In this first episode of this series, I chat with my good friend, Jacqueline Pollock, about her journey of faith & coming into her true self. We share her upbringing in a very conservative southern family & church, the betrayal she felt from her family which led her to leave, finding her chosen family from both religious and secular that helped her to find her peace, direction, and finally come out and live her truth.

This episode is the first in a very special series of the FanGirlHour. In preparation for the release of our short film, I Am Fine, in the fall, which highlights the struggle with lgtbqai in mainstream conservative Christianity, I will be interviewing several close, dear friends who will share their understanding of, relationship to Jesus, Christianity, religion or spirituality, their faith journeys, the struggles they have in recognizing their worth in God's eyes as a queer person, how they explain to others those “gotcha” verses in the Bible, all with the intent to “Reclaim & Redeem Jesus & Christianity” from a belief system that has co-opted for personal, subversive gain. Over the next several weeks, we will “fangirl for Jesus” in a series called “I am queer & I love Jesus.”

From the Trevor Project:

LGBTQ young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death among all young people in the U.S.

Just a reminder, from now until the end of July, our Trevor Project fundraiser, the Jesus <3 Queer merchandise on bonfire, which includes tees, pullovers, & hoodies, is 10% when you use the code PRIDE4FREEDOM: https://www.bonfire.com/jesus-lt3-queer/

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

References in this episode:

https://www.hrc.org/our-work/all-children-all-families-program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMqdbCXWMs0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW8-xm2DdGY

Twitch: JustagirlLexie

Twitch Handle for Jacqui: Lady Cat1999

End song: LoveMeHateMe by R9 (found on jamendo.com)