Found Family with MaryB. Safrit

In today’s jam-packed BONUS EPISODE, Kat Harris talks about her book, Sexless in the City, what led her to question the sexual script she’d learned in purity culture, how she learned to move from shame and fear into freedom, the difference between the desire for sex and sexual desire, and what to do with our sexual desire as people who are single. Kat Harris is the host of The Refined Collective P...

On today’s episode, I tie all the season's interviews together with a story and some insights. You'll hear about how communication and community go hand in hand, the importance of challenging our assumptions, and how the idolatry of marriage affects long-term singles in the church. If you’re a single Christian, odds are you’ve experienced any number of derpy, aka awkward and dumb, situat...

Today you get to hear from Grant Hartley. Grant is a gay celibate seminarian, an infamous workshop presenter, and a cohost for the Life on Side B podcast. He spent several years involved in teaching and discipleship through a college campus ministry, and infrequently speaks at Christian conferences on topics at the intersection of faith, sexuality, and culture. When he is not scrambling to catch u...

Today’s episode features Carla Hayden. Carla is passionate about mentoring and discipling young people – whether young in age or young in their faith – to live from their core identity. Affectionately known as “Mama Hayden” or “Clarity Carla”, she hosts virtual “Mentoring with Mama” and “Coffee with Carla” sessions where she uses her gifts of teaching, communication, coaching, and hospitality to h...

Today you get to hear from Kendall Vanderslice. Kendall is a baker and writer living in Durham, North Carolina. A graduate of Duke Divinity School, she is the author of We Will Feast: Rethinking Dinner, Worship, and the Community of God. I cannot wait for y’all to hear from Kendall. You’ll hear about dinner churches, baking and eating as an act of worship, how eating together can foster real, mess...

Today you’re going to hear from Terry Stokes. Terry is a youth pastor serving a church in central New Jersey. He is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Yale University, an avid spikeball player, and a songwriter. He is also the arts & culture editor for Earth & Altar magazine. His book of prayers, Collects for our Cultural Moment, will be published by Penguin Random House next...

This week, you’ll hear from model, event planner, and friendship enthusiast, Naili Woelper. Naili is based in Pheonix, and is currently learning what authenticity with God and self looks like. In today’s episode, you’ll hear about what helped Naili move from people-pleasing to considering what she wants, what happens when you’re randomly blunt in close relationships, and how she learned to trust G...

Abi Benke is an opera singer, actress, poet, and storyteller who finds herself very much in the middle of her artistic journey. She’s performed with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan players, and was building momentum as a working artist in NYC until 2020 when the environment shutdown both publicly and for her personally. You’ll hear more about that in our conversation, as well as what happens w...

Jonathan is a New York City-based actor who lives to bring joy and light into people’s lives that will free them from anxiety and depression. In this episode, you’ll hear to be still with God, how comedy can help with mental health, and the value of long-term friendship. You can follow Jonathan on social media @jonathanmflores. If you’d like to support the show, head over to Apple Podcasts to rate...

This week, you’re going to hear from scholar and all-around creative boss Dr. Alysia Nicole Harris. She is an award-winning poet and spoken-word artist, an educator, and a linguist. In today’s episode, Alysia and I talk about how writing builds empathy, what it means to embody our faith, and the power of being honest with yourself. You can check out more of Alysia’s work on her website, alysiaharr...

In this wrap-up episode, I’m tying together key take-aways from the nine interviews of the season with a story, some insights, and what it all means for you as a single, Christian creative. One of the most prevalent themes of this season was creative identity-how do you know when to call yourself a creative, a writer, a singer, etc? You’re going to hear about the time I completely whiffed it in fr...

Anna Broadway is a writer and editor currently based in Alaska and working on a book about singleness around the world. She spent 2018-2019 on fieldwork for the book, interviewing more than 300 Christians in almost 40 countries. She is the author of a memoir called Sexless in the City (2008), she has written for the Washington Post, TheAtlantic.com, Books and Culture, OnFaith, Paste, The Journal o...

