This episode we welcome Darnell Fennell, the founding pastor of Just Love, a radically inclusive church plant in Houstan, TX. We discuss what it’s like to create an inclusive church in an area that is seen as more conservative to the wider progressive community. What does it mean to be “church” and what are the difficulties in starting a new church in general? How do you bridge the conversation on race and privilege in a mixed congregation? What is the importance of doing the inner work outside ...
Jun 30, 2016•43 min
In this episode we talk with Pat Mosley, a Gardnerian witch in North Carolina. We talk about how Wicca takes on the culture of where it’s at, and how it’s not that much of a stretch for people to be multi-faith practitioners. Pat discusses his coven, Granny Magick, and his involvement in CUUPs. We also talk politics and #HB2 (also known as the “bathroom bill”) and how, on the ground in North Carolina, there are more people who are against it rather than for it. Pat talks about the uphill battle ...
Jun 29, 2016•45 min
Denise Cicuto returns in this episode to talk about her call to study acupuncture through a visitation by Kuan Yin. We talk about her journey, not only through acupuncture school, but her spiritual journey with Kuan Yin and her current studies of the spiritual side of acupuncture . We also discuss the nature of Kuan Yin, and how compassion isn’t necessarily “fluffy”. We also talk about the importance of self care when doing activism and after major emotional events such as Orlando. Denise Cicuto...
Jun 24, 2016•47 min
After a brief TWIH hiatus, we return with our guest Sharon Knight, a pagan musician who does both solo work and plays as a group with her partner Winter in Pandemonaeon. We talk about the art of performing, the magickal experience of being on stage, the future and past of pagan music, and how music influences her work, both spiritually and professionally. We also talk about her latest album and the work that goes into writing, recording, and making videos for an album. Note: Please excuse the au...
May 17, 2016•49 min
Irene McCalphin joins us this week to talk about the intersections of fat liberation and marginalization. Why is it important to have representation in spiritual imagery, both in regards to race and body size? Why is the language of our rituals important? How can we move through learning about these issues of marginalization and come to a place where we can see outside of ourselves to a more inclusive community? Why is it important to keep the language of the diet industry out of spiritual space...
Apr 21, 2016•53 min
In this episode, we talk to Cara Freyasdaughter, where we discuss her journey to Heathenism, her introduction to Freya and Freyr, and some of the issues that are challenging modern Heathenism. What are CUUPs and ADF? What does the lore say about racism and other issues that have been being dealt with within the Heathen community? Cara Freyasdaughter is a devotional polytheist dedicated to Freya and Freyr who works within a "reconstructed-ish" Heathen tradition. A current member of The Troth and ...
Apr 04, 2016•46 min
In this episode we talk to Dr. Chandra Alexandre about her journey with Kali Ma and her experiences with the Divine Female. Not only through her travels and learning in India, and her current work in the Bay Area. What is Tantra and the SHARANYA practice? Why is daily practice important and how do you keep up a daily practice? How do we approach the everyday to support our own practices? Note: Apologies for the Skype issues towards the end of the show. Skype was not cooperating well at the time....
Mar 30, 2016•43 min
In this episode we talk about death and dying with Rebecca Lynn Scott, founder of the Polytheist Death Guild. She talks about her own experiences that lead her to creating the Guild and the importance and necessity of death rituals in our society. How do we talk about death in our society? How are we able to express grief? Do pagans (of any traditions) have a healthier view of death than other traditions? Rebecca Lynn Scott is the founder of the Polytheist Death Guild and author of A Litany to t...
Mar 15, 2016•45 min
This week we talk to Megan Manson, a pagan who also practices Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. Megan talks about her path to Shinto, some of the history of Shinto and how it relates to the other religions practiced in Japan. We also talk about how religion co-exists together in Japan and how it differs from how religions get along in the West. What is the difference between Japan and the West in regards to religious identity? What does it mean to be multi-faith, and how do we explain it...
Mar 09, 2016•44 min
Robin Lynn Griffith joins me in this episode to talk about death and dying. Both of us are called to minister to the dying and while, for the two of us, this is a normal process, for most people in our culture, death is something you just don’t talk about. Why does our society tend to try and banish the idea of death? Why are we so afraid of something that is inevitable? Are we doing a disservice if we don’t allow someone to really grieve in their own way or telling people to just “get over” the...
