Jeffery Hale: ‘I have to be brave’

Winchester resident, teacher, and business owner Jeffery Hale is no stranger to contradictions. Unlike many gay people, who have eschewed religion, Jeffery fully embraces his Christianity—although his practice differs significantly from the dominant form that seems to get all the air in today’s America.

Jeffery describes himself as “a simple man trying to live in God’s love.” Yet his relationship with God and his personal spiritual practice are anything but conventional. He has found a way to ignore the often homophobic attitudes of many evangelicals while retaining his love for “Spirit”—his personal name for the Christian Trinity (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit).

Last week, Lisa Bush sat down with Jeffery in the cozy confines of Mason on Main, the downtown shop Jeffery runs with his husband, Mason Rhodus. In a revealing and intimate 30-minute video for The Voices of Winchester Podcast, Lisa and Jeffery explore the many facets of his roots in Eastern Kentucky up to the present day.

This episode is the second installment of a three-part series of interviews Lisa is doing for us exploring the lives of three very different LGBTQ+ people in Central Kentucky.

WinCity Voices (WCV) is sharing the voices of Winchester, one story at a time. We are all about connection, conversation, and community. We are a group of volunteers who love creating engaging content in all its forms. Our work consists mostly of short stories about ideas, happenings, people, places, and more. We also feature fiction and art of all kinds. 

WinCity Voices believes storytelling in all of its forms — the visual, the written, the spoken — is vital to meaningful change. Our storytellers provoke thought, promote happenings, and provide entertainment. Our mission is to celebrate creativity, foster informed conversation, and inspire the people of Winchester and beyond to build connection and community. We envision a community where diversity is celebrated and all are welcomed, inspired, and empowered to become active participants in the social and civic life of Winchester and beyond.

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