Faith and Race Podcast

About This Episode Podcast hosts Rev. Sharon Williams, Rev. Russell Ewell and Rev. Fabian Gonzalez discuss some of the things they learned as they interviewed members of the historic Black churches of the Missouri Conference throughout this season. In This Episode 01:16: Thoughts and Learning Opportunities for the Denomination 4:15 The Place of Lament 9:00 A Tight Knit Community of Life 10:10 Discipleship Begins with Relationship 12:35 We Cannot Lose Those Rich Stories 14:00 It Is Their Faith that Keeps Them Going 16:53 The Missouri Conference 18:45 Understand the Context and Recognizing the History 22:00 If You Love Something You will Challenge It 25:45 Abundance and Lean 27:00 The Saints That Are Before Us About This Podcast The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

About This Episode Kansas City, Missouri. St. James United Methodist Church launched in 1973 when two small churches combined. Listen in as current pastor Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Cleaver III, Robert Silvan and Leola Evans share about the history and experience of the Historically Black Church. In This Episode 00:00: Church History Narration 4:30 1950s Change of Kansas City Landscape and the Beginning of St. James UMC 7:30 Taking A Stand and Doing Something About It 18:00 The Merging of a White and Black Church 22:20 Involvement in Politics 24:30 Raising Awareness in Younger People 26:00 A Long History of Involvement In Social Justice 28:30 Birthed Out of a Need for Social Justice and Action 30:30 The Congregation of St. James 35:00 How Would You Identify St. James 38:30 Leadership Demographics 44:00 White Flight and Neighborhood Churches 48:00 Disappointments with the Larger Church 54:00 Ivan Newton 60:00 Kansas City Police 65:00 Refocusing the Worship Effort About This Podcast The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

About This Episode St. Louis, Missouri. Union Memorial was founded in 1846 on three foundations: Love which is a God-given light from heaven, a spark of that immortal fire which angels share. Faith which binds us to the infinite. Hope, the balm and life-blood of the soul. Union Memorial is unique in many ways, such as hosting W.E.B. Du Bois in 1913 and being the second largest structure of its kind in the United States (a hyperbolic paraboloid shell). The congregation at Union Memorial has a long, proud heritage of community-based social justice. In This Episode 00:00: A Rich and Proud History 6:21 People Felt Supported and Heard 7:30 An Honor to Be a Part of the Legacy 10:34 Connections to Africa University 13:20 Leaving Leffingwell and Pine Location 19:10 Mission and Vision 21:45 Debts and Apportionments 25:44 Restoration: To Restore the People and the Hearts of the People 29:30 Simplified Model of Church Governance 30:45 175 Years of Service and History 35:09 The Pandemic and After 38:14 Resilience in Our DNA 40:00 Fighting In and With the Methodist Church About This Podcast The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Kansas City, Missouri. In 1907, Asbury Chapel and Burn Chapel consolidated to form one church: Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church. In this episode, Rev. Jason Bryles (Centennial's pastor since July 2016), Paula King (member since 1962), Ramada Davis (member for 48 years) and Donald Rogerson (member for 70 years) discuss Centennial United Methodist Church's the history and influence on its community — beginning at its founding, continuing through the civil rights movement and into today. IN THIS EPISODE 1:00 History and Founding of Centennial UMC3:31 Introduction to Interviewees4:15 The Forming of CUMC and the Surrounding Community10:50 Jazz and Other Local Influences14:03 Church Music History and Its Life Cycle18:20 The Beginning of A Big Change 24:30 Centennial's Position in the World and in the Methodist Church36:00 What The Black Church And Centennial Bring to the Church at Large ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE St. Louis, Missouri. After the 1917 East St. Louis Race Riots in Illinois, much of East St. Louis's Black population fled the death and destruction and sought new economic opportunities across the river into St. Louis, Missouri. This birthed a new Methodist congregation under Rev. Martin Luther Jackson at Good Samaritan Methodist Episocopal Church. The goal was peace and shelter in a new urban environment. Despite hardships, the congregation is still alive today. Listen in as Pastor Ivan James and longtime church members discuss the life, times and legacy of Samaritan UMC.   Note: Since the recording of this podcast, Samaritan UMC has merged with Asbury UMC to form New Horizons UMC.   IN THIS EPISODE 00-7:36 History of the Church Beginnings 8:45 Poetry Reading 11:45 The Building on Washington and Memories 14:30 How the Race Riots Led to the New Church and Early History 18:00 A Rich and Deep Local Community 19:50 A Front-End Problem and the Three P's 23:05 An Example of Faithfulness 27:00 How Segregation Impacted the Local Black Church 27:26 Remembering Church as a Child and Her Family's Dedication 32:00 We Had Everything We Needed in the Community 33:45 The Children of Good Samaritan 39:00 Changes Come 41:37 Hopes for The Future  42:45 Living the Gospel and Needed Changes   ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond.   "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

