Episode 33: From the Pulpit to Transition
Shelia’s Journey Through Faith, Gender, and Freedom
Content Note
This episode includes discussion of religious deconstruction, gender identity, trans
experience, leaving pastoral ministry, and spiritual harm. Please care for yourself as you
listen.
Episode Description
This week on The Awakening, Tamara and I sit down with Sheila Chappelle — host of
the Hurricane Girls Podcast — for one of the most honest and wide-ranging
conversations we’ve had on this show.
Sheila’s story is remarkable. She came into our world as a cis het pastor, steeped in
baptist culture and church leadership. Today she stands on the other side of that
life — a deconstructed trans woman and pagan witch who has found her way to
something truer and freer than anything the institution offered her.
We talk about the layers of that journey: what it cost, what it opened, and how she
navigated identity, faith, and gender at the same time. This is a conversation about
courage — the kind that doesn’t ask permission.
We also dig into some powerful resources that shed light on the systems that shape us,
including the documentary God & Country and the books Jesus and John Wayne by
Kristin Kobes Du Mez and Star-Spangled Jesus by April Ajoy.
This conversation is raw, real, and a powerful reminder that liberation rarely looks the
way we were taught it would.
In This Episode, We Discuss
• Sheila’s journey from cis het pastor to trans woman and pagan witch
• What it’s like to deconstruct faith and gender identity at the same time
• The cost and the freedom of leaving institutional ministry
• How Christianity shapes culture — and how to name it
• Recommended resources for understanding religious harm and deconstruction
Resources Mentioned
God & Country (2024 documentary, dir. Dan Partland, prod. Rob Reiner) — an
examination of Christian nationalism and its threat to democracy and faith
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith an
Fractured a Nation — Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Star-Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith
— April Ajoy
About Our Guest
Sheila Chappelle is the host of the Hurricane Girls Podcast and a voice for authenticity,
liberation, and life after institutional religion. Her journey — from pastor to deconstructed
trans woman and pagan witch — is a testament to what becomes possible when we
stop performing and start living.
Connect with Sheila
TikTok: @sheilachappelle
Facebook: facebook.com/share/1BD8Eo1enL
Podcast: Hurricane Girls on YouTube
Why This Episode Matters
So many people inside religious systems are carrying identities they’ve never been
allowed to name. Sheila’s story is a reminder that deconstruction isn’t just theological —
it’s personal, it’s embodied, and for some of us, it’s the difference between surviving and
truly living.
If you’ve ever felt like the institution was asking you to disappear into a role that wasn’t
yours, this episode is for you.
About the Show
The Awakening is a podcast centered on religious deconstruction, survivor stories, and
rebuilding life after faith. We create space for honesty, healing, and community beyond
fear-based systems.
Intro/Outro Music Your Poison by Rox Knox
Connect with Your Hosts
Heather — linktr.ee/Happyheathersmiles
Tamara — TikTok @feralatheistjezebel321 | Instagram @tamarajo321
Follow on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheAwakeningPodcast-w6s
Be a guest by sending us an email: theawakeningpod@gmail.com
Listener Care Reminder
If Sheila’s story touched something in you — whether around faith, identity, or both —
give yourself permission to sit with it. Deconstruction is not a crisis. Discovering who
you actually are is not a betrayal of who you were. You are allowed to change. You are
allowed to become. You belong here exactly as you are.
If you like what you here, check out other great pods on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network!
Barrett and Zac host The All About Nothing: Podcast, discussing everything from news and politics to entertainment and sports! All About Nothing, but All About Something too!
Zac and Barrett host What The Pod Was That with Cari Simmons, available everywhere you listen to podcasts.
Take a deep dive down the rabbit hole with Amii on the pod Welcome to Wonder Land.
Check out Black White and Blue In the South, With Dr. Jumelle Brooks and Bill Kimler!
Politically Speaking with Erica Sampson, Kirsten Pruitt, and Emily Mayer is a sharp, engaging podcast breaking down politics with insight, wit, and a fresh perspective.
The Preach Jacobs Podcast is hosted by Columbia South Carolina's very own Ambassador, Hiphop Artist, Columnist and Owner of SoulHAUS Art Gallery, Preach Jacobs!
All of these fantastic podcasts can be found on the BIG Media LLC Podcast Network!
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