reClaimed

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Austin Rios in this encore episode for a timely and intense discussion about the refugee crisis facing Europe and the world, and how it calls the people of God into connectedness. Rev. Austin Rios is an Episcopal Priest who is Rector of St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy. He also serves as Director of the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center, which is located inside the church and serves between 175 and 250 refugees a day. St. Paul's Within the Walls Episcopal Church is situated in the old city of Rome, Italy and has a rich history. Learn more about the church here:

http://www.stpaulsrome.it/

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Jamie Byrd to learn about how she overcame one of the most violent racial episodes in recent Texas history, and how she now lives without hate and helps others. Officer Jamie Byrd is a Police Officer with the Houston Police Department. Her father was James Byrd, Jr. of Jasper, Texas. His story is here: http://www.biography.com/people/james-byrd-jr-092515

Charles and Gregg are joined by three young reVision soccer players to discuss their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, their transition to America, the challenges they faced, and how they found hope. John Mlondoni, Joseph Kapayamba, and Iluta Shabani are soccer players for reVision Football Club and are high school students in Houston, Texas who emigrated here from Africa. They are featured in a video that has gone viral this week produced by DICK'S Sporting Goods.

The video can be viewed here:

https://youtu.be/HP9oDd6gOn0

Charles, Matt, and Gregg look at the year of 2017 and try to find hope in the dark places. What results is a crucial discussion about race, social justice, God, and where we locate ourselves.

Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book "We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" is discussed in this episode and can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/We-Were-Eight-Years-Power-ebook/dp/B01MT734OD/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1512720467&sr=1-1

Charles, Matt, and Gregg mark the beginning of the season of Advent with a discussion about the absence of God and how we wait for God to break in on our lives.

Charles and Gregg are joined by Elizabeth Henneke to discuss the enormous number of youth serving time in adult prisons, how they get there, and how she is leading efforts to help them. Elizabeth Henneke is an attorney and founder of the newly-formed non-profit Lone Star Justice Alliance which is dedicated to assisting youth in the criminal justice system.

The website for Lone Star Justice Alliance is here:

http://www.lonestarjusticealliance.org/

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Amy Bezecny to look at the need for foster parents, ways churches can connect and make a meaningful impact, and how each of us can get involved. Rev. Amy Bezecny is a Deacon in the United Methodist Church and is the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Cultivating Families. The website is here:

https://cultivatingfamilies.org/

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined again by Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis to look at how foster youth enter the criminal justice system and how the two systems often overlap to the detriment of us all.

Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis is Associate Rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the Heights, Houston, and is the parent of two adopted children.

St. Andrews' website is here:

http://www.saecheights.org/

Cultivating Families, a foster care nonprofit mentioned in this episode, is here:

https://cultivatingfamilies.org/

Charles, Matt, and Gregg are joined by Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis to talk about the experience of being a foster parent, how trauma affects the family and how to find kinship in a divided 21st-century society. Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis is Associate Rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in the Heights, Houston, and is the parent of two adopted children.

St. Andrews' website is here:

http://www.saecheights.org/

Cultivating Families, a foster care nonprofit mentioned in this episode, is here:

https://cultivatingfamilies.org/

Charles, Matt and Gregg look at a soccer team in Houston that is building community for youth who have never experienced it, and the ways it is forever changing all the lives who are part of it.