It is such a privilege to have Bishop Karen Oliveto on the podcast for this guest series episode. She describes herself as a pastor, preacher, teacher, and activist who works with diverse communities to change the world through her work as a Bishop in the United Methodist Church and we think adding ‘cultivator of joy’ to that list is also appropriate!   Bishop Oliveto was consecrated as a bishop of The United Methodist Church and assigned to the Mountain Sky Episcopal Area, which includes 355 congregations in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and a small section of Idaho. She is the first woman to serve as senior pastor of one of The United Methodist Church’s 100 largest congregations. Bishop Oliveto has the distinction of being the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church and is the co-author of Talking About Homosexuality: A Congregational Resource, as well as the author of Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into God’s Call and Together at the Table: Diversity without Division in The United Methodist Church.    Bishop Oliveto talks about how she was called to ministry at a young age, despite growing up in a home with an atheist father. She reminds us how far we’ve come, but how important it is to stay vigilant in the face of injustice. We are so here for her words of wisdom on love, community, queer sacred spirituality, and – that common theme in this episode!- JOY!     Resources: Social: Twitter: @BishopOliveto Facebook: facebook.com/BishopOliveto/ Instagram: bishopkarenoliveto Bishop Karen Oliveto at the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church.  Books: Our Strangely Warmed Hearts, Together at the Table, by Karen P. Oliveto. Talking About Homosexuality: A Congregational Resource by Karen Oliveto, Traci C. West, and Kelly D. Turney Somebody Somewhere podcast episode with Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen    Join the online community Sanctuary Collective.    If you want to support the Patreon and help keep the podcast up and running, you can learn more and pledge your support at patreon.com/queertheology. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT   The post Cultivating Joy with Bishop Karen Oliveto appeared first on Queer Theology.