Coffeepot Fellowship Podcast

Colber Prosper and I met at the inception of the Wild Goose Festival's LEAD NOW! program in 2015. We both returned as contributors in 2016. LEAD NOW! applied his teaching and leadership skills while I joined the first-ever GooseCast, a stage dedicated to podcasters. Colber is an author and the founder of Prosper & Partners.

Colber's first book, No Entry: Examining the Powers that Undermine Our Full Potential, is a unique breakthrough book. It is accessible like Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and has substance like The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. First, as any work of art it draws from unique combinations of sources. It synthesizes material and ideas from many wide-ranging sources, including hard sciences, music, poetry, social sciences and life experience. Second, No Entry is useful! Concepts discussed have lists, steps, or categories. You can identify what you have or what's missing in your circumstance and move to affect change in your life! And if you ever find yourself without clear direction then you can contact the team at Prosper & Partners!

A third uniqueness is the code switching that takes place. By "code switching" I mean changing dialects or registers, or, in the extreme, actually changing languages. To a reader, like myself, who only knows "proper English" to be "the Queen's English," all of the content is still completely accessible. A reader might, again like myself, initially perceive there to be typos or grammatical errors. The error, however, is with the reader. The purpose of Colber's code switching in No Entry is to remain authentic to as many parts of himself as possible in the span of a short book. In our interview he says, "We need to start being able to share our full selves and not pieces of ourselves."

Beyond the book, Colber is the founder and senior consultant for Prosper & Partners, an international consulting firm that specializes in professional and organizational development. He is an innovative and compassionate leader who has been recognized for his ability to educate youth and adult professionals on various topics. Colber is an experienced facilitator that has led a plethora of presentations and workshops. He has done extensive research on issues of inclusion, social justice, organizational change, middle management and higher education. He has also provided trainings in coalition building, substance abuse prevention and organizational development around the world in places such as Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Cape Town, South Africa, Nairobi, Kenya and several more. His extensive background in strategic planning and implementation has made him an asset to various higher educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Finally, Colber teaches at the University of the District of Columbia where his research is being used to increase student engagement.

Links:

No Entry: Examining the Powers that Undermine Our Full Potential by Colber Prosper

Prosper & Partners

Twitter: @ColberProsper

United Faith Leaders

Wild Goose Festival

LEAD NOW Cohort at the Wild Goose

University of the District of Columbia

According to Mr. Rogers, Leslie Boyd has a very important job - telling the truth. "Truth-telling is a ministry and it's a joy to be able to do it," Leslie says. And Mr. Rogers is not the only famous reverend to encourage Leslie's truth-telling. Rev. Dr. William Barber, II seems to lend a microphone to Leslie every chance he gets. To learn more of Leslie's story after this interview, we recommend her blog (below) and her book, Life o' Mike.

I was happy to have Leslie share about the joy that she experiences while holding politicians accountable. Many Americans, while we're learning quickly, don't really know the experience of rallies, protests, and marches. Americans like me had fallen asleep at the switch and thought the ugly parts of American history were in our rear-view mirror. Welcome to whiplash. But it doesn't have to be 100 percent sad 100 percent of the time when it comes to protesting. Leslie's experience has been one of camaraderie and sisterhood/brotherhood. When they're together about Good Work and fighting for the wellness of future souls, they feel good and it shows. Their good feelings take nothing away from the seriousness of their messages. And it is very clear that the politicians that these protesters are as serious as anyone comes.

Always look on the bright side of life sub english spanish

When we asked Leslie what she wanted to promote she said, "Honesty." On one hand, it is quite discouraging that this needs to be promoted. On the other hand, it' inspiring to see individuals banding together to fight for honesty and accountability from our leaders. The pain, devastation and death occurring because of selfishness and short-sightedness at the top are unnecessary. There's enough pain, devastation, and death that are outside of human control but the ability to be honest is entirely within our ability! Our democracy needs to change so that it is harder for incumbents to make careers out of disgraceful work.

Leslie Boyd did go on to add "activism" to what she wants to promote. She said, "do something; you need to be active in this life." She suggested some ways and places everyone can actively live out the kindness to which they feel called.

And then we come full circle, back to Mr. Rogers, and ask, "Won't you be mine, won't you be mine, won't you be ... my neighbor?"

Links:

Sponsor: United Faith Leaders

Twitter: @leftyletters1

Life o' Mike by Leslie Boyd

lettersfromtheleft.com

Letters from the Left on FB

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

Congressman Heath Shuler

Governor Pat McCrory

North Carolina NAACP

Historic Thousands on Jone's St (HKonJ) People's Assembly Coalition

Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Spanish subtitles)

The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement Is Overcoming the Politics of Division and Fear by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II

Rev. Dr. Mark Achtemeier is a minister, author and theologian of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is well known for his biblical research regarding same-sex marriage and having argued just as passionately against same-sex marriage as he argues for it today. This son to prestigious old and new testament seminary professors presents his case in The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage.

