This episode's guest is James Admans (they/them) also known as Marge Erin Johnson (she/her), a minister, activist, and drag queen residing on the occupied homelands of the Wappinger and Paugusett Nations. They are a Member In Discernment and ordained pending call in the United Church of Christ. James is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (unceded homelands of the Lenape Nation) where they received their Master of Divinity degree in interdisciplinary Biblical studies, social ethics, and queer theology.

In their last year in seminary, James was the recipient of the prestigious Malcolm Boyd Veritas Award for their advocacy and social justice work on behalf of the queer and trans community. They are the editor of the recently published Beyond Worship: Meditations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, & Theology, a queer worship anthology featuring thirty-three contributions by LGBTQIA2S+ theologians, which was the recipient of a 2023 Independent Publishers Bronze Medal in the religion category. James leads a vibrant drag ministry, preaches, and leads worship as their drag alter-ego, Marge Erin Johnson (she/her).

In this episode, James shares with us their spiritual journey as a Christian and a practitioner of tarot and mediumship, explains why Christians should take spiritualist practices like mediumship seriously, and offers hope for trans and queer people amidst this moment in which anti-trans legislation and drag bans are weaponized for oppression by American empire. James inspires me to hold in tandem deep warmth for the queer community and all oppressed communities while remaining unwaveringly critical of empire, capitalism, and corruption. Their courageous ministry as a drag theologian is more important now than ever, and I'm grateful to James for taking time to sit with and to hold us in this fragile moment.

For a closer look at how James applies their tarot skills, head on over to Instagram @calledtobemultiplepodcast to watch their full tarot reading with me!

Guest's Links:

Instagram: @theology.queen

Website: theologyqueen.com

Book: Beyond Worship: Meditations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, & Theology

Resources Mentioned:

• Wesleyan quadrilateral (sources for theology)
• Witch Talk podcast
• Rev. Irene Monroe
• Real Good Church: How Our Church Came Back from the Dead, and Yours Can, Too by Molly Phinney Baskette
• Additional information about spiritual traditions mentioned in this episode:
  • Episode with Nova Sturrup about divination (tarot)
  • Spiritualism & Mediumship
  • Tarot
  • New Age

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We honor the Adena and Monongahela peoples on whose ancestral lands this podcast is produced.

Written & produced by Addie Pazzynski