The Faithful Feminists Podcast

This week, join Elise for a solo episode on the book of Deuteronomy. Before getting to the promised land, this book is a final call to remember where we have been and what we have learned. We cover the pains of war and violence, the joys of expansive gender, and the peace that comes from trusting ourselves. For a full transcript, visit us at thefaithfulfeminists.com

In this bonus episode, join us as we chat with our dear friend Kathryn Knight Sonntag about ecofeminism, elder trees, and her new book "The Mother Tree."

 "The manual highlights its chosen chapters with headings like “Speaking against the Lord’s prophet offends the Lord,” and “Moses was very meek.” And while this is all fine and well when we only read 9 cherry-picked chapters from the book of Numbers, these headings only make sense in context of those chapters and not the rest of the book. There are more women named in the book of Numbers besides M...

In this week's episode, we undertake the impossible task of exploring the entire book of Leviticus. Don't be intimidated: this book is all about guidelines for healthy communities, focused on the preservation of physical, spiritual, and communal wellness. How does menstruation, childbirth, sex work, and homophobia fit in to this conversation? Listen and find out! The transcript for this episode ca...

This week, join us for an episode celebrating art, ritual, and grappling with a wrathful God who is willing to repent. Full transcript coming soon on our website at thefaithfulfeminists.com

For those who are turning to the text this week, you will find that the CFM suggests a focus on the structuring of hierarchies in community and the preparation of Moses to receive the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai. Its only three chapters, which is a relatively short selection. While these chapters have feminist implications, our creative time and efforts have been spent creating both the Holy We...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are interpreted to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Easter Sunday as Elise shares a short sermon on hope. Please consider joining us in donat...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are interpreted to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest.   Join us for Holy Saturday as Channing shares her poem, "Saturday Psalm." Please consider joining us...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Good Friday as Elise shares a short sermon. Please consider joining us in donating to Mass L...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest.   Join us for Holy Thursday, a day which saw the Last Supper, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, and the ni...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Spy Wednesday as Elise shares a short sermon. Please consider joining us in donating to NDN...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Holy Tuesday as Elise shares a short sermon and consider joining us in donating to Black Pho...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Monday at the Temple as Channing reads her poem, "Consecration," and consider joining us in...

For Holy Week 2022, we felt called to explore restorative reinterpretations of familiar Easter stories. These renditions are intended to inspire thoughtful consideration and action in support of marginalized communities engaged in the hallowed work of transformative action and righteous unrest. Join us for Palm Sunday as Channing reads her poem, "Jesus Said Hello," and consider joining us in donat...

Join us for another 2 weeks in one episode! Sorry its almost two in a row. One of the commitments we made to each other and to our listeners at the beginning of the year was to be more intentional in building in pleasure, play, and rest into the time around the podcast.  One of us will be out of town on a family trip and one of us will be celebrating a birthday and planting a garden. We appreciate...

Join us as we explore the stories of the badass women which open the book of Exodus. We celebrate the bravery and cleverness of Puah & Shiprah, the midwives who defied a king; the faith of Jochebed which protected Moses; the pharaoh's daughter who adopted the Israelite struggle as her own; and Zipporah, a woman of action and strength. Find the transcript for this week's episode on www.thefaithfulf...

Content warning: sexual assault and rape In this episode, we're covering two weeks worth of content! From the trickster Tamar, to Joseph's assault by Potiphar's wife, and to the magical transformation of Asenath, this episode is packed with powerful messages of resistance and difficult conversations about survivors of sexual assault.  Full transcript online at thefaithfulfeminists.com

This week, we encounter not one, not two, but more than six women in the text. The Come Follow Me manual mentions only one and instead primarily focuses on the experiences of men for this week's chapters. Additionally, this is the first time this year that the manual skips chapters in Genesis, ignoring two (albeit tricky) chapters which contain significant narratives for women and are of special i...

This week, we unpack the well-loved story of Rebekah. What's hidden beneath the surface? We find the story of a woman supported by other women, someone who helps heal generational trauma, and who uses her power to act as a crucial trickster in these chapters.  For a full transcript, visit us at thefaithfulfeminists.com

*Content Warning for biblical references of rape and childhood sexual abuse* In this week's episode, we push back on the traditional interpretation of the sin of Sodom & Gomorrah as homosexuality and focus on the textually supported alternative interpretation of the lack of hospitality and care causing Sodom's destruction. We take a closer look at the complex and traumatic story of Lot's daughters...

In this week's episode, we encounter Hagar and Sarah. Because the story of Hagar is a central and honored text in womanist theology, we share the voices of womanist theologians as they have been writing, questioning, exploring, and interpreting this story long before us. Sometimes the best interpretation we can offer, especially as white women who hold privilege, is one that steps aside and honors...

In this episode, we explore the story of the Great Flood and the Ark in Genesis through the perspective of Noah's unnamed wife. We try to imagine her - her name, what life was like before the flood and her grief on the ark - and what wisdom her story can offer us as we face the realities of climate crisis. We try to tread this story tenderly as it is one that asked great sadness and wrestling from...

In this episode, we explore the Zion story of Enoch in Moses 7 and the contradictions and difficulties of this chapter. We cover themes of compassion and empathy, racism, ecofeminism, and subtle influences on the text. Everyone cries in this chapter - God, Enoch, the Earth. Find the show notes and transcript for this episode at www.thefaithfulfeminists.com

This week, we discuss the expanded story of Enoch. While the people call him strange and wild, we find his connection to his body, the earth, and the divine quite transformative. Join us for midrash, vulnerability, bodies, and a dash of poetry. For a full transcript, visit us online at thefaithfulfeminists.com

Join us this week as we explore Genesis 3-4, which covers the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the story of Cain and Abel. We re-imagine the bravery of Eve and her friendship with a character from the midrash tradition prior to the fall, and her choice to introduce death into creation. We consider the justice and mercy of God in Cain's choice to murder his brother, and what it mean...