Soulful Revolutionaries

…And we’re back with an episode for this Mini Season featuring the Rev. Dr. Rob Wallace, a Baptist pastor, teacher, and scholar who tells us that his radicalization came from one major place - the Bible itself. It wasn’t a political awakening, it wasn’t a protest, but rather decades of sitting with scripture, letting it say what it actually says, and following it into places that made him uncomfortable, that ultimately led him to the work of his life.NOTE: You may have noticed that Lauren is missing from this episode — she is deep in the manuscript of her forthcoming book, Becoming Soulful Revolutionaries, and we are so grateful for your patience and support as she heads into the home stretch! In her absence, Hannah is holding down the podcast with a mini season of conversations with people who have shaped her own journey.In this episode, Hannah sits down with her long-time friend and former professor Rob — a Hebrew Bible scholar, Senior Pastor of McLean Baptist Church, and one of the most quietly radical people she knows — for a conversation that is equal parts theological lecture, personal testimony, and holy roast. They trace the through-line of a life shaped by curiosity and commitment (and a sense of humor, of course): from a classroom in Indiana to archaeological digs in Israel, a “flipped” university classroom, and finally to Wednesday night Bible studies that are, as Hannah says, “not what I would call a ‘Bible study’.” (*air quotes*)Whether he’s forewarning us about the “dangerous prayer” that is the Lord’s Prayer (stay with us here), or talking about the interpretive framework that has distorted a century of evangelical thinking about Israel and Palestine, OR pointing out the deeply plural grammar of the Gospels…he does so with a characteristic warmth, precision, and wit that pushes us further in the impetus that we, as the body of Christ, are called to do this work together. He is a person who has made a career of saying “I love this, let me show you why”…and in this conversation, you will understand exactly why Hannah has kept going back to him for guidance for years.As always, thank you for listening.To watch the extended video version of this interview here, subscribe to this publication.About Dr. RobRobert considers Indiana home, though he has moved quite a bit in his life. He started taking classes in engineering at Purdue University, but he later found his calling in the study and teaching of Scripture. Robert spent over 20 years as Professor of Biblical Studies striving to bridge the gap between the academy and the church. While finishing his Ph.D. at Baylor University, he was ordained at First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas, and he maintained an active, ecumenical ministry of supply and interim preaching.In 2018, Robert felt God calling him to on the other side of the bridge!He accepted the call to Mclean Baptist Church and has since tried to maintain an active role in teaching and writing. He has been an Advisory Group member for the Institute for Justice Formation, associated with the John Leland Center for Teaching and Theological Studies since 2020. In 2024 he was asked to be a contributing author to The Christian Citizen, and he regularly publishes articles there.Robert has a deep love of the Psalms, and much of his academic research has focused on that area. In March of 2025, Robert published an introduction to the Old Testament with Smyth & Helwys books, titled, A Prism of Song: Seeing the Old Testament through the Psalms. It is his deepest conviction that the grace of God provides humanity the opportunity to live creatively and meaningfully in this world, and that this message is found throughout Scripture—from Genesis to Revelation.Rob’s Work & WritingMcLean Baptist Church — Rob’s church in McLean, Virginia (Sunday worship live at 10am on YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo)rwallace.net — Dr. Rob’s Website with contact, teaching resources, and CVDr. Rob’s YouTube Channel — The “flipped” classroom he speaks of, making biblical scholarship accessible around the world.A Prism of Song: Seeing the Old Testament through the Psalms — Rob’s 2025 book, available from the publisher but also available on Amazon (also available in Spanish!)The Christian Citizen — where Rob regularly publishes articles on faith, justice, and cultureInstitute for Justice Formation — the justice formation organization Rob serves as an advisory group member and guest lecturerReferenced in This EpisodeMore on dispensationalism, Darby, and the Scofield Bible:“Christian Zionism: Theology That Legitimates Oppression” — Sojourners — on the theological roots of Christian Zionism in Darby’s 19th-century dispensationalism, and its present-day consequences for Palestinian Christians“Evangelicals and Israel: Theological Roots of a Political Alliance” — The Christian Century — a historically grounded look at how dispensationalism shaped Christian Zionist politics in America, from the Scofield Bible forwardThe Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey — the 1970 bestseller Rob references as a popularizer of dispensational eschatology“Why did we stop using Thou?” Beating people is not a good way to enact grammatical change — This is Merriam-Webster’s history of how “you” replaced “thou,” relevant to Rob’s closing reflection on the plural pronouns of scripture and why “y’all” may be the most biblically faithful optionPreaching During Covid-tide: Sermons of Hope to Empty Pews — Rob’s self-published collection of sermons from March–December 2020, available on Amazon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

As Season 4 closes and we turn toward Season 5, we pause in the in-between. This is a heavy time, and it calls for discernment rather than urgency alone. In this interlude, we reflect on rage, tenderness, and the sacred discipline of not knowing. Soul care becomes a form of resistance here. We step forward asking what faithfulness looks like for us here, now.To help us produce Season 5 of the pod, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This conversation traces what happens when success becomes a burden — when meaning begins to slip away, and when the strategies that once kept you safe no longer work. Crystal Ren, serial entrepreneur, creative strategist, and the founder of Asian Rebel Club, speaks about burnout not as failure, but as information: a signal that something essential has been ignored, and an invitation to tap into one’s inner voice and root in intuition to choose differently.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber or support by buying us a coffee.About CrystalCrystal Ren is a serial entrepreneur, creative strategist, and the founder of Asian Rebel Club—a bold platform challenging cultural norms and helping high-achieving Asians break free from external validation. Formerly in e-commerce, where she built and exited multiple million-dollar brands, Crystal now uses her voice to spark conversations on identity, ambition, emotional healing, and what it means to live freely.Her work bridges psychology, storytelling, and rebellion, and she’s not afraid to get uncomfortable in the name of truth. Crystal is also an angel investor focusing on women-led businesses.Resources + LinksNewsletter** | Instagram | Spotify | **Apple PodcastsIf this conversation resonated, you may also enjoy:From Pageant to Drag King to Netflix’s Midnight Asia The Taliban Erased Her Home. She Fought Back With BeautyShe Was the Perfect Asian Daughter — Until She Left Wall Street for VR Stardom This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

