Making Spaces with Rev. Sarah Heath & Josie Jimenez

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses prejudice, gentrification, exclusion, and immigration so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

Many communities create a dualistic environment where one is focused on either action or belief. Put another way: Some folks get overly focused on right belief (orthodoxy) and other folks get overly focused on right action (orthopraxis). This week’s Space Makers, Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza and Rev. Anna Golladay, are the hosts of the Activist Theology Podcast, a podcast born out of the Activist Theology Project. Both the podcast and the project are creating a movement focused on reclaiming the practice of integrating theory and practice. This conversation is both challenging and filled with hope. We talk about why getting really local with our activism can be the best way to live out our own beliefs and why exhaustion is different for those who live in marginalized bodies. 

*Quick update on the show- this is the final episode of season three. As Sarah makes space for what is next in her own life the show is going on a break. Please check out our previous episodes and thank you for all of your support. We will update you about what is next for “Making Spaces the Podcast” soon. 

For More on Dr. Robyn Henderson- Espinoza and Rev. Anna Golladay

https://activistheology.com/

https://irobyn.com/

https://www.facebook.com/unholyhairetic/

https://irreverent.fm/

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez and produced by Sarah Heath

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses non-affirming schools and churches, gentrification and exclusion, so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

More and more than ever before, our “first impressions” are happening online. This is true for dating, but also for how we first perceive any organization. When looking at a website or online posting we intuitively know if this is “a space” for us. This week’s Space Maker, Nathanial Totten Green, creates online and in person gatherings that seek to continually welcome and include. Nathanial is the Director of Communications for Q Christian Fellowship, and the Communications & Operations Specialist for Grace Pointe Fellowship, a fully inclusive community in Nashville, Tennessee. This conversation discusses how curating content has the opportunity to be inviting, but also gentrifying. In this conversation, Nathanial offers great insights on questions to ask to “make space” and how to avoid continuing to define who is and who is not welcome in a space. Who knew a font could make you feel more included? Designers. Designers knew. This is a delightful conversation that we hope you will enjoy!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are joined by fellow Irreverent podcaster, Dr. Brad Onishi. Brad is the co-host of the widely beloved (and sometimes hated) podcast Straight White American Jesus. They tackle all things Evangelicalism and it's ties to right-wing Christian nationalism. In this episode, we talk about Orange County, where the three of us have lived at some point, and how it has become a breeding ground for the biggest movements within right-wing Evangelicalism. But even these people need some space in the world, regardless of whether we agree with them. Brad is on a mission to uncover the roots of the movement and coming up with new ways to challenge and invite them into great empathy.

For more from Brad:

straightwhiteamericanjesus.com

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends, we have something to tell you.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses trauma, chronic pain, disability and deaths related to Covid 19, so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

Making spaces, like a flower garden, that serve no “purpose” other than beauty teaches us that worth is not predicated by “usefulness.” This week’s Space Maker, Stephanie Tait, joined us for a conversation from her garden to discuss the lessons of resistance she has learned over the last year tending her garden. Stephanie is an author, speaker, disability advocate, and trauma survivor. Her work aims to create space for the reality of suffering and help provide practical tools for its management and acknowledgement of that suffering in communities of faith and beyond. This conversation is a beautiful reminder that we cannot bypass our suffering to arrive quickly at purpose. Every season is needed and of value, even if it appears barren and unproductive. Space making, like gardening, isn’t always about what is happening above ground, but some of the biggest changes have to happen below the soil. We hope you enjoy this challenging conversation because we sure did!

For More on Stephanie

https://www.stephanietaitwrites.com/

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez and produced by Sarah Heath

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses trauma, suicide, and gender roles so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

In some capacity, we are all leaders and, whether we recognize it or not, we have impact on the spaces in which we exist. This week’s Space Maker is Rebecca Ching, LMFT. Rebecca is a psychotherapist, a trauma informed leadership coach, and the host of the podcast “The Unburdened Leader.” This conversation was a deep dive into why it takes courage to choose kindness and how being curious about your own internal motivations and pain helps make us better Space Makers and leaders. Even if you don’t consider yourself a leader, this episode is filled with reflection and wisdom that is valuable for us all.

