In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Charline Manuel, shares about the prevalence of women’s leadership in the Unity Church, how she addresses racism and why music is so important for Black religious folk.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Books by Charline Manuel:

Books available here: https://amazon.com/author/charline

Guest Information:

Charline Manuel is an inspirational Author, Speaker, Board Consultant and Unity Minister of thirty years. In her work she has encouraged small and large audiences nationally and internationally through her writings, keynote messages, workshops, seminars, and retreats. Charline has been active in international initiatives bringing water to villages in Africa, building a school in Haiti, and peace immersion in Costa Rica. She served as a church pastor for twenty-two years before moving into training church leaders and their boards to be more effective leaders. Charline served on the Board of Directors of Unity World Headquarters and was the first person of color to serve as Chair of the board in the organization’s 130-year history. Charline currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of World’s Religions headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. She is a faculty instructor of the Unity Urban Ministerial School helping to develop spiritual leaders for ministry since 2012. Charline is the author of nine books including titles: Pray Up Your Life and The Metaphysics of Shoes, Boardroom Culture Shock and The Power of One Accord: 7 Keys to Harnessing Synergy in the Boardroom. However, if you ask Charline of all her books which is closest to her heart she will tell you children’s book, Do Puppies Pray? Written with her two grandchildren in mind. She is a proud mother and grandmother, making her home just outside of Orlando, Florida.

https://charlinemanuel.com/

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Charline Manuel, shares how she searched for answers to her questions, found Unity Church and ensured that New Thought religions are included in global interfaith communities.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Books by Charline Manuel:

Books available here: https://amazon.com/author/charline

Guest Information:

Charline Manuel is an inspirational Author, Speaker, Board Consultant and Unity Minister of thirty years. In her work she has encouraged small and large audiences nationally and internationally through her writings, keynote messages, workshops, seminars, and retreats. Charline has been active in international initiatives bringing water to villages in Africa, building a school in Haiti, and peace immersion in Costa Rica. She served as a church pastor for twenty-two years before moving into training church leaders and their boards to be more effective leaders. Charline served on the Board of Directors of Unity World Headquarters and was the first person of color to serve as Chair of the board in the organization’s 130-year history. Charline currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of World’s Religions headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. She is a faculty instructor of the Unity Urban Ministerial School helping to develop spiritual leaders for ministry since 2012. Charline is the author of nine books including titles: Pray Up Your Life and The Metaphysics of Shoes, Boardroom Culture Shock and The Power of One Accord: 7 Keys to Harnessing Synergy in the Boardroom. However, if you ask Charline of all her books which is closest to her heart she will tell you children’s book, Do Puppies Pray? Written with her two grandchildren in mind. She is a proud mother and grandmother, making her home just outside of Orlando, Florida.

https://charlinemanuel.com/

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, William D. Hart, shares how his penchant for religious autobiographies led him to critique what he coins as “the standard narrative of Black religion” and how Afro-ecentric forms of spirituality develop strong communities and fight for freedom.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Books by William D. Hart:

Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture: https://amzn.to/4o48FAs

Black Religion: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis: https://amzn.to/4hr4Um3

Afro-Eccentricity: Beyond the Standard Narrative of Black Religion: https://amzn.to/47eGKq5

The Blackness of Black: Key Concepts in Critical Discourse: https://amzn.to/4hjUNPO

Guest Information:

William David Hart is the Margaret W. Harmon Professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College. He is the author of The Blackness of Black: Key Concepts in Critical Discourse (Lexington 2020); Afro-Eccentricity: Beyond the Standard Narrative of Black Religion (Palgrave (2011); Black Religion: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis (Palgrave 2008); and Edward Said and the Religious Effects of Culture (Cambridge 2000). His research interests include Black studies, social theory, philosophy of race, American philosophy, and the intersections of religion, ethics, and politics.

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Will Coleman, shares how hoodoo is his religion of origin, his interests in African retentions in African American culture, and why he considers his spiritual practice to be expansive rather than eclectic.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Books by Will Coleman:

Tribal Talk: Black Theology, Hermeneutics, and African/American Ways of “Telling the Story”: https://amzn.to/47lxxNW

African Traditional Religions Textbook: Ifa (open source): https://research.auctr.edu/Ifa

Guest Information:

Will Coleman, Ph.D. is a theologian and teacher of Biblical spirituality. He was born and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. After completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, he moved to Decatur, Georgia in order to attend Columbia Theological Seminary where he received his Master of Divinity degree, with a focus in theology.  A few years later, he went on to receive the Ph.D. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His areas of concentration were in philosophical and systematic theology, philosophy of religion and interpretation theory. He is Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions Emeritus from the Interdenominational Theological Center; The Holmes Institute; and The Johnnie Colman Theological Seminary. He is an honorably retired minster of the presbyterian church (U.S.A.).  He teaches and tutors individuals and groups in a variety of contexts in the areas of theology and Biblical spirituality, which interprets the Bible as a guide for transformation of consciousness in the original sounds, symbols and languages of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts than in English translations

wcolemanphd33 at gmail dot com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/will.coleman.56