It’s not every week we host an incredible sister trio on the podcast! Layla Ali Rabih-Ziegler, Aussy Levi, and Dora Rabih Griffin grew up inside what many people insist is impossible: a Palestinian, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish family…all blended together. A household where holidays overlapped, where multiple mother tongues echoed in the halls, where identity wasn’t a single lane but a whole woven tapestry.Throughout this conversation, the themes of family, tradition, land and language coalesce into an idea of “home,” a place that taught them to see common humanity above all, before difference. The sisters speak of confusion and beauty living side by side, and of learning long before politics gave them language for it that coexistence is not a theory but a daily practice.Aussy reflects on the ache and awakening of watching injustice unfold in front of children who deserve a gentler world. Layla speaks about raising her son — a Palestinian boy in America — with a sense of pride that becomes its own form of resistance. And Dora tells a story about planting seeds from Palestine in Colorado soil, coaxing one single red tomato into being, and recognizing that resilience often looks small before it looks strong.There is no “right way” to talk about liberation, but there is an honest way, and these sisters embody that honesty. They remind us that allyship isn’t grand gestures — it’s honoring Palestinian voices, choosing clarity over confusion, and refusing to let fear masquerade as neutrality.If you enjoyed this episode, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or buying us a coffee.About Layla Layla Ali Rabih-Ziegler is a community-minded leader whose career spans nonprofit service, entrepreneurship, and senior care. With a degree in Human Development and a minor in Coaching from Metropolitan State University, she spent eight years at the YMCA before running her own businesses for nearly six years. She now serves as Director of Operations for Seniors Helping Seniors in Jefferson County, supporting older adults and their families.Rooted in the values instilled by her multicultural, interfaith parents (integrity, compassion, and standing up for others), Layla brings a deep sense of purpose to everything she does. She is a devoted wife to Steve, mom to baby Owen, and stepmom to Ariyah, and cherishes time with her close-knit family. Outside of work, she loves baking, cooking, outdoor walks with Owen, and spontaneous adventures with her sister, Dora. Family gatherings with her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews are among her greatest joys, as she values quality time and togetherness above all else.About AussyAussy Levi is a seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience across the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, including work with DHS, DOL, Workforce Development, Women’s Health Equity, Veterans Services, NICU care, Human Rights, Easter Seals, YWCA, and March of Dimes. She currently serves as Senior Director at Vitalant.Her expertise spans managing federal programs and budgets, leading quality improvement, and advising on statewide workforce indicators. An attorney, mediator, negotiator, and human rights advocate, Aussy holds undergraduate degrees from MSU Denver, a master’s in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University, and a law degree from George Washington University.About Dora Dora Rabih Griffin is a humanitarian, business owner, and outspoken advocate for social justice, grounded in the belief that “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” Proudly Palestinian, she pours her values into action—protesting with her family, creating media for PCRF and the Al-Bireh Society, and organizing parent-led advocacy groups at her daughters’ school.A former college athlete with a degree in Sociology, Dora is guided by principles of resilience, empathy, integrity, and community instilled by her parents. Her daughters, Maliah and Jada, are the “soul of her soul”—her ruh al-ruh—and remain her greatest inspiration. She treasures traveling, time outdoors, coaching their sports teams, and including them in mutual aid and activism. Dora remains steadfast in the fight for collective liberation and in her commitment to ending the ongoing genocide in Gaza.Resources & LinksDecolonize Palestine: https://decolonizepalestine.com/BDS Movement: https://bdsmovement.netFamily Dora fundraises for in Gaza: https://chuffed.org/project/122556-help-rania-family-rebuild-their-life-in-gaza This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Dear Soulful Revolutionary,In a time of global grief, political upheaval, and deep, deep hunger for authenticity, how do faith leaders and communities navigate the tensions between tradition, digital platforms, and the urgency of calling for justice in a multitude of contexts?In this week’s episode, we step into the sacred space between online visibility and embodied justice. Rev. Gerlyn Henry, an Anglican priest and vibrant TikTok presence based in Toronto, joins us to share how her ministry stretches far beyond parish walls and into social media algorithms, TikTok feeds, comment sections, and ultimately the tender places where people are searching for a faith that tells the truth. She reflects on the tricky vulnerability of visibility, the complexity of preaching in a time of upheaval, and the sacred responsibility of showing up online as a priest, a woman of color, a progressive Christian, and a truth-teller in spaces where misinformation, domination, and harmful theology often thrive.Together, we explore the intersections of progressive Christian theology, online ministry, harm reduction, embodied community, and the long work of decolonization. Rev. Gerlyn names how her work fills a much-needed gap in progressive church circles—a gap she describes as the absence of accessible, public-facing theology. Her Instagram Reels and TikTok videos have become a kind of public theology in themselves, meeting people where they are with clarity, courage, and compassion.We talk about what it means to step into that gap boldly, offering spiritual grounding, prophetic imagination, and the kind of tenderness that stays awake to both grief and hope. And for Rev. Gerlyn, the digital sphere isn’t simply a platform; it’s a calling. As she puts it:“For me, online ministry is both faith and resistance. It’s like claiming space for people of color. Queer folk, progressive Christians haven’t always been welcome, and we’re saying, ‘Here we are. God is here, and yes, the sacred can live in the comment section as well.’”Rev. Gerlyn also shares how she was profoundly shaped by her time as a “slave to the wage” in the so-called “real world” before entering the priesthood, from working at Tim Hortons, the beloved Canadian coffee chain, and later as a packer in an Amazon warehouse. Those early jobs taught her how to listen, how to meet people where they are, and how to carry a faith grounded in reality rather than abstraction. That experience, she says, is essential to understanding what people actually need from spiritual leaders today.To you, soulful revolutionaries reading this, to those building community across distances, reclaiming spiritual imagination, challenging systems, and creating new forms of belonging in real time—this one is for you.About The Rev. Gerlyn HenryGerlyn Henry was ordained in 2020 in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto where she serves as the Incumbent of the Church of Holy Wisdom. During her postulancy (training for priesthood), she also worked at Tim Hortons - the famous Canadian coffee chain - and as a packer at an Amazon Warehouse. She is familiar with being a slave to the wage. Her training includes an undergrad in Social Work, chaplaincy residency in a low income hospital as well as Sick Kids, and an internship in the National Council of Churches. She serves as an anti-bias anti-racism facilitator, sits on the Right Relations committee, and was recently the keynote speaker at the Outreach, Justice and Advocacy conference. Gerlyn received her Masters of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in 2018. Gerlyn is also a wife, a wood worker and novice biker.Resources + LinksFind Rev. Gerlyn on TikTok & InstagramGod Is a Black Woman by Dr. Christina Clevelandhttps://christenacleveland.com/god-is-a-black-woman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

In our seventh episode of the season, we sit down with Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis and Dr. Charon Hribar to explore the decades-long lineage behind their new book, We Pray Freedom: Liturgies & Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor.We Pray Freedom is rooted in an active, justice-building understanding of prayer and ritual—embodied practices that sustain, empower, and transform. “Drawn from the struggles and wisdom of poor and dispossessed communities, these liturgies reclaim the sacred as collective action for a world where all can thrive. In a society steeped in the rituals of empire, these prayers insist that the leadership, dignity, and traditions of the poor are not only holy—they are essential to building a just and life-affirming future.” - https://weprayfreedom.org/about/In our conversation, Liz and Charon remind us that these prayers and rituals were never abstract ideas. They were (and are) embodied—held in protest chants, in courthouse-step litanies, in the courage of people showing up week after week demanding dignity, fairness, housing, and the right to be fully human. They come from the slow labor of friendship, from the everyday work of the Freedom Church of the Poor, and from communities insisting on a world where all can thrive.Dr. Hribar also gifts us with a resonant, bold refrain at the top of the episode that holds the heart of this movement:“I am a revolutionary. I should have been dead and gone, but Fannie Lou said go on. I am a revolutionary. We’re still in the fight, and we’re still alive.”Woven throughout the conversation is a theme they lift up with tenderness and clarity: solidarity as nourishment—a kind of delicious (as Hannah puts it), sustaining presence we return to again and again. This episode is an invitation into that solidarity, that revolutionary spirit, and the truth that liberation is for all of us.Wherever you find yourself today—hopeful, weary, disoriented, or newly awake—we hope this conversation makes room for you. We hope it reminds you that you do not move alone.About the Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis is a theologian, pastor, author, and anti poverty activist. She is the Executive Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Rev. Dr. Theoharis has been organizing in poor and low-income communities for the past 30 years.About Dr. Charon HribarDr. Charon Hribar is a song leader, cultural organizer, and social ethicist. She serves as the director of cultural strategies for the Kairos Center and co-director of theomusicology and movement arts for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. With more than two decades of experience, Dr. Hribar empowers leaders to integrate rituals and arts into organizing efforts.Together, they are the authors of the recently released book, We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor.Resources + Links Mentioned in this EpisodeWe Pray Freedom: Liturgies & Rituals from the Freedom Church of the PoorBy Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis & Dr. Charon Hribar - https://weprayfreedom.org/about/We Pray Freedom – (official website) - https://weprayfreedom.orgKairos Center for Religions, Rights & Social Justice - https://kairoscenter.orgPoor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival -https://poorpeoplescampaign.orgThe Freedom Church of the Poor - https://kairoscenter.org/freedom-church-of-the-poorThe Persistent Widow (Luke 18) — a grounding story for protest vigils - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+18%3A1-8&version=NRSVUE This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

