Wild Goose

This episode is sponsored by A New Creation- an organization that guides your community in the faith-filled, accessible, collaborative creation of theological art. Learn more at https://www.hereisanewcreation.com

A talk by Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America. Democracy in Chains blows open the doors to the unknown history of the relentless campaign by the radical rich to eliminate unions, suppress voting, privatize everything from schools to Medicare and Social Security, stop action on climate change, and alter the U.S. Constitution. MacLean traces this game plan back to the Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan, who forged his ideas in an attempt to preserve the white elite’s power in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. As much of America (and the world) reels from a seemingly unexpected swing to populism and far-right rhetoric, Democracy in Chains offers a peek behind the curtain to reveal just how we got here and what the future will hold. The Nation magazine has named it “the most valuable book” of the year.

Nancy MacLean

Nancy MacLean is an award-winning scholar of the twentieth-century U.S., whose new book, Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America, has been described by Publishers Weekly as “a thoroughly researched and gripping narrative… [and] a feat of American intellectual and political history.” Booklist called it “perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government.”
history.duke.edu/people/nancy-maclean

This episode is sponsored by A New Creation- an organization that guides your community in the faith-filled, accessible, collaborative creation of theological art. Learn more at https://www.hereisanewcreation.com

It’s no secret that gun violence has been on the rise in the past years. Attacks on black churches, queer night clubs, and high schools, all make us ask: How do we stop the violence? How do we stand in solidarity with victims? What can we do?

This year at the Wild Goose Festival, Shane Claiborne, renowned author and activist, joins us for a conversation addressing this topic. Drawing from years of experience working for prison reform, the abolition of the death penalty, and as a radical peacemaker, Shane will be bringing a powerful word that we can carry with us back to our communities.

Shane Claiborne

Shane Claiborne graduated from Eastern University and did graduate work at Princeton Seminary. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Eastern. His adventures have taken him from the streets of Calcutta where he worked with Mother Teresa to the wealthy suburbs of Chicago where he served at the influential mega-church Willow Creek. As a peacemaker, his journeys have taken him to some of the most troubled regions of the world – from Rwanda to the West Bank, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Shane is a founder and board member of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world. He is married to Katie Jo, a North Carolina girl who also fell in love with the city (and with Shane).

Shane writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus. His books are translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over 100 times a year, nationally and internationally.
www.thesimpleway.org

 

This episode is sponsored by A New Creation- an organization that guides your community in the faith-filled, accessible, collaborative creation of theological art. Learn more at https://www.hereisanewcreation.com

Tattoos mean a lot of different things to different people. Some commemorate a special place in time, Others are a physical reminders of the emotional or spiritual, but all have a story. In this session you are invited to show off your ink, and share your own story.

Click here to keep up with the latest Goose News: http://wildgoosefestival.org/signup/   Micah J. Murray

Micah is your typical somewhat disillusioned-but-tenaciously-hopeful post-evangelical millennial. He grew up in a weird home school cult, did a brief stint as a missionary in Africa, went to Christian college, got married, had two kids, got divorced, and now goes to therapy a lot and writes angsty stuff on the internet. People tell him all the time that he shouldn’t be a Christian anymore after all the shit he’s experienced in the name of that religion, but by some combination of stubbornness, laziness, and the grace of God, he still claims that faith (most days). Micah lives in Minneapolis with his family, where he makes websites for artists and authors and entrepreneurs and waits (impatiently) for spring. micahjmurray.com
micahjmurray.com 

Cody Burton

Operations and Programming Support
Born and raised in North Florida, Cody is a passionate advocate for social justice and full inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community within the Church. He currently resides in Denver, Colorado where he is an active member of House For All Sinners and Saints. In 2016 he helped launch and currently runs the website IntersectionsFaith.com where he is a self-proclaimed wannabe blogger and Co-host of the Intersections Podcast. Cody has also assisted in starting Beer & Hymns Jax as well as The Intersections Festival. Cody started as a part of the Wild Goose Festival staff this year handling logistics and operations and looks forward to seeing the festival and the Wild Goose Community continue to grow.

