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I have done several interviews on both the economy and democracy. One of my central motives for doing these interviews is a longing manifested in a quest to find alternatives that reshape and improve upon the way our economy is currently run and our democracy is currently practiced. The root of this longing and quest is in my understanding of my Christian faith. Shaped by the hope theology of Jurgen Moltmann and the multiple liberation theologies of gender, identity, race, and politics, in my own way, I am seeking, and hope to persuade you by this podcast to join me in this quest, to help create the world Jesus envisioned—one where all are loved and cared for. Achieving this quest and goal will require significant changes in how we do the economy and our democracy.

Vital in all of this is to find real ways to move from thought to practice or praxis, as the liberation theologians advocate. The Steady State economists have offered doable and practical policy options, but the next step is finding candidates willing to run for office on those policies. Jeffrey Stout, building on the long and solid work of community organizing has provided especially helpful guidance in practicing grass roots democracy. Joerg Rieger, in the work of The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice, offers a myriad of opportunities in which Christians and churches can participate in the alternatives of a solidarity economy and an intersectional democracy.

Putting all of this together into a useful framework would be a major find and substantive step forward. Although it is not her intent, because her intended audience is primarily secular, nevertheless, I think I have found in Danielle Allen’s Justice by Means of Democracy something very close to what I am looking for. What she has done in this work is to provide a thorough-going model, and, as important, the means of making it practical and useful. Again, although her intended audience is secular, in my mind, it is especially compatible with the kind of Christian alternatives offered by such folks as Joerg Rieger, Jurgen Moltmann, and the liberation theologians.

Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is also Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at the Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Democratic Knowledge Project-Learn, a research lab focused on civic education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Outside the university, she is a co-chair of the Our Common Purpose commission on democracy reform at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and as board chair at Partners In Democracy, she advocates for democracy reform to create greater voice and access in our democracy, and to drive progress towards a new social contract that serves and includes us all.

In addition to Justice by Means of Democracy, some of Professor Allen’s books include: Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality; Cuz: An American Tragedy; and Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education.

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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This episode is a first and an experiment. For a long time I have wanted to interview visual artists, but since this is an audio only podcast, I was uncertain how best to enable you, my audience, to see the visual art my guests offered while the interview was in process. I am not sure if I have yet solved that issue, but this is a first attempt to do so. I will please need your feedback as to how every thing works.

My guest is the Reverend Doctor Julia Goldie Day. More on her below. Julia has provided the following links and, hopefully, if you are on this site, while your are listening to the interview, you can click on the link at the appropriate time and see her paintings.

Julia Goldie Day was born a painter. From an early age Julia felt called to be baptized, to serve as a pastor, and to be a mother. Following these callings while practicing her gifts haven’t always been easy, leading to a sometimes-bumpy road, but they have been fruitful. Julia studied at the SC Governor’s School for Visual Arts, graduated from Anderson University with a Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Drawing, studied Pastoral Care and Counseling at the School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University, and received a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership at Memphis Theological Seminary. She was ordained into Christian ministry by Clearview Baptist Church in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and served churches in South Carolina and Tennessee.  

You can see Julia’s paintings, writing, and preaching at juliagoldieday.com and follow her on social media at @JuliaGoldieDay.

Immanence

Practice Resurrection

Cannot Quench Love

Mary, You’re Covered in Treetops

You can read Julia’s articles on Baptist News Global here:

https://baptistnews.com/?s=julia+goldie+day#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=julia%20goldie%20day&gsc.page=1

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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One of the means of helping to overcome white supremacy is for those of us who are white not only to learn to tell our own race story, but also to take over the responsibility of holding each other as white people accountable when we act and speak in ways that reveal our racial biases or that we are shaped by white supremacy beyond our awareness. As individuals we need to learn and train ourselves how to recognize and become more fully aware of when our thoughts, assumptions, words, and actions cause racial harm. We also need to be more willing to confront and correct other white people when they do the same. It helps to have white role models for this process.

My guest for this episode provides such a role model. Greg Jarrell is a cultural organizer with QC Family Tree in the Enderly Park neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. He works with words and music to impact housing and neighborhood justice issues. Jarrell writes about theology and history and co-leads Carolina Social Music Club, a popular jazz band. He and his wife, Helms, are ordained ministers and are raising two sons.

Greg is the author of two books that will be the focus of our conversation. They are:

A Riff of Love: Notes on Community and Belonging

Our Trespasses: White Churches and the Taking of American Neighborhoods

You can learn more about Greg from his website:

gregjarrell.com

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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This episode is a followup on my interview with Professor Joerg Rieger. The intent of all of Professor Rieger’s work, including the subject of my first interview with him about his book, Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class, and Solidarity, is that theology should have an affect on one’s lifestyle and an impact on the world. In order to realize that intent, Professor Rieger established and is the founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice.

The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice is an interdisciplinary program located at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Its focus is on issues of justice that arise at the intersection of religion, economics, and ecology. Founded in 2019 and supported by a generous gift from Barbara Wendland, the mission of the program is to develop resources and opportunities for students, scholars, clergy, and activists to envision and create a more just and sustainable world for all.

