Coffeepot Fellowship Podcast

Getting 30 minutes with Rev. Jeanne Pupke this particular week was an honor and nearly miraculous since there are just seven days left in her 18-month presidential campaign! Rev. Jeanne will be in New Orleans this week for the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association. In exactly one week, Saturday June 25th, 2017, all three candidates will be sweating it out as the votes are counted. And while my title won't change based on the votes, I'll be at the assembly praying it out as well. Your prayers are welcome too. While I cannot give an adequate presentation of the powerful impact Unitarian Universalists have had on the United States, I know that UU clergy can. What I can do is share some of my remarkable experience being part of Rev. Jeanne Pupke's church this year. I, a Baptist minister, and my wife, Kelli, arrived at First Unitarian Universalist Church in September 2016. My wife was a dual-degree student at Baptist Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity) and Virginia Commonwealth Universit

Rev. April Blaine lives in Columbus, Ohio and is the Lead Pastor at Hilliard United Methodist Church. She went to Hendrix College and Methodist Theological School in Ohio. She is married with kiddos and is a passionate advocate for the enneagram. Babes, blessings, and bathtubs - that's what we're talking about today with April. If you think we're blessing babes in bathtubs ... well, you're not totally off the mark! I noticed a little pattern in April's stories, she's able to gain huge insights into our humanity through the lives of amazing young people in her midst. Those stories involve the full range of being human. This podcast episode is almost like watching the movie Inside Out where you, literally, get to name experiences like Joy and Anger. What we see, in its raw form in children (and college students), can help us be honest about all that is pretty and pretty ugly in us. Coming to grips with our true selves has innumerable benefits. First, we experience our own liberation. We no longer have to lie to

The Rev. Dr. Paula Owens Parker is a Presbyterian minister and senior program developer of Roots Matter. Though Roots Matter’s approach to generational healing is rooted in the traumatic experience of chattel slavery and the African American spirituality created out of that experience, it has a deep and powerful connection with other groups and cultures who have experienced historical trauma. Roots Matter: Healing History, Honoring Heritage, and Renewing Hope was published in July 2016. Dr. Parker received her Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary (San Anselmo, CA.). She is a professor of Spiritual Formation at Union Presbyterian Seminary (Richmond, VA.), is a retreat leader, spiritual director, and healing prayer minister. She's received many awards including the 2013 Union Presbyterian Seminary Black Alumni/ae Trailblazer Award. Dr. Parker takes her coffee with 100% pure, light amber maple syrup. Dr. Parker is the founder and former executive director of The Daughters of Zelophehad, Inc

Let's go now to our Real World Correspondent, Sarah Langford Berger! Sarah is a hospice nurse with Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care. She has her Bachelor of Science from National American University. She's married to Chris Berger with two gorgeous kiddos. Make sure you listen to hear who Sarah met unexpectedly when she went to church! This show notes page is going to be more of a prequel to meeting Sarah. It will tell you about Sarah by telling you what kind of Jay McNeal she and her friends let in. If we do another episode together then it should include the story of the first night we actually met. But, for now, let's start before the beginning. We were both poor young adults living in one of the wealthiest counties in America when I showed up. I was doing my best to fit in when I arrived in the midwest but Sarah and her friends cared about more important things than conforming. I was a peculiar outcast when our paths crossed. I was, literally, working at Blockbuster Video after having resigned, bu

Teresa Pasquale Mateus lives in Chicago, IL where she is a student at Chicago Theological Seminary. She is a a trauma specialist, a contemplative, a speaker, hails from Bogotá, Columbia, and is the author the books Sacred Wounds and Mending Broken. Her third book is forthcoming with the working title, Going Naked: The Art of Spiritual Shedding. Teresa Pasquale Mateus is a trauma specialist, integrative psychotherapist, contemplative practice and contemplative action educator, and a writer. She is a graduate of NYU's School of Clinical Social Work and The Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation. She is also a trained yoga teacher through the Sivananda tradition and a provider of equine-facilitated psychotherapy. She teaches, speaks, leads workshops and retreats in the areas of trauma, spirituality and justice - often at the intersection points between those areas and paths to healing. As a trauma survivor herself, Teresa is fascinated with the resiliency of the soul. It is no surprise, therefo

Sarah Are is about to graduate from Columbia Theological Seminary near Atlanta, Georgia and relocate to Dallas, Texas! Sarah's courage to move as she answers her calls brought her through my own Richmond, Virginia for a summer while she completed her Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) and where she reconnected with her undergraduate alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. With that same courage and the belief that God finds us all in various ways, Sarah helped launch a ministry called Sanctified Art with the mission of bringing worship and art together. The Are family, Sarah included, are storytellers. For that reason, at the end of this interview you will surely have a new appreciation of communion and you will know a certain four things. I am quite excited myself at the idea of spreading this family story of four things, even just among our mutual friends that she mentioned. I know that those friends (Amanda Hill, Scott Biggers, Laura Kelly, Daniel Burch, Matthew White, and Nathanael Blessington) will