About Dr. Tamisha Tyler, Ph.D.Tamisha A. Tyler (she/her/hers) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture, and Theopoetics at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Indiana. She also serves as a Theologian in Residence at The Center for Restorative Justice in Pasadena, CA, and is part of the Level Ground Artist Collective in Los Angeles, CA. Her current research explores religion in the literary world of Octavia Butler.Resources + LinksDr. Tamisha Tyler’s WebsiteOctavia E. Butler – Parable of the Sower & Parable of the TalentsOctavia E. Butler – Kindred, Fledgling, and The Patternist SeriesPoetics of the Flesh by Mayra RiveraWay to Water: A Theopoetics Primer by Callid Keefe-PerryThe(y)ology - Mythopoetics for Queer/Trans Liberation by Max Yeshaye Brumberg-KrausTheopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches in Theological DiscourseEdited by Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein and Lakisha R. Lockhart-RuschGerry Canavan – Octavia E. Butler: A BiographyLevel Ground Artist Collective (Los Angeles) - Made up of artists in Los Angeles who share a desire to root our creative lives in care, collaboration, and liberation. Level Ground creates purposeful and sustained spaces for artists and their communities. We support Black, brown, trans, and queer artists, projects, and audiences.Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) - FTE is a leadership incubator that inspires young people to make a difference through Christian communities. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Hello Soulful Revolutionaries,Lately, we have been thinking about the kind of faith that begins not in certainty, but in softness. About how, in the midst of ache, disaster, dysfunction, and unrest, tenderness might still be a radical act of resistance, a way of remaking the world in love.In this week’s conversation, we sit down with theologian, writer, PhD student, and co-director of enfleshed, Robert Monson, whose life and work rise from the rich soil of Black liberation theology and womanist wisdom. As a Black disabled man, Robert invites us to consider how our bodies—especially those the world deems “unfit”—are sacred sites of divine encounter. We talk about enfleshed’s mission to create spiritual resources for marginalized communities, about imagination is gas for a car, “the animating life force” doubling as a tool for liberation, and about the holy practice of softness in a world that religiously confuses hardness for strength.Robert helps us glimpse a God who is curious and adaptive, who companions us through pain and joy alike, and who delights in the fullness of who we are. We invite you to soak in this conversation—and in Robert’s closing blessing: a reminder that “you are your own best thing.”That after all you’ve carried, created, and survived, you remain a blessing to this world and to God. You are doing your very best with what you have—and that, Beloved, is enough.A Soulful Revolution is made possible by listeners and readers like you. To receive new posts and support this project, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.About RobertRobert (he/him) is a runner, musician, and a Black theologian committed to softness, contemplation, and liberation for all. As a recent seminary graduate (with distinction) and a current PhD student, Robert studied in-depth the intersection of Black Liberation Theology and womanist theology. Weaving together these two strands of liberation have been important work as well as other liberation based theologies. “How can we help facilitate community and provide answers to a hurting world that is reeling?” remains an important question in his work. While in school, Robert’s scholarly work was recognized and presented at various national conferences/outlets. Podcasting (two shows) and writing remain important aspects of his daily life as well as marathoning the latest Star Trek show(s).About enfleshedenfleshed has roots in liberationist and theo-poetic Christianities and has grown in multiple directions since 2017. we continue to companion those on the fringes of Christianity while also cultivating and participating in sacred spaces outside of singular or static religious identities.Resources + Links Mentioned in this EpisodeEnfleshed - spiritual nourishment for collective liberationBLACK IMAGINATION: BLACK VOICES ON BLACK FUTURES by Natasha Marin“Beautiful Possibilities” by Robert MonsonI Found God in Me: A Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics Reader edited by Mitzi J. Smith“I Do Not Dream of Labor” by Robert Monson“a poem for the daddy who never held me” by Robert MonsonWon’t You Celebrate With Me? by Lucille CliftonAll About Love by bell hooksAll the Black Girls Are Activists by Ebony Janice MooreThe Shack by William P. Young This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Our guest, Tirrea Billings, artivist, educator, and storyteller at Philanthropy Unfiltered, encourages us to reimagine what the work of social justice and resistance looks like within the context of organizations & art.About TirreaTirrea Billings is an artivist, educator, and storyteller who writes about the nonprofit industrial complex. She has a BA in Film Studies and an MA in Communication from Western Michigan University. Her work focuses on amplifying voices that have been systematically excluded from mainstream conversations about power, policy, and change.Through her platform, Philanthropy Unfiltered, she writes openly about contradictions, dysfunction, and new opportunities within social change work — creating space for practitioners, funders, and organizers to imagine more liberatory approaches. Tirrea believes in the potential of radically honest dialogue and the power of imagination to transform systems to better serve communities.Resources & LinksRead Tirrea’s Substack essay: “Bad Onboarding Breaks People”Read Tirrea’s Substack essay: The Master’s Tools: How Traditional Grantmaking Blocks LiberationListen to Ruby Sales on On Being: “Where Does It Hurt?”Watch “The First Step” — a documentary exploring dialogue, reform, and radical empathyFollow Tirrea on Instagram | LinkedIn | Substack This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

The fire is stoked for another powerful episode of A Soulful Revolution.We sat down with Mike Martin, founder/executive director of RAWtools, and Pastor/Educator Hannah Rose Martin to explore what happens when we refuse the false binary around violence and choose a creative, restorative third way. From Sandy Hook to community anvils, from Play-Doh practices with kids to Mennonite peacemaking, this conversation moves from lament to holy imagination, asking what it costs (and creates) to “spend” our privilege for the common good.Together, Mike and Hannah are reimagining what it means to turn violence into peace–literally transforming guns into garden tools, and inviting communities to forge new possibilities at the anvil. In our conversation, we talk about how RAWtools centers survivors, grief, and collective healing in the work of peace. Mike shares the somatic, spiritual power of hammering a weapon into a tool of life. Hannah reflects on forming children in creative nonviolence, examining how play is practice, and how imagination can shift the world we’re building.We also dive deep into questions of accountability, privilege, and faith: What does it mean to call yourself a Christian in a culture of violence? How do we hold each other with love and still tell the truth? Where can lament turn into renewal?Mike and Hannah’s witness is equal parts sobering and hopeful. Their stories remind us that violence is never inevitable, transformation is always possible, and the Kingdom is already among us.Our hope is that this conversation will invite you to strike the iron while it’s hot in your own life—to choose tools of life, mercy, and justice over tools of harm.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.About Hannah & Mike MartinHannah Rose Martin is a licensed Mennonite pastor and reading interventionist in Colorado Springs. She has a BA in Education and is currently dabbling in seminary courses. With her partner Mike and their two children, they work to build relationships and inspire change in the communities around them. Mike and Hannah enjoy spending time as a family with their sons playing games, creating art and building with LEGO, and especially enjoy the great Colorado outdoors.Mike Martin is the Executive Director and Founder of RAWtools. He lives in Colorado Springs with his partner Hannah and 2 kids. He learned to blacksmith in order to turn guns into garden tools and is trained in restorative practices for High Impact Dialogue, conflict facilitation, and others. He is co-author of Beating Guns, Hope for People who Are Weary of Violence, as well as other curriculums related to gun violence prevention.Resources & Links:RAWTools: Disarm Hearts | Force Peace | Cultivate Justice - https://rawtools.org/Hannah’s book, Sparking PeaceMike’s book with Shane Claiborne, Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of ViolenceSong: “It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way” - Andre HenryThank you as always for supporting the podcast! This project is entirely sustained by soulful revolutionaries like you. To help us set the table for more conversations like this one, please consider becoming a paid subscriber, buying us a cup of coffee, or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts to help more folks find the show. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Season 4 is here! This is the first episode that Hannah and I recorded together, and we are beyond excited to share it with you.The newest episode of A Soulful Revolution Podcast features our guest Cara Meredith, author of Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation.In this conversation, we dig into the strange and formative subculture of church camp—the ways it can feel sacred, the ways it can be profoundly unsafe, and the costs of belonging in predominantly white evangelical spaces. We talk about what it means to create communities that are both honest and inclusive, where dignity and safety are not compromised for conformity.Cara’s reflections are tender, challenging, and yet, deeply hopeful. Our hope is that this episode will stir your own questions about the spaces you’ve inherited, and inspire you to imagine what might be possible in the spaces you help create.About CaraA sought-after speaker, writer, and public theologian, Cara Meredith is the author of Church Camp and The Color of Life. Passionate about issues of justice, race, and privilege, Cara holds a master of theology from Fuller Seminary and is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church. With a background in education and nonprofit work, she wears more hats than she probably ought, but mostly just enjoys playing with words, a lot. Her writing has been featured in national media outlets such as The Oregonian, The New York Times, The Living Church, The Christian Century, and Baptist News Global, among others. She lives with her family in Oakland, California.Resources & Links:Buy the book:Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a GenerationFind Cara everywhere:Substack | carameredith.com | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | BlueSky This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

