A Heartfelt Gift

In this final episode of this season, Altered States, Marta and Mandy talk with Rev. Lori Walke, minister of Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, OK. We hear about her journey from growing up Southern Baptist to becoming a pastor in the United Church of Christ, about her work at Mayflower, and about her justice work, especially in regards to being a part of a lawsuit attempting to uphold the separation of church and state within the educational sphere of the state of Oklahoma and beyond. This is a conversation you don't want to miss.

In this episode, we expand our reach from Kansas and Colorado into Wyoming and beyond! Marta & Mandy talk to Lisa Ansell Frazier, the founder, director and president of Buffalo Youth Nation. Lisa is a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and currently lives in Wyoming. She is a mother of three beautiful children and a dog mom to three amazing dogs. She is a Tribal Trauma Crisis Counselor, Native Nations Advisory Panelist and a student at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She spends her free time hiking with her family and gardening. Her mission is empowerment of Native youth, creating stability and nurturing self-esteem.

Marta and Mandy chat with Felicia Smith GrayBeal, the Priest of St Paul's Episcopal Church, " a community following Christ into risky, messy, compassionate relationship with God, our neighbors and the world." St. Paul's literally followed Jesus out of the building when they sold their church building and started sharing space with two other congregations. We talk about the "messy middle" of life in community, and Felicia gives some great advice to congregations who are in similar situations.

Marta and Mandy chat with Amy Kay Pavlovich, a minister and the owner of Connected, a fair trade store in Lindsborg, Kansas. Amy Kay talks about how she got into fair trade and how impactful fair trade is on the lives of people all around the world.

Marta & Mandy get real with Queen and Princess as we talk about the work they are doing in and around Ft. Collins, Denver, and the surrounding areas. We talk about their non-profit organizations, the concept of ubuntu, reparations, liberation, and above all, the work of building the God's Kin-Dom right here on earth. Do not miss this episode!

Marta & Mandy chat with Reb Moti Reiber and Rev. Rachael Pryor of Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA), a Kansas statewide, multi–faith issue–advocacy organization that “puts faith into action” by educating, engaging and advocating on behalf of people of faith and the public regarding critical social, economic, and climate justice issues. We talk about the difference between politics and partisanship, about how progressives can get active in advocacy in Kansas and other states, and how faith is like a three-legged stool, with justice being an integral part of a personal and a communal faith life.

Marta and Mandy speak with Melissa St. Clair and Wendy Davidson of Heart of the Rockies Church in Ft. Collins, a church who is literally giving away their land in order to create intentional community with folks who are struggling to find homes as housing costs sky-rocket in northern Colorado. This is a story you don't want to miss.

A lot has happened lately! In the fall of 2022, Mandy moved to a small town in rural Kansas, and in the spring of 2023, Marta moved to northern Colorado. We’ve been getting to know our new communities over the last year, and now we are ready to share the awesome work that is happening in Kansas and Colorado with the JHLTB communities, so for Season 8, we are coming to you from our Altered States! We’ll be talking to some amazing folks from Kansas, Colorado, and the surrounding states who are following Jesus out of the building and into the world, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Plymouth Congregational Church is doing cool things, and we want to highlight Youth For Change - an important ministry led by Plymouth's youth. Check it out, and then listen to the end for a promo of our upcoming season which will drop at the end of January 2024!

We are so excited to welcome The Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church and Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to Women of the Torah and of the Throne, as well as many other publications. She is an Episcopal priest, and a delightful human, and we're grateful that she joins us to share her wisdom!