What does it mean to pray with our feet? How can we spark change through conversation, one moment, one day, at a time? What is the biblical basis for activism (Proverbs 31:8-9, Matthew 25:40 and Amos 5:24 and Isaiah 54:6-7).

All this and more on our first episode lifting up the intersection of faith and social justice / activism.

We delve into -

• Sharing God's grace and love with folks who have different lived experiences than us.
• Why activism must be intersectional - immigrant children in detention centers, folks caught in the web of mass incarceration, climate justice, dismantling white supremacy - all of it is connected.
• The story behind the phrase "pray with our feet", a quote from Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
• How we connect to God through our creativity.
• Why we're so excited for you to hear our upcoming guests, some include: Rev. Amanda (founder of Raising Imagination, an online community, and co-Pastor at Middle Church), Avril Sommervile, activist and writer (Journey of a Life on Purpose) and Rev. Lyvonne Proverbs (founder of Beautiful Scars and Emmy-award winning media producer) and Dr. Marisela Gomez, author, activist and public health physician. Watch her TEDx talk.

Our podcast is generously edited by my husband Keston De Coteau, talented videographer / photographer / editor. Find him: https://www.keston.online

Get Social with Us:

Instagram: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

What does it mean to embrace the revolutionary nature of Jesus - seeing ourselves as inextricably linked to the most marginalized: children on the border, folks caught up in the cycle of the prison industrial complex, etc.? How can we begin to cultivate transformation in our daily actions, and lean deeper into God's grace. Join Emelda as she enters into a heartfelt discussion with Reverend Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, Executive Minister for Justice, Education and Movement Building at Middle Collegiate Church.

Rev. Amanda is also an activist, writer and founder of the online community, Raising Imagination, crediting its origins to her small town roots, the curiosity and openness of her three young children, the Presidential Election Cycle of 2016, the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt, the Theologian Walter Bruggeman, and her countless friends who, over time, expressed poignant interest in Amanda's ability to seemingly incorporate an activist lifestyle with her family.

Passionate about the intersection of poverty, faith, politics, and feminism, her work is cited on CNN, Refinery29 the Wall Street Journal, WNBC and the Women's March, Inc. An ordained Minister, she's presented nationwide on topics including systemic injustice, religion, and involving young children in advocacy. Originally from a small town in Kentucky, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband, 4-year-old twin boys, 2-year-old girl and thinks pizazz & grit (along with a lot of love and justice) can change the world.

In this episode, we explore -

• What it means to reclaim and reframe Christianity, centering the revolutionary message of Jesus (James 2:16 and Matthew 25:40)
• How standing alongside the least of these, and speaking out against oppression and injustices like racism, white supremacy, climate change, is in line with revolutionary nature of Christ.
• What steps we can begin now to uplift change - starting with our own families.

We go deep in this dialogue, because God calls us to action. Grab your cup of coffee, tea or smoothie, and pull up a chair!

Stay Connected with Rev. Amanda:

Raising Imagination

Middle Collegiate Church
@middlechurch

Twitter: @raisingimagine

Instagram:Raising Imagination

Additional Resources for Further Study:

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk about Race by Robin DiAngelo

Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad

The Conscious Kid

Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglass, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online

Join us for a conversation with writer, activist and faith warrior Avril Somerville. Born in the Commonwealth of Dominica, Somerville writes at the intersection of identity, community and love. She is the author of A Journey of Life on Purpose, a book of personal essays and poetry, and a forthcoming novel.

She is also an English teacher, wife and mother of three who lives in Pennsylvania. Avril is excited about her independent micro-press, SomerEmpress Publishing, Inc., and looks forward to publishing transformative literature of other gifted women writers of color.

In this episode, we dive into:

- The power of our words, and how understanding this helps us walk in liberation.

- Seeing ourselves as deeply connected to those around us, especially the most marginalized, understanding Jesus stood for justice (Matthew 25:40 and Amos 5:24).

- Why mindfulness, really being presented and grounded in God and our faith, is vital.

- Realizing activism takes many shapes and forms; if you are not able to be on the front lines, you can still show up and serve. Avril says: "Use your gifts, where you are, to tap into your purpose."

- God has designed us for intimacy, the act of sitting down and beholding one another. We must not allow technology to strip this away from our consciousness.

- Avril's own creative journey and sources of inspiration.

