then got to the advocate. And I mean, to be able to share your story of faith and in support of the trans community is such an important story to be shared.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Could you say a little bit more about why that story is important to you?

Serena Rice: When my oldest child was 11 he had been assigned female at birth and we assumed that that was who he was. Although we were in a faith community and a community in general. That was, embracing of trans books. We, hadn't expected that, that was part of our family's story, but he came to us at the age of 11 and said that he'd been doing the work, that he'd really been looking at himself and the way he fit in the world and the things that made him feel like he didn't fit in the world, and shared that he was not a girl.

Serena Rice: And so [00:11:00] we went on a gender journey with him figuring out what could. Shift our expectations and create not only a safe space for him and our family, but help him learn how to communicate his truth with the world around him. We were really blessed to have so many resources in that journey. Other Lutheran families that , had gone through the same process and were able to mentor and share their wisdom and their missteps.

Serena Rice: We worked with a. mental health professional psychologist who specialized in gender and LGBTQ plus therapy. And she was able to help us work with Quinn and make sure he understood sort of the responses he was gonna get from the community around him, how we could set up supports for him as he came out in different contexts so that he would have as, much support and, safety in that process is possible because sadly, it is not yet safe in a lot of ways to own your true identity as a trans person in our world. So we were really, really blessed in [00:12:00] that process. And one of the biggest blessings was our faith community. I had been called already as pastor out abiding peace in my, current congregation.

Serena Rice: So they had met him under a different name, a different set of pronouns. They loved him as that person they thought they knew, although. He was really withdrawn. And that we have come to understand was really part of his gender dysphoria not feeling like he was the person everyone be.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Yeah.

Serena Rice: But when, once we had our plan in place and we shared and we brought in a speaker to explain about gender diversity from a faith perspective and gave folks the chance to us questions, not him, he was a kid. And we made it really clear that he needed their love and support. They could ask their questions of us once we went through that process.

Serena Rice: The community grew in their understanding, in their welcome, we gave them the, theological and biblical tools to understand how Quinn's identity was really God's design for [00:13:00] him. And then they embraced him and they've gotten to see him blossom and to become a, young person who, for his confirmation, wanted to preach a sermon in church as his confirmation project that had found such strength in his voice that he wanted to proclaim God's word to them.

Serena Rice: And they gathered around the font with us when we did a renaming for him confirming his baptism with his correct name and pronouns. And it has just been a beautiful experience for us as a family you know, we're pastor and pastors family and there can be a lot of pressure and expectation that comes with that, but they saw us. They saw our journey, they embraced it. They asked how they could support us, and because of that comfort. His faith has been incredibly strengthened. I have felt really confirmed as their pastor and held, and as a community. We have also been able to [00:14:00] take steps to really embrace our calling, to be loud and visible celebrators of the queer community.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Hmm. That is so beautiful. What an amazing contrast that is for so many other people's experiences, right? As you shared from, you know, your church of origin that taught you to love God, but not necessarily had the lens to see the fullness of what you were called into. To telling the story of your church now, embracing, celebrating, and walking through this, process of loving all people, including your trans son.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Church and, and being a part of that whole journey of seeing and hearing and affirming and celebrating I just, I just am so encouraged when I hear stories like this because the church can and is an important part of loving all people and nurturing them [00:15:00] along their journey, and it's such an important part of what the church is called to be and do in the world.

Tara Lamont Eastman: So. Thank you for the transparency and the vulnerability of sharing this story. Yeah.

Tara Lamont Eastman: So you have the story of your family's journey of walking into and through that process of understanding you're part of the trans community. But I believe you also have a personal story of coming out in your own way too.

Serena Rice: I do. Yeah. I feel like my story is such a story of grace and gentleness in the spirits leading having grown up in the context I did in the eighties and nineties in the Evangelical Church where, um. there was such heteronormativity both culturally as well as religiously in that context, I grew up just kind of assuming I knew what, my sexuality must look like because it was the only option presented to. [00:16:00] And also growing up very deeply embedded in purity culture.