Grace Aheron is a force of nature all unto herself. She is wise, courageous and full of faith. Her stories include advocacy for others, leaps of faith, and living into her own being. I took some time at the beginning of our conversation to make relationship connections. Being introduced to Claire Hitchins and Taylor (Poindexter) Devine helps all of us know Grace and helps the world be a better place. The web of goodness and love I see developing in the Coffeepot Fellowship and United Faith Leaders is a beautiful thing. They are certainly forging new connections. However, they are mostly shining a light on the kinds of interconnectedness, beauty, and strength that already existed. We're truly grateful just to be participants. Do, please, make connections with Claire and Taylor. Grace promoted Black and Pink, which describes itself as an open family of LGBTQ prisoners and “free world” allies who support each other. Grace asked us especially to become penpals. There are many ways to get involved and support Blac

Rev. Dr. Lisa Cressman is the Founder and Steward of Backstory Preaching. She is the Assisting Priest at Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Houston, Texas. Her Doctor of Ministry is from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana, and her Master of Divinity is from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. Lisa also has her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  "Let your life speak" is an old Quaker adage and the title Parker Palmer has given to his popular book which is common reading at every seminary. For any preacher, like Lisa Cressman, the adage would become "let your life preach." Put better by Lisa herself, you will hear her adieu at the end of our interview as "be good news to preach good news." First we must be the Good News. Then and only then we can preach the Good News. If this is the life, promise and love you want to preach then you have come to the right place to get all the pieces in place that you will need to bring your

Sushama Austin-Connor has degrees from Emerson College, Fisk University, and Harvard Divinity School.  Today she is part of the Princeton Seminary Continuing Education staff where she directs the Black Theology and Leadership Institute. She worships with her husband and two boys in the United Church of Christ and appreciates coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. (Sometimes the world really does run on Dunkin'!) Sushama describes herself as "faith leader, mom, wife, religionista, and media generalist." She'll hit each one of those in our conversation for listeners. Some listeners will definitely identify with a struggle Sushama is experiencing as she pursues ordination. Friends of this podcast will know that we love and support the Christian denomination called the United Church of Christ, UCC. It is the denomination which Sushama happily aligns herself to with its social justice values. You'll here her say, regarding her ministry/job at Princeton about choosing a theme for the Black Theology and Leadership Institute, t

Hello, friends. I'm Father Cathie.  I'm an Episcopal priest in North Carolina, serving congregations and people with the freedom to go where I am called. That's why my ministry is called Free Range Priest — instead of serving one church or group, I serve in many places and many ways. Through teaching and discussing Christian practice in everyday life, I help clergy and congregations re-imagine relationships and connect with audiences through digital evangelism. I became a Free Range Priest after a decade serving in Episcopal congregations in New York City, Durham, NC and Wichita, KS, then another five years serving regionally on a bishop's staff, where I worked with clergy and congregations through mission and ministry development. Today I consult and teach for Backstory Preaching, an online preaching program, as part of my Free Range Priest Ministry, along with blogging, speaking,  coaching, and leading worship. I’m married to the love of my life, and together we raise my two dogs and his three kids (but don

Colber Prosper and I met at the inception of the Wild Goose Festival's LEAD NOW! program in 2015. We both returned as contributors in 2016. LEAD NOW! applied his teaching and leadership skills while I joined the first-ever GooseCast, a stage dedicated to podcasters. Colber is an author and the founder of Prosper & Partners. Colber's first book, No Entry: Examining the Powers that Undermine Our Full Potential, is a unique breakthrough book. It is accessible like Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and has substance like The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. First, as any work of art it draws from unique combinations of sources.  It synthesizes material and ideas from many wide-ranging sources, including hard sciences, music, poetry, social sciences and life experience. Second, No Entry is useful! Concepts discussed have lists, steps, or categories. You can identify what you have or what's missing in your circumstance and move to affect change in your life! And if you ever find yourself without

According to Mr. Rogers, Leslie Boyd has a very important job - telling the truth. "Truth-telling is a ministry and it's a joy to be able to do it," Leslie says. And Mr. Rogers is not the only famous reverend to encourage Leslie's truth-telling. Rev. Dr. William Barber, II seems to lend a microphone to Leslie every chance he gets. To learn more of Leslie's story after this interview, we recommend her blog (below) and her book, Life o' Mike. I was happy to have Leslie share about the joy that she experiences while holding politicians accountable. Many Americans, while we're learning quickly, don't really know the experience of rallies, protests, and marches. Americans like me had fallen asleep at the switch and thought the ugly parts of American history were in our rear-view mirror. Welcome to whiplash. But it doesn't have to be 100 percent sad 100 percent of the time when it comes to protesting. Leslie's experience has been one of camaraderie and sisterhood/brotherhood. When they're together about Good Work a