Many of our listeners know that I work at Union Presbyterian Seminary's Morton Library. More specifically, I work in the Instructional Resource Center where I stay busy supporting seminarians, faculty, and other patrons in the Digital Learning Lab and filling interlibrary loan requests (ILL). It is in the ILL capacity that the Achtemeier name regularly crosses my path. Requests from other schools all around the country want to borrow books, audio cassettes (yes, audio cassettes), and CD's by Paul, Elizabeth and Mark Achtemeier. The interesting thing to me was paying attention to the titles of their works. If these people were, in fact, related to each other then it seemed to me that they might not get along very well! The audio cassette titles often implicated conservative messages while there were many requests for Mark's above mentioned book. Nah, they couldn't be related. It had to be coincidence.

Then after interviewing Tony Campolo and Bart Campolo I heard about several iconic Christian leaders who's children were doing ... dissimilar, but related ministries. Some of you have listened to our interview with the Campolo's or Frank Schaefer. (Check out the movie about Frank.) So I was very grateful that Mark Achtemeier was willing to begin a relationship with me and the Coffeepot Fellowship Podcast.

These days the United States is extremely uneasy with the occupant of the White House. Americans, like myself, who have taken far too much for granted, find our nation in jeopardy. The President is undermining legitimate news agencies that cite their sources while giving credence to farcical conspiracy groups and tabloids. As we learn more and more about then-candidate Trump and now President Trump's connections with the Russian government, we wonder how to remove the cancer before it handicaps our country and costs innumerable lives here and abroad. We're all asking ourselves what we can do to protect our country and our neighbors, American and otherwise, within our borders and beyond.

As an example, January 29th on Facebook there's a picture of a bundled up Mark in a crowd holding up a sign - the poster board is white, the handwriting is in all caps, black marker, except one word. It reads, "Christians oppose the ban!" The word 'oppose' is written in red. The caption reads as follows:

"Places I never thought I'd be...

"I have till now resisted passing impulses to join Facebook. But in the past 24 hours the news has been of the immigration ban, and detentions of legal residents without charges or access to lawyers, and airport protests, and Customs and Border Patrol agents defying orders of Federal judges.

"At church today I learned about a hastily-organized protest rally coming together in downtown Dubuque this afternoon. I bought poster board and markers on my way home from worship and have been out this afternoon in 15 degree wind-chills marching along downtown streets, chanting in front of our local congressman's office, and holding my home-made sign in the air.

"I can't afford to rely just on word-of-mouth to learn about these things anymore, so here. I am. Hello world.

Do you understand? People are doing things they've never done before because we're willing to do whatever it takes for America to be its best self, for humanity to be its best self.

Links:

The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage, New Edition with Study Guide (2015)

Jesus' Answer to President Trump's Immigration Ban

Mark in the Huffington Post (2011-present)

First Presbyterian Church Dubuque

NY Times

Subscribe to NY Times

Elizabeth Achtemeier (Mark's mother)

Paul Achtemeier (Mark's father)

Tony Campolo Interview

Bart Campolo Interview

AmyBeth Willis is the Director of Children and Youth at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona and an organizer with the national sanctuary movement. AmyBeth comes to the sanctuary movement as an ally and to this podcast with lots of wisdom.

AmyBeth and I met at an event at Richmond Hill organized by Lana Heath de Martínez and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. AmyBeth was one of the leaders throughout the several-day event. Lana especially wanted me to attend an event with about 15 student-leaders pursuing U.S. citizenship. They were part of a the Latino Leadership Institute with Father Jack Podsiadlo. I was touched very deeply by these students, their hard work, and their desire to liberate other groups of people. They understood the largest vision of the American Dream. They deserve to be here more than I do, that's for sure.

It was great to initially meet AmyBeth that night and to connect with her again in 2017 in this interview. Between our original meeting and the interview I've asked Lana repeatedly how I can help advocate for the Latinx communities, immigrant communities, and refugee communities. Repeatedly, Lana would reply, "Have you talked to AmyBeth yet?"

There are several things to learn about Lana asking me repeatedly. First, most obviously, AmyBeth has knowledge, stories, and expertise to be shared with me and all of you. Second, Lana understands the importance of stories being shared.