Mar 01, 2016•53 min
In this episode of TWIH we talk to Rabbi Mychal Copeland, editor of “Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives” and Director of InterfaithFamily/Bay Area. We talk about her decision to go to rabbinical school, the varied interpretations of the bible, and how to navigate being part of an interfaith couple. How does being an interfaith couple today compare to the past? How does talking together about people’s experiences with religious traditions help famil...
Feb 23, 2016•1 hr 1 min
Heathenry is going through a difficult stage in it’s evolution, especially lately. In this episode, we talk to Alf Herigstad founder of the Hawk’s Hearth Kindred, about his tradition of heathenry and the various issues that are important in heathenry today. What is heathenry? Why is there racism in heathenry? What are people doing about it? What does Heathen lore say about difference, and how does racism go against the edict of hospitality? Alf also talks about doing prison ministry, being on a ...
Feb 15, 2016•50 min
Jenya T. Beachy joins us in this episode to talk about the Feri tradition, farming, and the importance of self care. What is it like to live with the land? What does it mean to be a Root Worker? What is the meaning and nature of Power? Jenya describes her journey into witchcraft, her experiences with Cora Anderson, and why she decided to go live on a farm with goats and chickens. This episode is part of a series of interviews with people who will be presenting at Pantheacon 2016 . Jenya T. Beach...
Feb 11, 2016•55 min
In this episode we talk to David Shorey and Chase Powers, both members of the Unnamed Path, a magickal tradition for Men Who Love Men. What is the Unnamed Path? Why is single gendered space important to some people? Why do people get stuck on the gender binary, and why do people get bent out of shape when people want more inclusivity in single-gender spaces (i.e.: inclusion of transgender, bisexual, multi-faith, etc.)? What is the importance of language in gendered space? And…what about Beltane?...
Feb 11, 2016•59 min
In this episode we talk to Angus McMahan about the role of humor and storytelling in society and in the pagan community specifically. What makes you laugh? What is it about humor that helps us understand things that we may not know about it? How can humor help us make breakthroughs when other things can’t? What is the line between the humorous and the political? We also talk about our most interesting experiences doing tarot… This episode is part of a series of interviews with people who will be...
Feb 03, 2016•56 min
Laine DeLaney joins us in this episode to talk about her journey from her childhood religion of Islam to her current Heathen and magickal traditions. What does it mean to be a Heathen? Do you have to be of Northern European descent to be a “proper Heathen”? Is there really such a thing as an “unbroken” tradition? Why is hospitality important? We also talk about how accepting people as they identify themselves and accepting their humanness is important in accepting the “Other.” This is part of a ...
Jan 26, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Shauna Aura Knight joins us in this episode to talk about ritual practices that can make our public rituals more inclusive. What do we mean by inclusivity? How do we make the welcome clear so that others know that they are welcome into the ritual? Why are people so averse to using more inclusive language or making accommodations for allergy, disability, and gender issues? What is the responsibilities of public priests to ensure that their rituals are inclusive as possible? How do you take owners...
Jan 06, 2016•1 hr 9 min
Storm Faerywolf joins us in this episode to talk about the Feri Tradition, being a public witch (or warlock, in Storm’s case), and the role of secrecy and privacy in modern witchcraft. What does it mean to be a public witch? Why do humans have a need to define what other people’s paths are and hold absolutist attitudes about what is “right” and “proper”? What is the role of secrecy, and what is the difference between secrecy and privacy? Is secrecy still necessary in the age of the internet? We ...
Dec 23, 2015•1 hr 3 min
In this episode we talk to Elly Hadaway who is a musician, Druid, and Quaker, who is disabled. We talk about the intersections between Druidism and Quakerism, accessibility and sometimes lack thereof, in the pagan community, and her recently released EP “Tell Me Where the Ocean Went” (which you can buy through the BandCamp link below). The song at the end of the show is "I Am The Mountain" from her new album. Elly Hadaway is an English folk singer, ukulele player and songwriter, who's also been ...
Dec 14, 2015•46 min
In this episode we talk to Esther Bamberg, a pagan atheist. What does it mean to be a pagan atheist? How does conversion contribute to misunderstandings? Can you be an atheist and still work magick? Does spiritual work necessitate a actual belief in a deity in order to give fulfillment? If someone identifies as part of a tradition or spiritual path, why do people tend to question a person's identity just because they don't practice the same way? Esther Bamberg is very much into the virtue of act...