ABOUT THIS EPISODE Springfield, Missouri. Pitt's Chapel is a testament to strength in adversity: beginning in times of slavery, through the lynchings of innocent Black men and the subsequent shift that brought Springfield from a population that was 25% Black to the under 5% it is today. Current pastor Rev. Tracey Wolff, Kim Jones, John Huddleston and Charlotte Hardin talk through the history of Pitt's Chapel from its onset through tragedy and onward during the civil rights movement into today.  IN THIS EPISODE 1:00 Introduction and History of Pitt's Chapel7:30 Introductions: Rev. Tracey Wolff, Kim Jones, John Huddleston, Charlotte Hardin8:12 The Current Building and How it Relates to the History of Pitt's Chapel14:45 Raising Up Younger Generations17:30 The Relationship Between Ferguson and the Lynchings20:50 Words Without Actions, Forgiveness Without Repentance24:45 Arrogance, Power and Scarcity Mindsets27:25 What The Methodist Church Can Do34:30: What Gives You Hope ABOUT THIS PODCAST The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy.

The Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church is excited to announce the release date of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. Beginning on May 5, new episodes will become available weekly on Thursdays. The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help faithful people host conversations about race, faith and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus to help listeners intentionally think about the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. The audio recordings bring diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes, and hearts across Missouri and beyond. "The Saints Before Us" is the theme and focus of season three of the Faith and Race Podcast. It draws on both Hebrews 11, and its description of the cloud of witnesses, and Ephesians 4 with its directive to equip saints for the work of ministry. The phrase "saints before us" invites listeners to consider the duality of its meaning: In that, the new season of the podcast focuses on Missouri's Black United Methodist Churches and highlights both the work of the saints that came before us and offers an invitation to the saints currently before us to carry that legacy. In season three, six episodes highlight the legacies of five of Missouri's Historically Black United Methodist Churches: Pitts Chapel in Springfield; Union Memorial in St. Louis; Samaritan UMC in St. Louis; Centennial UMC in Kansas City; and St. James UMC in Kansas City. Local church laity and clergy leaders detail the rich history of the Historically Black church through stories of faithfulness and witness to injustice and invite podcast listeners to consider the gifts the Black church brings to the Church at large.

About This Episode In this episode we revisit the racial biographies of our past guests Rev. Winter Hamilton, host Connor Kenaston and Rev. Tina Harris.   In This Episode 1:20 Black Dutch: Winter Hamilton 5:14 Winter's Friend Audrey 10:12 Connor Kenaston: Understanding Race 15:12 Tina Harris: Growing Up in a Small Factory Town

About This Episode In this episode, we listen to a live panel with Revs. Will Willimon and Willis Johnson. Rev. Will Willimon is the former dean of the chapel at Duke University. Rev. Willis Johnson was the pastor of Wellspring Church in Ferguson when Michael Brown was killed by the police and for the uprisings that followed. "I hope I presented myself in my book as a recoverinig racist. Mine was a gentile, nice kind of racism ... I hope I presented this: I'm a sinner. I do other sin, other than racism. But I know it's subtlety, I know it waves and morphs into other things." "Don't talk about a sin as deep as racism, centuries deep, bred into us, part of the fabric of American society, don't talk about that unless you believe that God will forgive us. Unless you believe Jesus Christ died for sinners. If you believe that it is actually possible to not have an ugly defensive conversation."   In This Episode 1:00 Why This Work 4:45 Awakening and God's Work 9:30 The American Lynching and The Cross (James Cone) 14:30 Speaking about Race As a White Preacher 17:30 The Injustice Inflicted by Good People 26:45 What Would You Stand in the Door For? 30:22 The Joy of Admitting You're a Sinner

