This Little Light of Mine - LGBTQ, Christianity, religious trauma, mental health
Religion & Spirituality Podcasts
This Little Light of Mine is an LGBTQ+ tale of terror (growing up as a closeted Gay Christian in the Evangelical church) that led to trauma (cPTSD, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, addiction) to what I intend to become triumph.
Join me on my healing and recovery journey towards mental health, spiritual health and emotional health as I find my voice by sharing what happened in my life as a Queer Christian where I was taught that I was not allowed to love.
This Little Light of Mine is an LGBTQ+ tale of terror (growing up as a closeted Gay Christian in the Evangelical church) that led to trauma (cPTSD, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, addiction) to what I intend to become triumph.
Join me on my healing and recovery journey towards mental health, spiritual health and emotional health as I find my voice by sharing what happened in my life as a Queer Christian where I was taught that I was not allowed to love.
Location:
Canada
Description:
This Little Light of Mine is an LGBTQ+ tale of terror (growing up as a closeted Gay Christian in the Evangelical church) that led to trauma (cPTSD, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, addiction) to what I intend to become triumph. Join me on my healing and recovery journey towards mental health, spiritual health and emotional health as I find my voice by sharing what happened in my life as a Queer Christian where I was taught that I was not allowed to love.
Language:
English
Contact:
416.625.1141
Episodes
Not defining
2/17/2021
Hello and welcome to Episode 25 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s interview episode, ‘Not defining’.
On today’s episode I’m joined with orientation advocate Mark Smith and his wife Victoria. Mark runs a support site for anyone struggling with their orientation. He has an expanded heart and focus on humans who may be questioning, undefined, changing, Bi+, or fluid.
Before we jump into our conversation with Mark and...
Duration:00:55:11
Toxic outing
2/3/2021
I sat in a chair facing my parents who sat on opposite ends of a sofa on the other side of the room. With one glance at my mom’s already watering eyes I knew that I was about to be devastated.
My father started out with the words, ‘We have reasons to believe that you may be struggling with same-sex attraction’.
This is the start of my toxic outing.
Show links:
NOTE: Trigger warning for homophobia, religious &. spiritual abuse, and misappropriation of God
Ravi Zacharias (RZIM...
Duration:00:36:33
Toxic Jesus
1/20/2021
On today’s episode I’m joined with author Marc-Henri Sendoz Paradella. Marc-Henri’s new book Toxic Jesus – A Journey from Holy Shit to Spiritual Healing is creating international acclaim in progressive Christian, deconstruction and religious trauma circles.
Marc-Henri has a fascinating story of deep faith, questioning, deconstruction and reconstruction.
Don’t forget, if you want the chance to win your very own copy of Toxic Jesus all you need to do is subscribe, rate and leave a review of...
Duration:00:59:15
Validate me
1/6/2021
It’s 2021… we made it! Hello, and welcome Episode 22 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s story episode, ‘Validate me’.
It feels good to be here and to share more of an upbeat and lighter story episode with you today. And that’s what this episode is all about, validation and feeling good.
In today’s story episode I’m shedding many of the awkward, scared, small and unwanted masks of my school years. This period of my life...
Duration:00:23:17
Beloved arise
12/30/2020
Wow... what a rollercoaster of year. As much as we love to pretend that we're in control of our lives, 2020 is definitely a year that proves that 'anything can happen'.
It isn't hard to look back on 2020 and say THANK GOODNESS THAT'S OVER. But have you taken the opportunity to look at what you've learned about yourself in the past 12 months? How have you grown as a human in the last year? And maybe even go as far as to think about what's made you proud of YOU in 2020.
Like most of us, 2020...
Duration:00:13:11
Supposed to love Christmas
12/24/2020
Well... it's Christmas Eve and we can finally see the finish line for 2020. What a strange year... did any of our futurists or experts predict this one?
As we head into this break I wanted to put together a quick episode to share Holiday survival tips for LGBTQ2S+ Christians or for anyone who might have all the happy joyous feelings that we're 'supposed to' have at this time of year.
I'll be home for Christmas this year and I want to acknowledge how hard that's going to be for me.
To be...
Duration:00:17:52
Goodbye, all done
12/16/2020
Trauma is blocked emotional energy that is trapped inside of your body. You need to process it and you need to feel it.
What I have learned is that when I repress and deny my feelings and my Knowing, I’m blocking my connection with God and I’m hurting myself… and I’m hurting others.
At more than one point in my life I thought it would be easier to leave this world than to feel my feelings, follow my God given Knowing, speak out against those I considered to be in ‘control’ and to share my...
Duration:00:35:15
Scapegoat
12/2/2020
Hello and welcome to Episode 18 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s episode, ‘Scapegoat’.
Over the past few weeks on IG and Facebook @MyLightShinesBright our trauma topic of conversation has been around the concept of ‘The Scapegoat’. This is a relatively new term for me, and it seems like it’s a term that resonates with many that are on similar journeys of trauma recovery, addiction recovery, those deconstructing their...
Duration:00:58:19
In the shadows
11/18/2020
Hello and welcome to Episode 17 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s episode, ‘In the shadows’.