Dec 08, 2015•52 min
In this episode we talk with Rachel Cohen Yeshurun of Women of the Wall in Israel who regularly reads the Torah at the Western Wall in defiance of law on the New Moon with other women. We talk about the history of why women haven’t been allowed to pray equally at the Wall, the role of the current government in that discrimination, and how it relates to Israeli LGBTQA rights. What does it mean to be able to pray together? Why is it important to have equality for all genders in religion? Note: Thi...
Nov 30, 2015•48 min
In this episode we talk to Matthew Becker who used to be a minister in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), a conservative denomination of the Lutheran church that does not ordain women. We talk about Matt’s personal growth in the LCMS, how he came to question the more conservative doctrines of the denomination (specifically Creationism and women’s ordination), and the heresy charges and tribunals that he had to go through, which, ultimately, lead him to leave the LCMS all together. Dr. Ma...
Nov 23, 2015•1 hr
In this episode of TWIH, we talk to Debra Jenson, Chairperson of the organization Ordain Women, which seeks to change the LDS church’s stance on ordaining women (and girls) into the priesthood. Debra gives us an overview of Mormonism and what it was like to grow up as a young girl in the faith. We also talk about what it is like to be a female parent in an organization where your role in the spiritual life of the community is limited and why it’s important to the life of the church to include wo...
Nov 16, 2015•1 hr 9 min
In this episode we talk to Paul Schneider, one of my good friends and Baptist seminarian about his journey, and his church’s journey into affirming LGBTQA people and radical inclusion. We also talk about the realities about the way that traditions can be used to harm people, regardless of faith path and how clergy need emotional and personal support in order to help them avoid harming those they serve. How does clergy isolation create the idea that we have to “do it all ourselves” and not ask th...
Nov 10, 2015•1 hr
In this episode we talk to Maria Vorontsova, who is a botanist at Kew Gardens, who was born in Russia and came to the UK when she was young. We talk about her experiences of religion and atheism in regards to her Russian roots and in her interactions with people during her field work in Africa. What does it mean to be an atheist? Does atheism mean that someone doesn’t have a moral compass? Where does atheism fit in with interfaith dialog, and why does the interfaith dialog NOT include atheism? M...
Oct 05, 2015•39 min
In this episode, that was recorded at The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries Convocation in July, I talk with Davie Floyd about her multi-faith practice that includes Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Sufism (amongst other work). How do we become a personal sanctuary of inclusion for people to help them discover their own paths? How do we support the seeker, and how can we help people find what they need? What does it mean for someone to be spiritual? How are we evolving as a society and as h...
Sep 08, 2015•42 min
In this episode we talk about interfaith dialog and religious education with Denise Cush. How do people learn about interfaith and mutli-faith practices? What are the differences between the way religion is viewed and taught in the United States and the United Kingdom? What is the importance of face to face dialog and experience in interfaith work? Denise Cush (BA/MA Oxford, MA Lancaster, PhD Warwick) is currently Professor of Religion and Education at Bath Spa University. She has taught Religio...
Aug 31, 2015•44 min
In this episode we talk with author Deborah Blake about daily practice and how we can get hung up on what “proper” daily practice is. We explore how daily practice can be just a part of our mundane practices, and that what is right and “proper” depends on your own spiritual needs. How do we cultivate a practice that works for us? How do we determine the regular practices in our groups or covens? Are we walking our talk? We also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both group and solo w...
Aug 18, 2015•1 hr 1 min
In this episode we talk to Rev. Wilma Jakobsen, the first ordained woman in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and an anti-apartheid activist during the worst, and last years, of apartheid South Africa. We not only talk about her story, but we also talk about her reactions to Ferguson, and working through white privilege. We also talk about the future of not only her home country, but of the civil rights movement here in America. What does it mean, as a white person, to be a witness and all...
Aug 10, 2015•49 min
This week we talk with Schmian Evans about education, marginalization, and what we can do about it. What is considered normal? How do we educate and empower people, especially children, when they have be constantly told by the system they are stupid, can’t learn, or not worth people’s time? How do we navigate the grey areas? We also talk about spoken word. how their spoken word ministry can connect to others on a deep level, and how art is treated in our (U.S.) culture. This episode was recorded...
Jul 31, 2015•44 min