About This Episode In this episode, guest host Nick Rhinehart interviews Rev. Lia McIntosh, the a missional strategist for the Center for Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. "We planted that church in an urban area in Kansas City. It was as a pastor in an urban area that I realized the social and practical needs of people were not separate from their spiritual needs. That in order to be the church, we had to have a holistic gospel. The beauty of that is that our Wesleyan Theology is very much that. So the work of social justice and the work of the church is one. It's not a separate body of work." "The downfall of segregation is that we fail to see the full humanness of our whole community if we only do life with people who are like us. We don't see the fullness of God that is lived out in people who are very different, whose life experiences and journeys have been different from ours. That is where we connect with the richness of humanity, at the intersection of people and experiences and theology that are different."   In This Episode 1:10 Upbringing and Calling as a Woman in Ministry Leadership 3:30 Coaching and Working in Social Justice 7:30 How We Can Learn to Listen Well 14:00 Experience with Race in the UMC Church 18:15 How Ferguson Has Affected the Missouri UMC Church and God's Call on the Church 21:50 Advice for Leaders 23:00 A Blessing for Women in Ministry

About This Episode Host Kenneth Pruitt interviews Karen Yang. "It wasn't until I moved to St. Louis that I really understood race in terms of oppression. Before that I always understood racism as something that just ignorant and dumb people did. So if they said slurs, that was just them not knowing any better or they weren't really nice. Coming to St. Louis, then studying social work, then going to seminary, and being shaped by what happened with the murder of Michael Brown, and the uprising in Ferguson, then I started to understand what Black folks experience in the United States of America, the legacies of red-lining, the impact of debtors prisons and payday lending, and educational and health inequalities. There is a whole host of issues that crop up with racism." In This Episode 00:30 Ethnoburb Upbringing 4:20 Shifting from Personal Racism to Systemic 8:00 De-centering Whiteness from the Racism Conversations 11:45 Fighting Oppression Wherever You Are 16:10 Moments that Highlight Identity and Intersectionality 20:40 Parting Thoughts: Race is a Function of Space

About This Episode Host Kenneth Pruitt interviews Rev. Winter Hamilton of Manchester United Methodist Church in St. Louis. Hamilton is an Ordained Deacon. Together they talk about the possibilities of engaging with racial justice and equity even when living in a predominantly white area. "It's really easy to think about us versus them. I get in a lot of conversations with members of my church where they say, 'but those kids in the city ... ' and I say, 'I'm sorry. Didn't you mean our kids?' And they get a little confused and say, 'No, no, no. Those kids ...' and I say, 'You mean our kids. Right? Because I live in the city, and I'm also a member of your church. And my kids live in the city. So those are our kids.' Seeing as our identity in Christ is supposed to come before our identity in the state or the city. I'm very comfortable saying that those are our children. That's a big piece of this. Helping people understand that those are our kids." "The focus of pastoral and prophetic happening at the same time is really one of the lines I have to walk the best. I can't just get up in the pulpit at 9:30 in the morning and say, 'Black lives matter.' I will be asking people to jump so far that they will break a leg, and they will no longer walk. They will no longer walk with me or with each other on that journey. That's not everybody that I'm talking about but there's enough that it matters. So there has to be another way that we can speak about lives, about Blackness, about Whiteness, about mercy, justice, about what it means to know ourselves as Christians. And that's the heart of it." In This Episode 1:25 Surprised by Ministry Calling 5:40 Using Your Poor Kid to Teach my Rich Kid a Lesson 7:00 Urban Forum's Influence 8:15 One for the Crow Plant-Space 11:45 Shifting the Mindset From Acts of Mercy to Doing Real Justice 13:30 Balancing the Pastoral and Prophetic 17:00 Being a Mother 23:00 Work Moving Forward

