Church hurt is widespread, and there are still many congregations which remain closed to Christians living on the margins because of sexuality / gender identity, disability, race / ethnicity, class, education level, etc. Young Prophets Collective, a growing online church and community, founded by Rev. JJ Warren, is working to shift this through building an affirming and intersectional space which welcomes all, and excludes none. I caught up with Jonelle Brown, an active member of Young Prophets Collective.  We also discuss her background as an educator, and how this experience led her to found  NelleRose Educational Services, which “empowers BIPOC scholars + their families to get through high school with confidence & success.” 

Kindness must move beyond pleasantries and root us in action and justice. Mom and I chat with Kaitlin Johnstone, co-founder of Kind Cotton and former educator; she and her husband, Kevin, are on a mission to bring 1 million inclusive books to kids with every purchase of a Kind Cotton tee, tote bag or other product. Throughout this episode, we discuss what sparked the creation of Kind Cotton, the ways kindness is weaponized, and why moving beyond this is essential for collective liberation, building authentic community, centering inclusive education, and modeling social justice and activism for our kids.

Based in Oakland, CA, Porsche Veu aka The Poetic Activist is a gifted author, speaker, educator and poet, who tackles the challenging racial and social justice issues of our day head on, without apology. We discuss her faith journey, the urgency of truth telling and becoming comfortable with discomfort, the roots of White supremacy within the American church, and how she uses her work to move people beyond performative change while centering the urgency of inner work. Porsche uses her art to fight social injustice, empower women, youth, the Black community, and advocate for mental and emotional health.

In honor of Baldwin’s 100th birthday, we are sharing this episode again, a conversation with Adam Hollowell and Jamie McGhee, founders of Praying with Baldwin, discussing their powerful book: You Mean It or You Don’t: James Baldwin’s Radical Challenge.  One of the most prolific writers and thinkers of the 20th century, Baldwin’s words continue to awaken us. Drawing from his extensive body of work -  fiction, poetry speeches and interviews, McGhee and Hollowell call us to embody our activism.  There are prompts at the end of each chapter to help us take action - whether concerning police brutality, racial justice or LGBTQ+ rights.  

As Christians, we must say, "not in our name," as we continue witnessing the genocide of our Palestinian siblings. Mom and I sat down with Crystal Silva-McCormick, a member of Christians for a Free Palestine (CFFP), to discuss their mission, the urgency of unlearning Christian Zionism, and educating ourselves about apartheid in Palestine. Crystal also uplifts CFFP's upcoming Interfaith Action for Palestine, in D.C. (July 28-30, 2024) with a diverse coalition of faith partners (Jewish Voice for Peace, Mennonite Action, Hindus for Human Rights, RabbisForCeasefire, etc.) to counter Christians United for Israel’s (CUFI) annual summit.

We've missed you all! We're back with our 5th season!  Given the state of our world, Mom and I are centering the urgnecy of rooting in God's radical love; our guiding verse of scripture this season is 1 Cornithians 13:13 - "And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Throughout this episode, we discuss embodying God's call to love radically, building beloved community, connecting more deeply with God in prayer (and some ways to do this), while also centering prayer for the many who are suffering in Palestine (hostages both Israeli and Palestinian), Congo, Sudan, Tigray, and here, within the U.S. as we live through this election season. Mom and I also uplift some upcoming guests this season!

What if we broke away from fearing intuition, and began embracing it as another way God speaks to us? I recently sat down with Katrina “Trina” Dilag, founder of Radical Visionary Collective, 2x certified spiritual life coach, and social justice advocate.  We chat about healing as resistance to harmful systems, normalizing out-of-the box spirituality in churches, ditching toxic theology to develop an intimate relationship with God, and her latest offering, Intuition Activation, an 8 week course (launched June 19); it is a culmination of 20 years of experience in spirituality and healing which includes serving as a minister to youth and young adults and working within healing communities.