Stay in Touch with Avril Somerville:

www.somerempress.com

IG: @somerempress

Twitter: @somerempress

Show edited by my talented husband Keston De Coteau (videographer, photographer and editor) www.keston.online

Join us for an engaging conversation with Lyvonne Proverbs, MDiv, a New York City native, and body and sex-positive light-worker, pastor, preacher, transformational speaker, writer, poet, educator, and conscious creative social entrepreneur.

An Emmy-award winning media producer, Proverbs graduated from Seton Hall University, Yale Divinity School, and Columbia Theological Seminary. She is a highly sought after presenter and has partnered with Lyft, Auburn Seminary, the Atlanta University Center, San Francisco Department of Health, Young Women Social Entrepreneurs and more. Rev. Lyvonne offers consulting for sacred and secular institutions, as well as individual and group spiritual life coaching.

Rev. Lyvonne has been featured in ESSENCE, Cosmopolitan, and The Washington Post magazines and is the host of Courageous Currents podcast on KPFA, where she fosters conversations with her guests about life at the intersection of faith and social justice. Sojourners named her one of "11 Women Shaping the Church" in March 2019.

We delve into quite a bit during this episode:

- Understanding Jesus as liberator for the most marginalized.

- How thinkers rooted in black liberation theology, founded by Dr. James Cone (God of the Oppressed and many other books) and womanism (defined by Alice Walker in her 1983 book In Search of our Mothers' Gardens), expanded her own personal understanding and expression of Christianity. Some of these womanist thinkers include: Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, Rev. Dr. Emilie M. Townes, Delores S. Williams, and Ebony Janice Moore.

- Healing from incest (at the hands of her biological father) and founding Beautiful Scars, an online storytelling agency focused on trauma, healing and resiliency.

- @WereSurthrivors platform, a digital community for Black Christian women who are also survivors of childhood sexual abuse. By harnessing the power of narrative, she helps survivors (and communities, at large) shift from silence to storytelling.

- Moving beyond the shaming of our bodies and sex / sexuality which is so prevalent in many churches so we can realize our personal and collective liberation in Christ.

- Seeing the body as a divine expression of God's love for us, and embracing various practices to center self care with intention.

- The importance of therapy for our well being. Check out Open Path Collective for affordable care options.

Connect with Pastor Lyvonne via her website: https://lyvonnep.com (where you will find links to all her social media pages).

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for an interesting discussion with Elizabeth Rhodes, writer, designer, and author of the children's book, Feminism is for Boys (for ages 0-3).

Elizabeth is an advocate for women's rights and a self-proclaimed feminist. She believes feminism is for all genders, including boys. Elizabeth hopes parents will find this book useful in helping inspire boys to connect with the word feminist, as well as show all children a book representing diverse boys that are proud of their interests, express emotions confidently, seek friendships outside of their similarities, and believe unapologetically in true equality.

Elizabeth is a mother to Alora - a loud, strong, fierce human. Her partner Russell was a huge inspiration for the creation of this book. Russell identifies as a feminist and proudly teaches Alora to expect equality.

We delved into -

- Common prejudgements about feminism, and her journey into feminist thinking. Elizabeth says: "It has been a common misconception in our culture that feminism is reserved for women, and is pursued at the detriment of men. In fact, when feminism is truly successful, all genders will benefit."

- Understanding social media as a tool to speak across differences, learn about various lived experiences, and build community, online and off line.

- How the Feminism is for Boys book empowers parents to have discussions around gender equality and the diverse beauty of differences at a young age.

- How we can all begin to build bridges in everyday life: listening deeply, connecting across generational divides with conversations that acknowledge our lived experiences differ (and that's OK).

- How we can create change: speak up when you see something happening that marginalizes others, be honest about your own mistakes along this journey, acknowledge them and then share those lessons with others and honor the value of others lives daily.

Connect with Elizabeth via her website: https://www.feminismisforboys.com (where you will find links to all her social media pages).

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for an engaging conversation with Lou-Ann Wattley Belk, creative Mama and founder of Well Worth Watering, a newly birthed blog and online community that channels the pregnancy, birth and mothering stories of black women in order to nourish and empower black birthing people. As we work to dismantle the roots of the deep injustice that exist for black women's maternal health, we can't ignore the narrative. We have to uplift as many stories of success as we do stories of sorrow. Lou-Ann's goal is to fearlessly hold space for both.