**Subscribers will have access to the full video for future episodes**About Hannah:I am a mother, spouse, friend, and mentor; agitator, advocate, and activator; someone who contains multitudes and is still trying to figure it all out; a complicated, dedicated Christian. I’m also a certified Silly Goose.I strive to bring a unique blend of passion, humor, and relatability to all that I do, and I’m thrilled and honored to have been invited to participate with SR!You can usually find me talking about educational equity, poetry, theology, personal style, or Top Chef (my favorite show); singing and dancing with my kids; advocating for the oppressed; or taking thirty minutes to leave after I’ve already said goodbye at a party. I am someone who loves languages, language, words, and the way we choose to express ourselves. I am a theopoeticist - I am active and engaged in the considerations of how we understand, construct, manifest, and experience God. I am a praying woman! I believe in prayer and the power of community to nurture and heal us.I’m a person who loves getting to know other people and figuring out how the Divine shines through them.I’m glad to be joining this podcast at a time when voices calling for justice must be louder than ever, and I’m glad to be in like-minded company on this journey. To quote one of my favorite poems, “I love you. I’m glad I exist.”Resources:Lucille Clifton's "spring song"The Oscar Romero Prayer, "Prophets of a Future Not Our Own" This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This short pre-season podcast episode is an introduction to Hannah Curtis, the new co-host of A Soulful Revolution!About Hannah:I am a mother, spouse, friend, and mentor; agitator, advocate, and activator; someone who contains multitudes and is still trying to figure it all out; a complicated, dedicated Christian. I’m also a certified Silly Goose.I strive to bring a unique blend of passion, humor, and relatability to all that I do, and I’m thrilled and honored to have been invited to participate with SR! You can usually find me talking about educational equity, poetry, theology, personal style, or Top Chef (my favorite show); singing and dancing with my kids; advocating for the oppressed; or taking thirty minutes to leave after I’ve already said goodbye at a party. I am someone who loves languages, language, words, and the way we choose to express ourselves. I am a theopoeticist - I am active and engaged in the considerations of how we understand, construct, manifest, and experience God. I am a praying woman! I believe in prayer and the power of community to nurture and heal us.I’m a person who loves getting to know other people and figuring out how the Divine shines through them. I’m glad to be joining this podcast at a time when voices calling for justice must be louder than ever, and I’m glad to be in like-minded company on this journey. To quote one of my favorite poems, “I love you. I’m glad I exist.”Resources:The first interview with Hannah, from the archiveHannah's InstagramLucille Clifton's "spring song"The Oscar Romero Prayer, "Prophets of a Future Not Our Own" This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This is the last episode of Season 3! To help us produce Season 4 of the pod, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thanks for listening!***About this episode's guest: Devin Mackey is a 31 year old trans, queer public figure and “sacred rebel” who has dedicated his life to being an example for humanity in order to show that following your intuition, living authentically, and sticking by your values no matter what—even in the most extreme of circumstances—is the divinely right thing to do. Devin’s sacred rebellion and dedication to the truth has led him from an emotionally abusive and heavily indoctrinated evangelical upbringing, through intense transformation, to a place where he happily calls himself an “Omnist”, or a believer that god exists in all spiritual practices and belief systems. He believes that god cannot be contained into one religious structure and seeks to set them free.You can follow Devin on Instagram, Threads and Youtube. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Sheila Joiner is a writer, immigration advocate, and aspiring peacemaker in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas. After a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) position that began in 2012 taught her to use her voice to speak in court on behalf of children in the foster care system, she discovered a deeper understanding of God’s care for those in vulnerable situations. Sheila’s hunger to learn more about the intersection of faith and justice eventually led to 4 years writing immigration advocacy campaigns and social content for We Choose Welcome and a temporary position working as an immigration coordinator for the Immigration Legal Services department at World Relief. Sheila is currently studying for her B.S. in Public Administration and working part-time in her church’s outreach ministry, and writes on Instagram and Substack about God’s love for those often relegated to the margins and about finding rest in an unjust world. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Being in conversation with Erika Saucillo Rivera is a dynamic, joyful experience — almost as electrifying as watching her dance! I’ve known Erika since she was just getting started in the Los Angeles salsa scene and remember being captivated by her confidence and the delight she so clearly took in dancing. Having a chance to interview her over a decade since we first met afforded an intimate look into the determination, passion, and courageous vulnerability that have propelled this talented dancer into the life of her dreams as a professional dancer, choreographer and the CEO of her own dance company.We talk about mirror work in dance and spirituality, healing from stories that we don’t want to pass down to our daughters, and the power of embracing our bodies in all their uniqueness.(Because audio is obviously not the medium to do a dancer justice, you can catch lots of clips of Erika dancing on her Instagram, as well as an incredible full performance here and a beautiful social dance here).About Erika:Meet Erika Saucillo, a dance powerhouse born and raised in Los Angeles, California. With a lifelong passion for dance, Erika's journey spans over two decades, from Ballet Folklorico to Salsa, Bachata, and beyond. As a renowned dancer, instructor, and choreographer, Erika has taken the stage by storm, performing globally and winning numerous awards, including top spots in the World Latin Dance Cup and LA's Top Female Salsa Social Dancer. But Erika's true mission is empowering women through dance. Through her company, Goddess Grooves, she helps women unlock their inner confidence, sensuality, and strength. With a heart full of passion and a spirit that inspires, Erika's dance journey is a testament to the transformative power of movement. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Artist and writer Ari Honarvar weaves the art forms of Sufi poetry and dance for the sake of collective healing. The poetry of her Persian heritage puts her mind at ease, Honarvar explains, while dance is “fuel for resilience.” Woven throughout this interview are Honarvar's breathtaking recitations of the poetry of Rumi in Farsi and English. About Ari:Ari Honarvar is the founder of Rumi with a View, dedicated to building bridges between the arts, social justice, and well-being. She dances with refugees and facilitates Resilience through Joy workshops on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Her words have been featured in The Guardian, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, and elsewhere. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Girl Called Rumi and the bestselling oracle deck, Rumi’s Gift.Recommendations:Ari notes in this episode that she generally recites Rumi’s poetry to English speakers, since fellow Sufi poet Hafiz is very difficult to translate. However, she commends Hafiz's Little Book of Life as an admirable effort to do this nearly impossible thing. She wrote the book’s forward. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

For Dr. Tanmeet Sethi, everything is integrated.Joy springs from the same deep well as pain. There is no clear delineation between social change and spiritual transformation. Healing — on an individual and collective level — requires living into this wholly interconnected, interdependent reality.About Dr. Sethi:Tanmeet Sethi, MD is an Integrative and Psychedelic Medicine Physician, activist, author, and TEDx speaker who has dedicated her career to care for the most marginalized patients in Seattle’s refugee, uninsured and homeless populations as well as global communities traumatized by manmade and natural disasters as senior faculty for The Center for Mind Body Medicine. Her first book, Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim Yours Now, published in May 2023, is a radical call to claim Joy as our birthright, the deepest liberation we can know and a path to power through oppression. She is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington and a primary clinical investigator there on the plant medicine, psilocybin.More info on her practice and her book are at her website: https://www.tanmeetsethimd.comInstagram: @tanmeetsethimdShe has a free community on Substack: https://tanmeetsethimd.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

For Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk, any comfort that comes at the cost of full liberation isn’t worth keeping around. Whiteness, maleness, and other privileged positions people put stock in to keep them comfy, have to make way for a more expansive vision of what it means to be human. Community, on the other hand, can be a site of agitation — and that, the writer, activist and queer mystic says, is fertile ground for change.About Ashe:Maki Ashe Van Steenwyk (she/her) is a writer, activist, and queer mystic whose work explores the intersections of spirituality, power, and transformation. She is the author of the forthcoming books When Breath Finds Bone, a hybrid memoir and theoretical exploration of breath, sound, and resistance, and Shimmertwig, a fantasy novel following a young squirrel named Hackberry on a journey to uncover the truth about a mystical artifact and her own tangled lineage. Her previous books include A Wolf at the Gate, unKingdom, and That Holy Anarchist.As the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination, Ashe develops frameworks for integrating spiritual practice with radical social action. With over two decades of experience in community building, spiritual direction, and social critique, her work challenges oppressive narratives and invites radical imagination. Her writing has appeared in Sojourners, Geez Magazine, and The Mennonite, and her work has been featured in The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Boston Globe, and CNN.com.Beyond her writing and activism, Ashe also fosters community through Queeraoke, a queer-centered karaoke gathering that celebrates joy, resistance, and collective expression.For more, visit makiashe.com.Additional Links:www.propheticimagination.orgpropheticimagination.substack.commakiashe.commakiashe.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Eréndira Jimenez Esquinca midwifes new stories into the world. Weaving together spiritual direction and financial advising – two fields that many would dismiss offhand as unrelated — Jimenez Esquinca is committed to supporting people in authentically and strategically bringing their respective spiritual and material realities into alignment. Working with faith leaders, creatives, activists and others who are ready for a different approach, they empower people to break free from constraining capitalist and colonial narratives while courageously stepping into generative, life-affirming stories. This conversation abounds with wisdom won through this Soulful Revolutionary’s long and loving labor for wholeness in herself and the world. It’s a privilege to share and I can’t wait for you to listen.About Eréndira: Eréndira (she/they) is a spiritual director, financial advisor, world-building companion, and artist. She has been engaged in Spirit work for the past 20 years and has been accompanying folks on their decolonizing, transformation, and liberation journeys for the last four years.Decolonial in both the undoing of oppressive histories (individual and shared) and the writing of new, collective, liberatory futures, they center the dance between story, practice, community as a way to assist individuals and communities in creating space for ever-evolving Selves.Her transition into wealth empowerment and financial liberation comes out of a desire to bridge the spiritual work of liberation with the material reality of learning how to hold and move resource and money. She views money as a playground for imagination, creation, wonder, getting messy, learning, and fun.They hold a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, an M. A. in Spirituality from Bellarmine University, and continue to operate as an independent scholar/spiritual anthropologist of sorts.You can find Eréndira playing and curating at Spirit School, supporting folks in building wealth to build worlds at Portal Wealth, and holding Spirit space for a variety of humans. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

I met Fr. Pete Nunnally in the fall of 2017, at the beginning of a year of seminary studies. We immediately bonded over a shared passion for justice. Within a couple days of meeting, we were driving three hours to be part of the clergy-led counterprotest of the now-infamous “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. We spent the day witnessing to justice with clergy and other people of conscience.Ever since, I have known Fr. Pete to be someone who consistently shows up to be in solidarity with those who are suffering and oppressed, leveraging his privilege to protect those being targeted. Before we met, he spent years in New Orleans supporting recovery efforts after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. Now, he is doing the powerful work of cultivating community in wild spaces, centering care of Creation with his carbon-neutral church plant, Water and Wilderness. And he is writing about this interconnected, hopeful way of being in the world in his upcoming book, Catching Hope: The Hidden Spiritual Wisdom of Fishing.About Fr. Pete:Fr. Pete Nunnally is the interim rector at St David’s in Wilmington, Delaware, and is working with the Diocese of Washington to plant a carbon-neutral church called Water and Wilderness Church. He graduated from Bridgewater College in 2002, taught middle school Pe for 5 years before moving to New Orleans to work in Hurricane Katrina recovery. He is a fisherman and writer, and his forthcoming book, Catching Hope: The Hidden Spiritual Wisdom of Fishing, is due out next year.Pete’s Substack: fatherpetethewildernesspriest.substack.comInstagram: @fr_pete_the_wilderness_priestWater and Wilderness Church: www.waterandwilderness.orgWater and Wilderness Church Facebook Page This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Rabbi May Ye is carving a path for a new generation of Jews.Raised in a secular household, yet steeped in her paternal grandparents’ story of surviving the Holocaust, Ye was moved at an early age by the story of her grandfather’s vocal resistance to the establishment of Israel. Her political awakening was intertwined with coming into her own religious practice, and Ye went to rabbinical school in order to create communities for those Jews who are deconstructing the ethnonationalist ideology of Zionism. Ye’s can be an isolating rabbinate. There are few institutional resources for antizionist synagogues, and Ye often faces animosity from within Jewish circles. Still, the rabbi has experienced profound community with Palestinians in the shared struggle for a free Palestine, and she expresses hope that one day, there will one day be an abundance of antizionist Jewish institutions. Ultimately, she’s clear on one thing: Palestinians will set the terms of their own liberation. Her job is to be in solidarity. About Rabbi Ye:Rabbi May Ye (she/her) is a Chinese-American Jew from unceded Wabanaki land. A weaver of tradition and fashioner of new liturgy and ritual, she seeks to center and highlight the experiences of those who have been disenfranchised and marginalized from Judaism and Jewish spaces. A passionate activist, she explores how to decouple Judaism from Zionism and is an ardent supporter of Palestinian liberation.Rabbi May is a 2023 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC). She currently lives and works on unceded Duwamish and Coast Salish land. She organizes with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and is honored to sit on JVP’s national rabbinical council. She also volunteers as a movement chaplain.Learn more about Rabbi May and her work at www.rabbimay.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

What you’re feeling makes sense.Dr. Norma Ramírez understands in her own body the psychological burdens her clients carry as they navigate systems of exclusion and dehumanization. As an immigrant and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, Ramírez has had to learn to navigate the many heavy and complex emotions imposed by an oppressive society, all while engaging in bold advocacy — including serving as a plaintiff in the 2017 case against the Trump Administration for illegally rescinding DACA.Our conversation was recorded during the first week of the new administration, as chaos was being unleashed on immigrant communities via Executive Order. Ramírez’s reflections are compassionate, courageous, and profoundly humanizing, and they come as an antidote and a call to action amidst escalating attacks on vulnerable groups.About Dr. Ramírez:Dr. Norma Ramirez, Ph.D (she/ her/ ella), is a bicultural-bilingual (Spanish-English) undocumented licensed psychologist in California and Nevada. She is the Clinical Director at an immigration non-profit where she provides free therapy and immigration mental health evaluations and maintains a small private practice. She is an advocate for the immigrant community, exemplified by her role as a plaintiff against the Trump Administration for illegally rescinding DACA in 2017 and recognition by the Biden and Harris Administration as a Latinx leader. Clinically, she provides direct services to clients, develops and implements behavioral health programming, provides mental health literacy workshops for minoritized populations, and provides workshops to educators, lawyers, and mental health professionals on improving services for undocumented communities. At the intersection of her spirituality, activism, and professional identities, her own marginalized identities inform how she approaches her work in all of these areas.Dr. Ramírez's website: https://allgoodthingsps.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

In her work with unhoused people and system-impacted youth, this week’s Soulful Revolutionary asks the question, “How do we find the glimmers of light in here?” In a sea of dehumanizing politics and policies, Lorraine Lam is committed to connecting — one human to another. The crisis outreach worker and case manager finds hope in the humanity of those whom society has thrown away. And she shares that hope generously in this episode, through stories of friends met on the streets who forever changed her. Lorraine (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian settler-immigrant with an education in music, sociology and social worker. Driven by her commitment to Jesus’ life and teachings, she has been a crisis outreach worker & case manager in the Downtown East of Toronto for over 10 years, supporting people who are unhoused and precariously housed and is currently a Caseworker with Amadeusz, supporting youth who are incarcerated for firearms charges. Her work focuses on housing & homelessness, systems navigation, advocacy, harm reduction, and trauma-informed approaches to collaboration, survival, and building a more equitable and just reality for all . She was recently nominated for the City of Toronto's Access, Equity and Human Rights Award. She organizes with Christians for a Free Palestine - Toronto and Shelter Housing Justice Network, serves on the board with Building Roots, and is a contributor to Displacement City (University of Toronto Press, 2022). She loves Jurassic Park movies, singing with her gospel choir, taking naps, eating carbs indiscriminately, and exploring the city with her extroverted fur child, Miso.Follow Lorraine on Instagram: @lorrainelamchopsFollow Christians for a Free Palestine Toronto: @christiansforafreepalestinetoA Soulful Revolution is a labor of love. Paid subscribers help me devote more time and energy to this project. Thank you for your support. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