AmyBeth quotes Lilla Watson, who refuses to take credit for words from her community, "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up in mine, then let us work together." AmyBeth knows that our own salvation comes by putting ourselves at risk and standing alongside the marginalized. In the words of American Jewish poet, Emma Lazarus, "Until we are all free, we are none of us free." We know Martin Luther King Jr. said, "no one is free until we are all free" and that this principle is fundamental to Latin American Liberation Theology. Thank you to AmyBeth Willis for being the source of so much courage, knowledge, and inspiration.

Links:

Southside Presbyterian Church

Lilla Watson

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (Learn. Pray. Act.)

Kim Bobo, Exec. Dir. VICPP

Interview with Lana Heath de Martínez

Richmond Hill

Emory University

Sanctuary Not Deportation

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg

Latino Leadership Institute, Sacred Heart Center

United Faith Leaders

Katie Hays and I had church. Church happened. And it's happening now, as you read these words. And it will happen again when you hit 'play.' Katie told us about church moments beyond the church hour and walls. She told us about the random moment when a cell phone interruption identified church happening in her living room. Katie didn't recognize church happening then but she recognized it in our podcast. We recognized our church journey as threaded from a moment when she had church in the 'gayborhood.' And that thread goes back and back and back. Join us today as we pick up the thread and participate in church, in whatever form it is present to you, and move onward with courage.

After many years in ministry, I don't think Katie Hays wants anyone rattling off her titles, schools and degrees. (Katie, just avert your eyes and ears for a moment. I'm sorry.) The Rev. Dr. Katie Hays has been to MIT, Princeton, Yale, has a lifetime in the Church, about 20 years in traditional ministry, lives in Texas and jumped ship from traditional ministry about 3 years ago. Now she's planted a church in Mansfield, TX ... where there are plenty of churches.

I'm really guessing about how she feels about being in the spotlight. If she wanted to elevate herself I'm guessing she would have remembered to tell me she's got a doctoral degree! I barely discovered it on my own before publishing the episode, thanks to someone's 5-star review on iTunes and an interview with the Pension Fund of the Christian Church.

I'm just going to share some of the items published by Galileo Church and let you marry those with what she says in the interview to create your experience of Katie. I believe Katie is truly being a conduit of both her community and God. All her personal God-given gifts are being applied, her math/science/engineering, her artistic creativity, her courage, her writing and her interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. But while all that is happening her ego and self are laid low in service and kindness to a much greater happening. That's just me. Feel free to tell me what you see under this episode's posting on The Coffeepot Fellowship Facebook Page.

On Twitter (@Galileo_Church), Galileo Church describes itself like this:

A quirky, LGBTQ+friendly church seeking spiritual refugees in Mansfield, Texas. Who would Jesus love?

On Facebook they write:

Galileo Church has four missional priorities. (In other words, what do believe God is calling us to DO?)

1. We do JUSTICE for LGBTQ people.

2. We do KINDNESS for people with mental illness or in emotional distress, and we welcome the non-neurotypical.

3. We do BEAUTY for our God-Who-Is-Beautiful.

4. We do RELATIONSHIP, for real, no bullshit, ever.

Posts on our page almost always reflect our commitment to these priorities. If they don't, please call us on it.

Mission Statement on Facebook:

Galileo Church exists to shelter spiritual refugees, rally spiritual health for all who come, and fortify every tender soul with strength to follow Jesus into a life of world-changing service.

"Spiritual refugees" are any for whom "church" has become painful, exclusive, boring, or irrelevant. If you're queer, doubtful, blue, science-y, skeptical, bruised... we are searching for you.

Millenials (born 1980-2000) are Galileo's particular focus, but all are welcome, including our LGBTQ neighbors.

"A bruised reed [we] will not break, and a dimly burning wick [we] will not quench; [we] will faithfully bring forth justice." (Isaiah 42:3, modified)

In the end Katie and I agreed to share the good we're doing to keep the good going on. And so we coined the pay-it-forward notion "the good goes on." Feel free to greet the souls you meet with this greeting, "the good goes on." :) What are you doing to improve the world? You are keeping the good going.

Links:

That's What She Said (Podcast on iTunes)

No H8 Campaign

Broken Stalks: Galileo Church Intro Video

Indigo Girls: Galileo Video

Another interview of Katie

United Faith Leaders

As an expert on immigration, Dr. Ellin Jimmerson's conversation was a fun, meaningful, and timely. Jimmerson's movie, The Second Cooler, narrated by Martin Sheen, was released in 2013. It has won many awards and been screened at many universities, fund raisers, theaters, and other venues across the US. While we were conducting our interview rallies, marches and protests were happening all across the United States and the world in response to Donald Trump's two-day old executive order banning Muslims and refugees.

