In this episode, we’re talking about Pride Month, young adults, and the life of The Episcopal Church—especially how we understand belonging, dignity, and love.
While we have talked about inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community before, we are talking more specifically about why so many dioceses, but especially The Diocese of West Missouri, is addressing their participation in Pride Month and their local Pride Fests.
About Our Guests
Tess Lollis-Burnside (She/Her)
Tess is a transgender laywoman who worships at St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City. She grew up going to a United Church of Christ parish but attended Roman Catholic schooling from elementary school to college before becoming an Episcopalian in 2024. She serves at her parish as an acolyte most Sundays and serves on the LGBTQIA+ Committee of The Diocese of West Missouri. Tess has a deep and abiding love for beautifully complex Anglo-Catholic liturgy, progressive orthodox theology, and finding new ways to express her queerness. She lives with Kirby, her non-binary fiancé, in Kansas City.
Raja Reed (He/Him)
Raja is a member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, where he serves as Parish Administrator and is active in outreach, hospitality, and pastoral care ministries. In The Diocese of West Missouri, Raja serves on Diocesan Council and the Commission on Ministry, and is co-chair of the Diocese’s LGBTQIA+ Ministry, and treasurer of the Secretariat of the Heartland Cursillo Ministry. He is passionate about creating spaces of belonging, visibility, and welcome within the Church and throughout the wider community.
Our Cohosts
Hayley Cobb
The Rev. Caroline Howard
The Rev. Karen Schlabach
Clare Stern-Burbano
The Rev. David Wilcox
Our Podcasts
We want to introduce the Episcopal Church from multiple perspectives and with different voices, utilizing social media to find out what questions students may have about who we are and what we do. Guest speakers, including college students from around our diocese, are already being scheduled for future sessions.
We do not currently have a physical presence on college campuses in our diocese, but we think podcasting offers a great opportunity to meet young adults where they are and share our faith in a way that is personal, comfortable, and always accessible. We hope that these sessions will be a bridge to connect college students with local parishes and with other young adults.
For more information and to suggest a topic or pose a question, please visit the College and Young Adult webpage. Look for All Things … Episcopal wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!
Deacon Alisa Carmichael currently serves as Chair of the College and Young Adult Commission in The Diocese of West Missouri. She assisted with an Episcopal campus ministry at the University of South Florida in Tampa prior to moving with her husband John to their current home in Kansas City. She is the organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lee’s Summit.