Rev. Dr. Mark Achtemeier is a minister, author and theologian of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is well known for his biblical research regarding same-sex marriage and having argued just as passionately against same-sex marriage as he argues for it today. This son to prestigious old and new testament seminary professors presents his case in The Bible's Yes to Same-Sex Marriage. Many of our listeners know that I work at Union Presbyterian Seminary's Morton Library. More specifically, I work in the Instructional Resource Center where I stay busy supporting seminarians, faculty, and other patrons in the Digital Learning Lab and filling interlibrary loan requests (ILL). It is in the ILL capacity that the Achtemeier name  regularly crosses my path. Requests from other schools all around the country want to borrow books, audio cassettes (yes, audio cassettes), and CD's by Paul, Elizabeth and Mark Achtemeier. The interesting thing to me was paying attention to the titles of their works. If these people were, in f

AmyBeth Willis is the Director of Children and Youth at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona and an organizer with the national sanctuary movement. AmyBeth comes to the sanctuary movement as an ally and to this podcast with lots of wisdom. AmyBeth and I met at an event at Richmond Hill organized by Lana Heath de Martínez and the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. AmyBeth was one of the leaders throughout the several-day event. Lana especially wanted me to attend an event with about 15 student-leaders pursuing U.S. citizenship. They were part of a the Latino Leadership Institute with Father Jack Podsiadlo. I was touched very deeply by these students, their hard work, and their desire to liberate other groups of people. They understood the largest vision of the American Dream. They deserve to be here more than I do, that's for sure. It was great to initially meet AmyBeth that night and to connect with her again in 2017 in this interview. Between our original meeting and the interview I've

Katie Hays and I had church. Church happened. And it's happening now, as you read these words. And it will happen again when you hit 'play.' Katie told us about church moments beyond the church hour and walls. She told us about the random moment when a cell phone interruption identified church happening in her living room. Katie didn't recognize church happening then but she recognized it in our podcast. We recognized our church journey as threaded from a moment when she had church in the 'gayborhood.' And that thread goes back and back and back. Join us today as we pick up the thread and participate in church, in whatever form it is present to you, and move onward with courage. After many years in ministry, I don't think Katie Hays wants anyone rattling off her titles, schools and degrees. (Katie, just avert your eyes and ears for a moment. I'm sorry.) The Rev. Dr. Katie Hays has been to MIT, Princeton, Yale, has a lifetime in the Church, about 20 years in traditional ministry, lives in Texas and jumped ship

As an expert on immigration, Dr. Ellin Jimmerson's conversation was a fun, meaningful, and timely. Jimmerson's movie, The Second Cooler, narrated by Martin Sheen, was released in 2013. It has won many awards and been screened at many universities, fund raisers, theaters, and other venues across the US. While we were conducting our interview rallies, marches and protests were happening all across the United States and the world in response to Donald Trump's two-day old executive order banning Muslims and refugees.   The Second Cooler is a documentary about illegal migration shot primarily in Alabama, Arizona, and Mexico. The premise is that Arizona is the new Alabama—the epicenter of an intense struggle for migrant justice. The documentary brings basic migration issues into focus. Those issues include the impact of free trade agreements on migration, the lack of a legal way for poor Latin Americans to come to the United States, the inherent abuses of the guest worker program, the fact that many migrants are in

Experience New York City, The United Nations, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, immigration, and 9/11/2001 through the lens of Lenka Opalena. She is from the former Czechoslovakia and is at the tail end of her Master of Divinity program at UTS in NYC. Acquainted rebellion in her own maturation, Lenka walks with others surviving post-traumatic stress disorder and addictions. I was originally excited to talk with Lenka because of her combined life in seminary and life in the United Nations. Little did I know that this guest of the Coffeepot Fellowship is a partner in a New York City coffee shop called Ost Cafe! "Lenka, how do you like your coffee?" could have been the first and last question I needed to ask in this entire episode.  Lenka happiest ministry story was of a 15-year old addict who evolved into an 18-year old guru. Lenka admitted that working with addicts is very difficult, especially because relapse is part of recovery. Yet while Lenka told this story I could not help being reminded o

This special episode preceded the special election that took place January 10th, 2017 for a State Senate seat in Virginia. Our special guest is Delegate Jennifer McClellan!  This is a special election to fill a vacancy created by Donald McEachin who won a seat in the U.S. Congress November 8th. Please join us on this episode and, more importantly, join me as I look forward to watching Jennifer McClellan rise January 10th, 2017 and for decades to come. See pics, links, notes and more at The Coffeepot Fellowship. 

Sarah Stonesifer is the Digital Missioner and Learning Lab Coordinator at Virginia Theological Seminary.  Maybe you'll want to bring Sarah and a VTS e-Formation boot camp to you. She is also the youngest president ever elected to the Episcopal Diocese of Washington Standing Committee! In this episode you'll learn what these things are and maybe glean some wisdom from the wonderful journey Sarah is taking. Catch her show notes here!