Serena Rice: Which puts I think a really strained and twisted lens on sexuality, even within heterosexual relationships because it really frames men as having no control over their sexuality and women as needing to be gatekeepers to keep everything locked down until marriage. As it turns out. I was really good at that I was such a good person and such a good Christian.

Serena Rice: Well, fast forward a bit. I met and fell in love with my husband who we will be celebrating 25 years this summer of marriage. so blessed to have him as a partner in life, and it made it really easy to follow the script. Because I found him and I loved him and he loved me back. And we, started out at the very young age of 23, which is a little bit alarming.

Serena Rice: I wouldn't advise that necessarily to anyone. But we made it work and we're just. [00:17:00] Going along happy. And as I found both within my study of scripture and in life-giving faith, communities found a much more expansive view for God's love and, God's plan. I saw myself as a really enthusiastic ally. for the LGBTQ plus community God's spirit confirmed with my spirit that it was good to embrace and to celebrate the diversity of God's creation. But just kind of assumed, I'm just a straight ally. it was really through my older son who has in some ways been sort of a queer mentor for me, and encouraged me to read the stories that he was reading to. Listen in and lean in to the queer community. Not just from the perspective of an ally, but just to kind of, sort of understand stories. But I started seeing some resonance where. it's not so much that I'm just, really good at purity culture. Maybe it's actually that I'm on the asexual spectrum and have [00:18:00] eventually come to understand myself as being demisexual.

Serena Rice: So like. I wasn't experiencing the same temptation, not because of morality. And that I needed that deep emotional connection before I could actually really feel desire for my husband. And so first understanding myself as demisexual, it's like the whole world made more sense to me.

Serena Rice: All of these themes and culture and in stories that had just felt like, well, but those are just stories, right? No one actually feels that way. Was starting to realize like, oh, actually it's that I experience things really differently than allosexual people do. And that's why it's always kind of felt unreal to me.

Serena Rice: So that was the first part of my journey of understanding my own queer identity. And once those scales fell away from my eyes and I was able to see myself a little bit more clearly, and again, listening to stories of other bisexual people realizing, oh, that actually matches my [00:19:00] experience too.

Serena Rice: I don't actually. Find any difference in the way that I respond to male beauty as opposed to female beauty? And actually I could if, I mean I don't want to because I'm very happy with my husband, but if tragedy were to strike, I could see myself with a woman. That actually, that's part of who God made me to be too.

Serena Rice: And that there is this whole community out there of demisexual, bisexual people who don't realize it until the middle of their lives because our society doesn't make it visible. Again, it just keeps coming back to that theme of visibility that until you see people and hear the stories that reflect your own experience, it can be hard even to know yourself.

Serena Rice: When society puts out this script of this is what it looks like to be a woman. This is especially what it looks like to be a Christian woman. It's all you can imagine for yourself until other people are vulnerable enough to share their stories and you start to find that [00:20:00] familiarity , that makes sense.

Serena Rice: This is who I am.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I can see through the help of scripture and through the lives of so many people how, even in my understanding of gender and sexuality, shifting from that binary to a spectrum. Has allowed me to, see things so much differently, so differently myself. But again, it's going back to that concept of being seen.

Tara Lamont Eastman: You, write about this so beautifully that I'm gonna read it to you, this little quote from your essay. It says, being seen, insisting on visibility is not a matter of ego wokeness or forcing one's identity on other people. It is a matter of basic human dignity. It is the instinctive understanding that being seen for who we are is essential to being valued for who we are.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Anything more that you would [00:21:00] like to say about that Serena?

Serena Rice: Language of value is really formative. To the way I have grown into being a person of faith in the world. I mentioned before how my first career was in anti-poverty work research and advocacy as a social worker, and it was a. Deeply important career to have such deeply important work in the world.

