Living Our Beliefs: Exploring Faith & Religion in Daily Life

Episode 41.
An award-winning reporter at WBZ/CBS Boston, the first Muslim Miss Massachusetts (2022), volunteer for the Special Olympics, convert (or revert) to Islam from Catholicism and a Black American – Katrina holds a complex identity. She channels her complexity and desire to be authentic into her passion for community, diversity, and equality.  Impressively, she does so with grace, humor, and commitment. 

Highlights:
·       Her religious journey – Catholic childhood, atheism, then Islam.
·       Islam brought Katrina peace. 
·       Miss America Pageants – scholarship money, a platform for community service, and a sisterhood.
·       Volunteering at the Special Olympics and ‘Embracing Diversity’ platform as Miss Massachusetts.
·       Black Lives Matter protests prompted more interest in DEI training and employee diversity.
·       Katrina wears a hijab as a news reporter sometimes, and reports on underrepresented communities. 

Social Media links for Katrina:   
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinakincade/
Instagram – @katrinakincade (https://instagram.com/katrinakincade) 
Twitter – @katrinaknews (https://twitter.com/katrinaknews?lang=en) 
TikTok – @katrinatheereporter (https://www.tiktok.com/@katrinatheereporter) 

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12998602-an-unapologetically-complex-identity-katrina-kincade


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Email  Méli – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 40. 
As a British coach, consultant, and public speaker, Sobiya helps people in different ways.  The coaching is one:one support mostly around confidence and mindset to help the client reach her potential.  As a consultant, she works with companies wanting to improve their diversity, equity and inclusion, and as a public speaker, Sobiya draws on both her personal experience as a Muslim woman-of-color in the UK, as well as her professional expertise.  She believes that, as a public figure, her authenticity is paired with healthy boundaries.  This balance allows her to handle difficult situations and continue to support her clients.  Her faith in Sunni Islam and the Sufi teachings support her every day. 

Highlights:
·       Being authentic is central to her sense of self and her work.

·       Searching for answers led Sobiya to deepen her Islamic faith as a young adult.

·       She has experienced discrimination as a visible Muslim woman-of-color, so she empathizes with clients struggling with that challenge.

·       Coaching, consulting, and training are each valuable offerings and accomplish different things.

·       You can be authentic and have boundaries.  They are not at odds with each other.


Social Media links for Sobiya:   
Linktree – https://linktr.ee/sobiya.jawaid
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sobiyajawaid/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sobiyajaw/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sobiya_jawaid/

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271


Transcript:   https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12916278-40-sobiya-jawaid-authentic-muslim-coach


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Email  Méli – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 39.
Sarah draws on her innate passion for helping others in her work as a coach, trainer, and speaker.  Whether helping individuals or organizations, her drive to unlock potential and encourage people to achieve their dreams comes through. After years in leadership training for faith-based organizations, particularly within the Black community in Boston, Sarah launched Unlimited Success Services LLC, a leadership development company. The Christian principle that each person has unique skills and talents has led her during years of coaching on leadership. This is particularly relevant for the many clients who lack confidence that they can lead. Indeed, one of her favorite quotes is “Actually, I can!” 

Highlights:
·       Helping others is central to her purpose.

·       Continuous growth and serving others are foundational to the John Maxwell Leadership program.

·       We can accomplish anything through Christ.

·       Leadership involves being a team player, listening, empowering someone else, and connecting with people. 

·       The COVID pandemic provided a challenge that forced her to learn, grow and do new things. 

·       Sarah developed her new business, Unlimited Success Services LLC, while her mother received treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They grew stronger together. 

Social Media links for Sarah:   
Website – www.unlimitedsuccessservices.com
Email – [email protected]
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/unlimitedsuccessservices
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/unlimitedsuccessservices
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahvaughansmith

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project – https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12825599-39-sarah-vaughan-smith-coaching-leaders-for-success


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Email  Méli – [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 38.
Like many people of her generation, Janet was raised with little religious instruction, due to her parents’ desire to be American. After some exploration into other faiths, she decided in her 20s to learn about the Judaism of her roots. It has been a long journey. She considers herself a JewBu – incorporating elements of both Judaism and Buddhism, generally the ritual and holidays of the former and philosophy of the latter, along with some meditation practice when faced with a challenging situation. Besides her personal journey, Janet spent years developing and leading programs and dialogues bridging religious and other differences. Youth LEAD and the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom are two she speaks of. 

Highlights:
·       The three Cs of dialogue: Curiosity, Courage, and Compassion.

·       Even after years of training and experience, we make mistakes and react instinctively.

·       Speaking with people who are different is challenging. Using a structure all agree to is critical. 

·       Dialogue is the foundation, letting us see each other’s humanity, but action is then necessary to improve the world.  

·       Jewish values of tikkun olam, repairing the world, and tzedakah, charity, inform her social justice work.