In addition to being the founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program, Professor Rieger is Distinguished Professor of Theology and The Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair in Wesleyan Studies.

Joining us in this interview is Gab Lisi. Gab (she/they/he) is the Assistant Director of the Wendland-Cook Program at Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Gab resides in Columbus, OH and their dog, Franklin (or Frank). They hold an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, an MSL from The Ohio State University, and a B.A. in Theology and Criminal Justice from Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH). They are curious about power analysis, class analysis, and Catholicism. In their spare time, you can find them at home reading, camping with Frank, or hanging out with friends.

Important links for learning more about the Wendland-Cook Program:

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Because of our nation’s commitment to capitalism and the desire to be technologically advanced and leaders in the global business market, across the political and theological spectrum, most parents are interested in and committed to having their children go to college/university. Those students are also enculturated into valuing and wanting to go to college/university. And because of the extensive increase in remote learning, around 61% of students in the United States enroll in college following high school.  Also, because of the global economy, and because the colleges/universities in the United States are some of the best in the world, large numbers of international students seek to attend colleges/universities here.

While things are continuously changing on college campuses, and while there are adults who attend college later in life, or those who attend after serving in the military, or those who attend graduate school, a constant for the majority of the  population of colleges/universities, including international students, is the post-high school 18-24 year old student. For that age group who choose to attend college on a campus, it commonly means leaving home and relying on themselves for a myriad of decisions for the first time. Developing the self-discipline to navigate those decisions is a part of the maturing process. Having some sort of community to assist and provide support in this maturing process helps. For those students who have a religious faith, a campus ministry, commonly sharing the same faith as the student, provides that community and support.

Because there is a constant in the student population related to age, there is a constant in both psychological and faith development. That provides a constant of experience in campus ministry over the years. However, due to challenges never faced by previous generations, campus ministry currently being provided on college/university campuses across our nation has substantively changed.

My guest for this episode are here to help us understand those challenges and changes and to help give a deeper insight into campus ministry as it is happening now in our nation.

Sarah and Daniel Patiño lead the Seek Christian Community at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, or Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia. Both Daniel and Sarah are graduates of Virginia Tech. To learn more about the Patiños and their ministry, visit www.vtseek.org.

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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In this episode I speak with Professor Joerg Rieger about his book, Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class, and Solidarity. Professor Rieger explains why the term, “Capitalocene” should be used instead of the term “Anthropocene.” He helps us understand what is happening because of the Capitalocene, especially as it negatively impacts in a new way many of the issues relating to social justice–issues such as global warming, classism, racism, sexism. queerism, and labor. He also outlines the way theologies and religions have negatively contributed to the development of the Capitalocene. However, Professor Rieger provides us with alternatives and offers us ways to respond. He also believes that both theology and religion have a role in moving us more positively forward.

In order to bring the alternatives Professor Rieger offers to address the capitalocene into concrete action, he established the Wnedland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice.The Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice is an interdisciplinary program located at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Its focus is on issues of justice that arise at the intersection of religion, economics, and ecology. Founded in 2019 and supported by a generous gift from Barbara Wendland, the mission of the program is to develop resources and opportunities for students, scholars, clergy, and activists to envision and create a more just and sustainable world for all.

Professor Joerg Rieger is Distinguished Professor of Theology, The Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair in Wesleyan Studies, and the Founding Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice.

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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I confess to being guilty of what I have observed in most others who, like me, were born, raised, and continue to live in the United States. I take my citizenship for granted. I vote in all major elections, pay my taxes without much complaint, respect and am thankful for government and law enforcement officials, show up for jury duty (although I have never been selected for a jury), and abide by the law. But, I, like most, do little else relating to my citizenship. I don’t go to and speak at town meetings, see little benefit from protests, or believe any effort to write my elected officials (especially those I didn’t vote for) will have any impact. For most of my life, I have believed I have very little power to confront those in power or to create change.

I have been wrong!

Most leading scholars of democracy and advocates for democracy all agree that individual citizens, who take their citizenship seriously and organize, have the power to hold government officials on all levels accountable, to have them address our concerns and issues that are important to us, and to create change. There are different ways of organizing and different tools for helping with organizing, but the act of organizing and using that organizing is a vital means of creating change and to making our democracy work and thrive.

In this episode, I speak with Alan Luis Ramirez about his involvement with and efforts in such an organizing effort. La Milpa is an umbrella organization under which is PODER Emma. Emma is a community is West Asheville, North Carolina. Alan Luis shares with us an understanding of the fullness of this organizing effort. It creates local change and empowerment, economic and employment options and opportunities, and cultural and citizenship dynamics. It is exciting and inspiring and should be imitated, like all such efforts, so that these efforts and the change they create can increase.

Alan Luis is a resident owner of Sourwood Mobile Home Co-op, a member of PODER Emma’s Cooperative Development Team and the Director of Mutual Aid (Casa de Ayuda Mutual).