Before we get started with today’s episode, I want to be very transparent that this is my first ‘explicit’ episode as this part of my story contains content that may trigger some survivors. In today’s episode I will be talking about sexual assault, rape, trauma and dissociation. I encourage all listeners to be gentle with...
Duration:00:31:54
Deconstruction
11/4/2020
Join Chad Rollo and I as we talk about deconstructing our faith and the importance of being in community with 'fellow travellers' as we journey this wild & windy (and often painful) road towards integrating our faith and sexuality after years of living behind a wall of shame & fear.
Growing up so deeply entrenched in an evangelical church-based community and family I know how painful and important questions around faith and sexuality can be.
I desperately wanted to wake up one day and to...
Duration:00:54:36
PUREity shame
10/21/2020
In today's episode I share what it was like for me growing up in the 90’s evangelical church culture and share about one of my worst nightmares coming to life.
And from the many stories, comments and messages that you have been sharing online through FB & IG it is very clear that this period in time wasn’t an easy, joy-filled or shame free period for so many… not matter where we may have lived on the spectrum of gender or orientation.
The 90’s evangelical purity culture was an organized...
Duration:00:30:23
The shift - with Colby Martin
10/7/2020
Hello and welcome to Episode 14 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s episode, ‘The shift’.
In today’s episode I’m joined by best-selling author, podcaster, and PROGRESSIVE pastor Colby Martin. Colby is passionate about carving out a space within Christianity that includes: a whole-heartedly affirming posture toward LGBTQ individuals, a broader acceptance of other spiritual practices and religious perspectives, an...
Duration:00:57:24
Gospel gaslighting
9/23/2020
In today’s episode ‘Gospel gaslighting’ I share where some of my emotional arrested development started.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which a person or a group covertly sows seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or group, making them question their own memory, perception, or judgment, often evoking in them cognitive dissonance and other changes, including low self-esteem.
In short, gaslighting is another’s attempt to question your ‘Knowing’ or to question your...
Duration:00:43:00
I was wrong - with Rev Michael Coren
9/9/2020
Hello and welcome to Episode 12 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s episode, ‘I was wrong’.
In today’s episode I’m joined with best-selling author, columnist, Anglican cleric and former nightly television and radio host, Michael Coren. Michael and I will be talking about his book Epiphany and “what went wrong” on his journey from being the posterboy of Catholic conservatism towards his profound spiritual and personal...
Duration:00:55:16
God hates figs?
8/26/2020
Were you ever taught that who you were was wrong, evil, sinful or less than?
In today's episode, God hates figs? I’m taking another stroll down memory lane to share some of the messages that I learned around homosexuality as a young boy growing up in a fundamentalist church background.
Maybe you’re not part of queer community, but perhaps you were taught some of these same toxic messages because of the colour of your skin, your gender, the shape of your body or different abilities you may...
Duration:00:27:44
Beyond Shame - with Matthias Roberts
8/12/2020
Looking to create a healthy sex life on your own terms?
Matthias Roberts, host of Queerology, therapist and author joins us to share some of his personal experiences with shame AND insights from his new book ‘Beyond Shame'.
I really appreciate when a therapist, author and expert on ‘shame’ is able to walk the talk when it comes to vulnerability.
The definition of vulnerability that Mattias’ shared that talks about our capacity to be wounded… that shot an arrow that pierced my soul and...
Duration:00:50:33
Seeds of Shame
7/29/2020
Hello and welcome to Episode 9 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for today’s episode, Seeds of Shame.
Before I get started I want to give a big shout out to a few community members who are blowing me away with their sharing, encouragement and insights as we discover, heal and grow forward in love together.
Poulami from Lit.WingsMark aka NotDefiningSway from Polite but Savage In today’s episode I’m taking you WAY back to some of...
Duration:00:21:10
The gift of pain - with Cathy Webber
7/15/2020
In Western cultures we have been trained to label addictions as BAD. They are something that are undesirable, they hurt, they destroy and they kill. Our first trained instinct when the topic of addiction comes up is ‘HOW DO WE STOP IT’, ‘how do we get ride of it’, ‘how do we help the person just say no drugs/alcohol/sex/food or whatever’.
But what if we took another approach? What if we looked at our addictions as gifts? What if instead of immediately jumping into controlling our stopping...
Duration:01:02:11
Complex Trauma
7/1/2020
In today’s episode of This Little Light Of Mine I share the part of my story where this project first began. In today’s episode I take you into my disclosure session with my parents during my stay at a long-term complex trauma and rehabilitation centre in the US.
This is where I really started living.
I’m thankful that we didn’t really have a Pride Weekend in Toronto this year. I’m thankful for chaos, anguish and trauma that we are all living through right now. I’m thankful because I hope...
Duration:00:23:55
afFIRMation Thursday - Pride Edition with Byron Fulkerth
6/17/2020
Hello and welcome to a special Pride Month BONUS episode of This Little Light of Mine.
In season one we’re talking about a lot of tough topics from trauma to addiction, systemic racism and gender inequality to coming out to conversion therapy.
I wanted to take a hot minute to take a deep breath, throw some glitter in the air and talk about a new take on the elusive pride body… to do that I’ve partnered with personal trainer and personal friend Byron Fulkerth.
Byron will be joining me for...
Duration:00:22:12