 

For more of Rebecca Ching, head to her website:

www.rebeccaching.com

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez and produced by Sarah Heath

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses childhood trauma, faith transitions, and difficult family relationships so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

Throughout history, people have used humor to make space to discuss the things that culture has deemed taboo. This week’s Space Makers, Josh Link and Adrian Gibbs, use humor to have difficult conversations around American Evangelical Christian culture. Josh and Adrian, or perhaps better known by their moniker “Dirty Rotten Church Kids,” use a blend of genius memes, tiktok greatness, podcast goodness, and fun merch to create space for people to question some of the things that they once held dearest. This conversation is equal parts fun and deep as we discuss the gift of comedy in opening us up to critique and process some of the worst messages we internalized as part of the Evangelical community. Whether you are or have ever been a person of faith, this is a great conversation about why we need humor in our lives, the need to stay connected to our own agency, and the ability to connect to our own bodies, thoughts, and feelings. 

For More on the Dirty Rotten Church Kids (DRCK) 

www.instagram.com/dirtyrottenchurchkids

www.dirtyrottenchurchkids.com 

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez and produced by Sarah Heath 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses childhood trauma, faith transitions, and racial discrimination so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

Write up 

This week,  we had another incredible conversation with Space Maker, Chris Rodgriguez. As you may remember from Episode 31, Chris is a mindset and movement coach who helps people connect their work, their souls, and their bodies. Chris returns to the show to discuss the need for making physical space and time to do our own internal work so you can be present for others. Chris challenged us to step away from our cell phones and to make sure we have boundaries, not just for ourselves, but for others as well. Chris reminds us that our base is belonging and that we have to set up practices to remind us of that base identity. This is another deep one, but we also bring up lighter things, like h0w The Shining is the perfect cautionary tale for workaholics. Very light, we know.

For more on Chris

http://coachchrisrodriguez.com/

www.instagram.com/Coach_chrisrodriguez    

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez and Produced by Sarah Heath

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Making Space for our own spiritual journey often takes us down a path of leaving our familiar religious community and that can leave one feeling disoriented and alone. This week’s Space Maker is Blake Chastain, someone who has spent the last five years connecting people who have the shared story of experiencing a faith shift. Blake is the host of the Exvangelical and Powers & Principalities podcasts and is the writer of The Post-Evangelical Post newsletter. Blake coined the #exvangelical hashtag, alongside the launch of the Exvangelical podcast, in July 2016 and since then, the podcast has been downloaded over 500,000 times. Thanks to Blake, exvangelical conversations and communities have proliferated online. We talk to Blake about why he thinks public conversations about faith shifts are important, why he challenges the system that is stacked in his favor, and the importance of story when it comes to understanding yourself and others.

For more on Blake 

https://twitter.com/brchastain

https://blakechastain.com/ 

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Content Warning: You may feel your own trauma activated by some of the content of this episode. It discusses suicide, and head trauma, so please listen with awareness. Listener discretion is advised.

One of the unique features of the human species is the desire to live a ”meaningful, purpose driven life.” From master classes to bumper stickers, everyone seems to have a suggestion on how we can find our unique purpose in the world. It takes boldness and fearlessness to actually make the space in our lives to evaluate if we are indeed happy with the direction of our lives and vocation. On this episode, we talk to Space Makers Crystal Steckel and John Keeling. Both of these bold humans asked the question, “Is my job my true vocation?” When the answer was no, they made the brave choice to change directions. This change of vocation led to Crystal becoming an RN, and John a CNA as he works towards also becoming an RN. Both of them have served in the medical field during the difficult time of COVID and both would say that. although the work has been hard, it is truly what they are meant to be doing. This episode, we dive into what keeps us grounded during change, and when you know it's time to make a change.

To Follow Crystal www.instagram.com/crystalincha 

To Follow John www.instagram.com/johnmkeeling 

Head to our website for all things Making Spaces:

www.makingspacespodcast.com

For Making Spaces Merch

www.society6.com/makingspacespodcast

To Support the Show, Become an Official Space Maker:

www.patreon.com/makingspacespodcast

Stay in touch and send us an email:

Follow Us:

www.instagram.com/makingspacespodcast

Catch us on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC2opo2WxgCAYwL75xP-uZ5w

Catch all things Irreverent on the site:

irreverent.fm 

This week’s episode was edited by Josephine Jael Jimenez

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices