Podcast appearances and mentions of Serene Jones

In this episode, host Corey Nathan speaks with Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary. As the first woman to lead the historic 180-year-old institution, Dr. Jones brings deep insight to the intersection of theology, justice, and public life. Together, they explore how Christian faith can guide us through trauma, division, and democracy's challenges, while sharing stories of growing up in faith and creating space for conversations across political and religious divides. What We Discuss: How Serene Jones' upbringing shaped her theological lens What theology has to do with democracy and justice Why questions are a sign of faith, not doubt The importance of building bridges, even when no one's building from the other side How seminaries are evolving to meet the needs of a changing world Episode Highlights: [00:03:00] A unique faith upbringing in the Disciples of Christ tradition [00:07:00] Church as a place of learning about democracy, justice, and real life [00:13:00] The message of Micah 4 and how it resonates with global conflict today [00:27:00] The role of theology in shaping public ethics and spiritual resilience [00:39:00] Navigating campus dialogue during protests and unrest [00:44:00] Three calls for progressive communities in red states [00:51:00] Addressing collective and generational trauma through faith [00:53:00] Asking: What would Jesus do—really? Featured Quotes: “Faith that's not equipped to deal with the big questions of life is not a faith worth its weight.” “If we are not building bridges, there's no one there to catch people when they fall.” “Theology is not just an abstraction. It's an action. It's a way of living in the world.” “The crisis in our nation is a massive spiritual crisis—for all of us.” Resources Mentioned: Union Theological Seminary – utsnyc.edu Call It Grace by Serene Jones – www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2146640/serene-jones/

In this episode, host Corey Nathan speaks with Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary. As the first woman to lead the historic 180-year-old institution, Dr. Jones brings deep insight to the intersection of theology, justice, and public life. Together, they explore how Christian faith can guide us through trauma, division, and democracy's challenges, while sharing stories of growing up in faith and creating space for conversations across political and religious divides. What We Discuss: How Serene Jones' upbringing shaped her theological lens What theology has to do with democracy and justice Why questions are a sign of faith, not doubt The importance of building bridges, even when no one's building from the other side How seminaries are evolving to meet the needs of a changing world Episode Highlights: [00:03:00] A unique faith upbringing in the Disciples of Christ tradition [00:07:00] Church as a place of learning about democracy, justice, and real life [00:13:00] The message of Micah 4 and how it resonates with global conflict today [00:27:00] The role of theology in shaping public ethics and spiritual resilience [00:39:00] Navigating campus dialogue during protests and unrest [00:44:00] Three calls for progressive communities in red states [00:51:00] Addressing collective and generational trauma through faith [00:53:00] Asking: What would Jesus do—really? Featured Quotes: “Faith that's not equipped to deal with the big questions of life is not a faith worth its weight.” “If we are not building bridges, there's no one there to catch people when they fall.” “Theology is not just an abstraction. It's an action. It's a way of living in the world.” “The crisis in our nation is a massive spiritual crisis—for all of us.” Resources Mentioned: Union Theological Seminary – utsnyc.edu Call It Grace by Serene Jones – www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2146640/serene-jones/

Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary, joins to discuss the intersection of faith, social justice, and the critical roles of individuals and institutions in times of social conflict. Dr. Jones reflects on the legacies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the modern parallels in today's climate. She shares her experiences engaging with communities across the U.S., and offers valuable insights on addressing trauma, promoting social justice, and building bridges, maintaining values, protecting the vulnerable, and speaking out fearlessly as part of a faith-driven mission.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Have you ever felt like life is stacked against you?  Have you ever tried to make the right decisions and things don't work out like you want? How do you handle those situations that leave you disappointed and wanting something different? Sunday, November 12, 2023 Genesis 40:1-23 Quotes: Walter Brueggemann says: “The world of despair believes that there are no new gifts, no fresh generosity, no possibility of newness of forgiveness, and so life becomes a zero-sum game to see who can stay the longest on top of the heap, all the while knowing that there will be no good outcome to the futile rat race.” Serene Jones says: “To forgive is to let go of what weighs us down so that we are freed to do the work of love in the world. Freed also to let ourselves be loved.” Marcus Aurelius: “Does what happened keep you from acting with justice, generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility, straightforwardness?”

