The Vicars' Crossing

Jennifer Butler is committed to amplifying the connection between faith and social justice, has the heart of a community organizer, and is an ordained minister. She is the founding Executive Director of Faith in Public Life, which works to change the narrative about the role of faith in politics, wins major policy victories, and empowers religious leaders to fight for the common good.
Jennifer was the chair of the White House Council on Faith and Neighborhood Partnerships (2015-2016) and spent ten years working in the field of international human rights representing the Presbyterian Church (USA) at the United Nations. While mobilizing religious communities to address the AIDS pandemic and advocate for women’s rights she grew passionate about the need to counter religious extremism with a strong religious argument for human rights. Jennifer also served in the Peace Corps in a Mayan village in Belize, Central America.
Author of Who Stole My Bible?: Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny, Jennifer helps readers discover how the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is a liberating handbook for finding your voice for overcoming authoritarianism. She’s also the author of Born Again: The Christian Right Globalized, which calls for a religious response to global culture wars of the Religious Right. She has written about progressive faith on a Patheos Faith in Public Life column, Sojourners, The Hill, and Religion News Service.
A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Jennifer also studied public policy and community organizing and graduated with an MSW from Rutgers University. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary. She lives in suburban Washington, D.C. For more on Jennifer, visit RevJenButler.com or go to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

This podcast was recorded on Sept 7th, 2021.

Chanda Prescod -Weinstein is an Assistant Professor of Physics and Core Faculty Member in Women’s Studies at the University of New Hampshire, and like anyone, she has an origin story and a mission. She is a monthly columnist at New Scientist and a contributing columnist at Physics World. Read about why she co-led the call for a June 10, 2020 Strike for Black Lives at the Particles for Justice website.
Her work lives at the intersection of particle physics and astrophysics, and while she is primarily a theoretical researcher, she maintains strong ties to astronomy. She is a topical convenor for Dark Matter: Cosmic Probes in the Snowmass 2021 process, and she is lead axion wrangler for the NASA STROBE-X Probe Concept Study. Using ideas from both physics and astronomy, she responds to deep questions about how everything in the universe got to be the way it is. She also does research on feminist science studies and believes we all have the right to know the universe.
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred, her popular science book which draws from her experience and knowledge as a Black woman theoretical physicist, was released on March 9, 2021.
She was named as one of 10 people who helped shape science in 2020 as part of Nature’s 10, and is the 2021 American Physical Society Edward A. Bouchet Award recipient, with the citation:
“For contributions to theoretical cosmology and particle physics, ranging from axion physics to models of inflation to alternative models of dark energy, for tireless efforts in increasing inclusivity in physics, and for co-creating the Particles for Justice movement.”
Essence Magazine recognized her as one of 15 Black Women Who Are Paving the Way in STEM and Breaking Barriers, and VICE Motherboard recognized her as one of their Humans2020. Her personal story and ideas have been featured in several venues, including Tech Crunch, Huffington Post, Gizmodo, Nylon, and the African-American Intellectual History Society.
On March 15, 2017, she received the 2017 LGBT+ Physicists Acknowledgement of Excellence Award “For Years of Dedicated Effort in Changing Physics Culture to be More Inclusive and Understanding Toward All Marginalized Peoples.”

This podcast was recorded on August 31st, 2021.

Tayiba Nasr
Born and raised in Herat Afghanistan Tayiba is a Canadian citizen and has been living in Canada for 35 years and in London for 25 years. She is mother to 4 children who were born here. Tayiba has been active in the Afghan community in London for many years. She has been working for South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre as community support worker for the last 16 years. Tayiba has been involved with new comers through settlement services and as a translator with Cross Cultural Learner Centre. She has many relatives back home in Afghanistan 
Saboor Khan
Saboor Khan has been a proud Londoner for the past 24 years, and has his roots in Afghanistan.  He finished his Undergrad in Engineering, subsequently did his Masters of Business Administration, and is currently practicing Law after his legal education.  He has also been serving as the chapterhead for the London branch of the Muslim Association of Canada for the past year, and loves working with the interfaith community in London.  In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, especially his 5 month old son.
Michael Akpata
Michael Edward Akpata was born in Edmonton, Alberta and spent his childhood years living in Red Deer, Alberta until moving to Ontario and settling in LaSalle in 2007. He is a University of Windsor graduate, public speaker and accomplished community leader.
Mike is currently a Councilor in the Town of Lasalle. Mike had a lengthy career in public service that included 21 years with the Windsor Police Service as a Senior Constable in Investigations and 26 years as a Canadian Infantry Reservist with the Essex and Kent Scottish, deployed to Afghanistan in 2007.
Over the past 20 years, Mike has devoted countless hours to community groups and charities in addition to raising a family and progressing in his career.
In May 2010 Mike became the Provincial Sergeant Major for the Ontario Police Memorial. This annual event remembers and honours those who have died in uniform while serving their community, each May at Queen’s Park in Toronto, Ontario.
Mike has proudly accepted the role of being the key note speaker for the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Ceremonies in Windsor since 2012. Additionally he has been the key note speaker for annual events involving Crime Stoppers of Ontario, Royal Canadian Legion, Greater Essex County District School Board Principal’s Course, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Canadian Screen Writer’s Guild and Rotary International.
In 2015 Mike was recognized for his outstanding service and named the Advocate of the Year for Seniors. He is also the proud recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubliee Medal 2014. Senior John Atkinson Award 2011, the Neal Jessop Award 2010, Canadian Forces Decoration and Commanders Commendation Award 2007.

