Bishops Marianne Budde of the Episcopal Chuch, and Leila Ortiz of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, join Bishop LaTrelle Easterling as the first women to serve as episcopal leaders in their judicatories. In this lively conversation, the three share the joys, challenges and lessons of leadership they’ve been experiencing and how each of their distinct identities shape the way they’re living out their call.
If you are longing to enter more fully into the uniquely bold and joyful power of transformation, don’t miss this interview with Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. During this conversation with Bishop Easterling, he shares his wisdom from 30 years working – heart and soul – in a community in Los Angeles that was the poorest neighborhood in the diocese at the time. Located between two large public housing and amid the territories of numerous gangs, the Delores Mission has faithfully loved her neighbors. In their conversation, Fr. Boyle shares his spiritual strategies, the importance of rolling up our sleeves to work alongside the afflicted in society’s margins, and how churches can better invite people into lives in fullness and abundance.
During the Next Level Speaker Series in October 2022, Bishop Easterling had a conversation on fierce love with the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, who shared stories filled with mother-wit, growth, setting boundaries, making bold choices, and opting to live and love outloud. Together, the pair illuminated what it means to love – God, the world and ourselves – with ferocity and grace.
In this lively conversation, be prepared to be challenged and changed as the Rev. Janet Wolf, a public theologian, joins Bishop Easterling in confronting some of our traditional beliefs about church and what it means to live as followers of Christ. Christian charity, Wolf says, may be doing more harm than good. What is needed is to be boldly authentic, proximate, and engaged in profound relationship.
When Bishop Easterling started talking with the Rev. Willie Jennings about some of the deepest things they know, the conversation was so rich that it couldn’t be contained in one episode. Part 1 explored how the church thinks about God, the reasons why people read hierarchies of worth into God’s creation, the potential of us working together and the powerful gifts of understanding what we receive from indigenous cultures when we re-examine our conceptualization of ownership. In this second part of the conversation explore ideas about whiteness, home and belonging, and where the Holy Spirit may be calling the church.
Mark your calendar for September 7th! Season 2 of 'Thursdays at the Table' returns with powerful conversations led by Bishop LaTrelle Easterling and a remarkable guest lineup. From tough talks to inspiring insights, this season will challenge and uplift. Join us to learn, grow, and connect. Exciting times ahead! 🌟🗣️
When Bishop Easterlings started talking with the Rev. Willie Jennings about some of the deepest things they know, the conversation was so rich that it couldn’t be contained in one episode. In order for you to hear it all, it’s been divided into two parts. The first segment explores how the church thinks about God, the reasons why people read hierarchies of worth into God’s creation, the potential of us working together and the powerful gifts of understanding what we receive from indigenous cultures when we re-examine our conceptualization of ownership. Savor the richness of thought and passion inherent in this conversation at the table. And don’t forget to tune in for Part 2 when we launch Season Two of Thursdays at the Table on September 7, 2023.
History shapes us, our country and our faith in ways known and unknown. Truths from our history as Christian Americans need to be faced – not to shame or guilt anyone – but in order to understand what vestige of those still impact us today so that we might engage in community with one another to dismantle them and create a brighter future. Even as the church has hope eternal, there is much tension and confusion about what the American Church is and who God is calling her to be. Bishop Easterling invited Joel Goza, the author of America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics, to her table to talk about foundational history that intentionally misshaped the American church. Drawing on the works of philosophers who shaped this nation, the brilliance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the life of Jesus and Joel’s experience of redemption in Houston’s Fifth Ward, they explore how the United States – including her churches – was built on intentional and destructive systems which dehumanized our life together and minimized the totality of Jesus’ message and ministry. You won’t want to miss this conversation on how these devastating foundations can be reversed and the role that church and people of faith might play in creating equity and justice.
Young adult voices too often go unheard in the church and too often their leadership and perspective is not fully respected, included and valued. In this energetic episode, Bishop LaTrelle Easterling talks with two young thought-leaders, the Rev. Dorlimar Lebrón Malavé and JJ Warren, about identity, the future of the church, the meaning of love, and theology – including Womanist, Activist and Queer Theology which is about de-centering that which has been traditionally prioritized, and allowing room for other expressions, other beliefs, other methodologies. Queer Theology, and the discussion in this podcast, seek to create a place where we offer one another grace as we walk together through our differences.
Discipleship, it has been said, is learned on the inside of the church and lived on the outside. Deacons are a special order of ministry in The United Methodist Church that lives out this life of service and compassion beyond the pews and pulpits in ways that make the church relevant and meaningful. Join Bishop LaTrelle Easterling as she talks to two well-storied Deacons, the Revs. Leo Yates and Stephanie Moore Hand, as they explore how each of us is called to bring our best gifts to the table.
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