Original Air Date 2-2-2020 Today we take a look at the relationship between fear, anger and how to deal with the structural forces of harm in our society. To help us, we examine two of the greatest thinkers of the past 65 years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and go beyond the nonviolence of King and interrogate Mr. Roger's insistence on liking everyone just the way they are. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: W. Kamau Bell on coming face to face with white supremacists - Finding Fred - Air Date 11-26-19 Empathy can be found when you understand what circumstances people came from Ch. 2: Author Christian Picciolini on how white nationalists recruit and radicalize online - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-18-19 Reformed neo-Nazi and author Christian Picciolini explains how white nationalists target vulnerable online communities Ch. 3: The dubious luxury of anger - Progressive Faith Sermons w @RevDrRay - Air Date 6-24-17 Understanding the fear that underlies anger. Ch. 4: Help the Helpers: Evil cannot withstand forgiveness - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 On being your best self. On the least of these. On the virtues of a cup of tea. Ch. 5: Help the Helpers: But forgiveness can be complicated - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 You can't be nice to everyone because being nice to certain people is inherently cruel to others. Ch. 6: Anger and forgiveness as a survival strategy - In The Thick - Air Date 10-4-19 Discussing the conviction and sentencing of Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer who shot and killed her black neighbor, Botham Shem Jean Ch. 7: Forgiveness in the #MeToo era - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 6-24-18 Many faith traditions emphasize the importance of forgiveness. But in the context of the #MeToo movement, can forgiveness silence women who have been abused? Ch. 8: Why Do Black People Always Have to Forgive? - The Real News - Air Date 10-4-19 As Botham Jean's brother makes headlines for “forgiving” Amber Guyger, Real News hosts Jacqueline Luqman and Lisa Snowden-McCray to discuss what Christian forgiveness in the face of oppression means. Ch. 9: Why accountability matters for faith-based forgiveness - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 7-13-18 Serene Jones says deep forgiveness is actually part of a larger process of seeking justice and accountability. Ch. 10: The art and science of apologies and forgiveness Commentary - Best of the Left - Air Date 3-23-19 Final comments on strength, power, fragility, apologies, forgiveness and the legacy of the Confederacy Ch. 11: Help the Helpers: Grace - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 Grace is to focus on the humanity of others than to see them as monsters. Ch. 12: Help the Helpers: The fear and hurt that gets in the way - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 The difficulty of focusing on helping the needy rather than punishing the dangerous Ch. 13: Van Jones: Why Casting “Bigots” Out Doesn't Move America Forward - Big Think - Air Date 12-6-17 There is a limit to empathy, you cannot tolerate the intolerant for too long—but having empathy for those who interpret change as scary, and understanding why they think that way, maybe the only inroad to untying this great mess. Ch. 14: The birth of the Black Power Movement - King in the Wilderness (HBO) - Air Date 4-2-18 The story of King's reaction to the rise of the Black Power movement and the roles of anger, fear and sickness FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 15: Final comments on the various sicknesses infecting our society MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com ​ ​ ​

Let's go shatter a glass steeple or two, shall we?When it comes to women in ministry, the gains have been ever so gradual. And at the top levels of leadership — from seminary faculty and deans to senior clergy positions — women seem to have hit a wall. Fewer than 25 percent of seminary faculty and deans are women, as are 11 percent of presidents, according to the Association of Theological Schools.This week Katelyn and Roxy are joined by two of those rarities — the Rev. Drs. Lakeesha Walrond and Serene Jones — who have shattered plenty of stained glass ceilings in their careers. As seminary presidents in New York City, the two are partnering together, hoping to offer more opportunities for future faith leaders. We talk to them about the realities of ministry today, the stakes women in seminary face and why we should actually be worrying about the men.GUESTS:Rev. Dr. LaKeesha Walrond is the first Black woman to serve as president of New York Theological Seminary and a preaching pastor at First Corinthians Baptist Church NYC.Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the first woman to serve as president of Union Theological Seminary and the author of "Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Is our world crumbling around us? Perversion, deception, and dishonor run rampant in our society. What are we to do as Christians? From where do we find encouragement? Pastor Michael discusses this and more on #TruthCurrents. Serene Jones, “Stop Using the Bible to Dehumanize Transgender People,” https://www.newsweek.com/stop-using-bible-dehumanize-transgender-people-opinion-1775456, January 23, 2023. Craig A. Carter, “The reeducation of Jordan Peterson,” https://wng.org/opinions/the-re-education-of-jordan-peterson-1674697220, January 26, 2023. Thaddeus Williams, “A nation of Biblical illiterates,” https://wng.org/opinions/a-nation-of-biblical-illiterates-1673004779, January 6, 2023.

