In this episode, we discuss what we each have learned about Christmas as a progressive Christian that opened up the Christmas story in new and meaningful ways. We end with a discussion about the Netflix film, Mary, and how paying closer attention to the social and political circumstances that Jesus’ mother faced should move Christians towards a feminist (i.e., anti-sexist) analysis of the story of the birth of Christ.

In this episode, we discuss the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the public reaction to it. While we believe that violence is not the solution to the healthcare crisis in America, we discuss how certain forms of violence, i.e., the violence of denying people the health coverage they have paid for, are the root cause of so much suffering in our country. We conclude by discussing what a progressive Christian vision of healthcare looks like for each of us.

Articles referenced:

1. https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/slain-healthcare-ceos-life-airbrushed?utm_source=multiple-personal-recommendations-email&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true

2. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/luigi-mangione-murder-charge-unitedhealthcare-ceo-rcna183572

Books Referenced:

1. Engaging the Powers by Walter Wink

2. The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

Everyone is talking about Wicked, and there is so much to discuss! Throughout our conversation, we discuss the themes related to politics and religion that appear throughout the film and tie them to our contemporary moment. For this episode, we were delighted to be joined by singer, actress, and activist Malynda Hale. Malynda and Julia give us an insider's perspective on the film, which you don’t want to miss.

Many of us typically visit family and friends over the holidays, but the recent elections have complicated what should be a joyous occasion. Can you share a table with someone who voted for candidates who embraced nationalist ideologies? In this episode, we discuss how to “Thanksgiving” with family and friends who voted for Trumpism.

The articles and scripture passages we discussed in this episode are:

1. Loretta Ross, Call In Culture
2. https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/characteristics.html
3. "Race, Gender, and the Politics of 'Sass': Reading Mark 7:24-30 through a Womanist Lens” by Mitzi Smith
4. John 11:30-45 Jesus Wept

Given the results of the 2024 presidential election, what is the state of progressive Christianity? In this episode, we discuss the role Christian Nationalism played in the election of Donald Trump and how we plan to respond to it through this podcast. We give our big takeaways from the presidential election, and we end by discussing Rev. Dr. Carter’s appreciation of People Magazine’s sexiest man alive, John Krasinski.

We really want to hear from our listeners - what do you need from us right now? What type of content would be most helpful for you? Please leave a comment on this episode or in a podcast review. We love you all and our aim is to become a place of refuge, hope, and resistance.

We really want to hear from our listeners - what do you need from us right now? What type of content would be most helpful for you? Please leave a comment on this episode or in a podcast review. We love you all and our aim is to become a place of refuge, hope, and resistance.

In this episode, recorded on Wednesday November 6th, we begin to digest the results of the 2024 presidential election. It is a lot to process and as you will notice in the episode, we are still trying to figure out what happened.

We apologize for Rev. Dr. Carter’s audio. His mic disconnected at the beginning of the recording and we failed to reconnect it. We were a bit tired and overwhelmed during the recording.

Congregations aligned with Christian Nationalism are funding state and local political candidates, helping people run for school boards, and training local police departments. How and why is this happening? In this episode we discuss Christian Nationalism, it’s political rise, and its growing influence in mainline congregations and politics.

Articles and authors discussed in this episode:

https://www.katecommon.com/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/new-apostolic-reformation-christian-nationalism/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/09/theobros-jd-vance-christian-nationalism/ https://www.splcenter.org/year-hate-extremism-2023/new-dominionism-tries-rule

During the Million Women March in October 2024, conservative women expressed their concerns that secular society is pressuring their children to change genders and that the bodies of their children are not safe. In this episode we discuss the march, the Christian Nationalist theology that undergurds it, and the truth that conservative clergy, and not the queer community, are the perpetrators of most sexual assault crimes against women and children.

Links to articles we mentioned in today’s episode:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/christians-swarm-washington-pray-america-turn-god-electing-trump-rcna175162?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic%2Freligion

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/us/churches-dallas-fort-worth-sexual-abuse.html

https://www.injuryrelief.com/article/sexual-assault/sexual-assault-by-clergy-members-in-texas/

Over 250 people have died due to the effects of hurricane Helene. In this episode we grapple with the loss of life from this disaster and the politicalization of natural disasters by Donald Trump, and the progressive Christian history of environmental justice. 

Note - Rev. Blair was only able to participate in the first half of the podcast and we forgot to mention it during the episode! So please know that she didn’t vanish but she had other important work to tend too!

Links to articles we mentioned in today’s episode: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/06/politics/fact-check-trump-helene-response-north-carolina/index.html https://www.ucc.org/what-we-do/justice-local-church-ministries/efam/environmental-justice/a_movement_is_born_environmental_justice_and_the_ucc/ https://fore.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Blood%20in%20the%20Soil.pdf

Why is immigration a theological issue? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Victor Carmona, Associate Professor of Theology at the University of San Diego and an expert on immigration. He discusses the failures of both political parties and lays out his vision for what a theology of immigration should look like. We also discuss the VP debate and the role conservative religious rhetoric plays in shaping immigration policy.

Articles we mentioned in this episode https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/04/us-christians-more-likely-than-nones-to-say-situation-at-the-border-is-a-crisis/ https://www.axios.com/2024/04/25/trump-biden-americans-illegal-immigration-poll https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/05/1042518732/-the-greatest-heist-in-history-how-haiti-was-forced-to-pay-reparations-for-freed https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/jd-vance-blamed-immigrants-vp-debate-1235123239/