It was an absolute treat to be in conversation with Buddhist practitioner-scholar Adriana DiFazio about showing up for spiritual practice, how vital and challenging this is to do as a parent, and what it looks like to evolve into new ways of inhabiting movement spaces as our life circumstances change. Adriana’s wisdom is mediated by her gracious and grounded presence, and I trust you will find listening to our conversation as joyfully supportive as I did having it. This is especially true if you are navigating questions around what it looks like to work for a better world within your particular, singular life with all its beautiful and messy complexity. There’s ample room for you here.Adriana DiFazio (she/they) is a Buddhist practitioner-scholar, meditation teacher, facilitator, and parent. She writes about Western Buddhism, social change, ethics, and culture through her newsletter, Radical Change. Adriana holds a BA from Barnard College and a Masters of Divinity in Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement from Union Theological Seminary. Her dharma practice is rooted in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.Adriana's website: www.adrianadifazio.comEngaged Buddhist Mentorship: www.adrianadifazio.com/radical-changeEngaged Dharma Book Club: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s Soulful Revolutionary is Andy Motz (he/him), an award-winning filmmaker. Andy works within and blends together narrative, documentary, and experimental formats to explore pressing issues including HIV awareness, queer identity, masculinity, and housing justice. His work has screened at festivals around the world. When not making films Andy can be found reading poetry and wandering through art museums. There are a lot of men contending to center masculinity in our collective conversation right now. Andy’s forthcoming film, MASC, challenges notions of toxic masculinity by highlighting alternative masculinities, as he plumbs the depths of his own story. This lovely conversation about film, art, and the practices that keep us centered in a destabilizing world was recorded last fall, but it couldn’t be more timely and I am thrilled to share it with you.Learn more about Andy and his work (including his forthcoming film, MASC), at andymotz.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

J.P. Hill is a teacher, worker, and aspiring community organizer. He also tweets too much, and thinks a lot about how we can use social media as a tool to help build a better world. He also writes a newsletter called New Means where he hopes to help others both shift their perspectives on the world and take meaningful action to build something better for us all.Read JP's newsletter: https://www.jphilll.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year, dear Soulful Revolutionary!I’m writing you today in anticipation of Epiphany, celebrated in Western Christianity on January 6. Epiphany is about the manifestation of Christ’s light and truth to all the peoples of the earth. The Magi — wise ones from the East — visit the Christ Child with their gifts. They then defy the autocrat who wants nothing more than to destroy the hope this child represents. Refusing to divulge Jesus’ whereabouts to King Herod, the Magi return to their homes by another way. The king then enacts a genocide, ordering the killing of all boys two and under, forcing Jesus and his parents to flee as refugees to Egypt.Last January, inspired by this story, I convened a group of Christians for a Free Palestine to dispel the shroud of Christian Zionist propaganda through the power of collective truth-telling. Together, we participated in liturgy and reflected on lessons from the Magi, coming home to our common humanity by refusing to cooperate with genocide. This conversation continues to be terribly timely, and so today I am sharing it anew. I hope you’ll attend to these wise and inspiring speakers with an ear to hear what these epiphanies inspire you to embody.Featured panelists include:* The Rev. Leyla Kamalick King, Palestinian American Episcopal priest and co-founder of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies* Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura* The Rev. Halim Shukair, Lebanese priest of the Arabic-language faith community Mother of Our Savior Church in Dearborn, Michigan* And other young Christian leaders for a Free Palestine: the Rev. Jean-Pierre Seguin, the Rev. Tory Moir, the Rev. Jerry Monroe Maynard, and Lana Melonakos-Harrison, and myself.Here’s a highlight from Palestinian theologian Daniel Bannoura: “We Palestinian Christians could not celebrate Christmas while our people are killed. We cannot celebrate while Muslims and Christians are killed incessantly in the Gaza Strip. We are in mourning. We are grieving. Christ is born under the rubble. It is not a silent night. It is not a holy night. Nothing is calm and nothing is bright. Here at this Christmas, we are reminded that Jesus was born in the midst of a massacre committed by the ruling authorities. We are reminded that Jesus was a refugee who was forced to leave his home with his parents because of the atrocities committed by the ruling authorities.And so what would the Magi present to such a miserable child? Perhaps some gauze to wound up the lacerations on his body, perhaps some polluted water to clean the blood off of his body, perhaps a shroud to wrap around his dead body as it is laid in an unmarked burial site. We're also lamenting, no, we are enraged by the seemingly unwavering Western Christian support for the mass death of Palestinian innocents in Gaza….We refuse to give in, even when our siblings abandon us. We are steadfast in our hope, resilient in our witness, and continue to be committed to the gospel of faith, hope, and love in the face of tyranny and darkness.I hope you’ll watch the full presentation and share it with your communities.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

H. Marissa Montes considers every encounter with a client to be sacred ground. An immigrant herself, Montes knew from a young age that she wanted to be an attorney. She co-founded the Loyola Law School Immigrant Justice Clinic in her 20s, and for the last decade she has been consistently recognized as a powerful advocate for the immigrant community in Los Angeles and beyond — with a recently established presence in Guadalajara, Mexico taking her work international. She has mentored many young attorneys, empowering them to root their work, as she has, in love.Attentive listeners will notice that this episode was recorded before the recent US elections. While the incoming administration’s immigration policy poses a massive threat to immigrant communities, Marissa was clear in our conversation that what was true for her before the election would remain so in its aftermath:"I take comfort in knowing I am where I meant to be at this moment, and I'm having these opportunities to help and support my community. I'm going to do it regardless of the situation. God, the universe, higher powers that be, have allowed me and my colleagues and my students to be in this place for a reason.This conversation could not be more timely, and I cannot wait for you to catch courage from this extraordinary Soulful Revolutionary.More about Marissa:H. Marissa Montes is the Professor and Director Loyola Law School’s Immigrant Justice Clinic (“LIJC”), a community based clinic that provides free immigration legal services to the Eastside of Los Angeles in partnership with Dolores Mission Parish and Homeboy Industries. In addition to the clinic, Marissa teaches courses in regards to US Immigration law, Cross-Cultural Competency and Trauma-Informed Lawyering, as well as spearheaded Loyola Binational Migrant Advocacy Project that provides services to both migrants in transit and deportees residing in Tijuana and Guadalajara, Mexico. Marissa serves as a visiting professor at the ITESO in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she teaches U.S. asylum law and serves migrant shelters. Marissa was recently recognized as a Leonard I. Beerman Social Justice fellow, and has been recognized as a Top Young Lawyer by the ABA (2017) and HNBA (2019). She serves on the California Department of Justice, Calgang Database Technical Advisory Committee and was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve on the inaugural Los Angeles Commission on Civil and Human Rights. She received her B.A. in International Relations and Spanish from the University of Southern California and her J.D. from Loyola in 2012.Follow Loyola Law School Immigrant Justice Clinic on Instagram. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Meet Soulful Revolutionary Ishmeet KalraIshmeet was born and raised in New Delhi, India. She immigrated to California with her family and pursued her passion for science, earning a Master's degree in Molecular Biology & Microbiology with a minor in Humanities from San José State University.Since 2008, Colorado has been her home and she loves the stunning natural beauty and the majestic mountains. She is actively involved with the Douglas County School District which has allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of students, families, educators, and administrators. She is a long time advocate for educational equity, STEM education/enrichment, and evidence-based education policies. Her passion for educational equity and STEM education extends beyond her own community, as she volunteers to bring STEM enrichment activities to underserved schools.  Ishmeet is driven by a deep commitment to academic excellence, ensuring equal access to opportunities for every student, and fostering safe and inclusive school environments that promote a sense of belonging.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Links from Ish for more learning and enrichment * Learn about Sikhism* Ish’s preferred meditation cards* Guardian article on what culture wars cost public schools* “How Culture Wars Have Derailed School Board Meetings Across the Country”* Maslow before Bloom (on meeting human needs before educational objectives)* What Ish is reading right now: Valarie Kaur’s Sage Warrior: Wake to Oneness, Practice Pleasure, Choose Courage, Become Victory* “How racism in a Colorado middle school left one student with PTSD”* Beloved Community equity consulting This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

Rooted in the timeless philosophical tradition of dialogue, this conversation with philosophy of religion scholar Erin Choi is a welcome pause from the blur of changemaking activity around us — a chance to center yourself in your values and discern what is yours to do in the work for justice. About my guest:Erin Choi is a PhD Candidate at the University of Oxford. She is currently working on virtue ethics--specifically focusing on the virtue of humility within a Platonic framework. Through her work on humility as a moral and epistemic virtue, she envisions applying this virtue in the context of political polarization and the ethics of conversation.Erin is interested in cultivating virtues such as curiosity, open-mindedness, and attention to other people and affirming the plurality of perspectives and values across different religious and political views. She enjoys learning from interdisciplinary methods and incorporating different cultural and religious traditions. In her free time, she enjoys reading Greek mythology, Russian novels, and Arabic poetry. ***Find more great episodes and essays at the intersection of spiritual transformation and social change on our Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