Serena Rice: And I'm so, so grateful for the people who do that work. It's pretty thankless in a lot of cases, especially when you're trying to advocate for laws and for budget allocations that, for whom? The constituency is the folks who have the least resources to donate to candidates and the least time available to head down to their state to advocate because they're working their tails off.

Serena Rice: But one of the reasons why I didn't stay in that career forever did move into the church because I, continually found myself sort of bumping up against [00:22:00] the ways in which I couldn't use my faith to do that work. At least not. Explicitly not publicly that I had to do that work sort of in a faith neutral context.

Serena Rice: And for me, it all came from my faith. It all came from my sense of every human being is made in the image of God. Every human being has worth Because the fact that they exist means God wants them to exist and therefore we need to value those lives. And that's not the way our world works in our society, which is so deeply enmeshed with the morality or lack thereof of capitalism, human value gets.

Serena Rice: Assigned based on what you produce or how well you fit the narrative of what is valued. and so this idea of being valued, being a core. Faith commitment for myself that every human being is valued. [00:23:00] That's what really pushed me from advocacy back into the church to say, this is where we need to start talking about it.

Serena Rice: This is where our theology needs to be shaping. The church to recognize human value so that when folks are going out and voting and going out and having conversations in their neighborhood and going out and looking at their news feeds and evaluating what they should trust and what they should push back against we need an understanding of basic human value to be at the core of that. Well then that takes me to what are the things that are causing those within the church? To stop valuing humanity to stop valuing every human being who is made in the image of God. And it's when we don't see people. When we don't recognize their creativeness, the beauty of how they show up in the world, that's when we stop valuing them and we stop advocating for them.

Serena Rice: And so we need to see people so that we can value them, so that we can do exactly what [00:24:00] Jesus told us to do, which was to love every other human being your journey is beautiful and it's been quite a journey over time and, lots of connections that you have said how the Holy Spirit was leading you gracefully through this journey. If there are folks listening to our conversation today going, oh my goodness, I don't even know where to start.

Tara Lamont Eastman: What might you recommend for folks that are, either going, oh, maybe I am part of the LGBTQIA plus and or queer community, or, oh my goodness I'm a person of faith and I want to better love all people. Where would they begin?

Serena Rice: Well, I think we do start with scripture, even though scripture is often where those who oppose queer inclusion start I think they've got that wrong. And I think that the unfolding story of scripture, if we read it as a whole. If we don't just pick out verses here and there to proof text and support the position that we've [00:25:00] already come to.

Serena Rice: If we look at the way that scripture unfolds, it's really story of God creating this beautiful diversity. And human beings over and over trying to define boundaries and gatekeeper the way that God is allowed to be known, the way that God's allowed to be worshiped. And then in scripture, we see God continually.

Serena Rice: Those boundaries and busting open those gates and saying, yeah, no, that's not what my intention was. Just as a couple of examples, we read in the Mosaic Law that the people of Israel were not to , inter Mary with Moabites. Because the Moabite people had not helped them when they were wandering in the wilderness.

Serena Rice: And so. You know, they were to be excluded from the holy community. Well, you know, a few generations on and the people of Israel are [00:26:00] established and then go through a famine. And this woman, Naomi, and her husband and sons go to Moab 'cause it's where they can get food. And one of her sons marries Ruth. And when the men in the family die. Ruth and Naomi go back to Israel, and Ruth actually becomes the great grandmother of King David,

Tara Lamont Eastman: Yeah.

Serena Rice: where the law had been clear. You are not to intermarry with Moabites. and yet this Moabite woman 

Serena Rice: becomes one of the forebearers of the most important king in Israeli history.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Mm-hmm.

Serena Rice: We also see it with eunichs, again, back to the beginning law. eunichs are to be excluded from the community. They may not be members but after the people have gone to Babylon and exile and they have come back to reestablish the community, there are lots of eunichs among them because that's what happens to them when they were in exile.

