Collared Chicks

Lindsey Baynham is now the Associate Director of Call, Candidacy, and Discernment for the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, after having served in the local church in Northern Virginia and in campus ministry. As a 31 year old, bi-racial clergy woman, Lindsey is noticing the expectations and boxes people place upon and around her, and in a denomination on the verge of shutdown, she is learning to navigate, reframe, and redeem the hierarchies, power, privilege, competition, and perfection in the midst of it all.

Christy Thomas, former academic dean, retired United Methodist pastor in North Texas, journalist, author, contributor at Patheos as the Thoughtful Pastor, and newly wed, talks about learning to love people over politics and ideology. Christy shares her story of falling in love with the wrong kind of person and now living in a house divided as a progressive Christian writer married to a conservative Republican during the most contentious election of her lifetime. She also examines the brokenness in the United Methodist Church, shares her take on it's future, and suggests that what the United Methodist Church needs right now more than anything else is her own Trump.

Lucretia Berry, founder of Brownicity: The Art & Beauty of Living & Loving Beyond Race, a family-focused, grass roots initiative dedicated to advocacy, education and support for racial healing and ant-iracism, shares about her stories of faith and family in loving and leading beyond and across the divide of race. Her greatest gift is that of teaching, and she passionately, practically, and prophetically teaches us how to lead the church into multi-ethnic healing, hope, and ministry.

Lucretia authored, "What LIES Between Us: Fostering First Steps Towards Racial Healing Journal & Guide," designed specifically for ‘beginners’ to race conversations. The work she has done to help adults navigate skin tone and race conversations with children has earned Lucretia the reputation of being a ‘life-giving’ and ‘grace-filled’ facilitator. Lucretia earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and MA in English from Iowa State University, and her BA from South Carolina State University. She is a wife, a mother of three girls, and former college professor, who is passionate about helping people overcome boundaries through spiritual and social consciousness. Watch her most recent TedTalk for more information on how to lead children through conversations about race.

Join Michelle and Monica and their guest, the Rev. Mandy Smith, who is the lead pastor at University Christian Church in Ohio, a regular contributor for Missio Alliance and Christianity Today, and the author of "Making a Mess and Meeting God" and "The Vulnerable Pastor". Mandy was the first lead female pastor in her denominational connection, and she is one of the leading voices in the missional church movement. Mandy speaks about vulnerability, leading through inner peace and quiet spirit in the midst of cultural assumptions and expectations about women in leadership, and her hope for the future of the church.

Michelle and Monica interview Rev. Chenda Innis Lee, a United Methodist clergy woman from Liberia West Africa who currently serves at Annandale UMC in Alexandria, Virginia. Chenda is a mother of four girls. Chenda talks about her calling as an African woman, shares stories about her difficulty and yet resolve to stand firm in her convictions, and challenges us to see #blacklivesmatter as a prayer, not a threat.

Welcome to the Collared Chick Podcast! Monica and Michelle laugh about arbitrary deadlines, share why they are starting this podcast, dig into their enneagram types, and try to tease out their excellence.