New: I spoke to Rev. Babs Miller, a lesbian pastor at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, who has known James Talarico since he was "Jimmy." They told me about how Talarico's church formed his support for queer and trans people from a young age.

www.chron.com/culture/article/james-talarico-transgender-22073763.php

March 13, 2026 - 17:21 UTC

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I grew up in a Presbyterian in Texas, and I've had a lot of fun the last few weeks watching people falling to understand PCUSA's whole deal. Hopefully this helps some of them out.
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I lived in Wells Branch for years and the people I know who know Jim Rigby have been so amused.

I remember when Rigby got in trouble with the national presbytery for allowing LGBT folks to serve as deacons.

Talarico growing up in St Andrew's makes a lot of his stances make sense.
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St. Andrews is in my neighborhood and it’s absolutely legit—I’m basically agnostic/have some religious trauma from my youth but I go there sometimes because it’s a genuinely progressive place full of people who actually believe in taking care of *all of* humanity
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I lived in Wells Branch in the 90s and I am a full-fledged pagan. But I went to St Andrew's a few times in support and never felt anything other than welcomed.
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I understand why someone would look at Talarico and hear the words seminary and Texas and make a lot of assumptions but it’s really frustrating to see him called, like, a Bible thumper when he’s basically the opposite of that
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“the Reverend Babs” fills me with joy
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"what, if anything, is in God's pants" is killing me over here, thanks Gwen.
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There's a whole chapter on what the Old Testament has to say on the question in "God: An Anatomy" by Francesca Stavrakopoulou, published in 2021.
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Incredible work
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thank you, and thank you for teaching me a lot about PCUSA / progressive Christian stuff! I don't think I would've known as much as I do for this story without you.
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Finally a church I can support.
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I know what he was, what he is. People don't change! He's Drippin' Jimmy!
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Good that he can follow in Reverend @warnock.senate.gov's footsteps with regards to LGBTQ+ rights

www.advocate.com/commentary/2020/10/27/senate-candidate-rev-warnock-religious-freedom-and-lgbtq-rights
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Oooo notoriously progressive. Take that Unitarians!
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Race to the mountaintop!
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He is more Christlike than any other so-called Christian politician. Thank you for this profile
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great profile, thanks for this!
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I was surprised how open some of the TX churches can be. My pops, who is mostly full MAGA, is very accepting of LGBTQ folks at least in part due to the church (Episcopalian) they go to in Houston.
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Great article!! I hope all the people who keep voicing their concerns that he's another Fetterman read it.
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Can you not use a homophobic slur associated with violent hate in the place of gay? Unless you are only writing about the TQ and not the LGB. Q is ambiguous. Homosexuality is not. Q is hate.
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“Notoriously progressive” (PCUSA)
😆

(To be clear, I’m a fan of Talarico and his message.)
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PCUSA is notoriously progressive. Like, the moderates split from them and formed a new denomination a few years ago specifically over lgbt issues, after the conservatives had years before split and formed a new denomination over women's issues
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I grew up with him and it's so hard not to call him Jimmy when talking to people.

Also, yes, he's always been like this, he was just a nice theater dork.
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I've been fascinated with Talarico way before he became a national darling. Part of that is because for a lot of Dem politicians, their support of LGBTQ+ rights lives uneasily with their faith, if they have it at all. But for Talarico, the first flows from the latter.
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There's a tendency on the right and in some left circles to look at Talarico as a guy that took whacky woke positions on trans people in 2020. But you talk to people in his church who know him well, this is always who he's been and it all flows from his faith.
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