The Vicars' Crossing

Dr. Paula Stone Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy and human understanding. As a transgender woman, Williams brings a unique perspective to her work on gender equity.
Whether a corporate meeting, women's conference, company retreat or national gathering, Williams' unique perspective and story-telling skill delights both men and women as she humbly and effectively advocates for gender equity, LGBTQ rights and appreciation for the differences among us.

Williams has been the CEO of a large religious non-profit, the editor-at-large of a national magazine, host of a national television show and a corporate consultant. Williams has served as an adjunct university professor in the United States and Europe, and is the author of eight books, including "She's My Dad", co-authored with her son, Jonathan.
In addition to her public speaking and corporate consulting, Williams currently serves as a pastor at Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colorado, where she also maintains a counselling practice.

Her Book As A Woman – What I Learned About Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned is available for preorder and will be released on June 1. 

Follow Paula on her blog at
https://paulastonewilliams.com/ 

IT’S NOT A LIE:
Rob tells a very MOOOOVING Story 

This podcast was recorded on April 20th, 2021.

Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce is Professor and Dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. She is the first woman to be appointed as Dean in the Divinity School’s 150-year history. In 2016, Pierce served as the Founding Director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Previously, she served as the Founding Director of the Center for Black Church Studies and Associate Professor of Religion and Literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. Pierce holds degrees from Cornell University and Princeton University. 
 
Pierce’s research specialties include African American Religious History; Womanist Theology; African American Literature; and Race and Religion. A widely-published author, her work focuses on the historical and contemporary significance of the African American religious tradition. Pierce has written over 50 critical essays and articles in academic and trade journals which consider the relationship between religious faith, race, and gender in the American context. You can find her work in a wide variety of publications, including: Time Magazine; Christian Century; Theology Today; and Christianity & Literature.
 
Pierce is the creator and curator of “Touching the Sacred,” an exhibit on material religion and the Black Church. She is a member of various professional organizations, including the Modern Language Association, the American Academy of Religion, and the American Historical Association. Pierce has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Pew Foundation. In 2015, she was honoured to be selected as one of The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans.
 
In addition to her teaching and academic scholarship, Yolanda Pierce is a dedicated mentor, community activist, board member of a foster care agency, and cable news commentator. She maintains a public intellectual presence through her blogs and frequent appearances on television and radio. She believes that teaching and scholarship are meaningful only if they truly enhance people’s daily lives, thus she works tirelessly to bridge the gaps between pulpit, pew, and academy. A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., and a native New Yorker, Pierce was raised in the Church of God in Christ and still maintains a close connection to her Pentecostal roots.

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IT'S NOT A LIE...
Was Kevin’s first date interrupted with an angry bowel? 

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This podcast was recorded on April 13th, 2021.

KATHY KHANG
ABOUT KATHY
 
Kathy is the mother of three. Wife of one. She loves Jesus. She really, really likes yoga & deep breaths, nail polish & lipstick, and girlfriends & our laughter and tears.

She is a writer, speaker, coffee drinker, and now yoga teacher, and this journey began in childhood diaries & journals, moved into newsrooms, and then to a co-authored book entitled More Than Serving Tea. The book is about the intersection of faith, culture and gender, and it tells just part of an important story of Asian American Christian women.

The title of the book tells as much about the content as it does about Kathy. It connects the hope of “more” to that of a stereotypical image of both “Asian” as represented by the West – submissive servant – and “women” as represented by the West, the East, and by some interpretations of Biblical womanhood. She still serves others, enjoys tea (prefers coffee), embraces her complex ethnic/cultural/racial identity and her womanhood, all the while loving Jesus while living and leading in an imperfect world.

Kathy had spent more than 20 years in parachurch ministry working with college students and training organizations and church leaders. Before that, she was a journalist in Wisconsin.

Most recently Kathy authored Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up to challenge and encourage everyone to find and use their influence to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

You can also follow Kathy on Twitter @mskathykhang or visit her author page on Facebook.

http://www.kathykhang.com/ 

ITS NOT A LIE
Did Kevin have a disrupted first date with Catherinanne because of gut trouble?

If you are interested in the concert that iain was talking about, tickets are sold here!
https://beacons.page/sharetheland 

This podcast was recorded on April 12, 2021.

Guest: 
About Diana
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.  

Diana’s passion is sharing great ideas to change lives and the world—a passion that ranges from informing the public about spiritual trends, challenging conventional narratives about religious practice, entering the fray of social media with spiritual wisdom and smart theology, and writing books to help readers see themselves, their place in history, and God differently.  She does this with intelligence, joy, and a good dose of humor, leading well-known comedian John Fugelsang to dub her “iconic,” the late Marcus Borg to call her “spontaneous and always surprising,” and Glennon Doyle to praise her “razor-sharp mind” and “mystical heart.”
She holds a doctorate in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of eleven books. Her bylines include The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN.com, Atlantic.com, USA Today, Huffington Post, Spirituality and Health, Reader's Digest, Christian Century, and Sojourners. She has commented on religion, politics, and culture in the media widely including on CBS, CNN, PBS, NPR, CBC, FOX, Sirius XM, TIME, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and in multiple global news outlets. In the 1990s, she wrote a weekly column on religion and culture for the Santa Barbara News-Press, which was distributed nationally by the New York Times Syndicate.
Her work has received two Wilbur Awards for best nonfiction book of the year, awards from Religion News Association for individual commentary and for Book of the Year, Nautilus Awards Silver and Gold medals, the Illumination Book Award Silver medal, Books for a Better Life Award, Book of the Year of the Academy of Parish Clergy, the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize for Church History, Substack Fellowship for Independent Writers, and Publishers Weekly’s Best Religion Book of the Year.

