Wild Goose

Mona Haydar is a Syrian American rapper, poet, activist, practitioner of Permaculture, meditator, composting devotee, mountain girl, solar power lover, and a tireless God-enthusiast.

Her single, “Hijabi”, was a groundbreaking debut with millions of views. Billboard critics named it one of 2017’s top protest songs and one of the 25 top feminist anthems of all time. Her work as an artist and activist has been featured on BBC, CNN, BuzzFeed, AJ+, NPR, Mic, Psychology Today, Refinery 29, The Huffington Post, Ms Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Boston Globe, New York Times, and many others. Her first EP is set to drop in 2018.

Mona practices a life of sacred activism, poetry, contemplation, and advocacy for living gently upon the Earth. She is currently working towards her Masters in Theology and lives in Harlem, New York City, with her husband and their two sons.

www.monahaydar.com

Doug Pagitt:

If by some odd set of circumstances we were to meet at a party where neither of us knew the host and were both the party-partners of someone else, and we were trapped in the kitchen, and in a kind effort you sought to break the awkward silence by saying, “so, who are you?”, I would want to tell you that deep down I am a novice ultra-marathoner and try not to talk constantly about having run a 100-mile race recently. And at this very moment, I wish I was out on a run.

But instead, in order to fit the protocol of casual, professional interactions I would tell you that I am a pastor, an author, a convener who seeks to be a goodness conspirator & possibility evangelist finding creative, entrepreneurial and generative ways to enlist people to join in the hopes, dreams, and desires of God for the world.

If you seemed at all interested in all that professional stuff I might include that I do that work by being the pastor of Solomon’s Porch in Minneapolis, speaking and writing on spirituality and leadership a
www.dougpagitt.com

Pam Rocker has been in all kinds of bubbles. From life as a conservative international missionary based in Texas to performing queer feminist songs and sermons across Canada, she has traveled in and out of acceptance and animosity with the norms of faith and family. Through her work as a faith leader and a queer performer, Pam explores the bubbles that trap us and that keep us safe, and how we know the difference. Come and experience story and poetry as you expand the edges of your bubble and discover what else is out there!

Pam Rocker is an atypical activist, award-winning writer, speaker, and musician. Pam has worked for many years for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in faith communities and beyond. She was chosen as one of the top 30 activists in Canada in THIS Magazine, nominated as Artist of the Year in the Heart of Excellence awards, and writes/performs queer feminist ukulele comedy music. Pam is one of the Top 40 Under 40 in Avenue Magazine, a committee member of PechaKucha Calgary, Chair of the Observer Magazine, and an instructor with YouthWrite Alberta. She is currently the Director of Affirming Connections for Calgary and speaks, teaches, and plays north and south of the border.

pamrocker.com

Perhaps no one is more rooted in history, engaged in the present, and leaning more intentionally into the future than Ruby Sales.

Ruby is a public theologian, historian, activist, social critic, and educator. She first answered the call to social justice in the 1960’s as a teenager at Tuskegee Institute to join the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and work on voter registration in Lowndes County, Alabama. Among her many great achievements since then, she is one of fifty African Americans from the Civil Rights Movement to have her oral history spotlighted at the Library of Congress. She also founded, and still directs, the SpiritHouse Project, a national nonprofit organization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Sales

When Jeff Clark isn’t leading The Goose, he’s probably either teaching grad students at MTSU, riding a bike, consulting in a political campaign, dancing in a club on Broadway, directing an academic conference in Chicago, or out finding the best ice cream shop in town. Jeff is happiest when he’s multi-tasking. Jeff loves music and production and creating. In addition to bringing strategic thinking to The Goose, you’ll find him all over the festival grounds making sure the lighting and sound are perfect. And dancing in front of the stage. Jeff is President and Producer of the Wild Goose Festival and Director of Graduate Studies in IT at Middle Tennessee State University.

In 1978, Amy’s first record debuted. Amy talks with Chris Hauser, music industry veteran, about her forty-plus year adventure.

Amy Grant has been strumming her way through a forty-plus year adventure as a singer-songwriter, author, television host, and speaker.

Amy has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Her chart performance boasts six No. 1 hits, 10 “Top 40” Pop singles, 17 “Top 40” Adult Contemporary tracks and multiple Contemporary Christian chart-toppers. Grant has received 6 GRAMMY Awards, 26 Dove Awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a star on the Music City Walk of Fame. Additionally, she was most recently inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Stepping out from behind her guitar, Grant found herself hosting the NBC prime-time series “Three Wishes” in 2005. Two years later, Grant’s first book, Mosaic: Pieces of My Life, was published. She continues to share her stories with audiences all over the country.

Grant resides with her family in Nashville, Tennessee, and is widely known for her philanthropy and involvement in local causes and charitable organizations. Her own organization, The Helping Hands Foundation, has afforded her the opportunity to identify needs around her and the resources to help meet them, which has proven to be the sweetest reward of all.
amygrant.com

We keep hearing about the power of story, but how do we know what parts of our own story are most powerful and how can we use that to effect the world around us? How do we move beyond the mini stories we share on instagram, snapchat, and facebook? In this session we will look at ways to share our own stories as well as how to make space for other’s stories. Pastor, writer, speaker and podcaster Sarah Heath spent a year researching the power of stories and narrative theology for her book “what’s your story? seeing your life through God’s eyes.” She will share how Jospeh Campbell’s heroes journey narrative theory has revolutionized not just the way she sees scripture, but the way she see’s her own life’s storyline.