Sylvia is a user experience designer who specializes in creating digital strategies, products, and services across multiple platforms. She is currently at Publicis Sapient, specifically working on Marcel. Sylvia is a native New Yorker who spends a lot of time hanging with her reluctant cat and thinking about the next cozy sweater she’ll buy. Sylvia’s story is so relatable to those who left college...

Stephen Simmons has been telling stories onstage, in front of a camera, and over a microphone for most of his life. He grew up in the church and always knew he wanted to use my skill set for the kingdom of God, but how exactly that would happen has transformed over the years. He currently lives in Columbia, SC, but is on a team preparing to plant a church in Charlotte, NC.Stephen and I talk about...

Kat Harris is a Brooklyn-based online educator, digital content creator, and female empowerment advocate. She loves God, a good Beyoncé dance party, and has an affinity for Ranch dressing. She has a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University and is Co-Founder of the online publication The Refined Woman and host of The Refined Collective Podcast. She has also been a full-time photograp...

Obiekwe "or-Obi" Okolo is a Nigerian American Creative Director, Photographer, home chef, and plant dad. After a degree in Architecture, and a couple of years in the industry, Obi left the built environment to pursue a broader creative practice. Including design, branding and brand strategy, photography, writing, art direction, and hospitality. Get a pen and some paper because Obi drops...

Norma Hopcraft is a published author who recently took a creative writing sabbatical year in Paris, where she wrote The Paris Writers Circle. Then she lived in Barcelona. She now lives and writes in Brooklyn. She was a newspaper and corporate journalist, then a magna cum laude graduate of New York University’s undergrad creative writing and literature program. She's been published by the lite...

Matt Lau is a graphic designer, video editor, and photographer from central New Jersey. He currently works as an e-commerce graphic designer, and volunteers as a Sunday School teacher for 11th graders. He also has a podcast called The Woes Podcast where he interviews high-school and college-aged students about their current lives and struggles. 5 things that help define his recreational life: pick...

Ashley Hong is an editor and producer based in New York. She's an assistant editor at Random House, where she edits and acquires nonfiction in the faith space. In her spare time, she enjoys reading (duh), running, and producing audio storytelling. In this episode, you'll hear Ashley's practices for overcoming self-doubt, how to ask for feedback, and how to wrestle with creative iden...

Caroline Mayer is a NYC-based interior designer focused in the hospitality industry. She recently received a degree in interior design after making a career switch a few years ago. Previously, she worked for a public relations agency in Boston. In this episode, Caroline shares about her creative journey and how she overcomes perfectionism, comparison, and burn out. You can follow Caroline on Insta...

Season 4 premieres July 7, and I want you to be ready and rearin to learn from these amazing single Christian creatives. This trailer tells you a bit about this podcast, and what you can expect in Season 4.Can't wait until next week? Check out previous episodes, or head over to marybsafrit.com to see the latest and greatest blogs for single Christian creatives. Support the show

Welcome to the series wrap-up. The last four dynamite interviews from Ian, Amber, Nina, and Petra focused on work, but there were themes of story, communication, and connection running through all of them. They shared a ton of wisdom on how their faith informs their work, so go back and listen if you haven’t yet. I’m going to shake things up a bit for this wrap-up, so I’d love your thoughts and co...

Welcome to your oh-so-special surprise interview, and the final interview of Season 3. Petra E. Lewis is a ghostwriter, ghostblogger, publishing specialist, author, and “Midwife to Visionaries” who works with CEOs, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers. Petra spent nearly two decades as a corporate communications writer and executive, primarily in financial services. After leaving Wall S...

Today you’re going to hear from Nina Irizarry. Nina is a researcher, entrepreneur, and ethnographer in the marketing, art and design space with over 10 years of experience. Her extensive portfolio includes collaborations with both established and emerging artists, as well as fashion designers. She is also creative director and founder at Du Coeur magazine. Sign up for updates at ducoeurmagazine.co...

Today you’ll hear from Amber Churn. Amber is from Atlanta; she’s a Yankees fan, a doula and a pregnancy options counselor, a women’s empowerment advocate, and the future wife of Trevor Noah. Amber shares her story of moving to New York to work in pregnancy care, and we talk about how to have conversations about sensitive topics with people of an opposing viewpoint. Just a heads up, Amber works in...