References:
Prof. Diana Eck, Harvard University, Pluralism Project – https://pluralism.org
Eboo Patel, Interfaith America – https://www.interfaithamerica.org/people/eboo-patel/
Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom – https://sosspeace.org
Roots – https://www.friendsofroots.net
Combatants for Peace – https://cfpeace.org

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271

Transcript: 
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12730345-38-janet-penn-dialogue-is-the-foundation/edit


Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments or questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 37. 
Prianka Alam has retained the dedication to helping her family and Muslim community in Maryland that she learned as a young immigrant child. The financial uncertainty growing up has prompted a craving for stability and security as an adult, in short a boring life. These desires drove Prianka to focus on her education, career path and a husband who would be Muslim and a good partner for future children. She has found all of that and more, though it brings the expected stress and demand to wear many hats – DEI professional, wife, mother, daughter, student of Islam and volunteer as a board member of Penny Appeal USA. COVID increased the need to juggle competing demands, while Ramadan offers her ease, more open time for studying the Qur’an, and guiding her children. 

Highlights:
·       It is difficult to be a Muslim in the US, but she’s grateful for the struggle. 

·       Government policies and social attitudes affect how she lives as a Muslim. The family’s safety is always considered.

·       She’s rarely seen colleagues who are also Muslim, a woman of color, or South Asian. 

·       Islam inspires her to work with purpose and help those in need. 

·       Ramadan is an opportunity to study the Qur’an and celebrate with her family and community.


References:
Yaqeen Institute – https://yaqeeninstitute.org/what-islam-says-about


Transcript: 
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12641210-37-prianka-alam-islam-is-a-journey-of-growth/edit

Social Media links for Prianka:
Penny Appeal USA – https://pennyappealusa.org/

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 36. 
Jill Sarkozi, founder of the Safekeeping Stories program, talks about the mission and system of the work. Inspired by helping her father-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, write his story, Jill went on to develop the Storykeeping® method. Since founding the program in 2012, Jill and her team have helped many Jewish families capture their own family stories. The workshop provides a safe environment for these family members to explore the family’s Holocaust story, understand how it has been part of their own story, and then add their generational layer to the family story as they write observations about life with their survivor-family member. 

Using a structured system of one-two page ‘slices’, children and grandchildren of survivors build up a 15-20 page history which they can use in many ways – in a slide show, as impetus for a heritage trip, and more. Helping people recover their family story and watch the reactions has often been a beautiful and moving experience. 

 
Highlights:
·       Workshops are groups of ten – for personal attention and guidance. 
·       The focus has mainly been Holocaust stories preserved by  family members of survivors, and will remain so. 
·       Besides workshops, Safekeeping Stories offers speakers, programs, and a self-paced method.
·       Learning one: People retain the family story from the child perspective and watching the shift to the adult view is surprising.
·       Learning two: A person’s response to incredible loss, and the impact on subsequent generations positively and negatively, takes many forms.
·       Learning three: A small kindness can place a tenderness in someone’s heart. It can stay with them for life and is important to honor.  

Social Media links for Jill:
Website –  https://safekeepingstories.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/safekeepstories/
LinkedIn (personal) – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-sarkozi-997518b/
LinkedIn (Safekeeping Stories) – https://www.linkedin.com/company/78329846/admin/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/safekeepingstories/

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066435622271

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli at [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 35.
Julie Kinscheck, singer-songwriter, teacher, and group leader extraordinaire, is a woman of many musical talents. Whether singing sacred or secular music – hymns, Christmas carols, jazz, or folk music – she brings passion and a desire to share her God-given abilities with the audience. After years of performing and teaching, the Covid lock-down created time to produce a book, Vocal Training for Praise Singers. Intended mainly for Christian praise singers, it is a robust teaching tool replete with exercises, explanations of physiology, tips for worship team leaders and devotionals. Julie’s passion for the Lord and singing, combined with her life-time of experience singing and teaching, come through in this conversation.   

Coming Soon!
Julie Kinscheck and students present the  “Berklee Worships” concert
Wednesday, March 29th, 7pm. 
Berklee College of Music, 1140 Boylston St, Boston (Recital Hall 1A, Alma Berk Hall). The concert is  free and open to the public. 

Highlights:
·       Julie was baptized in her 20s after much wandering and disillusionment with Christianity.

·       Performing and writing songs since her teens, she has produced four albums across several musical genres.

·       Teaching at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, she guides a wide range of students.

·       The musical selection at the various Boston Church of Christ congregations cater to the social make-up of their communities – Hispanic, Vietnamese and Blacks. 

·       It’s important to strike a balance between familiar hymns and newer material.  

·       Vocal Training for Praise Singers provides lessons on vocal technique with a Christian perspective, mainly for worship leaders, as well as seminary libraries and vocal programs. 