Sarah Heath is originally from Canada but spent some time in Southern Mississippi and North Carolina, Sarah currently serves First United Methodist Church in Costa Mesa, California, where she is the lead pastor for a church re-start and revitalization. Sarah has a passion for music, traveling, acting, creating art, playing and watching sports. She is the author of What’s your story? Seeing your life through God’s eyes and host of the podcast Sonderlust the podcast. The biggest blessings in her life are her random assortment of talented friends and her amazing mutt of a dog, Tenor.
www.revsarahheath.com

As an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, I often feel a lot of tension within the institutional church. As a result, many people ask me what it’s like to be a Native American and a Christian. Because we are a country that has swept crimes done against indigenous peoples under the rug, the church is still trying to figure out how to have the conversation about where we go from here to truly build a community of shalom across racial and cultural divides. Addressing issues of our time, misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding indigenous peoples and our history as a country, I want to describe what it’s like to be a Potawatomi woman and Christian in America in 2018 and my hope for the future church.

Kaitlin Curtice is a Native American Christian author, speaker and worship leader. As an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and someone who has grown up in the Christian faith, Kaitlin writes on the intersection of Native American spirituality, mystic faith in everyday life, and the church. Her recently released book is Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places. She is a regular contributor to Sojourners, and was most recently a speaker at the Why Christian? Conference and the Lynchburg Revival. You can also find her story featured on CBS Religion’s Race, Religion and Resistance documentary. When she isn’t work on her second book or spending time with her family in Atlanta, Kaitlin writes at www.kaitlincurtice.com

For years, I was a part of Christian communities that taught false and disparaging things about LGBTQ people. While angry at the church’s treatment of LGBTQ people, I still took on the belief that it was not okay for me to be gay. Over time, I came to change my beliefs about what kind of life and love could be possible for me, and I felt freed! But, coming out in my so-called progressive Evangelical community led to conflict, loss, and disappointment. It made me wonder if my faith was even good for me. These experiences, led me to interview other lesbian and bisexual women who’ve held onto faith despite some negative experiences. I wanted to know why and how they kept their faith. Their stories of resilience gave me hope for a faith that no longer causes harm, but offers healing, connection and hope. In this session, I’ll share my story and what I learned from this research.

Rachel is a social worker and therapist at a community mental health agency outside of Detroit, Michigan. Rachel’s book, Unnatural: Spiritual Resiliency in Queer Christian Women was born out of her experiences in non-affirming communities and her qualitative research. Now, Rachel has taken on the unexpected role of Pastor’s Wife since marrying Emily Swan, co-pastor of Blue Ocean Faith Ann Arbor. They have a beautiful community there.
www.rachelmurr.com

Many of us want to change the unjust systems around us but we lack the tools — and prevailing secular models give us spiritual indigestion. This workshop will teach tools rooted in the deep wells of our faith to bring more shalom into our community and society.

Rev. Alexia Salvatierra is the author with Dr. Peter Heltzel of Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World (Intervarsity Press). She is a Lutheran Pastor with over 40 years of experience in congregational and community ministry, including church-based service and community development programs, congregational and community organizing and legislative advocacy. She is an affiliate professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and adjunct at four other academic institutions. In addition to coordinating the Guardian Angels Project and assisting at Hope Lutheran Church, she serves as a consultant (training, facilitating, organizing and leading strategic planning) for a variety of national/international organizations, including World Vision, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Christian Community Development Association. She is a national leader in immigrant justice, co-founder of the New Sanctuary Movement, the Evangelical Immigration Table and M25 (Matthew 25/Mateo 25).
http://www.alexiasalvatierra.com/

Jarrod McKenna is the co-founder of First Home Project, a community welcoming, housing and “giving a hand up not a hand-out” to recently arrived refugees, is the Teaching Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Perth, was a part of initiating the #LoveMakesAWay movement, and is a peace award winning nonviolent social change trainer, working primarily in the Middle East and Eastern Europe when not at home.

By reframing the biblical narrative through a womanist lens, this workshop will explore the inextricable link between spirituality and justice as an act of resistance. By incorporating storytelling, spoken word, movement, and other healing modalities participants will be introduced to a framework for seeking shalom in the face of political and socioeconomic forces of oppression. As it disrupts false narratives of oppression, this workshop will examine ways to restore vision, voice, and value to those traumatized at the intersections of race, class, gender, etc. This workshop invites participants to learn from the voices of the marginalized, examine the stories that have defined one’s identity, and discern how to live out of a transformed consciousness as co-creators of shalom in practical and tangible ways.

Tara Seabrook is an activist, writer, strategist, public theologian, and creative artist passionate about truth, justice, and authentic community. Grounded in a womanist approach, she affirms the inextricable link between spirituality and justice through storytelling, spoken word, movement, and other healing modalities. Her work seeks to disrupt false narratives and restore dignity to those traumatized at the intersections of race, class, gender, etc. Tara, who holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary, lived and served in Guatemala for two years before returning home to Charleston, SC in April 2017. She is co-author of the original poem, “I Am She: The Anthology,” which is the inspiration for the book she is currently writing. Tara is co-creator of www.blissfulauthenticity.com which works at the intersection of spirituality, justice, and creativity to manifest shalom in practical and tangible ways.
www.blissfulauthenticity.com