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston interviews Rev. Jeff Jaekley who serves as the Native American Representative on the MSJ Team for the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church. Towards the end of the episode you will hear Allie Flores in conversation with Kenneth Pruitt about the intersectionality of race and faith. "Some of my identity has been shaped by the not-knowing. What I have come to realize is my dad was taught to be ashamed of his Native American heritage. He was of a generation, (and there is a whole generation of folks his age or around there) that was basically told that if they could pass for white it would be better for them." "The idea was, we need to take these children away from their Indian families and make good Americans out of them. A lot of times that meant taking away their heritage, their native identity, any religious or spiritual practices they may have picked up from their family, taking away from them their native languages. It has only been in the last 30-40 years that there has been a renaissance in teaching those languages because there were generations that never learned them." "Ninety-plus percent of our nuclear waste is placed on tribal lands. Which when you tie it into history goes into the fact that the lands that they were given to be their reservations space was land that no one else really wanted. So it's not land that is necessarily conducive to growing crops or land renovation. So then these companies come in and say, 'We'll give you lots of money to store this stuff on your land.' And whatever options do they have, you might say. But then there is also resilience to them."   In This Episode 1:00 A Process of Discovery in Racial Identity 4:30 Native American Identity and Historical Shame 5:50 Loss of Culture through Government Programs 7:30 The Church and Manifest Destiny 8:30 Methodist Pastors Showing Solidarity 9:45 Continued Actions Against Tribes 10:30 Resilience Despite Hundreds of Years of Discrimination 15:00 Final Message 16:30 Allie Flores and Intersectionality as a Mexican American

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston chats with Kenneth Pruitt. Pruitt has worked for the Diversity Awareness Partnership and in this podcast is transitioning in as the new host of the podcast. "Any racially homogenous environment can be really detrimental to one's growth." In This Episode 00:30 Childhood Experiences and Understanding of Race 4:30 What Was the Turning Point 7:00 Personal Work 11:00 A Push Towards Discomfort 16:10 Approaching Social Media  19:00 Holding Intention with Race Work 25:20 Two White Guys Talking About Race

About This Episode Join host Connor Kenaston as he talks with Rev. David Gilmore, who served for 20 years in the U.S. navy, and later as a pastor in Missouri, before becoming the Heartland District Superintendent in 2020. "We are strongest when we are caring for our community." "To truly address and remedy where we are, we have to be honest about how we got there." In This Episode 00:45 Growing Up as a Pastor's Kid and Finding a Calling 2:30 What He Learned About Community by Serving the Church 3:30 African Americans in the UMC 9:30 What if the Church Saw Everyone As God's Child 11:10 Being a Black Male Pastor in a Predominantly White Denomination 13:45 Loving Hard and Speaking Truth to Power 19:55 Last Message

About This Episode In this first episode of season 2, host Connor Kenaston talks to David Hartsfield. Hartsfield is a political scientist who has done research work in West Africa. He speaks to growing up as a light-skinned Black person in the United States and how that compares with other countries he has experienced. "I grew up Black. Those were the days we weren't African Americans, we were Black and we were claiming that as being proud of it. Black Power – we wanted to be known as Black." In This Episode 0:55  Growing Up as Lighter Skinned Black Man 3:30 White Society's Perspective of a Light Skinned Black Man 5:12 Being Light-Skinned Black in West Africa 6:00 Family History 7:45 Cultural Differences in Western African Countries vs. The US 10:56 The Government's Role in Racial Justice 14:49 Role of Faith in Racial Injustice 17:30 Life as a Mixed-Race Family 18:45 Seeing People as People

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston interviews Rev. Tina Harris who served as a human resource professional, later as an attorney and diversity expert for several law firms in Kansas City. Later, Harris followed God's call into ministry and became Grand Avenue Temple's first African American pastor in its 150 year history. "[Race] is not something I can sort of take off and look at from a different perspective because this is who I am. In the same way, I think that who we are has shaped all of our perspectives. Somebody who did not grow up in America is going to have a different perspective of things that we wouldn't pay any attention to and they will just look at things differently. One thing it does make me very aware of is that when I'm in a majority/minority situation, there are different ways we can act whether you are in the majority or not. For instance,  I think everyone should have the experience of being a minority in a majority situation regardless. A man should be around in a room full of women, a Christian should be in a room of those who proclaim something else. I think it helps us because 1) sort of understand a little more of who we are, but also it makes us come head-to-head with our stereotypes or bias or misunderstandings or just our flat our perception that maybe we have been carrying and didn't even realize it." In This Episode 2:08 The First Interaction with the "N-Word" 6:30 Identity and Race 8:00 Surrounding Ourselves with Diversity 11:29 Having the Conversations

Welcome to the Faith and Race Podcast! The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help churches host constructive dialogue about faith, race and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus on the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. These episodes will bring the diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes and hearts across Missouri and beyond.

