Season 7 - Ritualizing Relationship - looks at how we engage with one another through an intersectional feminist lens. Our guests in this season of Jesus Has Left the Building are ministers, womanists, feminists, activists, scholars, authors and liturgy-makers who have left the building too, with Marta & Mandy.
In episode 1 of Season 7, Dismantling PMS, we hear from Dr. Irie Session. Dr. Irie is the pastor of The Gathering, a Womanist church, the CEO of DreamBIG Coaching & Consulting, and the author several books. Dr. Irie shares the story of the womanist church she started, the difference between the meaning of womanist and feminist, and bits and pieces of liturgy that you are going to want to practice.
In episode 2, Working within the Fragments we hear from Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi. Dr. Kristina is the Director of the Office of Professional Formation and Assistant Professor of Leadership and Formation at Iliff School of Theology. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. Kristina shares her perspective on intersectional feminism as a professor and minister and through her various intersectional lenses.
In episode 3, Wear Your Grandmother’s Hat or Have Grandchildren? we hear from Tim Burnette, Founder/Core Curator of Way Collective, which is a community of shared practices and values. They see that these practices and values can be shared by people from diverse traditions, religious paths, and non-religious philosophies. Tim, Marta and Mandy have a vibrant conversation about both new and reformed rituals within communities.
In episode 4, Lean on Me, we talk with Dr. Traci C. West. Dr West is Associate Professor of Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School. She is the author of several books on Christian ethics. Traci is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. Dr. West asks important questions about how our institutions are helping and hindering progress in these days.
In episode 5, Mishkhah, we are joined by Kate Eaton. Kate founded her organization, Mishkah, in January 2010. Since founding Mishkhah, Kate has partnered with churches, conventions, conferences and a seminary to share her experience in creating worship environments. We talk about contemporary and traditional worship practices that can help people to connect with the divine.
In episode 6, Episode 6, My Mama's Preaching, features Rev. Melech E. M. Thomas, senior pastor, community organizer, and scholar. Melech’s recent publication, “Why I’m No Longer Interested in Being a ‘Preacher’” is inspiring. We talk about how Melech’s mother helped him to develop his philosophy of democratizing power within the church, and how that changes how you preach and lead a congregation.
We recorded Episode 7, Leaderfull: Failing into Relationship, on October 6, 2022 and it features Rev. Dr. Anthony Scott and Rev. Erin Gilmore, who were, at the time of recording, co-associate ministers of the Rocky Mountain Conference United Church of Christ. Less than a week before its scheduled airing, we received word that Anthony’s employment with the conference had been terminated. In order to release this episode with integrity, we felt compelled to address this termination , so we invited Anthony back to the conversation so that he could talk about his experience. What you will hear in this episode is first, the entirety of our initial conversation with Anthony and Erin, recorded October 6, 2022, and then a follow-up conversation with Anthony and Rev. Chris Gilmore, a representative of the Rocky Mountain Conference Anti-Racist Team, which was recorded on November 25.
Episode 8 of Ritualizing Relationships is called Unconference and it features Aaron Bailey and Jen Fisher, the co-founders of Launchpad Partners. Launchpad provides coaching, tools and resources to leaders who sense a calling to launch something new into the world. We talk about Launchpad’s most recent conference - which they call an “unconference” and the ways that we can think outside of our own boxes to find relationship and meaning with others who are stepping out of their boxes too.
In the penultimate episode of Season 7, Marta & Mandy chat about what they've learned about Ritualizing Relationship in conversation with the many and varied guests. We hear from Angie Kay Hong & Jennifer Guerra Aldana, two of the co-founders of Kinship Commons, a collective for artists of color creating experiential worship experiences. Be sure to listen to the end for a sneak peek of our final episode with Dr. Christena Cleveland.
Our final episode of Season 7, I’m Too Sacred for That, features Dr. Christena Cleveland. Christena Cleveland Ph.D. is a social psychologist, public theologian, author, and activist.
A weaver of Black liberation and the sacred feminine, Dr. Cleveland integrates psychology, theology, storytelling, and art to stimulate our spiritual imaginations. She recently completed her third full-length book, God is a Black Woman, which details her 400-mile walking pilgrimage across central France in search of ancient Black Madonna statues, and examines the relationship among race, gender, and cultural perceptions of the Divine.
This episode is a gift to the Jesus Has Left the Building community, as Christena reminds us in this conversation that we are allowed, even called, find ourselves in the divine. We’re grateful for this perfect finale that calls us into relationship with ourselves, our neighbors and with God as we continue to think about Ritualizing Relationships.
Season 7 - Ritualizing Relationship
Episodes drop weekly through December 2022