Geez Out Loud

In this piece, Kerr Mesner shares a song of imagining for trans, non-binary, and gender expansive siblings having each others' backs, and God joining into the resistance. Kerr is a spiritual director, consultant, and facilitator, as well as a queer/transgender contemplative Christian, performing artist, and activist. In his spare time, he enjoys writing songs and playing in his garden. Geez 65: Healing Sex takes on the taboo. Sex is so often at the heart of Christian shame and violence. What healing do our spirits and bodies need? How can we lean into pleasure and joy? What liberation can be found in subverting tradition – or reclaiming it?

In this piece, Kate Suffling invites the listener to take the deepest breath you've ever drawn. Kate (she/her) is an occupational therapist practicing counselling in Kitchener, Ontario. She cherishes the sacred act of hearing the stories of others. She otherwise spends her time mothering, gardening, reading, and being outdoors as much as possible. This poem appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, we ask: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

In this piece, Joshua S. Hopping explains what a Cherokee ritual has to do with the Year of Jubilee? Joshua (Cherokee Nation) lives in Idaho and is the author of The Mystery, the Way, and the Journey. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, Geez 63 asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

Carly Sugar looks to the ancient, radical cycle of rest for the land in Jewish tradition. Carly is based in Detroit, Michigan on Anishinaabe land and directs the Adamah Farming Fellowship in Falls Village, Connecticut on Mochican land. Her work explores the intersection of food skills, Jewish ritual, social change, and community building. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, this issue asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

What if white members of a church redistributed their wealth to Black members? Andrew Yang shares that Circle of Hope decided to find out. Andrew Yang is a Han Taiwanese attorney and activist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He helps lead the Circle Mobilizing Because Black Lives Matter compassion team and is a co-host of Color Correction, a podcast about the intersection of race and faith. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, this issue asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

What would a sabbatical look like for an undocumented restaurant worker? Liuan Huska explores this in Geez 63. Liuan Huska is 1.5 generation Chinese immigrant and author of Hurting Yet Whole. She lives near Chicago, Illinois on ancestral Potawatomi land. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, this issue asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

In this piece, Kateri Boucher feels the spirit of Jubilee beckoning us. Kateri is associate editor for Geez and a member of Detroit's Catholic Worker community. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, this issue asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

What happens when a camp bathroom is reclaimed? Jean Jeffress writes for Geez 63. Jean Jeffress is a pastor and preacher working on loving the people of God. They live in Oakland, California. This piece appears in Geez 63: Sound the Trumpet. In this moment of massive debt overload, mass incarceration, and rampant land destruction, this issue asks: What would the practice of Jubilee look like today? We dream together of reparations, debt forgiveness, prison abolition, land restoration, and a whole lot of radical rest.

Kayla Harr is a transracial adoptee who writes, edits, and educates in the Washington metropolitan area. In this episode, Kayla writes on her experience as a transracial adoptee. This piece comes from Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology. White supremacist theology is baked into the structures and systems of this world, and therefore into each of our lives. Our work must entwine social analysis, story, bodies, reparations, spirit, and grace. Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US. Geez is for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

Josiah R. Daniels (Black/white) is the assistant opinion editor at Sojo.net. Although he is neither a musician nor a detective, he would classify his writing style as both “hard-bopped” and “hard boiled.” In this episode, Josiah writes a letter to his nephew. This piece comes from Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology. White supremacist theology is baked into the structures and systems of this world, and therefore into each of our lives. Our work must entwine social analysis, story, bodies, reparations, spirit, and grace. Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US. Geez is for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

Josh Parks is a freelance writer and editor with a master's degree in medieval studies from Western Michigan University. In this episode, Josh explores how literature and its readers can simultaneously reinforce and resist oppression. This piece comes from Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology. White supremacist theology is baked into the structures and systems of this world, and therefore into each of our lives. Our work must entwine social analysis, story, bodies, reparations, spirit, and grace. Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US. Geez is for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

Fran Westwood writes, grows vegetables, and is a psychotherapist supporting individuals experiencing addiction and mental health challenges. Fran is of Scottish-settler origin and is grateful to live on the traditional territory of the Anishnaabek peoples, particularly the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. This piece comes from Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology. White supremacist theology is baked into the structures and systems of this world, and therefore into each of our lives. Our work must entwine social analysis, story, bodies, reparations, spirit, and grace. Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US. Geez is for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