This week, we are spending the holidays with our families, but of course, we had to bring you a Holiday Episode with a very special guest! Special Guest:Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York & Holds the Johnston Family Chair in Religion & DemocracyGuest Question:Trauma is a powerful and overwhelming experience, especially when its caused by violence. It can make those who experience it feel like they are not worthy of God's love, grace, and healing. It can also raise questions about God's role and very existence. How do we walk alongside them and encourage them that they are worthy and help them heal?  The holidays can be a difficult for people who have experienced trauma or grief. It can remind be a reminder of people, places or things that are no longer with us or that we never had, potentially due to violence in our society. How should folks think about the holidays differently as we celebrate the birth of Jesus?Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured WorldCall It Grace: Finding Meaning in Ruptured WorldFor Listening Guides, click here!Got a question for us? Send them to faithpodcast@pcusa.org! A Matter of Faith website

Kylie and Fran discuss Joel 2:23-32 and Luke 18:9-14. We mention: Serene Jones, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology: Cartographies of Grace (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000). Enoch seminar session Speaking of the Pharisees (April 2022):

What's been burdening you lately? Today, it seems everyone is managing the emotional weight of the increasingly insecure tone of our world.  In this episode, Religious Scholar Serene Jones joins Rev. Jacqui for a conversation about the impact of trauma on our ability to love. In this healing conversation, Serene and Jacqui share how affirming our emotional experiences can lead us to a deeper understanding of personal power.  A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the 16th President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is a Past President of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world's largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and Chair of the University's Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, is sought by media to comment on major issues impacting society because of her deep grounding in theology, politics, women's studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics. Resources: Jacqui's new book Fierce Love can be found here. A transcript for this episode can be found here. Connect with us: We'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, or feedback. Send us an email. Rev. Jacqui Lewis Ph.D.: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Serene Jones: Website | Twitter Center for Action and Contemplation: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

It is impossible to ignore the deep, and ongoing impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on every aspect of our lives. As providers who have uniquely felt these changes because of our profession, it is imperative to take time to consider our own resiliency. On today's episode we are joined by Sylvia Klauser, PhD to talk through the practice of bringing a non-anxious presence as an avenue towards resilience and healing. Dr. Klauser is the Manager of Spiritual Care and Bereavement Services at Children's Hospital Colorado. References: “What is happening to our nervous system” and interview of Dr. Christine Runyan, PhD, with Krista Tippett at On Being Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. This is a book, but also in interview with Krista Tippett and the author Katherine May For the more spiritual, or theological minded folks: Serene Jones, PhD, Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured world. Serene Jones is the President of Union Theological Seminary.  And one for all healthcare providers who would like to learn to be more mindful and present a more contemplative approach: Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD:  Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom where Fear and Courage meet. And here the link to her book  

Do our new understandings of trauma change how we read scripture? I was captivated by Serene Jones' reading of the Emmaus Road narrative through the lens of trauma, in her book Trauma + Grace. After reading her, I returned to the text and saw these strange words concerning the resurrection that are a sort of set up to the Emmaus story, "they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (24:11, emphasis mine). This episode explores the women in Luke 24 as existing (even still) at the borderland between trauma and resurrection.I've started writing over at substack. I'd love if you checked out my Substack space here: https://philaud.substack.com/subscribeAnd you can also check out my website where I post what I'm writing as well: philaud.com

Rev. Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary, talks to us about some recent anti-gay bills that have been passed in states like Florida and Texas-- and what we can do to fight them.

A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the sixteenth President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones is a past president of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world's largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, holds deep grounding in theology, politics, women's studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics.

A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the sixteenth President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones is a past president of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world's largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, holds deep grounding in theology, politics, women's studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics.

We know today that the religious right condemns abortion. But did you know just how recently they developed that opinion, and why? Today on the podcast is Reverend Serene Jones, a pro-choice reverend, religious scholar, and the former chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale University. She is a leader on progressive religious issues, including abortion.   Rev. Jones is an expert on how abortion and reproductive rights became a political rallying cry for the conservative religious right. Unknown to many, until just decades ago, the church was essentially silent on the issue of abortion. The Southern Baptist Church even issued statements that specifically said, as late as 1978, that the government should not be involved in abortion. But over time, sensing an opportunity to gain followers and consolidate political power among white voters, the church launched an all-out crusade against abortion.  On the podcast, Rev. Serene explains this history, and the combination of political convenience and white supremacist thinking that led to the relatively recent creation of abortion as a political issue. She also delves into the reality that there is nothing in the Bible that condemns - nor even mentions - abortion. She explains how, in her interpretation of Christianity, the Bible actually supports the right to choose - both through specific verses, and the consistent message that people have the autonomy and freedom to make decisions that are best for them.   Links: - Transcript of interview (please note that transcriptions are computer-generated and may not be 100% accurate) -Twitter: @SereneJones - Southern Baptist Convention Resolutions on Abortion, 1971 to 2009 - Salon.com (Op-ed written by Serene) - There is nothing godly about outlawing abortion — and Texas' law is particularly un-Christian - Politico Magazine - The Real Origins of the Religious Right - Baptist News - How Southern Baptists became pro-life   - USA Today - Jews, outraged by restrictive abortion laws, are invoking the Hebrew Bible in the debate   - NPR - 'Throughline' Traces Evangelicals' History On The Abortion Issue   - Rev. Serene Jones has been recently featured in TIME, NBC, and the Miami Herald, Politico, and On Being.   Union Theological Seminary on social:  - Twitter: @UnionSeminary  - Instagram: @UnionSeminary - Facebook: @UnionSeminary (https://www.facebook.com/unionseminary/) - LinkedIn: Union Theological Seminary (https://www.linkedin.com/school/union-theological-seminary/)

Guests:Anise Simon, Maleeha Aziz, and Nick, We Testify storytellersRev. Dr. Serene Jones, president, Union Theological SeminaryRafa Kidvai, director, Repro Legal Defense FundRabbi Salem Pearce, executive director, Carolina Jews for Justice; counselor, Faith AloudLauren Morrissey, co-executive director and co-founder, Student Coalition for Reproductive Justice; administrative associate, Catholics for ChoiceRev. Aaron Payson, minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester; former board member, Religious Coalition for Reproductive ChoiceKristin Hady, clinic escort; community engagement coordinator, Abortion Access FrontSupport the show! Buy merch or donate.Photos courtesy We Testify. Logo by Kate Ryan, theme music by Lily Sloane. Additional music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions.Have an abortion story you want to share? Contact accesspodcast(at)protonmail(dot)com.You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram, and don't forget to subscribe!

In this episode you get a preview of what is going on in the Upsetting the Powers reading group. Each week we will be featuring a live session where Adam Clark and I discuss the week's theme, reading, and class questions... but wait...there's more :) there will also be an interview in which Adam talks with a fellow scholar and friend of James Cone. After you hear this I hope you join the class. Remember all the content is available for the members to go at their own pace and it is donation based (including 0) so if you are interested come on in.   Previous Episodes w/ Adam: The Crisis of American Religion & Democracy: 1/6 a year later Christmas, BLM, Abortion, & the War on White Evangelicalism Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh Adam Clark: What is Black Theology? From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark Adam Clark: James Cone was right Dr. Adam Clark is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Dr. Serene Jones is a highly respected scholar and public intellectual and the 16th President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is a Past President of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world's largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and Chair of the University's Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, is sought by media to comment on major issues impacting society because of her deep grounding in theology, politics, women's studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics.  Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode you get a preview of what is going on in the Upsetting the Powers reading group. Each week we will be featuring a live session where Adam Clark and I discuss the week’s theme, reading, and class questions… but wait…there’s more

It is impossible to ignore the deep, and ongoing impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on every aspect of our lives. As providers who have uniquely felt these changes because of our profession, it is imperative to take time to consider our own resiliency. On today's episode we are joined by Sylvia Klauser, PhD to talk through the practice of bringing a non-anxious presence as an avenue towards resilience and healing. Dr. Klauser is the Manager of Spiritual Care and Bereavement Services at Children's Hospital Colorado. References: “What is happening to our nervous system” and interview of Dr. Christine Runyan, PhD, with Krista Tippett at On Being Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. This is a book, but also in interview with Krista Tippett and the author Katherine May For the more spiritual, or theological minded folks: Serene Jones, PhD, Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured world. Serene Jones is the President of Union Theological Seminary.  And one for all healthcare providers who would like to learn to be more mindful and present a more contemplative approach: Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD:  Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom where Fear and Courage meet. And here the link to her book Join Dr. Brumbaugh, Dr. Dominguez and Dr. Cataldi for our next COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall on Thursday, September 9 at 6PM (MST). Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1065070942537572367 Access previous Town Hall recordings and other COVID-19 resources for providers by visiting https://www.childrenscolorado.org/covid19  Do you have thoughts about today's episode or suggestions for a future topic? Write to us, chartingpediatrics@childrenscolorado.org 