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston interviews Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould, who is the pastor of Queen Chapel UME Church in Jefferson City. She is also the Vice President of the African American Clergy Coalition of Mid-Missouri and the Executive Director of the Missouri Faith Voices.  "History records a lot of the racial tensions and even as we start to talk about institutional racism and systemic racism. So in Alabama, the book is wide open, you can read all about it. But what I saw in St. Louis was more covert racism. You could just feel in the air, that I was not accustomed to really feeling that when I was in Alabama. I also saw a system that demanded that as people of color that you had a role and you had a place and you dare not get out of that place. I saw more of a spirit of resistance in Alabama ..." "I am walking around in a pop-up book of my mother's history ... Is this the experience of my mother and others in Birmingham when it was describe ... This happened in 1776, this happened in 1964, but I am not supposed to know how it feels for this to happen ... It seems like the only thing that has changed in the clock." In This Episode 1:10 Racism In Alabama vs. St. Louis 3:38 "As Far as We Have Come, We Have Not Come Far" 7:00 How Does Institutional Racism Differ From Other Types of Racism 11:25 The Waters of Injustice and Racism 13:10 Colorblind Policies 17:44 Biblical Foundations for Middle Class People of Faith 22:50 Final Words: Justice As a Marathon

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston interviews Patricia Flernoy, who served with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for 30 years before retiring. "Amongst officers, the tension was probably there, but they wouldn't necessarily say it. Having been African American, being female, police department, you start out and they say 'You can't ride with African-American male officers,' because they see you as this sexualized character. I have ridden with officers who didn't accept that I was there, that I'm Black and I'm a female, and in their mind I shouldn't be there. I've been in situations where they say, 'In this office, we need to have an African American or we need a female. O.K. you fit the bill for African American and female." Or you find out that they really do not want you there but they have no choice but they have no choices, that you have got to be there." In This Episode 2:34 Police Brutality, Police Reform and Tensions within the Department 4:50 Tension Between Other African Americans and Her as a Cop 8:20 How Faith Affected Life as a Police Officer 9:45 Life Within The Changing Ville Neighborhood in St. Louis

Welcome to the Faith and Race Podcast! The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help churches host constructive dialogue about faith, race and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus on the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. These episodes will bring the diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes and hearts across Missouri and beyond.

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston interviews Rev. Dr. William Johnson III speaks to the theology of racial justice and reconciliation. Rev. Dr. Johnson is a native of St. Louis and served as minister in several churches before becoming chaplain at Christian Hospital in St. Louis and as Minister of Young Adults and Cross-Cultural Ministry Outreach at University Methodist Church. "The good Samaritan story begins with the priest and the Levite. Each of them having some commitments of their own. But those commitments are in a place of what their priorities are about being part of a larger group. The Samaritan in this story is one who is already excluded, who has no place, who is not afforded the privilege of having a voice. But then his voice becomes the loudest because Jesus uses this story to indicate that the blessings of our lives are demonstrated not by our colors but what we do; how we care for each other, how we love each other." "God always stands on the side of the oppressed, whoever they are. Whether they are Black, in America, whether they are women in America, whether they are Hispanic Americans, whether they are Muslim, God always stands on the sides of ... people around the world who find themselves under the foot of oppression, no matter where that is. Black theology tapped into that." In This Episode 1:25 How Did Jesus Deal with Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Differences 2:15 All One in Christ Jesus? Unity Amid Diversity 3:30 Slavery in the Bible vs. Freedom and Liberty 6:45 What Does Black Theology Mean 7:30 Masters Thesis: Institutional vs Individual Evil 9:00 A Definition of Privilege 10:30 Reconciliation and Justice 12:15 How does White Imagery Affect You 14:30 Effects of Voluntary Desegregation Programs 19:00 A Message for Our Sons and Daughters: Thinking Through Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston shares an oral history interview he recorded with Lealure Tindall about her experience of growing up Black in small-town Missouri in the 1950's. "Every Black parent wasn't for [integration of schools], and definitely every white parent wasn't for it … My dad was determined that it was going to work that it was going to happen. One night, we had this car outside, so we went to the door to see what was going on because they were making a ruckus. They were burning a cross in front of the house ... It was in the paper [saying] 'Oh they don't know who it was.' and Daddy knew the car. We knew the car ... Those men knew that he knew. " In This Episode 2:30 Integration of Schools 4:30 Growing Up in a Small Town and Identity 7:35 How Racial Identity Affects Our Memory of Events 10:30 An Interaction with the Police that Led to Positive Change

Welcome to the Faith and Race Podcast! The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help churches host constructive dialogue about faith, race and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus on the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. These episodes will bring the diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes and hearts across Missouri and beyond.