Kateri Boucher is a white settler living on Anishinaabe land. She is associate editor of Geez and a member of Detroit's Catholic Worker community, and Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez and lives in Detroit, Michigan. The powers dwell in and around her as a white U.S. citizen and Christian. In this episode, Kateri and Lydia explore the reality that as cries against white supremacy sound in our streets and in our work, we must face its brutal reality written into Christianity. This piece comes from Geez 62: Dismantling White Theology. White supremacist theology is baked into the structures and systems of this world, and therefore into each of our lives. Our work must entwine social analysis, story, bodies, reparations, spirit, and grace. Geez magazine is a quarterly, non-profit, ad-free, print magazine about social justice, art, and activism for people at the fringes of faith in both Canada and the US. Geez is for the over-churched, out-churched, un-churched and maybe even the un-churchable.

In this episode we ask: Where is your table? Who is sitting around it? What are you hungering for? Lydia Wylie-Kellermann and Kateri Boucher are editors at Geez and live in Detroit, Michigan. Geez 61: Seeds Are Sacred digs deep into the dirt, we lift up the beauty, spirit, and power that is inherent in growing food. This issue explores compost and canning, seed saving and survival, and dependence on community rather than corporations.

In this episode, Em Jacoby reflects that while she and her sister may live 880 miles apart, they both tend to food with their children – one in the city, and one on a farm – in similar and meaningful ways. She lives in Chicago, Illinois and prefers her beets pickled. Usually parenting her young kids, she was able to play around with these words thanks to her partner, Brian. Geez 61: Seeds Are Sacred digs deep into the dirt, we lift up the beauty, spirit, and power that is inherent in growing food. This issue explores compost and canning, seed saving and survival, and dependence on community rather than corporations.

Shannon Evans reflects on what it means to hunger and be fed, while having nothing to give. She is an author and community member in the Catholic Worker in Ames, Iowa. Geez 61: Seeds Are Sacred digs deep into the dirt, we lift up the beauty, spirit, and power that is inherent in growing food. This issue explores compost and canning, seed saving and survival, and dependence on community rather than corporations.

In this episode, Patrilie Hernandez disrupts the narrative of nutrition education and its proximity to colonial powers. She/they live in Washington, D.C. She combines her academic background in anthropology, nutrition, and health, with her lived experience as a queer, fat, neuroatypical, multiracial femme of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Geez 61: Seeds Are Sacred digs deep into the dirt, we lift up the beauty, spirit, and power that is inherent in growing food. This issue explores compost and canning, seed saving and survival, and dependence on community rather than corporations.

In this episode, The Correctional Service of Canada enters the confessional to reveal the ploy to exploit prison labour. Calvin Neufeld is a vegan trans man and social justice advocate from Perth, Ontario. He is the founder of Evolve Our Prison Farms. He is not a spokesperson for the Correctional Service of Canada. The future of prison farms is unknown. Geez 61: Seeds Are Sacred digs deep into the dirt, we lift up the beauty, spirit, and power that is inherent in growing food. This issue explores compost and canning, seed saving and survival, and dependence on community rather than corporations.

Sloane Wednesday is a writer, musician, and activist. Her recent album Mood Indicator was released with Haunted Birthday Records. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri. In this issue, Sloane tells her story of the new life she found while transitioning. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Justin Eisinga is chaplain of the compost and student of theology at Canadian Mennonite University in Treaty 1 Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In this piece, Justin shows us that the compost bin is a tomb built for resurrection. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez. She lives in Detroit, Michigan. Here Lydia invites us to walk towards places of death and grief – for there, perhaps we too, may stumble upon resurrection. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Kerr Mesner is a queer/trans spiritual director, facilitator, theatre performer, college professor, minister, and activist. In this one act play, Kerr struggles to finish his piece on resurrection, and has a few visitors to lead the way forward. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Kyle McCormick is a PhD candidate and chicken wing connoisseur from Detroit, Michigan and Kateri Boucher is associate editor for Geez and practises hospitality in Detroit's Catholic Worker house. In this piece Kyle and Kateri explore the fact that while John Brown may have been executed in 1859, his soul marched on towards abolition. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Kelley Nikondeha is a liberation theologian, author, and community development practitioner in Burundi. She is author of Defiant: What the Women of Exodus Teach Us about Freedom and Adopted: The Sacrament of Belonging in a Fractured World. In this piece, Kelley recounts what the news of the biblical resurrection story tells us about patriarchy and belief. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Naomi Ortiz is the author of Sustaining Spirit: Self-Care for Social Justice and lives in Tucson, Arizona. In this piece, Naomi explores the role of ancestral work – as mending work, witnessing work, and grief work. Geez 60: Signs of Dawn invites us to enter the cave, the compost bin, the sidewalk crack. It dares us to believe in new life and the power of green, growing hope to bring even the mightiest walls crumbling down.