Mona Siddiqui is a professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh, an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh since 2005, an officer to the Order of the British Empire, and a regular contributor to Thought for the Day and Sunday on BBC Radio.   Dr. Serene Jones serves as President at the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Dr. Jones is the author of several books, including Trauma and Grace and her recent title, Call It Grace. Dr. Jones is also the former president of the American Academy of Religion, and is a child, she notes, of the Oklahoma Plains.   More from The Religica Theolab at https://religica.org   More from the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement at Seattle University at https://www.seattleu.edu/stm/center/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw   Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ   Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2   The Religica Theolab is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

Attending to the public pressure to rethink societal oppressions requires trustees, faculty, student and administrative alignment. Leaders taking risks for prophetic agendas is the work of justice in theological education. Do not be forced into silence!  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. L. Serene Jones (Union Theological Seminary). 

In this episode, Religica Theolab Founder Dr. Michael Reid Trice is in conversation with Dr. Serene Jones, who serves as president at the historic Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Dr. Jones is the author of several books, including Trauma and Grace and her recent title, Call It Grace. Dr. Jones is also the former president of the American Academy of Religion, and is a child, she notes, of the Oklahoma Plains. Take a listen!   More from The Religica Theolab at https://religica.org   More from the Center for Religious Wisdom and World Affairs at Seattle University at https://www.seattleu.edu/stm/center/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Religica.org/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/religica   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPuwufds6gAu2u6xmm8SBuw   Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-religica   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3CZwIO4uGP1voqiVpYdMas?si=0k2-TSmwTkuTQC2rgdGObQ   Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/religica/id1448005061?mt=2   The Religica Theolab is a comprehensive online platform at the axis of religion and society that provides non-sectarian, coherent, integrated and accessible awareness about the role of religion in society, with a focus on strengthening local communities.

For other podcast summaries, search 'podcast summaries' in any podcast apps.Or if you're on Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/5-min-summariesOriginal episode link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serene-jones-grace-in-a-fractured-world/id150892556?i=1000515372831Written summary: https://www.owltail.com/summaries/6MkEA-Serene-Jones-Grace-in-a-Fractured-World

The glory that coexists in human life right alongside our weird propensity to choose what is not good for us; the difference between a place of sheer loss and a sacred space for mourning; grace as something muscular amidst the muck and mess of reality. These are some of the places of musing, sweeping perspective, and raw wisdom a conversation with Serene Jones takes us. And after hearing this, you’ll never think in the same way again about Woody Guthrie, or John Calvin, or what a Christian upbringing in Oklahoma might be.Serene Jones serves as the 16th president — and the first female president — of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is a minister ordained in the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. Her books include Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology: Cartographies of Grace, and most recently, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World.This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Serene Jones — Grace in a Fractured World" Find the transcript for that show at onbeing.org.

The glory that coexists in human life right alongside our weird propensity to choose what is not good for us; the difference between a place of sheer loss and a sacred space for mourning; grace as something muscular amidst the muck and mess of reality. These are some of the places of musing, sweeping perspective, and raw wisdom a conversation with Serene Jones takes us. And after hearing this, you’ll never think in the same way again about Woody Guthrie, or John Calvin, or what a Christian upbringing in Oklahoma might be.Serene Jones serves as the 16th president — and the first female president — of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She is a minister ordained in the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. Her books include Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology: Cartographies of Grace, and most recently, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.This show originally aired December 5, 2019

When power causes leaders and others in positions of influence to lose their moral compasses, the trail of pain and destruction is devastating – How do we heal? This week on Context – abuse in the halls of power and influence. From preachers to politicians, even inside the church. The immoral behaviors by some of the leaders in positions of power continues to erode the trust of the institutions that many people once embraced. In fact, Time Magazine reports that the year 2020 ushered in “an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world.” This week on the program – when abuse of power goes so far as to cause people to want to end their lives. How do we heal? GUESTS Dr. Serene Jones, President, Union Theological Seminary Daniel Gilman, former employee at RZIM Richard Landau, Educator and critical thinker Autumn Miles, Author, Speaker, Domestic Abuse Survivor Mary DeMuth, Speaker, Author, Advocate, and Abuse survivor