About This Episode Host Connor Kenaston talks to Dr. Leah Gunning Francis about her book Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community. On August 9, 2014, the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer became a catalyst for new conversations about race across the United States. "People of faith should care about Ferguson because of what Ferguson represents. We first know that a young man lost his life, and anytime that happens – that need not be relegated to an issue or an event – but a sincere tragedy. But even in addition to that individual tragedy, what it has come to represent is this long standing issue of racial bias, of police brutality, of unjust policing practices, of very frayed race relations in the United States of America." "Social holiness is not a matter of being holier than thou but rather how do we understand our faith – our commitment and connection to God – as fuel for caring about the world, as the impotence for caring about people, humanity, creation. So this whole idea of social holiness is connected to praying with our feet, where we pray and we have piety, we commune with God in that way. Then after we are done praying we actually engage in activity that will work toward the benefit of all people in our world." In This Episode 1:00 Clergy Involvement in Ferguson 3:30 Social Holiness and Praying With Our Feet 4:40 What Does Black Lives Matter in Context 7:45 How the Movement of Today Differs From Racial Justice Movements of the 1960s 11:40 Respectability Politics 15:00 "We are not Ferguson" and "Staying Woke" Resources Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community by Dr. Leah Gunning Francis Faith After Ferguson: Leadership in Pursuit of Racial Justice by Dr. Leah Gunning Francis

Welcome to the Faith and Race Podcast! The Faith and Race Podcast is designed to help churches host constructive dialogue about faith, race and the Church. Every episode has a specific focus on the intersection of history, institutions, scripture, prayer, race and justice. These episodes will bring the diverse insights and experiences into churches, homes and hearts across Missouri and beyond.

About This Episode Join host Connor Kenaston as he talks with Dr. John Wright and Dr. Arnold Parks, co-authors of African American United Methodist Churches in Missouri. Dr. Arnold Parks is a former sociologist professor at Lincoln University in Jefferson City and is currently a pastor. Dr. John Wright was a school principal for over 40 years. They speak to how the United Methodist church in Missouri interacted with and even, at times, contributed to the history of slavery and segregation in Missouri. "Nat Turner was saying, the Church was one of the biggest problems in dealing with slavery. The sermon said to the slave "Be obedient," "be kind to your master" and all those things to keep slavery going. The Missionaries went into the Black community and that was their theme: "You should be obedient. You should respect your master and do what's requested. So the church played a major role in maintaining slavery ... " "You learned to make do. You learned to make a way out of no way. You learned how to function without resources. It's a different way of operating, unless you are poor." In This Episode 0:55  The Ugly Side of the Church and Race 5:00 Reuniting the UMC Church with Segregation 8:30 How Uneven Money Affects the Church 12:30 Declines in Historically Black Churches 15:30 The Centrality of African American Churches to Everyday Life 16:10 Fires 19:45 Experiences With Face and Race 21:30 Remember Who You Are and Whose You Are Resources African American United Methodists in Missouri

About This Episode In our first episode, host Connor Kenaston talks to Rev. Cody Collier about why it is important for people of faith to talk about race within the Church, finding our identity in Christ and tools in building inclusiveness. "The conversation about race in the Church also has a long way to go. American churches remain largely segregated and race issues can be a tricky topic to know how to engage from the pulpit. For the exception of observing in January Dr. King's celebration. The very subject of race and inclusiveness creates for many churches fear, shame, guilt and challenges to our assumptions. Now that is something I would really like to change. The discussion of race is essential if we are truly to be the hands and heart and face of Christ in a very, sometimes violent, and divisive time."  In This Episode 0:55 Why Is It Important to Talk About Race in Church 3:43 The Social Principles of the UMC Church 5:10 Race Conversations in Less Diverse Areas 7:00 Experiences with Diversity in the Church 11:00 The Value of Diversity in Leadership 13:30 Inclusiveness and Diversity 17:00 Life as a Work-in-Progress 19:00 Moving Forward Through Disagreements