This Podcast Was Recorded on August 24th, 2021.

A native of Ireland, Professor Collins was a professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Chicago from 1991 until his arrival at YDS in 2000. He previously taught at the University of Notre Dame. He has published widely on the subjects of apocalypticism, wisdom, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. His books include The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Biography; Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview; the commentary on Daniel in the Hermeneia series; The Scepter and the Star: The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature; Apocalypticism in the Dead Sea Scrolls; Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age; The Apocalyptic Imagination; Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora; Introduction to the Hebrew Bible with CD-ROM; Does the Bible Justify Violence?; Jewish Cult and Hellenistic Culture; Encounters with Biblical Theology; The Bible after Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age; King and Messiah as Son of God (with Adela Yarbro Collins); and Beyond the Qumran Community: The Sectarian Movement of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is co-editor of the three-volume Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, and The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and has participated in the editing of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He is general editor of the Yale Anchor Bible series. He has served as editor of the Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement Series, Dead Sea Discoveries, and Journal of Biblical Literature, and as president of both the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature. He holds an honorary D.Litt. from University College Dublin, and an honorary Th. D. from the University of Zurich. Professor Collins is a fellow of Trumbull College.

It’s not a Lie 
Just how many schools does it take to educate Rob? 

This podcast was recorded on June 22, 2021.

Kat Armas is a Cuban-American writer and podcaster from Miami, FL who holds a dual MDiv and MAT from Fuller Theological Seminary. Her first book, Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength (Brazos Press) explores the intersection of women, Scripture, and Cuban identity. She also engages these topics on her podcast, "The Protagonistas", which centers the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of colour in church leadership and theology. Check www.katarmas.com to find out more.

IT'S NOT A LIE 
Did Kevin share pancakes with PK?

This podcast was recorded on June 8th, 2021.

Dr. Noble has been teaching composition and literature for over a decade, beginning at Antelope Valley College in his home town of Lancaster, California, and then at Baylor University. He has contributed scholarship on Cormac McCarthy and has published a book with InterVarsity Press titled, Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age.

In addition, Dr. Noble is Editor-in-Chief of the online magazine, Christ and Pop Culture; co-founder of the evangelical political organization, Public Faith; a member of the Leadership Council of the AND Campaign; and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, Vox, Buzzfeed, First Things, Christianity Today, and The Gospel Coalition. 

Dr. Noble has given talks on literature, popular culture, technology, secularism, and related issues at a number of colleges, churches, and organizations.

His wife, Brittany, holds a Master's Degree in Mathematics (CSUN) and Economics (Baylor). They live with three small children and attend Shawnee Presbyterian. 

IT'S NOT A LIE:
Has Iain been recording with Rush?

John Marsh was an Anglican parish priest for forty years. Recently retired, he self-describes as an iconoclastic Anglican. Perhaps more accurately he is an old goat, an unrepentant curmudgeon. He has written two books, It Ain't Nothin But A Mess: Mission as Event and Impossible People: The Mystics, Mission, and Me. He is currently working on his third book, On Edge: At the Boundaries of the Church  (Perhaps). He lives in Vancouver, BC.

IT'S NOT A LIE 
is Rob A prize-winning equestrian?

WORKSHOP LINK
https://www.facebook.com/1073876732633646/posts/4106227456065210/


This podcast was recorded on May 18th, 2021.

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author.  Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia.  He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace. This has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, and his newest book, Beating Guns. He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible", and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. 
Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.

IT’S NOT A LIE 
Was Kevin a pinball wizard?

This podcast was recorded on May 11th, 2021.

Stephanie Tait wears many hats. Blogger, speaker, author, wife, mother, Jesus follower. Her fifteen-years and counting battle with Lyme disease has reshaped her view on the goodness of God. She makes her home in Oregon, where she lives with her husband and two children. She shares her stories at https://stephanietaitwrites.com/

IT'S NOT A LIE:
Is Iain an Anti-Dentite? 

This podcast was recorded on April 30th, 2021.

Andrea Procter is an anthropologist with nearly twenty years of experience in working with Indigenous communities in Labrador. In 2017, she joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Healing and Commemoration project with James Igloliorte to document the stories of Labrador's boarding schools. She has a Ph.D. from Memorial University.

IT'S NOT A LIE IF YOU BELIEVE IT 
Was Kevin once abandoned at a gas station by his parents? 

This podcast was recorded on April 27th, 2021.