She and her husband live in Alexandria, Virginia, with their dog and their sometimes-successful backyard garden.

Webpage
www.Dianabutlerbass.com

IT’S NOT A LIE IF YOU BELIEVE IT 
Did Rob spend time on the set of a popular children’s show? 

This podcast was recorded on March 24th, 2021.

GUEST
Ayodeji Malcolm Guite is an English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest, and academic. Born in Nigeria to British expatriate parents, Guite earned degrees from Cambridge and Durham universities. His research interests include the intersection of religion and the arts, and the examination of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and British poets. He is currently a Bye-Fellow and retired chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge and associate chaplain of St Edward King and Martyr in Cambridge. On several occasions, he has taught as visiting faculty at several colleges and universities in England and North America. Guite is the author of five books of poetry, including two chapbooks and three full-length collections, as well as several books on Christian faith and theology. Guite has a decisively simple, formalist style in poems, many of which are sonnets, and he stated that his aim is to "be profound without ceasing to be beautiful". Guite performs as a singer and guitarist fronting the Cambridgeshire-based blues, rhythm and blues, and rock band "Mystery Train". His latest book is called DAVID’S CROWN- a collection of 150 Sonnets in response to the psalms. 

Today We discuss: 
- grief and the power of poetry 
- Holy Week and the power of liturgy 
- David’s Crown
- Lord of The Rings Quiz 
- JRR Tolkien as Prophet 
- life a year into the lockdown 

IT’S NOT A LIE 
Did Kevin get punished by pigs? 

WEBPAGES 
www.malcolmguite.com

BIO 
Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He enjoys reading widely, preaching and writing on contemplative spirituality, justice-related matters, and the art of preaching. He's been married to Rosie since 2006 and they have two beautiful children, Karis and Nathan. His first book, The Deeply Formed Life, is now available wherever books are sold.
ITS NOT A LIE IF YOU BELIEVE IT 
Has Iain been wooing girls with sweet music? 
WEBSITE
https://www.richvillodas.com/

GUEST
On this episode we welcome ERIN DAVIS - Originally from Edmonton, Erin is a radio broadcaster and was the popular, long-time co-host of 98.1 CHFI’s morning show in Toronto. She’After Lauren’s death, Erin decided to return to her radio work, staying on for eighteen months. At that point, she chose to retire from daily radio and moved with her husband, Rob Whitehead, to Victoria, BC.

Her memoir, Mourning Has Broken: Love, Loss & Reclaiming Joy, was released in February of 2019 to critical acclaim and became a bestseller, finishing the year in the Top 10 for non-fiction.
In 2020, Erin was named to the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.
Erin appears regularly at various public events across the country, both as M.C. and delivering her Keynote address “Reclaiming Joy.” Erin and Rob’s routine also includes regular trips back to Ontario so they can continue to spend time with their son-in-law Phil, new wife Brooke, their beautiful boy Colin and daughter Jane.

In 2008, the first Erin Davis – Women in Media bursary was awarded to a student at Erin’s alma mater, Loyalist College. This annual award was established by Erin and her family, in part to recognize and assist promising media students.
Erin writes an internet journal twice weekly, available at erindavis.com. Her journal receives some 5,000 visits each week and, as in every aspect of her life, Erin is very, very grateful. Find it at 
www.ErinDavis.com

Today We discuss: 
- Erin’s daughter Lauren Davis. 
- grieving opening 
- things not to say to those who grieve 
- finding gratitude and joy after loss 
- Erin’s life in Radio 
- misogyny on Radio 

IT’S NOT A LIE 
Rob fancies a drink with Donald Sutherland 

WEBPAGES 
www.erindavis.com

GUEST
On this episode, we welcome Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons -  a fellow with the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at American Progress. His work focuses on a wide range of issues related to the role of religion in American public life, including promoting a progressive vision of religious liberty that champions LGBTQ rights and amplifying how faith communities empower social and economic justice.

He is the author of the book - Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity.  His writing on religion and politics regularly appears in national media outlets, including CNN and The Washington Post. He’s also the founder of The Resistance Prays, a daily devotional aimed at spiritually and politically defeating Trumpism.

He and his husband, both native Texans, now live in Louisville, Kentucky.

We discuss: 
-his book JUST FAITH, 
- his upbringing with a missionary grandmother, and parents who were community activists and union organizers.
- Being Queer in the church 
- Legacies of The Rev’d Dr. Martin Luther King, FDR, Walter Rauschenbusch, and even Tommy Douglas. 
- The surprising number of Consistently Progressive Christians in an America
- using our words to join a long legacy of progressive Christians 

IT’S NOT A LIE 
Just how many strange things has Kevin eaten?

GUEST: 
This week we welcome best-selling author, and editor of America Magazine, and Chaplain to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Fr. James Martin SJ. His new book, LEARNING TO PRAY (2021) is a helpful guide for all who struggle with prayer. We discuss the new book, his older writings, LGBTQ Rights, the faithful witness of Stephen Colbert and President Joe Biden and so much more. 

IT’S NOT A LIE OF YOU BELIEVE IT:
Does Eggplant make Iain vomit? 🍆

GUEST: 
This week on our BONUS episode, Rob, Kevin and Iain welcome best-selling author, activist, and public theologian BRIAN MCLAREN. Brian is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. Brian’s latest book - Faith After Doubt (2021) - makes the bold proposition that only doubt can save the world (and your faith).

We discuss his latest book, the contributions of RACHEL HELD EVANS, the influence of the religious left in American politics and so much more. 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: 
Each week in February the guys will highlight another Black Canadian Hero. Rob shares his memories and love for OSCAR PETERSON 

IT’S NOT A LIE OF YOU BELIEVE IT:
Did Rob step on a famous golfer's foot?