Social Media links for Julie:
Website – www.julieksings.com
Facebook Artist – https://m.facebook.com/QueenOfSCAT/
Instagram – Queen Of SCAT
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/3TSoU90T6tZPgvVxaxWzW9
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/julieksings

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12494540-35-julie-kinscheck-praising-the-lord-in-song/edit

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 34.
As a traditional Jew attending an Orthodox synagogue, Elissa believes that the Torah provides a blueprint for living. God is an ever-present force in her life and she has an ongoing relationship with God. After the death of her first child, Elissa studied the Jewish beliefs of death and the afterlife.  In addition to the studies, becoming involved in tahara, the Jewish practice of preparing a Jew for burial, has been meaningful. Elissa described several metaphors including the messy back of a tapestry as the details of life and the fetus in utero as creation unaware of the mother providing all its needs.

Highlights:
·       God informs her life, a pervasive force she is in relationship with daily. 

·       With the death of her first child, intense love became intense grief, and then a drive to understand the Jewish tradition’s view of death and the afterlife. 

·       Her child’s death was not in vain. Many lessons have come from the loss, and she feels blessed. 

·       Being present with someone’s grief and pain is a huge gift to the bereaved. 

·       To care for the dead is partnering with God. It is an honor to do this work.

·       Life is a little bridge and is a finite span away from the world of souls. 

Social Media links for Elissa:
Core Connects RI – https://www.coreconnectsri.com

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12403069-34-elissa-felder-do-good-be-good-bring-goodness/edit

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 33,
Hamzah has traveled an unexpected path from his Episcopalian childhood. Befriending an Indian Muslim classmate in 10th grade, he became enamored of Islam and accepted the faith after months of study. It has remained his true path and he has spent most of his career in Islamic education. Despite the unusual conversion, Hamzah has not rejected his upbringing religiously or educationally, continuing to hold the values of learning and faith. He lives a model of steady progress towards big dreams, even if the path remains unclear.   

Highlights:
·       Converting to Islam did not mean rejecting the Christianity of his childhood.

·       Islam is the newest and final ‘operating system’ of the Abrahamic faiths, after Judaism and Christianity. 

·       Investing in the stock market is permitted, as there is risk involved, but the investor must avoid in forbidden products such as alcohol that counter Islamic principles.

·       Dual enrollment programs allow students in high school to take college courses, helping students to grow beyond the high school’s curriculum. 

·       Islamic schools in New England are young but there is community interest in growth.

·       Hamzah has a passion for teaching literature and poetry.

Quotes:
“It's long been a dream of mine to have a Muslim boarding school similar to the ones that I was fortunate enough to attend.”

“Many of our students sort of sail through and actually change their college environments. They're very proud of their Muslim faith and heritage, and they practice it openly.”

“There are enormous resources within the Muslim community, so some of the challenges on the school side is to prove their product is great.”

Social Media links for Hamzah:
Website – https://hamzahhenshaw.com/
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamzah-henshaw-a13a94215/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/MabeChai
Business – https://www.hidayahservices.com/
Newsletter – https://hamzahhenshaw.substack.com/p/five-before-five-3-escaping-the-velvet

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12306186-33-hamzah-henshaw-a-convert-in-islamic-education/edit

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project. 

Episode 32.
William brings heart, head and soul together in his work as a pastoral therapist.  The combination means being attuned to the spiritual values, history and trauma, along with where therapeutic techniques should be used. While he is Christian and works mostly with other Christians, he is open to helping anyone.

Highlights:
·       We have more in common than we think.
·       Praying together as a couple is a part of your communication.
·       Listen to understand not to respond. 
·       LEARN: Listen, Empathize, Act, Resist, and Never quit.
·       Conflicting views of the Bible and how to live those precepts create challenges to be sorted out in pastoral therapy.
·       Understanding the pain, trauma and source of a value are important steps in therapy. 

Quotes:
“With my theological training, I can also listen to your story of faith and see how we can blend that in therapeutically to help you or to help bring healing.”

“Whatever it is, a lot of times there's pain that drives us. And so one of the things I like to say about therapeutic work is helping people understand the pain that's going on with them.”

“How do we treat people who are different from us, whatever that difference may be?”

“A lot of my work is also helping people be intentional about their decisions.”

“I believe that God designed us with a choice.”

“Some of the work I have sometimes is helping people to calm their triggers down, some so they can listen clearly and listen to understand.”

Social Media links for William:
Website – https://www.faithandfamilyempowerment.com
Book – Praying with Your Spouse: A Secret to Building Intimacy in Your Marriage (Amazon)

Social Media links for Méli:
Talking with God Project –  https://www.talkingwithgodproject.org
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/melisolomon/

Transcript:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1851013/episodes/12203160-32-william-hemphill-christian-pastoral-therapist/edit

Follow the podcast!
The Living Our Beliefs podcast offers a place to learn about other religions and faith practices. When you hear about how observant Christians, Jews and Muslims live their faith, new ideas and questions arise:  Is your way similar or different?  Is there an idea or practice that you want to explore?  Understanding how other people live opens your mind and heart to new people you meet. 

Comments?  Questions?  Email  Méli -
         [email protected]

The Living Our Beliefs podcast is part of the Talking with God Project.