Corey Simon is a United Methodist pastor living in Michigan with his wife and pets. He practices blacksmithing as therapy. In this episode, Simon reflects on transforming a tool of death into a servant of life – by forging a gun into a garden tool. In Geez 60, we explore what our scriptural ancestors called powers and principalities, acknowledging how these more-than-human things take on a kind of creatureliness: a life, a spirit, of their own.

Kateri Boucher lives in Detroit's Catholic Worker house and is associate editor for Geez. In this episode, Boucher invites us to examine the powers of Death in our lives and world. In Geez 60, we explore what our scriptural ancestors called powers and principalities, acknowledging how these more-than-human things take on a kind of creatureliness: a life, a spirit, of their own.

Bill Wylie-Kellermann is a nonviolent community activist, retired pastor, and author – most recently of Principalities in Particular: A Practical Theology of the Powers that Be(Fortress). He lives in Detroit, Michigan. In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann takes us back to the biblical roots of these terms and illuminates their continued existence through white supremacy and other forms of oppression today. In Geez 60, we explore what our scriptural ancestors called powers and principalities, acknowledging how these more-than-human things take on a kind of creatureliness: a life, a spirit, of their own.

Dallas Nord lives in Kerman, California with his wife and daughter. When farming, he grows almonds, raisins, and theological thoughts. In this episode, Nord exposes the colonial nationalist beasts at work and calls for their defeat. In this issue, we explore what our scriptural ancestors called powers and principalities, acknowledging how these more-than-human things take on a kind of creatureliness: a life, a spirit, of their own.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is editor of Geez magazine and lives in Detroit, Michigan. In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann reflects on the beauty and importance of grief and communal mourning. Geez 58: Breath & Bone explores death and dying in its ordinary, human, and sacred forms. It also summons readers to the communal work of mourning as a form of resistance and liberation.

Kerr Mesner is a queer/trans theologian, a theatre performer/educator, a college professor, and an activist. Mesner invites us to still with our bodies and remember to breathe as we face death and grief. Geez 58: Breath & Bone explores death and dying in its ordinary, human, and sacred forms. It also summons readers to the communal work of mourning as a form of resistance and liberation.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez. She is the editor of the forthcoming book The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World (Broadleaf Books, 2021). In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann contemplates mourning and pet funerals through the eyes of her child. Geez 58: Breath & Bone explores death and dying in its ordinary, human, and sacred forms. It also summons readers to the communal work of mourning as a form of resistance and liberation.

Ambrose Mary Gallagher is an oncology nurse. She also plays guitar in Fat Angry Hens and writes monster stories in Michigan. In this episode, Gallagher explores what it means to die with dignity and empathy in a system driven by profit. Geez 58: Breath & Bone explores death and dying in its ordinary, human, and sacred forms. It also summons readers to the communal work of mourning as a form of resistance and liberation.

Nichola Torbett walks dogs for a living in Oakland, California and engages in justice work to stay alive. In this episode, Torbett receives a message from the redwoods and reports back to us. In Geez 57, we give space for trees to hold our weary beings. In this time of great uncertainty and change, the trees keep finding us here – wherever we may be.

Kateri Boucher lives in Detroit's Catholic Worker house and is associate editor for Geez. In this episode, Boucher poetically centres us to grow in relationship to trees. In Geez 57, we give space for trees to hold our weary beings. In this time of great uncertainty and change, the trees keep finding us here – wherever we may be.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez. She is the editor of the forthcoming book The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World (Broadleaf Books, 2021). In this episode, Wylie-Kellerman reflects on the power of breath as our connection to the trees. In Geez 57, we give space for trees to hold our weary beings. In this time of great uncertainty and change, the trees keep finding us here – wherever we may be.

Kyla Neufeld is a poet, writer, and former managing editor of Geez magazine. She lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory. In this episode, Neufeld connects these creatures of the Tolkien world to the struggles of our own, in Geez 57: CO2Conspirators, Communing with Trees. In Geez 57, we give space for trees to hold our weary beings. In this time of great uncertainty and change, the trees keep finding us here – wherever we may be.

