The Prophetic Resistance Podcast

Midterm elections are less than 100 days away, and the Prophetic Resistance Podcast is kicking off our Rise + Vote series — co-hosted by my dear sister the Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould — to explore all the ways our votes are both sacred and powerful.

I can think of no better way to kick off this series than with this week's guest, my friend and colleague, Rev. Nicole Barnes.

Nicole is the national voting program director for the Faith in Action Fund, having come up through the ranks as an organizer for Faith in Indiana (then called IndyCAN). She also has a master's degree in divinity degree from Christian Theological Seminary in addition to an MBA and a bachelor's degree in psychology. In other words, she's the perfect person to talk about the intersection of faith, politics, power, and community.

In this episode, we welcome my very dear brother, Simran Jeet Singh, father, runner, scholar, and executive director of the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute. We talk about his Sikh faith, religious pluralism, and his latest book, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life which just hit the shelves last week. We explore his upbringing in San Antonio, Texas, the close relationship between race and religion, and the call to practice radical compassion. This conversation is for the head and the heart.

In this episode, we welcome the Reverend Doctor Emma Jordan-Simpson, the new president of Auburn Seminary in New York.

We discuss how her upbringing and grounding in the Black Church tradition have informed her approach to pastoral care, as well as her focus on the needs of children to help them thrive. In the recent wake of the tragedies in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Orange County, and Uvalde, we talk about how critical pastoral care is for grieving, healing, and the movement for justice.

The Prophetic Resistance Podcast has a first cousin!! We are pleased to bring you the inaugural episode of The Four - a fearsome faith foursome talkin Black Life, Love, Power and Joy. This podcast is for everyone.

I co-host this podcast with dear friends who have all been guests on the Prophetic Resistance Podcast: Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church in New York, Lisa Sharon Harper of Freedom Road in Philadelphia, and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. In this first episode we introduce ourselves as hosts and dig into our lives as prophetic Black faith leaders rooting this podcast in joy, justice and some playful irreverence. We have a good time.

We are pleased to bring you a special episode from our kindred project, Revolutionary Faith, hosted by Rev. Alvin Herring, executive director of Faith in Action. In this episode, Alvin speaks with Leigh Butler, CEO of Akina and Stephanie Roberts, Co-Founder. Akina is a hub for Black mothers and women who are eagerly searching for community, connection, and information resulting in better outcomes for our next generation.

Welcome to Season 6. In this inaugural episode we welcome back Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, Dean at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. A scholar-activist, Dr. Gunning Francis has been featured in the PBS Documentary The Talk: Race in America and the 2021 Sundance film, Ferguson Rises: A Racial Healing Documentary.

In this episode, we dig into her new book, Faith After Ferguson: Resilient Leadership in Pursuit of Racial Justice. A follow up to her first book, Faith And Ferguson, Dr. Leah revisits the clergy and activists from the front lines of the Ferguson Uprising, to hear what they've learned in the struggle for justice and healing five years later.

We talk about what true change looks like when it comes to racial justice, and her unique perspective and experience as both a theological educator and mother of two young boys coming of age in a climate that is in a constant cycle of healing from trauma rooted in racism.

Twitter: @DrLeahGFrancis

https://chalicepress.com/products/faith-after-ferguson

Our winter hiatus is almost over! And season 6 will drop in your feed on March 16th.

Today's guest is Rev. Jen Bailey, an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multi-faith movement for justice. She is also the founder and executive director of the Faith Matters Network, a Womanist-led organization equipping community organizers, faith leaders, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability, and accompaniment. This episode explored the life cycles of justice work, the need for seasons of rest, the lost art of letter writing and Jen's new book titled To My Beloveds: Letters on Faith, Race, Loss and Radical Hope. The book is available for purchase here.