In this episode Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter explore the ways patriarchal thinking influences the world around us and, more often than not, our inner monologue. We begin the episode by connecting the violence happening in Palestine and Israel to the violent nature of patriarchal thinking. We discuss where we see patriarchy in our own lives and some subtle and overt types of patriarchal thinking that impact the Church. We end the episode by exploring some of the values we can adopt to help us unlearn patriarchal thinking.

In this episode we reference Ivone Gebara's book "Longing for Running Water" and Carol Gilligan's "In A Different Voice."

How have you come to know what you "know?" What sources of knowledge have shaped your understanding of American culture, Christianity, or your own self-understanding? Patriarchal thinking has been foundational to much of what we have come to believe is "normal." Join us this Sunday as we use the theological writings of Latin American Eco-Feminist theologian Ivonne Gebara to help us understand the depths of Christian Patriarchy and offer us a framework for breaking patriarchal thinking.

Question to Consider: What sources of knowledge have influenced your way of thinking about yourself and/or your faith?

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In this 1-year anniversary episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter discuss one of the four values that shape the theology of The Loft - Compassion. We begin by listening to the less-than-dulcet tones of Dr. Carter singing Anniversty by Tony, Toni, Toné and quickly transition into a discussion on what we mean by compassion and how compassion is often conflated with sentiment. We end by examining how true compassion for others leads to restorative actions and avoids the lure of saviorism that can creep into justice movements.

The articles we discuss in this episode are:

The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/

A New Way to Read Gatsby by Alonzo Vereen

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/03/great-gatsby-book-fitzgerald-race-interpretation/672778/

Compassion was fundamental to Jesus' ministry and the primary lens through which he engaged his community. At The Loft, we strive to follow Jesus' spiritual path of radical compassion and view compassion as one of our guiding values. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore why compassion is fundamental to our spiritual practices and essential for both inspiring and guiding our actions.

Question to Consider: How would you distinguish between restorative actions guided by compassion versus actions guided by saviorism?

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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter talk about one of the four values that shape the theology of The Loft - Decolonization. We discuss what we mean by "colonial theology" and explore the ways colonial theology shapes how many of us practice Christianity. We end our podcast by unpacking the decolonial strategies that we see modeled by Jesus in the gospels.

At The Loft, we have a conversational approach to "doing" church and our hope is that this approach helps build and deepen relationships throughout our worshiping community. But what exactly do we mean when we say we are a conversational community? In Matthew 18, Jesus tells his disciples that "where two or three are gathered in my name, I'm there with them." Indeed, relationships are at the core of Jesus' spiritual path of radical compassion, and conversation is one way we build relationships. We invite you to join us this Sunday as Pastor Molly is joined in the center by Liberty and Jay Worth to explore the role and importance of conversation in constructing a liberatory theology.

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At The Loft, there are four fundamental values that we draw from the teachings of Jesus that inform how we practice Christianity: Compassion, Decolonization, Belonging, and Conversation. We have spent the summer exploring belonging and in our current series, The Loft 101, we will explore how the remaining three values inform who we are and who we aim to be as a faith community.

This Sunday's gathering will focus on decolonization. Jesus was a Jew who was born and died in subjugation to the Roman Empire. His body was and remains marked by gender, culture, and religion. Given this, we must ask ourselves how Jesus' cultural context as a colonial subject shaped his religious and social practices. A decolonial analysis is one of the four key values that inform the theology of The Loft community. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we examine the importance of decolonial thinking and practicing Jesus' spiritual path of radical compassion.

Question to consider before we gather – How would you respond in a situation where your supervisor (or someone who is your superior) asks you to do something that goes against your moral standards?

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We invite you to join us for our annual Homecoming Gospel Concert at The Loft. Homecoming is an opportunity to celebrate our community, reconnect to our spiritual roots, and cultivate a culture of belonging. This will be a musically driven worship service led by Dedrick Bonner and the Singers of Soul. Rev. Dr. Carter will conclude our summer sermon series on Belonging by exploring how belonging is a central part of our calling as people of faith.

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In this episode, Julia, Westley, and Rev. Dr. Carter are joined by Rev. Dr. Nikia Smith Robert, assistant professor at the University of Kansas and founder of Abolitionist Sanctuary to discuss the intersection of abolition and Christian praxis. We discuss how abolitionist thinking can help us imagine strategies of resistance and repair for the writers and actors who are on strike and those who are impacted by the devastating wildfires in Lahaina.

You can find more information about the Abolitionist Sanctuary at their website: https://www.abolitionistsanctuary.org.

Additionally, here is a link to the CNN article about restaurants that are trying to recover from the wildfires https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/23/business/maui-fire-restaurants

As followers of the religion of Jesus, we are called to seek out and create homeplaces, communities to which we can feel safe, be seen, and develop a sense of belonging. And yet, daily, we are confronted with the reality that we live in a society founded upon the principles of class division, racial segregation, and patriarchy. Abolitionists have been working against these divisions for centuries, and recently, there has been an increase in the number of people using abolitionist values to help give us a framework for how we can build a better society for everyone. One of those people is Rev. Dr. Nikia Smith-Robert, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Kansas University and founder of Abolitionist Sanctuary. We invite you to join us this Sunday as Rev. Dr. Carter and Rev. Dr. Smith-Robert explore how the values of abolition are crucial for creating a culture of belonging.

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