Click here to keep up with the latest Goose News: http://wildgoosefestival.org/signup/

The bandage has been ripped off the delusion that we lived in a post-racial America. The simmering racial animus is now boiling hot. In this session, you will hear practical but inspiring ways to practice faith and courage in daily life so that you can sustain your advocacy for racial tolerance, diversity and equity.

Jatrice Martel Gaiter

Jatrice Martel Gaiter is the executive vice president, external affairs for Volunteers of America. Ms. Gaiter builds national awareness and support for its mission to provide programs and services which enable people to reach their full potential. She provides managerial and strategic oversight of public policy, marketing, development, and communications departments. She is the immediate past board chair of the National Human Services Assembly.

Ms. Gaiter earned a BA in government from the University of Maryland and a Juris Doctorate from the Syracuse University College of Law.
www.voa.org

John Pavlovitz

John Pavlovitz is a writer and pastor from Wake Forest, North Carolina. In the past three years, his blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said has reached a diverse audience of millions. A 20-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John’s mission is to help the Church become a more compassionate, loving environment for all people. He serves on staff at North Raleigh Community Church and his first book A Bigger Table, will be released in October. http://johnpavlovitz.com/

Click here to keep up with the latest Goose News: http://wildgoosefestival.org/signup/  

Click here to keep up with the latest Goose News: http://wildgoosefestival.org/signup/  

Amber is the home-schooled daughter of a 30-year executive at Focus on the Family and grew up entrenched in the values that the organization embodies. Her conservative Christian parents worked hard to protect her from the outside world, but when Amber came out as gay at the age of 27, she shattered the perfect persona that her family strove to uphold. As a result, she lost everything, and her world forever changed. Join Amber for a time of storytelling and Q&A as she talks about coming out, the meaning of family, and what it means to be an LGBTQ person of faith.

Amber Cantorna is an author, speaker, advisor, and leader in the movement of LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. As Founder and President of Beyond, Amber is passionate about dissolving shame, fostering self acceptance, and generating messages of hope for LGBTQ+ people of faith. Her memoir, Refocusing My Family is now available everywhere books are sold and she blogs at AmberCantorna.com.
AmberCantorna.com

This episode is sponsored by A New Creation- an organization that guides your community in the faith-filled, accessible, collaborative creation of theological art. Learn more at https://www.hereisanewcreation.com Diana Butler Bass

Diana is an author, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in American religion and culture. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University and is the author of nine books, including Grounded: Finding God in the World—A Spiritual Revolution (HarperOne, 2015) and the widely influential Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening (HarperOne, 2012). Her other books include A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperOne, 2009), and the best-selling Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith (2006) which was named as one of the best religion books of the year by Publishers Weekly and was featured in a cover story in USA TODAY. Diana regularly writes at The Huffington Post and The Washington Post and comments on religion, politics, and culture in the media including USA TODAY, Time, Newsweek, CBS, CNN, FOX, PBS, and NPR.

dianabutlerbass.com

Martin Luther King’s principles of non-violence are as important today as they were sixty years ago. King understood violence. He knew when it needed to be provoked and exposed (as it was in Selma, which was chosen for a march with the knowledge that local law enforcement would be willing to resort to violence). And he understood the hard work needed to prepare oneself to respond to violence non-violently. The streets are still an important place to march and protest, but increasingly, our “streets” are online, on social media. And we’ve done nothing to prepare ourselves to respond non-violently to the violence we encounter there. Utilizing a panel discussion and Q&R, this session would challenge us to apply King’s principles of non-violence in our interactions and help us think creatively together about the preparation needed to engage non-violently.

Jennifer Ould

Jennifer’s journey brought her from the heart of hardcore fundamentalism, through conservative evangelicalism to a much more open and curious faith. Along the way, she has worked as a Republican activist, received an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, worked to build bridges between conservative Christians and the LGBTQ+ community, served on an Episcopal church vestry, helped launch Gilead – an inclusive non-traditional church near her home in Chicago’s most diverse neighborhood, and advocated for racial and sexual justice in uncomfortable spaces. She maintains relationships with conservative family friends through social media, and regularly finds herself on the receiving end of their anger with progressives and “liberals.” Leaning to navigate those interactions and relationships non-violently continues to stretch and challenge her. Jennifer runs, preaches, tells stories, and blogs at jennifereould.com.
www.jennifereould.com

