I became a theologian because I needed a faith I could survive.
I’m Kelley Finch—a queer pastor, theologian, social justice advocate, and creator of This Pastor’s Life. I grew up as a Southern Baptist pastor’s kid and spent years asking what church could look like if it stopped demanding that people hide parts of themselves in order to belong.
Today, I pastor Mosaic Faith Community, an inclusive and interfaith community shaped by people who have often been pushed to the edges of traditional church. Our community includes people who have left the church, neurodiverse people, queer people, people with queer family members, and anyone searching for a place where they can bring their questions, doubts, identities, and whole selves.
My own journey through faith, deconstruction, ministry, and healing from religious harm shapes everything I create. Through This Pastor’s Life, I offer progressive Bible study, queer-affirming theology, strange and overlooked stories from church history, and honest conversations about the lessons many of us were taught as children.
I also cofounded Rainbow Connection Farm, where my wife, Britt, and I care for rescued animals and explore the connections among faith, justice, human community, and the rest of creation.
More than 150,000 people have joined these conversations online. Whether you still love the church, have left it behind, or are not sure what you believe anymore, you are welcome here.
I believe church can be queer-affirming, faith can be inclusive, justice can be sacred, and none of us should have to leave part of ourselves at the door.
Create a meaningful Blessing of the Animals gathering where every creature—and every person who loves them—is welcome.
This seven-page digital resource provides everything you need to lead a gentle, inclusive gathering at a church, animal sanctuary, community event, school, or family celebration. It can be used indoors, outdoors, or online.
The kit includes:
Welcome and leader notes
Animal-safety checklist
Gathering words
Inclusive prayer and interfaith reflection
Responsive reading
Children’s message
Individual animal blessings
Remembrance ritual for animals who have died
Rainbow Connection Farm story
Compassionate-action stations
Family and classroom activities
Closing litany
Event-planning checklist
Ready-to-use promotional copy
Participants may bring an animal when attending will be safe and comfortable for them. Photographs, collars, drawings, favorite toys, and names of animals being remembered are also welcome.
Written by Pastor Kelley Finch, this resource uses progressive, trauma-aware language and recognizes animals as lives with needs, relationships, preferences, and inherent worth.
Digital product: You will receive a printable PDF. No physical product will be mailed.
What does your church property communicate about your relationship with creation?
The Compassionate Church Grounds Guide helps congregations transform ordinary church property into spaces that provide greater safety, nourishment, and welcome for animals, pollinators, people, and the wider community.
This practical 15-page digital resource includes:
A church-grounds evaluation checklist
A pastoral vision for creation-conscious grounds
Instructions for conducting a congregational grounds walk
Pesticide- and herbicide-conscious maintenance guidance
Humane alternatives to harmful traps
Native-plant and layered-habitat planning
Pollinator-garden guidance
Wildlife water-station care
Ways to reduce common hazards for wildlife
Community food-garden planning
Accessibility and neighborhood considerations
A seasonal grounds-care calendar
Worship and children’s-ministry connections
A printable congregational commitment worksheet
A 90-day action plan
Ready-to-use promotional copy
The guide emphasizes beginning with one manageable area, involving the people who use the property, consulting reliable local experts, and creating projects the congregation can maintain responsibly.
This resource is designed for pastors, church leaders, trustees, grounds committees, creation-care teams, gardeners, and community partners.
The goal is not a perfect landscape. The goal is a church property that causes less harm and offers more life.
Digital product: You will receive a printable PDF. No physical product will be mailed.
Connect with my work.
Weekly Substack newsletter for people navigating faith, deconstruction, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and the complicated journey of finding a healthier relationship with church and spirituality. Each issue includes links to all of our videos, along with bonus material, deeper reflections, practical resources, and encouragement to help you build a faith that feels more loving, inclusive, and authentic.
My YouTube Channel where you get a closer look at church, faith, theology, and the traditions we often accept without questioning them. Through a progressive lens, we’ll deconstruct everything from worship and liturgy to Scripture and church practices, asking what they mean, where they came from, who they serve, and how we might create a more inclusive and healing faith.
A collection of downloadable, practical resources for church leaders navigating LGBTQ+ church harm, deconstruction, inclusion, and the work of creating safer, more welcoming faith communities. Explore downloadable guides, liturgies, training materials, worksheets, and other tools designed to help churches understand the harm that has been done—and learn how to do better.
Video series - A continuing story of faith, doubt, deconstruction, and the complicated journey of discovering who you are when the beliefs you were handed no longer fit. Follow Clara as she looks back at the moments that shaped her faith, wrestles with the harm and hope she found in the church, and begins imagining what might exist on the other side of the amen.
A Podcast invites you into the conversations between a queer pastor and her nonbinary “pastor’s wife” as they navigate the space between church life and farm life. It’s a place for honest, funny, thoughtful conversations about faith, queerness, relationships, ministry, animals, and what happens when the worlds of the church and the farm collide.
Video series - weekly journey through the UMC liturgical calendar, exploring the common lectionary and deconstructing familiar Scripture through a progressive, inclusive lens. We’ll look beyond the words on the page to explore the day-to-day lives, cultures, struggles, and experiences of the people in the Bible—asking what their stories meant then, what they might mean now, and what the church sometimes gets wrong along the way.
Our church where we are creating space for people from different faith backgrounds—and those who have been hurt by religion—to explore faith together. We focus on social justice, radical inclusion, and healing the harm the church has done, building a community where questions are welcome, differences are honored, and everyone has a place at the table
Wednesday night videos where we look into the strange, surprising, hilarious, and sometimes uncomfortable history behind the traditions, practices, and stories that shaped the church. Pull up a chair, grab a plate, and dig into the parts of church history that probably never made it into Sunday school—including the weird stuff, the forgotten stories, and the history behind the things we still do today.
A support-group-style series for anyone navigating church harm, deconstruction, and the difficult process of leaving an unhealthy church without losing yourself—or your faith. Each episode explores the guilt, grief, anger, questions, and freedom that can come with a church breakup, with personal stories from My Deconstructed Life and practical tools to help you take the next step.