It was an absolute delight to interview my friend and colleague, the Rev. Lizzie McManus-Dail, as this month’s Soulful Revolutionary. Lizzie's joy is absolutely contagious, and it emerges authentically from her profound spirituality and firm commitment to justice.Catch the unabridged video version of this conversation by becoming a Paid Subscriber on Substack.Lizzie (she/her) has lived all over the world, with her boots now rooted in Austin, Texas. She’s living her dream as the founding planter of Jubilee Episcopal Church! She is passionate about evangelism for a God who makes each of us for joy, which is why you might see her doing silly dances and talking about church history on Instagram & TikTok with her combined 80k followers, or on her podcast with fellow Episcopal priest Rev. Laura - And Also With You.  She’s thrilled to share her debut book, a first-of-its-kind devotional for the disillusioned, the deconstructing, and the disenchanted called: God Didn’t Make Us to Hate Us: 40 Devotions to Liberate Your Faith from Fear and Reconnect with Joy  with TarcherPerigree of Penguin Random House, due out in February 2025.  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

I am delighted to feature two soulful revolutionaries on this episode: Katherine Bogen and Dr. Hani Chaabo. Bogen is an antizionist Jewish woman and Chaabo is the grandson of a Palestinian refugee. Both work in the field of mental health, both are queer, and together, they are the hosts of the SuperHumanizer podcast, where they unpack Israel-Palestine and seek to promote empathy and understanding across polarizing viewpoints through the power of story.Our conversation delves into the difficulty of healing moral injury amidst an ongoing genocide. We talk about the spirituality that gives these activists strength. And we cover the sensitive topic of humanizing those who are actively doing harm.Follow Katie on Instagram: @k.w.bogen and on TikTok: @sexualityscholar.Follow Hani on Instagram: @thestressdocFollow SuperHumanizer Podcast: @superhumanizerThe two organizations mentioned in this episode are Children Not Numbers and Standing Together.A Soulful Revolution is a reader and listener-supported project. Join the movement by becoming a subscriber on Substack: https://laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This month’s Soulful Revolutionary is Ananth Das, an artist and kundalini yogi currently pursuing their doctorate in clinical psychology.Ananth bring immense delight and insight to this wide-ranging conversation about mysticism, decoloniality, neurodivergence and spiritual practice.Ananth graciously allowed us to highlight one of their pieces on the Soulful Revolution Substack. Check it out here.Connect with Ananth on Instagram via their personal page @ananth.the.alien and their artist page @alien.daydreams. View more of Ananth’s work at their website: www.aliendaydreams.life/our-work This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This month’s Soulful Revolutionary is the Rev. Dr. Jerry Maynard (he/they), aka the People's Priest. A spiritual renegade, social revolutionary, and Two-Spirit Indigenous Person (Xochihua), Father Jerry strives to offer healing medicine at the intersections of church & society through pastoral care & public witness in Houston, TX. “My activism began in my hospital bed,” Fr. Jerry says. The child who advocated for their well-being grew into a youth who participated in antiwar demonstrations in the early 2000s, and then an adult whose activism has included serving as a water protector at Standing Rock, protesting the NRA’s annual convention, and robust advocacy for the trans community in Texas.Fr. Jerry crucially reminds us that we are Creation, not simply part of it; that we cannot afford to divorce spirit and strategy; and that rest is resistance: “When in doubt, take a nap.”Follow Fr. Jerry @thepplspriest, and learn more about their nonviolence teaching and training here and at their website.A Soulful Revolution is a fully listener-supported program. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber on Substack. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

March is Women's History Month, underscoring the importance of my conversation with this month’s Soulful Revolutionary, Liz Cooledge Jenkins, and her recently released book, Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity from Evangelicalism.Liz is a writer, preacher, former college campus minister. She writes at the intersections of faith, feminism, and social justice, and her work can be found at places like Sojourners, The Christian Century, Christians for Social Action, and Feminism and Religion, as well as her blog lizcooledgejenkins.com. She is on Instagram as @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers. Liz lives in the Seattle area with her husband and their black cat Athena.Liz and I have in common an evangelical background fraught with the kind of subtle yet pernicious sexism that consistently leaves you walking away from interactions asking, “Did that just happen because I’m a woman?” We both ultimately left behind such settings, finding a spiritual home in places expressing greater clarity about the value of women’s gifts and empowering women’s exercise of leadership. Liz, for her part, wrote a brilliant book about it.This episode is a deep dive into the ways sexism operates in spaces that claim to be welcoming to all. We also talk about its antidotes, including learning from intersectional feminism (Liz has been deeply shaped by Black feminist and LGBTQ+ writers), and nurturing the kind of countercultural communities that empower everyone to bring their best and fullest selves. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

“Yeah, I am a Black, queer, young man, and I believe with every fiber of my being that God embraces me as I am.”So says the Rev. Nitano Muller, this month’s Soulful Revolutionary. The 35-year-old hails from Ocean View, a small fishing-community outside of Cape Town, South Africa.  As a trained elementary school teacher, ordained Anglican Priest and social justice activist; Nitano's passions lie at the intersection of education, faith and justice issues. He describes himself as a juggler of books, chalices and a social life. He currently serves as the Rector of St Peter, Blue Downs, in the Anglican Diocese of False Bay and as Diocesan Canon for Young People.Our conversation covers a lot of ground, including:* How embodied practices have helped Nitano tap into his innate goodness,* how he illuminates the dignity of those in a community that has faced dignity violations for generations, * and how he sees South Africa as a collective contending for justice at the global scale by advocating for Palestinians at the International Court of Justice.This conversation was, as Nitano likes to say, a true delight. Get ready to catch a glimpse of your own goodness. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This month’s Soulful Revolutionary, the Rev. Leyla King, locates her call to the ministry within her grandparents’ experience of fleeing the 1948 Nakba in Palestine. The Palestinian-American Episcopal priest takes courage from the faith her ancestors kept amidst devastating loss and trauma as she advocates for Palestinian voices to be amplified within the church — which she understands as itself a sacred trust from many generations of Palestinian Christians before her — and society.For Leyla, storytelling and forgiveness are vital practices for navigating life and ministry, especially in this moment. She believes in the power of stories to unveil difficult truths while softening hearts, and in that spirit is working on turning her grandmother’s memoirs into a novel. She finds inspiration for the rigorous work of forgiveness in her conviction that God is good and is bringing about justice. And she does all of this with gracious humility and a delightful sense of humor, making for deeply nourishing conversation. I am so grateful to Leyla for the opportunity to share this episode with you.Links:* Rev. Leyla is a founding member of The Small Churches Big Impact Collective (smallchurchesbigimpact.org).* She writes about her experiences as a Palestinian, a clergywoman and a mother at thankfulpriest.com. Recommended reading from Rev. Leyla:* Ghassan Kanafani’s novella Return to Haifa* Naomi Shihab Nye’s poetry and her children’s novel, The Turtle of MichiganQuestions for reflection: Do you recognize in yourself some of the ways in which ancestral trauma manifests? What about ancestral faith, love, or joy? What stories are you being invited to bend your ear toward today? Might there be truths you need to hear that would be more easily digested in the form of a story? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This month’s Soulful Revolutionary is Andre Henry, a hope-dealing artist contending for social change with clarity and courage in the public square. Our conversation highlights the powerful pairing of resilience (an essential “collection of inner strengths” for preserving well-being amidst the violence which oppression enacts on the body), with revolution (courageously striving against the status quo for the world that could be). For Henry, both are necessary — and so much the better when practiced in communities of belonging that value both grace and growth. Woven throughout this episode is the depth and delight of a decade-long friendship, and it brings me so much joy to share a snapshot of our ongoing conversation with you.Follow him on Instagram @theandrehenry and find his music, merch and more at his website. More about Andre Henry...Andre Henry is a creative truthteller, equipped with revolutionary insight, fierce vulnerability, and conscious, soulful, cinematic, pop anthems. A songwriter since he was a boy, Andre was inspired by watching his father —a reggae musician and activist of Jamaican and Cuban roots—put rebellious chants of love and freedom to skanking rhythms on the guitar in their immigrant home in Stone Mountain, Georgia.Andre was studying theology when the killing of Philando Castile by the Minneapolis Police Department triggered an awakening that caused him to cut ties with his evangelical faith and begin speaking out against racial violence, declaring the good news that “it doesn’t have to be this way.” For several months, he lugged a 100-pound boulder around the Los Angeles area, to visually express how anti-Black racism burdens the Black psyche. His community organizing and writing for racial justice have made him a trusted global voice on nonviolent struggle for social progress. He recounts this journey into the racial justice movement in his bestselling memoir-manifesto All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep.His work has been featured in The Nation, The New Yorker, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and Super Bowl LVI. A graduate of 1500 Sound Academy in Inglewood, California, he is based in Los Angeles. Whether he's marching the streets with local activists, writing his books, or performing his music, Andre is here to speak truth, spread joy, and shift culture through everything he creates. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

