Shameless Theology S2:04 Faith as Costly Love w/Rev. Rhina Ramos

Summary

What do you do when you can’t find a spiritual home? You build one.

In pursuit of a faith that could withstand questioning and a community that embraced freedom and dignity, guest Rev. Rhina Ramos worked to create the spiritual home she’d been searching for. In today’s episode, Rev. Alba Onofrio invites Rhina to share her journey from a punitive Catholic upbringing in El Salvador, through migration to the U.S., and a decade in a Salvadoran Baptist church to the rupture of coming out as a lesbian, divorcing, and trusting God’s grace amid rejection. Today, as the co-founder and pastor of the country’s only Spanish‑speaking, queer‑led UCC congregation, she and the Ministerio Latino community offer both material support for newly arrived immigrants and a healing, affirming space where Queer and Trans people can be fully seen.

With more than 25 years of experience as an activist and advocate, Rhina has seen the effects of Spiritual Violence up close in our communities. In today’s conversation, Rev. Alba and Rhina reflect on those stories, the spiritual trauma carried by Queer immigrants and Trans people, our responsibility to costly love as an expression of faith, and the practices that sustain us: community care, rest, and drawing strength from revolutionary ancestors.

Rev. Rhina Ramos is an ordained United Church of Christ minister leading Ministerio Latino, a Spanish speaking open and affirming congregation for LGTBQI Latinx immigrants founded as her call in 2011. Rhina was born in El Salvador and emigrated to the United States at age 14 in 1983. As an immigrant undocumented during the first 3 years in the United States, Rhina knows first hand the fear and pain of belonging to an invisible community. She graduated from Hofstra University Law School in 1995 and was a labor attorney for five years recouping thousands of dollars in unpaid wages for immigrant workers. In 2003, she obtained a Masters in Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Pastor Rhina has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years as an activist, community organizer and manager. In November 2024, she published her first book In My Heart, A Volcano in Spanish about her family and memories of growing up in El Salvador during the 80’s and her journey north as undocumented immigrant.

Find Rev. Rhina at ministeriolatino.org or on Facebook & Instagram

Hosted by Reverend Sex (Rev. Alba Onofrio - Executive Director of Soulforce), this podcast channel offers connection, reflection, and community for anyone feeling spiritually marginalized or exiled but still resiliently faithful, while centering dialogue on Queer, Trans, and feminist theology.

Shameless Theology seeks to decolonize faith, mixing theological education with real-life experiences to support human rights and life abundant for all of Creation. Initially launched in Spanish as Teología Sin Vergüenza, this show addresses the monopolization of religious discourse by the extreme Right. Here, we gather people of diverse faith backgrounds and Christian denominations--pastors, activists, and scholars--to discuss gender identity, the erotic, and real life in the context of a radically inclusive faith, aiming to heal the wounds of colonizing religion and create a welcoming space for topics often considered taboo in religious spaces.

This season forefronts our new book: Spiritual Violence: Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith. This timely resource identifies and examines the consequences of white Christian Supremacy through historical context and case studies, centering lived experiences of marginalized people, and offers critical analysis and practical tools for healing and resistance. Each week, we’ll share engaging conversations with brilliant guests familiar with the work, as we explore the concepts and lived experiences of Spiritual Violence. The podcast is not a repetition of the book but an expansion of conversation adding new voices: experts in their fields who share their experience with our community. Even if you haven’t read the book yet, these are engaging conversations relevant to the here and how, and we invite you to join us and continue the conversation in your own communities. 

FREE PREVIEW: Spiritual Violence and Religious Phenomena that Defile the Faith: soulforce.org/download/spiritual-violence/    

Join in our community of Sinvergüenzas by visiting our Shameless Theology homepage or our Spanish WhatsApp Lista de Difusión. If you’d like to support this cutting-edge movement of ferocious Latine power building, please make a donation.

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