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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This episode is my third interview on democracy. In this episode my guest and I will be discussing the Movement Action Plan or MAP model for organizing social movements that enable a group of citizens to create change in our culture and in our country through changes in our national, state, and local governments. This model is outlined in the book, Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements by Bill Moyer, JoAnn McAllister, Mary Lou Finley, and Steven Soifer.

Bill Moyer is not to be confused by the famous journalist and television personality, Bill Moyers with an ’s’ on the end of his last name. Bill Moyer, the originator and developer of the MAP model for social movement organizing, was for over forty years a social change activist, community organizer, and educator.

Alas, Bill passed away in 2002, but the co-authors of the book are still very much alive, and Dr. JoAnn McAllister has graciously agreed to be my guest for this conversation.

Dr. McAllister is an interdisciplinary social science educator and researcher. Her work is grounded in a systems perspective and focuses on the role of culture in shaping individual and social beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Her focus is on understanding how these shape our perceptions and actions, and applying these concepts can help us to understand contemporary social problems.  She believes that in knowing our own story and learning to listen to the stories of others we can collaborate more effectively to promote positive social change.

She has worked with many non-profits, community organizations, and government agencies in the development of education programs related to criminal justice, at-risk youth, and the environment. She is the co-author of Doing Democracy: The MAP Model for Organizing Social Movements written by Bill Moyer (2001) and has been engaged in numerous activities to create positive social change over the years, including Anti-War, Sanctuary, Food Security, and Environmental groups. She is working on a new project and book, Still Doing Democracy: Finding Common Ground and Acting for the Common Good. Her current focus is on training engaged citizens, community advocates, and social change activities to develop more effective collaborative skills to further positive social change.

The intro and outro music for this episode is from a clip of a song called ‘Father Let Your Kingdom Come’ which is found on The Porter’s Gate Worship Project Work Songs album and is used by permission by The Porter’s Gate Worship Project.

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This episode is my third interview with Dr. Laura Lengnick about her book, Resilient Agriculture. In my blogspot for the second interview, at the request of Dr. Lengnick, I clarified that the discussion in the second interview was recorded in June of 2024 before the impact of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina toward the end of September, 2024, and was not a response to that event. However, Dr. Lengnick agreed that at a time which allowed for recovery and healing, some reflection about Resilient Agriculture in light of the event of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina was important and appropriate. Particularly important for that reflection includes Dr. Lengnick’s understanding of the concept of “bouncing forward” rather than “bouncing back” or “building back better.”

That time, nearly one year after the Hurricane Helene event, has come. So I welcome back Dr. Laura Lengnick.

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In this episode, Amy Cantrell returns to speak of her life’s work and calling.

Amy Cantrell lives in Asheville, North Carolina and is founder and Co-Director of BeLoved Asheville dedicated to creating home, health, equity, and opportunity for all.  BeLoved is a community of people putting love into action every day.  We bring people from all walks of life together to create innovative solutions to some of the most challenging problems of our time:  housing and food insecurity, poverty, lack of healthcare, systemic racism, and climate change. BeLoved’s projects includes:  BeLoved Villages of deeply affordable homes; rapid relief, community health, and vaccination equity efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic; the first homeless/formerly homeless Street Medic Team in the nation; Racial Healing & Cultural Organizing; creating healthy food access through Free Farmers markets, Plants for the People  and community gardens; as well as advocacy campaigns around affordable housing, homelessness, food equity,  gentrification, and systemic racism. Our projects work at the intersections of community, creativity, and equity. Amy was school educated at Converse College (BA) and Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA (MDiv.) and was “street educated” at the Open Door Community in Atlanta and at BeLoved Asheville. In 2020, she passed the NASCLA national licensing exam and became a general contractor to help support BeLoved’s project to build deeply affordable homes. She received the Western North Carolina Peacemaker of the Year in 2017 and was recently named one of the USA Today Network’s Women of the Year, 2024.   Recently, she co-led BeLoved’s response to Hurricane Helene serving 15,000 people daily across Western North Carolina’s impacted zones in the aftermath of the storm. BeLoved became the largest local rapid response group in the wake of Helene supporting equitable responses including Well Check teams and Flush Brigades to support elders and people with disabilities. Hike teams hiking miles to remote areas. Creating temporary water infrastructure for communities, schools, and childcare centers. Sharing 67 tiny homes on wheels as immediate temporary shelter. Currently, BeLoved is doing 30 home repairs and has started their first whole home replacements as well as building a new BeLoved Village in Swannanoa. BeLoved has been featured in stories by ABC News/Good Morning America, PBS News Hour, CBS, NBC,MSN, Accuweather, the Washington Post, and People Magazine. She is married to Adrienne Sigmon and loves being mom to twin 11 year olds, Myla and Eleecia.  She loves the color purple, playing guitar, making art, and studying movement history.  Find her on Facebook and Instagram @Amy Cantrell and @BeLovedAsheville  For more information about BeLoved Asheville, visit www.belovedasheville.com.