Our guest is the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, a well-known theologian who grew up in Oklahoma and is now the President and Johnston Family Professor for Religion and Democracy at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. (Union is an interdenominational seminary that was established in 1836.) Formerly a professor at Yale Divinity School, Dr. Jones has published many articles and books over the years, and she's an ordained minister in both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. On Sunday the 31st, Dr. Jones will give the 34th Annual Knippa Interfaith / Ecumenical Lecture at 4pm. The lecture, titled "Trauma and Grace: An Oklahoma History," will be streamed on Facebook Live. (You can also join the lecture, which will be followed by a Q&A, at this Zoom link -- https://ptstulsa.zoom.us/j/93227995051.)

Air Date 2/20/2020 Today we take a look at the relationship between fear, anger and how to deal with the structural forces of harm in our society. To help us, we examine two of the greatest thinkers of the past 65 years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and go beyond the nonviolence of King and interrogate Mr. Roger's insistence on liking everyone just the way they are. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  MEMBERSHIP ON PATREON (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: W. Kamau Bell on coming face to face with white supremacists - Finding Fred - Air Date 11-26-19 Empathy can be found when you understand what circumstances people came from Ch. 2: Author Christian Picciolini on how white nationalists recruit and radicalize online - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-18-19 Reformed neo-Nazi and author Christian Picciolini explains how white nationalists target vulnerable online communities Ch. 3: The dubious luxury of anger - Progressive Faith Sermons w @RevDrRay - Air Date 6-24-17 Understanding the fear that underlies anger. Ch. 4: Help the Helpers: Evil cannot withstand forgiveness - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 On being your best self. On the least of these. On the virtues of a cup of tea. Ch. 5: Help the Helpers: But forgiveness can be complicated - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 You can't be nice to everyone because being nice to certain people is inherently cruel to others. Ch. 6: Anger and forgiveness as a survival strategy - In The Thick - Air Date 10-4-19 Discussing the conviction and sentencing of Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer who shot and killed her black neighbor, Botham Shem Jean Ch. 7: Forgiveness in the #MeToo era - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 6-24-18 Many faith traditions emphasize the importance of forgiveness. But in the context of the #MeToo movement, can forgiveness silence women who have been abused? Ch. 8: Why Do Black People Always Have to Forgive? - The Real News - Air Date 10-4-19 As Botham Jean’s brother makes headlines for “forgiving” Amber Guyger, Real News hosts Jacqueline Luqman and Lisa Snowden-McCray to discuss what Christian forgiveness in the face of oppression means. Ch. 9: Why accountability matters for faith-based forgiveness - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 7-13-18 Serene Jones says deep forgiveness is actually part of a larger process of seeking justice and accountability. Ch. 10: The art and science of apologies and forgiveness Commentary - Best of the Left - Air Date 3-23-19 Final comments on strength, power, fragility, apologies, forgiveness and the legacy of the Confederacy Ch. 11: Help the Helpers: Grace - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 Grace is to focus on the humanity of others than to see them as monsters. Ch. 12: Help the Helpers: The fear and hurt that gets in the way - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 The difficulty of focusing on helping the needy rather than punishing the dangerous Ch. 13: Van Jones: Why Casting “Bigots” Out Doesn’t Move America Forward - Big Think - Air Date 12-6-17 There is a limit to empathy, you cannot tolerate the intolerant for too long—but having empathy for those who interpret change as scary, and understanding why they think that way, maybe the only inroad to untying this great mess. Ch. 14: The birth of the Black Power Movement - King in the Wilderness (HBO) - Air Date 4-2-18 The story of King's reaction to the rise of the Black Power movement and the roles of anger, fear and sickness FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 15: Final comments on the various sicknesses infecting our society MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks says liberal democracy has become about “me” instead of “us.” In his new book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times, Sacks says we are losing our strong, shared moral code and that’s challenging our sense of community and common good. Growth comes from an openness to others who may not be like us and, he says, developing a moral bond based on mutual acceptance will reduce conflict. In today’s show he speaks with Reverend Serene Jones, the first woman president of the Historic Theological Seminary in New York City. Sacks was knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in 2005 and took a seat in the House of Lords in 2009. He’s the author of more than three dozen books. Serene Jones is past president of the American Academy of Religion and was a professor of theology at Yale’s divinity school.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi Dreazen spoke with Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary, about why the long alliance between Christian conservatives and the Republican Party is beginning to fray, why some progressives continue to look down at people of faith, and how to finally create a strong and lasting Religious Left.

Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the President of Union Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Jones is a born and raised Oklahoman and in this episode we will chat about the "Oklahoma standard" and how we can grow together, as a state, despite the current and racial pandemics. This podcast is presented by Gaylord News in collaboration with the Institute of Human Flourishing.

Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the President of Union Theological Seminary and Johnston Family Professor for Religion & Democracy. Dr. Angela D. Sims is the President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. The Rev. Dr. Emilie M. Townes is Dean of Vanderbilt University Divinity School.  

Attending to the public pressure to rethink societal oppressions requires trustees, faculty, student and administrative alignment. Leaders taking risks for prophetic agendas is the work of justice in theological education. Do not be forced into silence!  Dr. Nancy Lynne Westfield hosts Dr. L. Serene Jones (Union Theological Seminary). 

Facts matter, especially when it comes to the truth about Jesus Christ; His life, death, and resurrection. Pastor Bednash discusses his thoughts concerning an article posted in the New York Times from April 20, 2019. This opinion based interview addresses general questions from columnist Nicholas Kristof toward Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary. During such a confusing time in our lives amidst this pandemic and the ever changing philosophy of this world... facts matter. We are called to know for certain that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, so that by believing we may have life everlasting. We are called to faith in Christ, nothing else. Therefore, continue to listen and know the Good Shepherd's voice through His Word. Scripture readings for this Sunday: Acts 2:42-47 - 1 Peter 2:19-25 - John 10:1-10 Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/opinion/sunday/christian-easter-serene-jones.html?fbclid=IwAR11P3jDzGsAvxvUUFcRYOoB9z0bdNubNj0kdV8IWlooqCocFBveJHQUwgI

In this episode, Dean Kelly Brown Douglas speaks with Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary. They discuss COVID-19's impacting on theological institutions and how Union has responded and made decisions during the early days of this pandemic. They explore ways that this moment will change theological curriculum and student formation.    

