Kennah

It was something at frst sight when Randi and Kennah Brydon locked eyes on one another. Te two met at their old church where Kennah was leading worship for multiple ministries and Randi was known for attending with and being mistaken for her best friend, Alicia. Te frst thing Kennah noticed about Randi was her 5 foot 1.75-inch stature. She was eventually drawn to her humor, authenticity, and winning personality. Randi found Kennah, with her sticker-clad guitar case and beautiful smile, “so cool.” Tey had their frst conversation one evening at a young adult group and bonded over stories of European travels, shared hobbies, and shared musical taste. Tey became the Brydons in September of 2021, but the journey to that point was incredibly difcult.

Kennah grew up in a home where there was clear disapproval of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite how incredibly close she was to her family, she believed that her queerness would lead to being disowned. To avoid potential heartbreak, she never opened herself up to the possibility of living out a fulflling life as a queer Christian woman; but when she met Randi, Kennah found someone that made that elusive future a bit more desirable. “In order to have a future with Randi, I had to let go of my desire to have my family in my life. Tat is when I became strong enough to come out as my authentic self to my family. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I had the courage to live with the unknown”

When describing herself, Randi says, “I’m the type of person that does whatever they want and I expect everyone else to fall in step with me.” Tose who know and love Randi are familiar with her confdence, decisiveness, and sarcasm. “If you don’t catch up quickly to my humor, you’re going to miss out,” she says. Although she didn’t initially expect to do so, as Kennah loosened the grip she had on her most important relationships, Randi eventually realized that she had to do the same. When describing the process, she says, “I had to let go of the box I had kept God in my whole life. I had to allow friendships to morph and fumble and trust that they would still come back whole. I had to allow my family to love me practically without being afrming theologically. I had to leave my old church and all of the relationships I had built.”

By embracing their grief and disappointment with incredible patience, Randi and Kennah have managed to build a remarkable life together. Although their family and friends are still in an ongoing process of accepting their relationship, Randi and Kennah are both grateful for the genuine love that exists between their families and the ways that everyone has committed to “embracing the messy middle ground regarding faith, sexuality, and family.” When Randi and Kennah got married, their parents and much of their extended family was present and involved in the celebration.

Kennah’s old fear that she would ultimately have to choose to live without her family or Randi has not been her reality. “While they may not approve of our marriage,” she says, “they love me as they always have, and they love and have welcomed Randi into our family.” Randi shares that the way their families put aside their theological diferences to attend the wedding—and the various ways they continue to support and accept them—has made her feel truly loved.