Above The Noise: Faith; Race; Reconciliation.

Send us a Text Message about the podcast In this episode, my son Ryan joins me to talk about his unique and multicultural life. Growing up as the son of a Barbadian father and Bengali (Bangladeshi ) mother, he was surrounded by people from all walks of life, nationalities, ethnicities, and languages and was traveling to other countries at a young age. After meeting and marrying Marie, he was shock...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Danielle and I complete our conversation on the emotional struggle of the racial divide created in her family when her daughter married our son.  Art can illustrate life and her book, "Still Time on Pye Pond" , tells her story in stunning images. Danielle also gives her suggestions for families struggling with similar situations and reminds us tha...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast In her book, Still Time on Pye Pond, author Danielle Fontaine tells the story of how she has dealt with the racial rift in our family that developed when her daughter married our son. The resulting inter-racial union brought out a demonstration of racism that shocked the entire family. Danielle tells how she found voice in her photographs and encaustic artw...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast On March 7, 2021, Oprah Winfrey televised an interview with Megan Markle and Prince Harry.  Much of the world was shocked to hear the allegations of racism within the House of Windsor. This episode examines the history of British royalty and the Church of England in empire building, where the Queen is the head of both institutions. You can draw your own con...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Loving our neighbor as ourselves is probably one of the most difficult tasks in life and yet it is critical to having a kind, peaceful and just world. Who does this task apply to? I believe that it applies to everyone regardless of faith, origin, ethnicity, or peculiarity. Try it out and see what happens in the places where you live, work, and worship. Supp...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast What if the greatest test of being is a person of faith is how we live out the question "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Not just to love our neighbor but to love 'as ourselves'. These two words change it all. To love our neighbor as ourselves means that...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast During this unprecedented time in our history, Chitra leads World Relief Seattle through the social, political, and economic challenges to continue to welcome the world to the United States and to find innovative resources to help them navigate their way to independence and sustainability.  World Relief has many ways that you can get involved and this episo...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Chitra Hanstad is the Executive Director of World Relief  Seattle, however, her journey to this place serves as a timely reminder that our neighborhood is global. From India to the United States, back to India, around the world, and again in the United States her service to humanity spans the globe and her faith is lived out wherever she goes.  World Relief...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast In part 2 of my interview, Dave discusses some of his successes while working across differences and keeping our focus on why we are serving others. Dave discusses successes in protecting youth in police custody, setting up programs to help in early childhood education, bridging the education gap in the transition from school to college/community college, w...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast This is the second in the series: Are We Not One?  Conversations on faith, race, and reconciliation. The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic helped to expose some of the disparities that people of color and black people still face in this part of the twenty-first century. Disparities in education persist: access; affordability; college preparedness; vocatio...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Political leadership in today's environment demands more of the culturally intelligent leader than who you know. It requires an everchanging knowledge of your constituents and their needs and values especially when you lead in one of the most diverse regions in the nation. Councilman Dave Upthegrove is one of those leaders who is making a difference in...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Davis he teaches the application of living a life of faith and reconciliation. He addresses both clergy and laity on how we can demonstrate the love we speak about. He gives specific actions to get involved and stay involved. He addresses people of color and white people on current issues facing our world. He addresses...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Not many of us get to meet and to be mentored by a true civil rights leader. Rev. Dr. France Davis has lived his life on the front lines of the struggle for racial justice: from growing up in the segregated South of the US to meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, marching on Washington and Selma, AL, serving on the Board of Pardons and protesting the death pe...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Some people use Romans 13 as a means to justify following unjust and immoral laws and political persuasions. I dispute that interpretation in this short episode. There are many places where strict interpretation without biblical continuity would lead to contradictions and injustice.  Instagram: abovethenoise_gm Facebook: Above The Noise @abovethenoise24 abo...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Chief Rafael Padilla is the police chief of Kent, WA, the 10th most diverse city in the United States. We discuss his journey of faith and the challenges of leading a police department in the present climate of racial unrest and calls for reforms in modern policing.  He discusses his efforts to establish accountability, credibility, and performance standard...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Miss Phiona Mutesi is called, The Queen of Katwe . However, her life has not been one of royalty, splendor, and riches.  Coming from the despair of poverty and living on the streets, she became a national chess champion of Uganda and a world-class chess player. A book was written about her and Disney produced a movie by the same title, The Queen of Katwe. T...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Are We Not One?-Conversations on Racial Reconciliation was a Town Hall held for the City of Kent, WA on September 19, 2020. The town hall was hosted by, and held at Hillside Church Kent and included Mayor Dana Ralph, Police Chief Padilla, and Councilmember Brenda Fincher as well as leaders in the faith community, native American, and the non-profit communit...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Are We Not One?-Conversations on Racial Reconciliation was a Town Hall held for the City of Kent, WA on September 19, 2020. The town hall was hosted by, and held at Hillside Church Kent and included Mayor Dana Ralph, Police Chief Padilla, and Councilmember Brenda Fincher as well as leaders in the faith community, native American, and the non-profit communit...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast If we are going to continue to make positive progress in embracing racial reconciliation we need to continue having conversations personally and in community. These conversations will not be easy but they are worth it. In this episode, I give some tools and statistics that you can use to help foster conversations and to help counter the objections that some...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Zeytun Ahmed is a young woman who chooses to live out her faith in the western world where sometimes wearing a hijab causes some people to resort to stereotypes. Having lived in a refugee camp, she is now a student at the University of Washington and impacting lives with her story, her faith, and her determination to leave her imprint on this world. Zeytun...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Dr. Sims discusses the system of Courageous Conversations to help address issues of faith and race. He gives examples of his work and his encounters in these areas including his work with faith leaders. He gives reasons for why we must continue this work in the community, especially in faith communities. Support the show #abovethenoise24 # faith #reconcilia...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Despite earning a Ph. D., becoming a psychologist, pastor, and businessman none of these accomplishments has shielded Dr. Sims from the realities of being a black male in the United States of America even among people of faith. In part 1 we hear his story from being raised in Detroit, MI to being a college football player, becoming a pastor of a multicultur...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Another senseless death. Another young black man killed and law enforcement seems incapable of doing their job. When will it stop? This is my stand. Enough! Support the show #abovethenoise24 # faith #reconciliation #race #racialreconciliation #compassion We appreciate your support: Buy Me A Coffee Stay in touch: Email us at: abovethenoise24@gmail.com Facebo...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast Many organizations take the time to create and document their statements and policies against racial and social injustice and the need for reconciliation. As good and bold as this is, does writing it down alone bring about the change we need? This episode calls for action by developing and executing an implementation plan with clear measures of accountabili...

Send us a Text Message about the podcast This is the debut episode of Above The Noise. I address why this podcast is needed and invite you to join the discussion. We look at how challenges of faith and race have not been reconciled over the ages and how the vestiges of this failure continue to haunt us. I then discuss how people of faith need to show up and be leaders rather than followers in demo...