Grace Aheron (she/her) is an Asian-American queer femme Southerner, seminary drop-out, and community organizer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (traditional Lenni Lenape territory). In this episode, Aheron praises the American Basswood that stood tall over the white supremacist takeover of Charlottesville, Virginia. In Geez 57, we give space for trees to hold our weary beings. In this time of great uncertainty and change, the trees keep finding us here – wherever we may be.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez. She is the editor of the forthcoming book The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World (Broadleaf Books, 2021). In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann explores civil disobedience through the eyes of her children. She explains the necessity of stopping business as usual and breaking the rules when the rules harm others. Historically, engaging with laws through breaking them has been part of the arc that moves us towards justice. In Geez 56: Disobedience, we hope to unpack the nuances of breaking the law and the choices we do (or don't) make in the process.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is the editor of Geez. She is the editor of the forthcoming book The Sandbox Revolution: Raising Kids for a Just World (Broadleaf Books, 2021). In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann reflects on her family history with civil disobedience and calls on others to take greater risks and put their bodies on the line. Historically, engaging with laws through breaking them has been part of the arc that moves us towards justice. In Geez 56: Disobedience, we hope to unpack the nuances of breaking the law and the choices we do (or don't) make in the process.

Antonio Cosme, a Coahuiltecan Boricua from Southwest Detroit, Michigan, is an economist, artist, educator, beekeeper with SWBeetroit, gardener with Southwest Grows, an outdoorsman, #Blacktotheland, and works at the National Wildlife Federation. In this episode, Cosme offers a land acknowledgement for Geez 55 by reflecting on the history of Detroit, Michigan. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Isaiah Lewis is a a transgender, anti-racist white radical who lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia. In this episode Lewis finds the Kingdom of Heaven... in a basement. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

June Mears Driedger is a writer and spiritual director at The Hermitage Community in Three Rivers, Michigan. In this episode, Mears Driedger gives us permission to put down our books and rest awhile. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

John Bergen serves as the associate pastor at Germantown Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He also organizes with Earth Quaker Action Team, a campaign to create solar jobs and a livable future in the Philadelphia region, and the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration, a statewide campaign to end life-without-parole prison sentences. In this episode, Bergen invites us into ethical guest-hood. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Ched Myers is an activist theologian who's worked in social change movements for more than 40 years living in Oak View, California. In this episode, Myers uncovers the history of Christian "mission" instructions. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Liz Charlotte Grant is a writer living in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two kids. In this episode, Grant visits a sustainable pottery studio shared by Benedictine monks. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Peterson Toscano uses comic storytelling to explore LGBTQ issues, religion, justice, privilege, and climate in theater, film, radio, and podcasts. He lives in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Toscano shares a glimpse into a queer response on climate change through this excerpt from his seven-act play. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is editor of Geez magazine. She lives in Detroit, Michigan. In this episode, Wylie-Kellermann invites us into the warmth and complexity of hospitality. Who do we welcome? How do we allow ourselves to be welcomed? Geez 55: Entertaining Angels explores hospitality, which Jacques Derrida named as “ethics par excellence.”

Aiko Fukuchi is a writer and organizer living in Detroit, Michigan. They are passionate about environmental justice, building and maintaining community, and collaborative narrative building. In this episode, Fukuchi reflects on what home means as climate activists' voices weave through their head. Geez 54: Climate Justice is grounded in the understanding that climate change is inextricably intertwined with systems of colonialism, exploitation, and genocide. If we are to truly move towards a (re)generative way of living, we know that a full transformation will be necessary.

Lydia Wylie-Kellermann is editor of Geez magazine. She lives in Detroit, Michigan. Lydia Wylie-Kellermann shares her own fears, joys, and gratitudes during this time of catastrophe. This story was recorded as part of "Geez Out Loud," a listening series that accompanies select stories published in Geez magazine (geezmagazine.org).

Laurel Dykstra is an Anglican priest, author, agitator, organizer, and observer who lives on Coast Salish territory, lower Fraser Watershed. In this episode, Dykstra shares a Eucharistic prayer of sacred water. Geez 54: Climate Justice is grounded in the understanding that climate change is inextricably intertwined with systems of colonialism, exploitation, and genocide. If we are to truly move towards a (re)generative way of living, we know that a full transformation will be necessary.