HeartEdge | Grace

Director of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Culture, Professor Anthony Reddie joins Azariah France-Williams and Winnie Varghese for more tantalising cross-Atlantic conversations in this final episode of Grace.  Professor Anthony G. Reddie is a participative educator and liberation theologian who specialises in undertaking action-research and participative observational work with predominantly poorer Black communities in the UK. The author of 17 books, numerous journal articles and editor of Black Theology: An International Journal, Professor Reddie is renowned for his innovative and engaging teaching and facilitating style. He is one of the foremost Practical Black theologians in the world. In 2015 Professor Reddie was appointed Professor Extraordinarius in the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systemic Theology at the University of South Africa.

US multidisciplinary artist Lanecia Rouse Tinsley joins Azariah France-Williams and Winnie Varghese for more transatlantic conversation about God and race - and home, art, and the possibility of creative partnerships. Director of Justice and the Arts with projectCURATE and co-founding Creative Director for the ImagiNoir Equity Group, a global alliance and equity group of black activists, artists, writers, scholars, philanthropists, and educators. “Part of my falling in love with a place is to immerse myself in the culture and the daily rhythms… The camera provided a way to document that falling in love.” Lanecia is an abstract painter, photographer, teacher, writer, speaker, curating projects for various non-profit organisations and a member of the Curation Team of the Lanecia Rouse Tinsley Gallery of Holy Family Houston, Texas. 

UK based Augustine Tanner Ihm is an assistant curate and Student, Mission and Outreach Director at St. James and Emmanuel Didsbury in Manchester in the Church of England - a writer, minister, speaker and facilitator. "Good stand up comics are good story tellers..." Augustine joins Winnie Varghese and Azariah France-Williams to talk finding home, and finding your voice - the craft of preaching and the gift of stand-up comedy to communicate the hard stuff.  Augustine is a Doctoral Student in Transformational and Cultural Leadership and Practical Theology at Bakke Graduate University based in Dallas, Texas. 

“Those of us who feel a little bit of hope have a responsibility to share that. Our hope is not for ourselves…” US based Jeff Chu - writer, reporter, and editor and Teacher-in-Residence at Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan – joins Winnie and Azariah for conversations about God and race. “I’m not seen unless I’m useful to the white folks. I’m often not valued unless I’m prepared to bring them a blessing…” Jeff co-hosts with Sarah Bessey, Evolving Faith – a podcast for the wounded, the misfits, and the spiritual refugees, and a community where the wanderers find a home … “When I see the gratitude that they’ve expressed in response to the grace they’ve been given it inspires me to come up with my own versions of gratitude for the grace I’ve experienced…” 

US Senator and Episcopal priest Kim Jackson in conversation with Azariah France Williams and Winnie Varghese. "The work of the gospel is doing the work beyond the walls of the church... Jesus calls us to do this work of... preaching the word of liberation, or setting the captive free, of bringing good news to the poor... The only way to this was in the political square. I have taken this to heart carrying this into the Georgian legislation..." Kim is Senator for Georgia State Senate District 41, representing portions of Dekalb and Gwinnett counties. "You can carry a gun if you had a permit... a police officer, they are not going to question a white person who has a gun, they are just going to assume they have a permit. It's when a young black person has a gun that may well have been permitted properly that all hell breaks loose, and people feel threatened and kids get shot... This new law... black young men are going to continue to be targeted..." Kim, Azariah and Winnie on permit free gun laws, voting laws, the return of black American disenfranchisement, "holding your place in line" and finding hope. Kim works to bring the diverse voices of her district to the Capitol: immigrants, refugees, and people living on the margins. As the Vicar of the Church of the Common Ground, Kim co-creates Church with people who are experiencing homelessness in downtown Atlanta.

This episode rich and candid conversation about God, race and racial justice in church and society with educationalist and activist Natalia-Nana, "You're dealing with institutions who don't want discomfort... My emancipation my liberation is actually expanding my view of God I see race work as spiritual as mental as social as economic and that's really hard..." Straight talking and honest discussion about finding solidarity in white majority institutions... "I find the conversation we're having frankly so hopeful in that its telling the truth..." 

Winnie and Azariah on recent deaths and loss, remembering bell hooks; "She uses her grandmother's name... and doesn't capitalise her name... she decides to stand away from the institution that grant honour in different ways..."; Desmond Tutu, "his always outspoken support for LGBTQ people... his prophetic and profound commitment to justice, in ways that aren't what your PR consultant would recommend..."; and Harold Lewis, "Prophetic and fearless... and deep solidarity...", "He organised all of the funds... when our church still doesn't have that will, that bite, to provide what's necessary for people to flourish and thrive." Talking about life, death and remembering "You note the lives of these icons and wonder if we're doing them justice, if there is another generation emerging in the same way..." 

"They chose to ban us from crossing certain lines because they didn't want us to be hurt. And I wanted to explore that and it got me into an awful lot of trouble... I wanted to explore the pain... and to understand what, 'every tribe, nation and tongue together worshiping' and all the people I saw in my local church all looked like me..." Activist, advocate, minister (and host of new HeartEdge podcast 'How...') Bev Thomas on "race", theology from a wider perspective, burning bridges, the legacy of Joel Edwards... and the best Christmas carol ever. Conversation about God and race with Winnie and Azariah.

“You cannot expect to experience grace except through other people…” Actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith - Wonka, (2023), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Doctor Strange (2016) - joins Azariah France-Williams and Winnie Varghese to talk God “… what can be more complex than the concept of the divine…” race, “... you learn very quickly to listen and adapt to your surroundings…” Plus the challenge of the peacock and the priest “… every actor imagines themselves to be the priest – the conduit for artistic excellence… the truth and character and story… but what it denies is this peacock… ” Lively conversation digging deep into faith, moving towards the good, being subject to joy... and living in the "as if...".

"You don't have to justify your place. This is your voice. And you have all the right to talk about God the way you want to talk..." Lecturer in Theology and Politics at Lancaster University and Church of England minister - Anderson Jeremiah joins Azariah and Winnie to talk God and race, home, 'Lament to Action', being black and outsiders in the Church-of-England and becoming fully engaged in structural change. "Many of those critical recommendations that we suggested that could have facilitated swift change... once you give in to recommendations you have to follow up with actual work." Plus stories of an embodied Jesus, and contextual and Dalit theology from the margin.