In Part 1 of this episode, Ashley quizzes Rev. Jeremy Smith and Tara Barnes on their knowledge of Welch’s Grape Juice and its connection with the Methodist Church.

In Part 2, Ashley discusses The Poisoned Chalice with Dr. Jennifer Woodruff Tait who literally wrote the book on Grape juice and Methodism.

GUESTS:

Tara Barnes is the editor for response magazine, the official magazine of United Methodist Women. United Methodist Women is the largest faith-based denominational organization for women in the United States focused on ensuring women and children can live thriving lives around the world.

Rev. Jeremy Smith is an ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church, Jeremy joined First Church Seattle as Pastor in July 2017. Originally from Oklahoma, Jeremy graduated from Oklahoma City University with a BA in Religion, and Boston University School of Theology with a Masters of Divinity. Along with being a pastor, Jeremy is best known for social media advocacy and his technology and faith blog Hacking Christianity.

Dr. Jennifer Woodruff Tait is the managing editor of Christian History magazine, the author of The Poisoned Chalice: Eucharistic Grape Juice and Common-Sense Realism in Victorian Methodism, and a priest in the Episcopal Church.

HOST:

Dr. Ashley Boggan Dreff, General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church. Dreff earned her PhD from Drew Theological School’s Graduate Division of Religion, specializing in both Methodist/Wesleyan Studies and Women’s/Gender Studies. She earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, specializing in American Religious History. She has previously worked as staff at the General Commission on Archives and History (2012-2014) and the Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church (2014-2016). She was the Director of United Methodist Studies and Assistant Professor Christian History at Hood Theological Seminary (Salisbury, NC), an AME Zion Seminary, from 2017-2019 and was the Director of Women’s and Gender Studies and Assistant Professor of Religion at High Point University (High Point, NC) from 2019-2020. Dreff is a lay member of the Arkansas Annual Conference and the daughter of two ordained United Methodist ministers. She is the author of Nevertheless: American Methodists and Women’s Rights (2020) and Entangled: A History of American Methodism, Politics, and Sexuality (2018).