Pray With our Feet

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...

  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...

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. Mom and I chat with members Charlene and Tommy and discuss - - Jesus...

We're BACK with Season 4! We've missed you all. As you know, Mom and I choose a verse to guide us through each season, and this time it's wisdom from the book of Micah: "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of...

  We're living through immensely challenging times, and it often feels isolating. In this epiosde, Rev. Aurelia Dávila Pratt reminds us our faith is a source of both strength and discovery, which can lead us to connect with our divine intuition, an inner knowing that flows from God.   She is the author of the fothcoming book:  A Brown Girl's Epiphany: Reclaim Your Intuition and Step into Your Powe...

Folks with invisible disabilities are often marginalized in our churches. "We don't know where to put them," Angie Alt says. She joins us this week to discuss her journey of  living with chronic illness (3 autoimmune diseases) while also navigating her faith journey, and showing up as an activist in these challenging times. Angie is author and co-author of the award-winning books  The Alternative...

What happens to the person who is connected to God, and still struggling with their mental health?  Mom and I caught up with Dr. Anglea L. Harris, founder of Harris 316 Consulting and Services who has made it her life's work to center faith, mental health  and holisitc wellness (mind, body and spirit).  Dr. Harris is a Mental Health Advocate, Workshop Leader, Motivational Speaker, Podcast Host, an...

We're taking it back this week to a powerful conversation from Season 1 with writer, activist and faith warrior Avril Somerville . Born in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Somerville writes at the intersection of identity, community and love. She is the author of A Journey of Life on Purpose , a book of personal essays and poetry, and a forthcoming novel.  She is also an English teacher, wife and mot...

What does it mean for us to see Jesus in the faces of folks experiencing homelessness?  We chatted with writer Kevin Nye, who works in advocacy and homeless services. He is the author of the forthcoming book: Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness .  He also writes on the intersections of theology, justice and equity, and pop culture . We discuss -  - How he felt God calling...

How do visual art, contemplative prayer, social justice & children's ministry all connect? We're thirlled to chat with Sheila Whittenberg, artist and children's minister  based Germany about the rich lessons God brings forth in places we least expect. We delved into -  Sheila's faith journey: beginning with an intense spiritual experience at age 4, which left  her assured of God's presence. How sh...

In honor of Women's History month, we're  highlighting ministries run by women. Our first conversation in this series is with Latarsha Haughton, a woman of deep faith, and the founder of  Breaking the Silence Healing the Pain . Latarsha endured decades of trauma – including sexual and emotional abuse. With the help of God, prayer, and trauma-informed therapy after 30 years, she transformed pain in...

As Black History Month comes to a close, Mom and I sit down to discuss the ongoing attack on voting rights and voter suppression;  we also unpack the history of who received access to the ballot and who didn't, particularly folks in BIPOC communities. And we examine the denial of voting rights from a Biblical perspective, lifting up the prophet Isaiah's warning to the powerful rulers of his day: "...

  I caught up with Rev. Bri-Anne Swan, founder of Resistance Church , minister at Jubilee United Church , and singer / songwriter. She has a heart for all those who have been told they do not belong (check out Rev. Bri-Anne's full bio here ).  Resistance Church is a justice-focused, online ministry of Jubilee that reaches out to those for whom traditional church models are not always relevant or a...

Mom and I are back after our 2021 holiday break, and we're celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by unpacking one of King's most radical and controversial speeches  Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence, given one year before his assassination on April 4, 1968.  Focusing on three quotes (with clips), we'll explore how his prophetic words are ever-relevant, and a call for all of us to embr...

If ever there were a time to cultivate space for conversations that spark change, it is now! I chatted with Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, Executive Minister for Justice, Education & Movement at Middle Church about their latest offering - a year-long monthly discussion series, Freedom Rising Salons ,  featuring "thought leaders, organizers, poets, artists and modern prophets reflecting on crucial...

We sat down with Godfrey Molen whose passion for making a difference in the world and honoring the legacy of his late Mom, Florence , led to the founding of FLOGiving, a faith-based non-profit in our hometown of Baltimore. Florence, a woman of deep faith who valued giving back, often said "Up, up ever… down, down never," which means stay positive and leave your faith in God. Throughout this episod...

There is a growing crisis in the Christian faith today. Across the country, far too many church leaders are pledging allegiance to the false ideology of white supremacy, American nationalism, toxic greed and exclusion of folks living on the margins. We sat down with Dr. Obery Hendricks to discuss his most recent book - Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our...

We've missed you all! Mom and I are back with Season 3 of the podcast, and our guiding scripture is Mathew 25:40 (Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done it to me). We're unpacking what it means to embrace our faith in the margins - from welcoming immigrants instead of erecting barriers to helping those experiencing homelessness and poverty, while committing to anti-racism in o...

One of the most powerful ways we resist racism and de-center Whiteness as representative of all experiences is to tell our stories. Towards the end of June (Immigrant Heritage Month), I caught up with my good friend Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson , writer, founder of Spoken Black Girl and mental health advocate , about her debut novel: Departure Story , which highlights the Black immigrant experience th...

In this bonus episode, Mom and I chat with Dr. Nicole Davis about the urgency of uprooting gender discrimination within the body of Christ. Her new book - Eve, Where Are You? Confronting Toxic Practices Against the Advancement of Women , is an essential read.  Within these pages, we come to understand why many women are discouraged, emotionally absent, leaving churches, or considering giving up re...

It's Juneteenth weekend, y'all!  And Mom and I are discussing an important documentary - White Savior: Racism in the American Church (directed by  Aaron J. Christopher).  Using a combination of  interviews and research,  White Savior  traces the historic relationship between racism and American Christianity, present day segregation in churches and  and asks hard questions about racial reconciliati...

Pastor Kelsey challenges us to understand the multi-dimensional power of prayer as grounding our activist work, and offering a pathway to see God's spirit within everyone we meet. We also unpack the destructive rise of Christian nationalism, why there is such apathy and silence within churches (White evangelical congregations), and the power of art to break down barriers. She  sees creativity as d...

Far too often prayer is seen as passive. But we know, as Christians,  that speaking to God and listening to the voice of the Divine is powerful. During the month of May, we celebrate the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. We honor this time by sharing some powerful thoughts around the urgency of prayer as resistance from Rev. Fran Pratt (Ep. 3) , and Rev. Heber Brown (feat. on Ep. 4 and Ep. 5 ),  ...

Join us for this bonus episode where Mom and I delve into King's legacy of freedom fighting, and his last book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?  written in Jamaica (1967) away from the pressures of the civil rights movement.  Given all we are facing in the U.S., and around the world, we couldn't think of a better moment to release this bonus episode (originally recorded in January of...

Join us for part 2 of our discussion with Walt Shelton , writer, columnist for Austin American-Statesmen ), speaker, social justice advocate and environmental attorney. His new book T he Daily Practice of Life: Practical Reflections Towards Meaningful Living centers Christ and mindfulness, while lifting up the urgency of living out our Christian faith by making a difference in the world. Walt remi...