  Brian McLaren

Board Vice-Chair
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. Notable among the many books he has authored are: “A New Kind of Christian”, which won Christianity Today’s “Award of Merit” in 2002; “Everything Must Change” tracing critical ways in which Jesus’ message confronts contemporary global crises; and We Make the Road by Walking, marking a turn toward constructive and practical theology. His 2016 release, The Great Spiritual Migration, has been hailed as his most important work to date. Brian is married to Grace, and they have four adult children and five grandchildren. His personal interests include wildlife and ecology, fly fishing and kayaking, music and songwriting, art, history, and literature. www.brianmclaren.net

  Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza

Curator, Justice Camp
Named at 1 of 10 Faith Leaders to watch in 2018 by the Center for American Progress, Dr. Robyn is an anti-oppression, anti-racist, non-binary Trans*gressive Latinx. Dr. Robyn takes seriously their call as an activist theologian and ethicist to bridge together theories and practices that result in communities responding to pressing social concerns. Dr. Robyn sees this work as a life-orienting vocation, deeply committed to translating theory to practice, and embedded in re-imagining our moral horizon to one which privileges a politics of radical difference.

To learn more, check out Dr. Robyn’s website: www.iRobyn.com
www.irobyn.com 

Xavier Ramey

Xavier Ramey is the CEO of Justice Informed, LLC, a social impact consulting firm based in Chicago, IL that focuses on using public policy, data, and human behavioral patterns to catalyze institutions’ social and economic inclusion, community engagement, corporate responsibility, and philanthropy. He is an award-winning social strategist, noted public speaker, & conflict mediator. A native Chicagoan, he is a recognizable voice on the topics of community and economic development, policing & policy violence, & connecting the Christian faith to our lived experience.

Xavier is often sought out to communicate issues of incredible tension and historical significance to audiences and communities that are either staunchly against, ignorant of, or confused about issues of racism, sexism, and other forms of systemic injustice. His message of ambition, deliberate relationship, and justice being a form of righteous discrimination has been heard across the world on stages, in companies, in churches and in classrooms.

Lisbeth Meléndez Rivera is a 30+ year veteran of the LGBTQ and Labor movements. Lisbeth has extensive experience organizing and training at the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, and culture specifically as they relate to communities of color. Lisbeth has crisscrossed the country training workers and community leaders in organizing, leadership development, and community building strategies from a grassroots perspective. She has also done extensive work supporting LGBTQ leaders in America Latina.

Currently, Lisbeth, is the Director of Faith Outreach & Training at the Human Rights Campaign, where she works with people of faith across denominations to ensure we can be who we are, love who we love, and practice our faith free of judgement.

Lisbeth ia a biologist and sociologist by education, with a solid Jesuit and SND formation that makes her passions flare and her days move forward. Today Lisbeth lives in Hyattsville, Maryland, alongside her wife, Lisa Weiner- Mahfuz, and their chosen family, both human and furry!!

Beyond Inclusion: Cultivating Communities of Radical Embrace

Based on my new book by the same title, this presentation will explore the need for individuals and communities to move beyond conversations about including marginalized groups to becoming communities that embrace the imperative for radical embrace that is central to the Gospel. The impact of adopting this posture fundamentally changes the mission and makeup of a faith community, and requires a complete and total transformation in the way we incarnate our Christian faith.

Brandan Robertson

Brandan is the Lead Pastor of Missiongathering Christian Church in San Diego, California, and the author or contributing author to six books. Acclaimed as one of “the most hope-inspiring young Christian leaders”, Brandan speaks to diverse audiences around the globe and has been an honored guest speaker at a wide range of venues, from the White House to the Parliament of the Worlds Religions. He serves as an adjunct lecturer at San Francisco Theological Seminary and lectures regularly at globally prestigious academic institutions ranging from Oxford University, University College of Dublin, Cardiff University, and Emory University. Brandan is currently a postulant in the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans, and earned his bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministry & Theology from Moody Bible Institute and his Master of Theological Studies from Iliff School of Theology. He currently resides in San Diego, California.
www.brandanrobertson.com