Serena Rice: So now the prophet Isaiah calls them in, says, God will give you a [00:27:00] new name and they are to be part of the community, valued for who they are. And then you go on to the New Testament and Philip testifies to the Ethiopian. He becomes one of the first foreign convers to the faith, the way of Christ, and he then is a missionary to Africa, a eunuch 

Serena Rice: We see the ways in which we have these rules that we think are to protect the faith, but God's spirit is always working to peel those back.

Serena Rice: Say, no, I want it to be bigger. I don't want you to shut people out. I want you to welcome people in. And, that's what Christ said when, he. Offered the great commission go and make disciples of all people. And all means All. So I think as, people of faith, and particularly those who have been taught that scripture tells them.

Serena Rice: You can't accept the queer community. Start with scripture. Start with the way the pattern shows. No, it's always about opening. It's always about the circle getting wider. And [00:28:00] then find a faith community that can have that conversation with you as well. I am always happy to recommend people to the website, gay church.org.

Serena Rice: It's a great place regardless of your church tradition. To go in, find some congregations that will be, you know, within a reasonable driving distance of your location where you can find a community. And if you can't find a community where you can live life together with folks close enough to where you live.

Serena Rice: The internet is a great resource. My church is online. Our congregation is found@abidingpeacechurch.org. I've got a sermon blog there where you can read the sermons every week. You can have links to some of our YouTube content. You can reach out to me. If you have any questions my email is there and we're happy to, walk with you and, and hopefully connect you with, folks who can be a community for you.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thank you. Thank you. Because I know that, , any new journey can kind of feel overwhelming, [00:29:00] or even if it's a journey that you're like, oh, I need more support. So thank you so much for those resources. So one way that I've been celebrating pride all this month is to be on the lookout for hashtag June Rainbows.

Tara Lamont Eastman: And whether that is a rainbow in the sky or, you know, photos from a Pride festival or just a way that I notice and see the diversity of God's. Community in the world. That is something that I've been taking pictures of and sharing on my social media. When I notice those things, when I pay more attention.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I notice that my own perspective expands and gets bigger as well as those that join me in sharing June Rainbows. But I wonder, do you have any special ways. You celebrate June Rainbows in your own way.

Serena Rice: My family does have a, habit of taking pictures of the sky whenever a sunset gives us a trans flag, which is very often. It is, it is [00:30:00] really common to see that blue, pink and white in s stripes across the sky. And it always just a little thrill for us of, oh, look, God is celebrating trans visibility today.

Serena Rice: So that's one of our ways. we do recognize that pride is a protest. It's not just a. And advocacy, especially in, this year when there is so much legislation that is seeking to suppress queer rights, especially trans rights and to really make trans people invisible.

Serena Rice: we look for advocacy opportunities and. If we balance that with looking for opportunities for queer joy, it so important, feed our spirit Pride festivals or parades or rainbows, wherever we might find them. Whenever there's a, queer character in a show that we're watching or a book that we're reading, someone in the family will go, oh look, you know, she's lesbian or he's bi.

Serena Rice: And it's just that little zing [00:31:00] of recognition that, we're not alone, alone. The world is so full of the, diversity of gender and sexuality that God has created to be so beautiful. So we look for those moments of queer joy and share them with each other.

Tara Lamont Eastman: So I understand holy shenanigans as the movement of the Holy Spirit or divine in everyday life. And I wonder as we prepare to wrap up our conversation, do you happen to have a holy shenanigans story that you would like to share?

Serena Rice: My town's first ever pride party, which just happened yesterday, how that actually ha was born outta what really felt like an attack last December our township council passed an ordinance that prohibited the flying of any flags that were not official flags. Whether that be government or, or military flags on town flagpoles, which as far as I know, the only thing that stopped was the pride flag raising that had been happening for [00:32:00] several years.

Serena Rice: Had been an important moment for the queer community in a relatively conservative town to feel seen. And suddenly we couldn't do that so a lot of folks in the town spoke up and said, you know, why are you doing this? there's a lot of talk from the government of this town about wanting everyone to feel like they belong and building community.