Well Worth Watering serves as a call to elevate the voices of black mother's unique stories—stories that might otherwise wither on the landscape of the maternal health crisis. It has also become a mantra for Lou-Ann to unapologetically use her voice, creativity and writing for something greater than herself. Committed to learning and growing in her roles as a mother of 2, wife, brand design consultant and creative writer, Lou-Ann now calls Northern Virginia home.

We delved into:

- Challenging our ideas / notions of black motherhood, birthing experiences… honoring the many narratives.

- How anti-blackness impacts black mothers and children.

- Ways we can all support black mothers - from listening to our lived experiences to donating to organizations like Black Mamas Matter Alliance .

- Lifting up self-care along our motherhood journeys.

Resources and Ways to Support -

Submit your birthing / motherhood story to Well Worth Watering

Why Black Mothers and Babies are in a Life-or-Death Crisis, The New York Times

Black Mamas Matter Alliance

Black Mothers Keep Dying after Giving Birth. Shalon Irving's Story Explains Why (NPR)

Sisters in Loss podcast Spotlights faith filled black women who share their grief and loss stories and testimonies. Black women experience miscarriage and stillbirth four times more than white women according to the NIH and CDC.

The case of Lashonda Harris

Kira Johnson's Case (Judge Hatchett's Daughter-in-law)

Stay Connected with Well Worth Watering:

https://www.wellworthwatering.com

IG: @wellworthwatering

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Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for a dynamic conversation with Danielle Frisby, founder of UnBoxing Change, a community engagement event business created to tackle the most pressing problems people face on the planet. UnBoxing Change allows customers to become Agents of Change by way of creating events that are mission-driven and are attached to the communities that are in need of service and support.

Danielle is a Social Impact Event Planner; she organizes families and entrepreneurs with healthy plans of action - from startups ready to launch to Mommies ready to pop, she's got you covered! She is a complete believer of holistic healing and planning, her passion is deeply rooted in the balance and rhythm of life, work and love!

We delved into -

- Centering God and prayer in business, creative projects and everyday life.

- Empowering young people and building intergenerational dialogues.

- How she builds hubs through Unboxing Change to connect youth from around the state of Maryland (middle and high schoolers) who are interested in ministry, business, activism, etc. to mentors who are doing that work, on the ground.

- Her system to help you move from overwhelm to calm and clarity: The Stress Shred (21 Day Challenge). For more info., reach out to her on Instagram through direct message or email: UnBoxingChange@gmail.com

- Stay Connected with her: Unboxing Change

- If you enjoy this podcast, please rate, like, share and leave us a review on iTunes.

Stay Connected with Pray with our Feet:

IG: @praywithourfeet

Twitter: @praywithourfeet

This podcast is generously edited by my hubby, Kes, a talented videographer / photographer / editor at www.keston.online.

Join us for a heartfelt chat with Christine Gibson about creativity, motherhood, activism, and progressive Christian faith. Christine was born and raised in Queens where she still resides with her husband and two children. She is training to be a certified birth doula with Carriage House Birth. She became passionate about birthwork after delivering her two children at home with a midwife. She has a BA and MA in International Relations and professional experience in the non-profit.

She operates a small handmade business, Queens Knits and runs a monthly group called the Queens Knitting Circle to fulfill her passion of crafting and community building. Christine has been a member of Middle Collegiate Church for the past ten years and loves to share the church's progressive message to whoever will listen.

We delved into -

- Her relationship with God and the power of her church community (Middle Collegiate Church) which lifts up radical love, justice and cultivating change in the world.

- Centering authenticity and community in creative entrepreneurship.

- Using social media as a tool to foster dialogues around social justice, and how the death of Mike Brown propelled her into a new season of activism.

- How a miscarriage eventually led her to study becoming a doula; Christine wants to give other women the birthing experience she didn't have.

- Seeing her progressive Christian faith as inextricably linked to movement building.

Helpful Links mentioned during this episode:

Middle Collegiate Church
https://www.middlechurch.org/

Shi Shi Rose
https://www.shishirose.com/

Valarie Kaur: Breathe and Push speech (mentioned at the end of this episode) https://valariekaur.com/2017/01/watch-night-speech-breathe-push/

Carriage House Birth (doula training organization)
https://www.carriagehousebirth.com/