my gay church days - season 2 premiere
george azar invited me to open season 2 of my gay church days. we ended up talking adoption, ministry, leaving faith, queerness, and the songs that turned into second half.
george and i met on instagram after i sent him my record. he actually listened, and then asked if i’d come on his podcast, my gay church days, to help launch season 2. i said yes because i love his work, and because i immediately felt safe with him.
he released our conversation in two parts.
the first episode is mostly backstory. i talk about being adopted from russia to canada, growing up pentecostal, and becoming “the intense christian kid” who took faith way serious. we get into youth group, purity culture, bible college, and how music became the main way i processed anything long before i had language for queerness or trauma.
you can listen to part 1 on apple podcasts or spotify.
the second episode picks up in covid-era ministry - burnout, sabbatical, and realizing grief and mental health weren’t actually welcome in the space i was giving my life to. i talk about leaving the church and christianity and what it’s been like to redraw my morals without a bible in my hand. we also unpack how the songs on second half showed up in the middle of all that, and why i wrote the album more for myself than for “an audience.”
you can listen to part 2 on apple podcasts or spotify.
more from george:
mygaychurchdays.com · @mygaychurchdays on instagram · his memoir, my gay church days (affiliate link) on amazon
