When we put our faith into action and center justice, fighting for the rights of everyone, particularly those most marginalized, we embody Christ. Mom and I caught up with Lindsey Krinks, Advocacy Director and co-founder of Open Table Nashville, a non-profit and interfaith community based in Tennessee whose work includes four core pillars: “street outreach, education on issues of homelessness, a solidarity network, and advocacy with our friends on the streets.”  In addition to her work with OTN, Lindsey is the author of Praying with our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Street which invites readers into her story as a street chaplain, activist, and nonprofit leader standing at the margins of American society, and on the front lines of social justice movements where faith means getting your hands dirty in the struggle for a better world.

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. 

The climate is in crisis, but that doesn’t mean change is impossible. I caught up with Holly Petersen, the inspiring co-founder of Christian Climate Action (CCA) about planet activism rooted in our faith. Christian Climate Action is a community of Christians supporting each other to take meaningful action for the planet. Inspired by Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, and following the example of social justice movements of the past, CCA carries out acts of public witness, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to urge those in power to make the changes needed.We discuss how Holly sees Jesus and justice as inextricably linked (shared so powerfully in this YouTube video), the many ways CCA is standing up for the planet from prayerful protests to pushing church leadership, business, and government to divest from fossil fuels.

I caught up Jennifer Magnano aka @TheBarefootPreacher - writer, doula, maternal-child health advocate, and mother living with chronic illness. We discussed the urgent work of breaking God out of boxes, healing from religious trauma, what it’s like for her to navigate chronic illness and raise two kiddos with health challenges. Jennifer honors the wild, holy work of local and global motherhood through resonant writing and speaking, companionship, resources & education. With personal experience of the chaos and complexity to exist throughout the caregiving years (in both our bodies and lives), Jennifer speaks with urgency; her goal to elicit a tender lived-response in humanity that echoes for and in our generations to come.

The ASK: Prayer + Action ministry is a space for all of us to come together, communally, at the intersections of our Christian faith and activism; here we commit to praying together (virtually on Zoom) around a specific issue each month - climate justice, anti-racism, mental health, police brutality, violence and harm against people living on the margins ( immigrants, communities of color, our LGBTQ+ siblings, etc.), and taking a concrete action in the work towards the change we wish to see realized in our world. 

We're living through intense times; each of us wading through persistent grief, whether due to mass shootings, threats to American democracy, escalating attacks on marginalized communities, or our day-to-day struggles; and it's clear that constant movement without recharging spiritually, takes its toll. In this episode, I share a short grounding meditation, designed to help center calm in the midst of chaos using an ever-present anchor God gave each of us, the breath. You'll also hear a prayer following the meditation, inspired by Jesus' challenge in Matthew 25:40 - "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done it for me."

Before Women’s Herstory Month comes to a close, we’re sharing our conversation about Spoken Black Girl magazine Issue 4: The Freedom Issue 2023. Mom and I chatted with Rowana Abbensetts Dobson, founder and author (Departure Story), along with contributing writers Lillie Watson, Reign, and Adrienne Prather. We delve into the multiple ways Black women claim our liberation (collective and individual), the daily challenges we’re navigating, why we must remain uncompromising in defining our freedom for ourselves and more! Check out the issue here. And connect with the poetry of Reign, “Free,” Adrienne Prather, “What Freedom Means to Me?,” and Lillie Watson’s essay, “Black is Free.”

We don't have to tell you the world is on fire. As folks of faith committed to making a difference, many of us find it hard to stop, and care for ourselves. It often feels like a luxury, but in the radical tradition of writer, speaker and thinker Audre Lorde, Amy Jackson, founder of The Perch Place (a soul care org. based in downtown Aurora) is calling us to water ourselves, and make space for rest so we can rise another day, working for a world where justice, mercy, and Christ's love reigns. The Perch Place has in-person and online offerings: yoga, art classes, guided meditations, workshops, retreats and more!

Mom and I caught up with a dear friend of the pod, Walt Shelton, about his latest book, Authentic Living in All Seasons: Focused, Fearless and Balanced, which calls us towards 3 elements of qualitative living: Focusing on the present moment. Not allowing fear to immobilize us: Beginning to ask, what can we do with fear? How can it fuel our actions for good? And "periodically identifying, refining, and balancing our life priorities to progressively live them as fully as possible with continual self reflection: How do I want to show up in the world, and embody Christ's heart? Am I centering kindness, justice, and actively reaching across differences?

Anti-racism is a choice to embrace discomfort, the uncertainty of how folks around you will react, and a commitment to unapologetic truth telling. Writer (founder of the blog, Some Thoughts From Your Black Friend), anti-racism activist / educator, and co-host of the  Upside Down podcast,  Patricia A. Taylor is on the journey. We have long admired her work, and this conversation is full of thoughtful insights; we delved into everything from why proximity to BIPOC communities doesn't absolve churches and individuals from doing the work of anti-racism to the danger of spiritual bypassing.

In honor of Black History month, and this year's theme of resistance, we are revisiting past conversations with guests committed to the active and everyday work of resisting racism and the false ideology of white supremacy. We sat down with Rev. Dr. Jacqueline J. Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church, a 1,300-member multi-ethnic, welcoming, and inclusive congregation in New York City (and full disclosure, my home church, loves!) for a conversation which delved into everything from antiracism work within the church to Jesus’ call for revolutionary love.

Showing up in faith and action takes consistent work. None of us will ever have it “figured out,” but commitment keeps us on the path. Mom and I caught up with Adam Hollowell and Jamie McGhee, founders of Praying with Baldwin, to discuss 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, Jamie and Adam call us to embody our activism.

What does it mean to live from the centered self in an off center world? We’re delving into this challenge in today’s chat with Keith Kristich, founder of Closer Than Breath, an online interspiritual community lifting up centering prayer and “the study of universal truths to deepen your relationship with God and develop peace within.” Keith is a commissioned teacher of Centering Prayer through Contemplative Outreach, trained with the Shalem Institute and certified Enneagram teacher through the Conscious Living Center. 

What if today’s church looked more like the early church described in the book of Acts - sharing resources, concerned not with power but being in genuine relationship with Jesus and one another? Jesus People, a church family of nearly 200 people, based in Chicago is living out this revolutionary call, and has done so since 1972. This episode is dedicated to my Dad, Rudy, a loving husband, father, and faith leader throughout his life. Dad was truly a man of deep faith with a servant’s heart. God called him home on Sun., November 27, 2022.