The Second Cooler is a documentary about illegal migration shot primarily in Alabama, Arizona, and Mexico. The premise is that Arizona is the new Alabama—the epicenter of an intense struggle for migrant justice. The documentary brings basic migration issues into focus. Those issues include the impact of free trade agreements on migration, the lack of a legal way for poor Latin Americans to come to the United States, the inherent abuses of the guest worker program, the fact that many migrants are indigenous people, anti-immigrant politics in Alabama, the thousands of migrant deaths at the border, and an escalating ideology of the border.

Ellin Jimmerson has a Masters in Southern History from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, a Ph. D. in 20th Century United States History from the University of Houston, Texas, and a Masters in Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School with a concentration in Latin American liberation theology. She is an ordained Baptist minister.

Ellin points out in the interview that the current executive order did not come out of nowhere just because of Donald Trump. President Obama had earned the moniker Deporter-in-Chief for deporting three million people and the problems certainly predated President Obama.

Ellin is the author of numerous articles, essays, and speeches. She writes for publication on various areas of history and religion. She has been interviewed on public, religious, and other radio stations and in podcasts around the US on the subject of immigration.

Ellin cautions us of the phrase comprehensive immigration reform "because it means anything anyone wants it to mean." She assures us it will keep coming up. She has great recommendations about some of the most important and urgent things we can do. My first suggestion is this, watch the Second Cooler. You can download it right now (or order it).

Jimmerson's academic speciality is the intersection of US history, Latin American history, and Christianity. She has spoken to academic and non-academic audiences on liberation theology in the United States and Mexico.

An ordained Baptist minister, she was Minister to the Community at Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, USA from 2008-2015. Because her parents were Civil Rights Movement activists during the 1950s and 1960s in Albany, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama, she cut her teeth on social justice issues.

You can find out more about Ellin Jimmerson and The Second Cooler at thesecondcooler.com or

LinkedIn: Ellin Jimmerson

Facebook: Ellin Jimmerson

Facebook: The Second Cooler Fan Page

Twitter: @EllinJimmerson

Links:

The Second Cooler

Before Night Falls by Reinaldo Arenas

United Church of Christ (UCC)

United Faith Leaders

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962 Movie)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1960 Book)

Experience New York City, The United Nations, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, immigration, and 9/11/2001 through the lens of Lenka Opalena. She is from the former Czechoslovakia and is at the tail end of her Master of Divinity program at UTS in NYC. Acquainted rebellion in her own maturation, Lenka walks with others surviving post-traumatic stress disorder and addictions.

I was originally excited to talk with Lenka because of her combined life in seminary and life in the United Nations. Little did I know that this guest of the Coffeepot Fellowship is a partner in a New York City coffee shop called Ost Cafe! "Lenka, how do you like your coffee?" could have been the first and last question I needed to ask in this entire episode.

Lenka happiest ministry story was of a 15-year old addict who evolved into an 18-year old guru. Lenka admitted that working with addicts is very difficult, especially because relapse is part of recovery. Yet while Lenka told this story I could not help being reminded of a passage from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 6 verses 32 and 33, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same." I'm not sure that doing good for the sake of credit makes much sense to me. Realizing, however, that we are called to love not only those who are easy to love (is there such thing?), but everyone, is something that should settle deep into each of us. The gospel according to Lenka. Amen.

As humble as Lenka is, I have no doubt that you can ask this wise guest questions on a vast range of topics and her global, seminarian, school-of-hard-knocks wisdom will make the asking worthwhile. If you're in NYC, show up at Ost Cafe and tell her you are there for her expert coffee advice and you know her from The Coffeepot Fellowship Podcast with Jay McNeal. When you do you will have made the world a much closer community.

In the meantime, may we all destigmatize suffering and pray for one another. Just like 9/11, we're all truly in this together.

http://coffeepotfellowship.com/lenka/

This special episode preceded the special election that took place January 10th, 2017 for a State Senate seat in Virginia. Our special guest is Delegate Jennifer McClellan! This is a special election to fill a vacancy created by Donald McEachin who won a seat in the U.S. Congress November 8th. Please join us on this episode and, more importantly, join me as I look forward to watching Jennifer McClellan rise January 10th, 2017 and for decades to come. See pics, links, notes and more at The Coffeepot Fellowship.

Sarah Stonesifer is the Digital Missioner and Learning Lab Coordinator at Virginia Theological Seminary. Maybe you'll want to bring Sarah and a VTS e-Formation boot camp to you. She is also the youngest president ever elected to the Episcopal Diocese of Washington Standing Committee! In this episode you'll learn what these things are and maybe glean some wisdom from the wonderful journey Sarah is taking. Catch her show notes here!