This month’s featured Soulful Revolutionary is the Rev. Jean-Pierre Seguin (they/them), who serves as Priest-in-Charge of The Episcopal Church of Grace and Resurrection, East Elmhurst Queens. Living in Brooklyn, New York, they are active in collective projects for mutual aid and social transformation, especially in the areas of racial justice, housing, LGBTQ+ liberation, and care for migrants. They love their cats, biking, and playing music with friends.Our conversation covered a lot of (holy!) ground, including rituals for radicals (listen for the anarchist funeral and the goth wedding), what they learned at Standing Rock from Indigenous elders during the water defense movement, and building a church culture that sees all people as beloved children of God. They way they speak of humility as a spiritual practice is going to stay with me for a long, long time.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Listen to the interview in full using the player above, on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify. If you prefer to read a text version of the interview, just click on the tab that says “Transcript.” Here are a few highlights of our conversation:* On ritual: “People don’t tend to think of radicals as people who need ritual, and yet, we made a space for grief and celebration in the backyard of a gallery. It was a necessary and beautiful moment.”* “A lot of (ritual) comes down to traveling light. A lot of it can be done very DIY. People relish and savor these moments they can come together and participate in ritual. It’s a lot more based around practice than around ideological uniformity.”* On activism: “People think more about the fire and less about the balm. What’s less visible is the dreaming that happens of a better world. And that can be enacted through collective ritual.* On staying grounded: “If I’m walking but I don’t feel where my feet are planted, that’s a wake up call. I’ve gotta be able to connect to the natural world around me if I’m going to be able to connect to the people around me. It's also about seeing the beauty and seeing the joy and seeing what people are creating, being open to where that leads, encountering people in a compassionate way and hoping that they connect to you in the same way.”I’d love to hear from you! What resonated with you from this month’s interview? What practices might you like to try? What questions will you carry with you on your journey? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on the Souful Revolution Podcast today is Gabrielle Rivero, founder of the Lenae Release Method, a research-informed movement method that helps participants learn how to accept, express, and release emotions in the body through movement. Gabby received her BS in Recreation and Event Management with a double minor in Dance from the University of Florida and received her Master of Art in Theology from Fuller Seminary in 2018. With her background in dance and her extensive research on the rejection of dance throughout Early Christian History, she connects movement to the body and the emotions, as she helps communities and individuals learn how to release, emote, and heal from traumatic and stressful events.Our conversation about the power of movement covered so many themes, including Black Joy, interrupting generational trauma, and the kind of parenting that meets children in their feelings through compassionate, mirrored movement. The below excerpts are just a few of the highlights of our inspiring conversation, which you can listen to in full using the player above, on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.Lauren Grubaugh Thomas: I want to begin by asking you to share about what it means to you to be a soulful revolutionary. Gabrielle Rivero: Yeah, that's a beautiful question.I was laughing about it when I first heard it because I kept asking myself, am I truly a soulful revolutionary?But as I think through it and I process the work that I do and the spaces that I've engaged in, I think for me being a soulful revolutionary is basically being someone that allows for transformation to happen, that sits in the space to hold space for people to process, to engage with themselves, to engage with the world, to show up fully as ourselves, naked and exposed, being vulnerable to our emotions, being vulnerable to our bodies, being vulnerable to the world around us.LGT: Naked and exposed. That's really striking because you include in your bio this line about having studied the rejection of dance. I'd love to hear you share more about why, in spaces of Christian faith, has dance been something seen as dangerous, as problematic? And how do you navigate that as you're welcoming people into the space that is naked and exposed, that is vulnerable?GR: Yeah, that's a beautiful question. And one that I could go hours on, as I've done all this research. But to give a synopsis of what has happened throughout history, it's really that as a society, we have understood movement as sinful, and some of that comes from the language of the Bible.In the New Testament we have this woman that is dancing. It's very vague on the type of dancing she's doing…what is happening in her movements, in her body, but she pleased the king. She pleased King Herod. And because of that, he then says, “I'll do anything you want.” (Her response) was, “I want the head of John the Baptist.” And we see John the Baptist being beheaded. What happens often from that one passage of scripture is this idea… that dance elicits sin. And then we even go back further to look at early philosophers, we look at Plato, we look at Fado. Those early philosophers…they saw the body as this thing that was disconnecting them from God, (and) they tried to get further and further away from it. But what they were really doing was they were actually trying to get further and further away from their emotions. And what ended up happening is we end up seeing this long line of this rejection of the body. We see this rejection of the emotions. So a lot of what my work ends up becoming is a space to say, “Your bodies are OK. Your bodies were made perfectly.” And you can't actually connect to God without it.LGT: What you're describing is that… movement is healing. Movement is nonviolence. Movement is how we reconnect with Spirit.GR: Research is coming out saying when we move, we receive dopamine. That when we move, we can engage with the world in a way that actually makes us feel better, in a way that actually makes us feel whole, in a way that actually brings back memories to the brain. That movement allows us to engage with the world in ways that we haven't even processed yet, in ways we haven't even engaged with yet. (Movement) allows us to connect to ourselves in ways that allow us to be whole and happier and healthier beings.LGT: I wonder if you could speak a little bit more about how these spaces help folks to heal from trauma, particularly as you're working with (those) who are becoming aware of the trauma of white supremacy carried in their bodies, and what that means for you as a Black woman to be doing this work, to be holding space for yourself and for others to heal from the trauma inflicted by the violence of white supremacy in our world.GR: I've been finding myself now in a space and time where I am holding space for Black women to process. We are giving Black women access to their ancestral roots that they have yet to tap into.We miss this in society, where these women have not had spaces to process, have not had spaces to be angry. That’s a serious emotion to even engage with….we're afraid we're going to be labeled as the angry Black women. We're afraid we're going to get the cops called on to us. We're afraid for our safety that someone might hurt us for being angry. So I said, “OK, let's engage with the emotion of anger together.”For Black people — women and men — we often say we don't have spaces to express. We don't have spaces to be angry where we feel safe to process our anger. But inviting people… to come together and say, hey, express your anger, yell if you need to, let it out. That actually allows and invites healing into generational trauma that people have not even been able to access."Learn more and sign up for an online class at the Express & Release web site. Keep up with this healing movement on Facebook and Instagram.A Soulful Revolution is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

My guest on the podcast today is Luke Melonakos Harrison. Luke is an organizer with the Connecticut Tenants Union (@cttenantsunion), an organization he has helped build since it began in 2021. Like labor unions fighting for dignity and power in the workplace, tenant unions do the same but at home—for renters and anyone else without control over their own housing. Luke is an ecumenical Christian on a nomadic journey with God, and a recent graduate of Yale Divinity School.You can listen to this podcast in your browser, or download it via Apple Podcasts or Spotify. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe

My guest today (and the first featured Soulful Revolutionary on the debut episode of this podcast!) is my dear friend Hannah Curtis. Hannah, whose pronouns are she/her, is a mother, spouse, lifelong learner, and Jesus enthusiast who resides en la frontera of El Paso, Texas. She never passes up a chance to discuss theology, abolition, musical theatre, radical parenting, Lucille Clifton’s poetry, and myriad other topics that point her toward awe, wonder, curiosity, and possibility. Hannah is currently a seminarian, studying remotely at Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and this year she will also serve as her children’s elementary school PTA President. She is on Instagram as @awwdacity. Learn more about the Rio Grande Borderland Ministries Hannah talks about on the podcast and support the good work that org is doing in solidarity with migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers at www.riograndeborderland.org. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit laurengrubaughthomas.substack.com/subscribe