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Natasha L. Robinson, shares about growing up in an African-centered church, practicing Ifa/Orisa traditions and where she sees justice show up in her faith and the world.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Natasha Robinson, J.D. is Assistant Vice President of Social Justice and Advocacy and Title IX Coordinator for Roosevelt University. Professor Robinson is a retired criminal defense attorney, and the creator and curator of Legaleaze Please! LLC, an online platform and digital space that empowers the development of individual and collective comprehension of criminal laws, cases, and policies through decoding, deconstructing, and demystifying legal language. Professor Robinson has been a regular guest legal analyst on CourtTV and WGN9 news. Robinson is a proud ministry partner of The Gathering, A Womanist Church, in Dallas, Texas, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Theological Studies as a member of the Sacred Memory Cohort at McCormick Theological Seminary.

Legaleazeplease at gmail dot com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/legaleaze_please/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/legaleazeplease/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/natasha.l.robinson.5

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Tawnicia Rowan, shares her personal experiences of Black Christianity, finding the Universal Truth Center and how she accidentally became a minister there.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Tawnicia Rowan is an ordained minister in the Universal Foundation for Better Living, an international association of New Thought Christian. Currently, Rev. Tawnicia serves as a staff minister at the Universal Truth Center in Miami Gardens, FL and as a faculty member at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary and the Unity Urban Ministerial School. You can reach Rev. Rowan via email and hear her talks on YouTube.

Email: [email protected]

Tawnicia’s talks: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsQL9T7IxkcA8bf1j6nJsOpTNeYbpprWz&si=8YODGNFIm6x3Yljp

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Takiyah Nur Amin, shares about growing up with Muslim and Christian family members, finding Unitarian Universalism as a place of acceptance, and what her daily spiritual practices look like.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Takiyah Nur Amin is a dance scholar, educator, academic success strategist. Dr. Amin serves Unitarian Universalism as a member of the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and UU Studies Network, and a former member of the Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Organizing Collective Board. Her writing has been featured in UU World Magazine, and in two edited volumes, Care for the World: Reflections on Community Ministry and BLUU Notes: An Anthology of Love, Justice and Liberation (co-edited with the Rev. Mykal Slack.) You can reach Dr. Amin at TakiyahNurAmin.com

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Darnise Martin, tells us how her childhood questions about religion led her to a New Thought metaphysics and an embrace of her ancestral traditions of hoodoo.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Dr. Darnise C. Martin is an Adjunct Professor at Loyola Marymount University. Dr. Darnise is the author of two books, including the 2005 volume, Beyond Christianity: African Americans in a New Thought Church and co-edited the volume Women In New and Africana Religions and numerous articles and essays. As a media consultant, Dr. Danise has been featured on Tavis Smiley’s radio program, KJLH Radio in Los Angeles, numerous of podcasts and internet radio programs. She was the research consultant on the documentaries Dark Girls and Light Girls for the Oprah Winfrey Network.  She conducts research on the diversities of African-American religions particularly the Gullah Geechee and hoodoo cultures in the South Carolina and Georgia low country regions of the U.S.

You can reach Dr. Darnise at DrDarnise.com  

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In this thought-provoking episode, our guest, Salim Faraji, tells us how he straddles three religious traditions, how he raises his children and where he finds true spiritual community.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Dr. Salim Faraji is Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is also the founding Executive Director of the Master of Arts in International Studies Africa Program at Concordia University Irvine in Ghana, West Africa. As a theological pluralist and interfaith practitioner, he is currently an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a practicing African Traditional Priest (Okomfo) who has been initiated in both the Akan traditions of Ghana, West Africa and ancient Egyptian religious practice. Professor Faraji is author of The Roots of Nubian Christianity Uncovered and numerous articles and essays.

You can reach Dr. Faraji at CSUDH Africana: https://www.csudh.edu/africana/faculty/salim-faraji

You can find Dr. Faraji’s writings here:

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Our guest, Salim Faraji, tells us how he studied and practiced various Black religions before finding a home in the religious traditions of the ancient Nile Valley civilizations, the Akan people and African American Protestant churches.

Highlights:

Mentioned in This Episode:

Guest Information:

Dr. Salim Faraji is Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is also the founding Executive Director of the Master of Arts in International Studies Africa Program at Concordia University Irvine in Ghana, West Africa. As a theological pluralist and interfaith practitioner, he is currently an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a practicing African Traditional Priest (Okomfo) who has been initiated in both the Akan traditions of Ghana, West Africa and ancient Egyptian religious practice. Professor Faraji is author of The Roots of Nubian Christianity Uncovered and numerous articles and essays.

You can reach Dr. Faraji at CSUDH Africana: https://www.csudh.edu/africana/faculty/salim-faraji

You can find Dr. Faraji’s writings here:

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