Serena Rice: And this really feels like an attack on the queer community. So really grateful that the mayor said, well, you know what? We can't do the flags, would you all like to put on an event? We've got this space in the big town park. We'll give it to you for free, even though we usually charge for events because, you know, we do want your community to feel seen.

Serena Rice: And what grew out of that was just this beautiful new collaboration where before at the Pride Flag raisings, I would show up. In my collar, in my rainbow stole and I would say something on behalf of our church and maybe 30 or 40 people would gather [00:33:00] and take a picture that would show up on the town Facebook page.

Serena Rice: And that was kind of it. Well fast forward to we can have an event and abiding peace partnered with this. Very nascent organization, pride Mount Olive that you know, is just kind of getting its feet under itself. And we were the two partners that put on this beautiful celebration where hundreds of people came out, even in the rain, stayed, wore their rainbows, listened to amazing queer artists performing music, celebrated did art together, got resources signed up to do advocacy for immigrants, got book lists from our local public library. It was this amazing event where it was suddenly so visible how many queer people and their allies actually live in the town . And that hadn't been seen before. And so something that went from.

Serena Rice: Making us feel like we were supposed to be invisible instead became this beautiful [00:34:00] celebration which we're gonna keep doing because it was so incredibly successful. And also really gave a chance for my congregation to step into a role of leadership in the town as being advocates, as being folks who speak a good word about the diversity of God's creation.

Serena Rice: Where before it was. Oh, we send pastor to the flag raising. They volunteered. And they participated and, they helped to make it happen 

Tara Lamont Eastman: Beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that extra holy shenanigan. So as we wrap up our conversation today, Serena, I just wanna say thank you so much. For taking the time to share your personal stories, your family stories, your stories about your vocation, your journey, and your whole community. Talk about an expansive story. It keeps breaking open wider and wider in that love of God for all people.

Serena Rice: Thank you to my son Quinn. Who as I said, has really been my queer mentor in a lot of ways, and [00:35:00] his wisdom and his self-awareness at the age of 11 To know who he was. That really has been such a gift to our family, to me, and being able to find my own queer identity with him sort of foraging the path out ahead of me and a gift to the world as well.

Serena Rice: And I, I wanna take a chance to say thank you.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thank you, Quinn. We're proud of you. 

Tara Lamont Eastman: So I wonder if you would like to offer a blessing to our listeners.

Serena Rice: I would love the opportunity. I mentioned before how I love to address God as the God who sees. And I believe that God does see each and every one of us in all of our wholeness, I think there's a power in being seen in that way, whether or not we ever feel safe and comfortable being out in every part of our lives.

Serena Rice: Whether that be being out as a queer [00:36:00] person or even being out as someone who maybe struggles with a church that has a much more restrictive theology and doesn't know how to navigate that wherever it is that you don't feel seen right now or maybe don't feel safe being seen right now . I want to affirm that God sees you as you are.

Serena Rice: And that just as in the story of creation, we heard God say, and this is good. God sees you and you are good. You are beloved exactly as you are. And with that knowledge, may you find the strength to, in whatever way is safe , be seen, and especially look to see those around you.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thank you so much for that blessing and that affirmation that God sees all and loves all I so appreciate. Um, Serena and your [00:37:00] vulnerability in this conversation today.

Serena Rice: Well, I really appreciate the opportunity, Tara. Thank you for inviting me here and asking such open and inviting questions.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Well, that's what we do here at Holy Shenanigans. we lift up ways to surprise, encourage, and redirect life in ways that often turns things upside down, but always in the name of love, this is always an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred, but never stuffy.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thanks Serena, for joining me in this good and holy trouble.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thanks to Ian Eastman for sound production. If you would like to sponsor Holy Shenanigans Podcast, you can reach out to us or find us@www.buy me a coffee.com. Tara l Eastman Beloveds, may you be well, may you be at peace. May you know that you are seen and you are always beloved.

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