Whom Do You Serve? A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC February 16, 2020, the sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. “Life Together” series. Text: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9   Who among us is familiar with the Jello mold?  I grew up in Oklahoma with various versions of Jello as a primary food group. My mom didn’t so much do the “molds” but, oh my goodness, some of the folks at 1st UMC, Sapulpa had this thing down to an art form. The first parish I served in Rockville also had some strong contenders in the Jello mold category. Evidently, my mother in law was known in days past as the Jello mold queen. Now, why—you may ask—am I rattling on about Jello molds this morning?   I’m thinking about the process of being formed into a particular shape or image and, as you may know, to make a Jello mold you mix the flavored gelatin powder with hot water to dissolve it and then pour the liquid into the mold. You refrigerate it until it gels and then “turn it out” from the mold with the gelatin having taken the shape of the mold. Pretty basic concept—and the one that popped into my head as I pondered my point for today…   Over the past several weeks we have been exploring the apostle Paul’s first letter to the 1st century church in Corinth and what it teaches us about our life together.  The cross is at the center of Paul’s message and is lifted up again and again as the lens through which to understand how to be in community. Practically, Jesus shows us on the cross the way of sacrificial love and solidarity and models how we are to live with and for others. Our focus is to be on loving service, not social climbing or political posturing or forming up teams of “us” versus “them.” We have learned that we don’t have to have fancy degrees, or know all the “right words” or do things in a certain way to receive the gifts of grace, forgiveness, and new life that flow from Christ’s sacrifice of love. We have considered the difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God and learned that our call is to be willing to proclaim in word and deed the unpopular wisdom of Jesus Christ and him crucified. All of this helps provide a frame for how to live as people of Christian faith.   One of my theological mentors, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, taught me that the shape of any given church forms disciples according to that shape. The worship, language, theology, practices, systems for ministry, and stance with and toward others form certain kinds of Christians. Paul teaches that a faithful church will be cross-shaped. This means in part that the things we see at the cross—surrender, sacrifice, salvation, humility, righteousness, faithfulness, grace, forgiveness, love—are what a faithful congregation will strive to deepen and grow in the lives of its people and as a community. Some of you will know that many church buildings are built in the shape of a cross so that when the congregation gathers they are literally cross-shaped as a community. The cross is the “mold” in both literal and figurative ways—the form within which we take shape as Jesus-followers and disciples.   Today’s installment from Paul’s letter gives us a very concrete measure by which we can see how much we’ve “gelled” as a cross-shaped community. Paul asks, “As long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” This is a particularly poignant question in our current context as a denomination, nation, and world. And honestly, we don’t have to go far to see that the question may aggravate a tender place in our own personal lives.   It was personal for Paul, too. Apollos was evidently seen as an opposing team captain—a popular leader in the early church and well-known in Corinth. But Paul makes it clear that he and Apollos are both servants of God, both sent to serve in distinct ways, and both equally valued. In teaching and modeling this, Paul shows how we are called to serve together and to honor the gifts and contributions of one another—even when others do things differently than we’d prefer or when they aggravate or challenge us. It’s a lesson in valuing our own as well as others’ gifts—so that we don’t get caught in jealous competition or soul-sucking comparison games. Paul also makes a very clear point against setting any human leader up as the one to whom we “belong”—we don’t belong to a pastor or teacher. I, as a pastor among you, am responsible for ordering and supporting our life together in community—and sometimes I do talk about how much I love “my Foundry peeps”—but you don’t belong to me.  Paul makes it plain a little later in his letter when he says to the church: “you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”   So in these first several chapters of 1 Corinthians we are given a vision and framework for how to live together. We know that cross-shaped lives entail challenge and forgiveness and patience and sacrifice. Cross-shaped disciples are called to see beyond any present pain or injustice to the healing, love, peace, and justice that is the fulfillment of God’s Kin-dom vision….  Wow, that seems like a lot of work. It might seem like too much to do with everything else on your plate.   I’m aware of the weariness and weight that many of us are carrying in our bodies and souls in these days. The past number of years is taking a toll. Our daily lives and responsibilities—caring for children, parents, friends, work, our own health, etc… may feel increasingly exhausting. And the enormity of the brokenness in our world, the daily, constant stream of deeply concerning news can tempt us to despair or to completely “check out.” I want to gently remind us that the powers of worldly wisdom, the powers of empire, want us to do just that, to check out and give up. The wisdom of empire delights when we become distracted and dissolve into factions, quarrel, tear each other down. Imperial powers rejoice when we become overwhelmed and decide there’s nothing we can do. Worldly powers want us to despair, want us to abandon those with and for whom we are called to stand, want us to lose perspective and to forget who is holding us and all things.   As those formed by the cross of Christ, we know that we can call on the power of God to resist the idolatries of the world, the death-dealing ways of empire, the hope- and joy-sucking droning on of bad news and seemingly insurmountable brokenness. In a cross-shaped community, we will be reminded when we gather in worship that we serve a God who has shown us through cross and resurrection that even when we feel weak and appear defeated according to the ways of the world, we are strong because of God’s steadfast love and presence with us. In this Black History Month I’m reminded of countless examples of black siblings who, strengthened by their faith, stood up, spoke up, sat down, marched, and did not—and do not!—give up even the face of deep hatred and systemic oppression—from Rosa Parks to Shirley Chisholm to Dorothy Height to RuPaul, from MLK to Jesse Jackson to John Lewis to William Barber. Cross-shaped community forms and strengthens us to keep stepping, reminds us we are not powerless, that we are not alone. Cross-shaped community allows us to try to practice humility, mutuality, grace, courage, reconciliation—in short, to lessen the jealousy and quarreling that fracture our relationships and lives. When we are living our call in this way we work together, honor the gifts of each, and bring our collective power to bear on the challenges facing us. When we are living our call we hold on to each other and support one another when any one of us is struggling to keep going on the journey. When we are striving to live as cross-shaped community, we remind one another that there is new life on the other side of wilderness wandering and crucifixion, that the cross of Jesus has shown us that the worst the world could do is no match for God’s life-giving and liberating love.   Cross-shaped community forms disciples who are servants—not of empire and worldly wisdom and all the shiny idols that so easily lure and distract us—but rather servants of God’s way of mercy and love and justice. We don’t have to fix all the jealousy and quarreling in the world, the deep divisions both petty and profound, the brokenness all over. Christ is the savior of the world, not you or me. We are simply called to do what we can do, to choose clearly and intentionally whom and how we will serve, and to serve alongside others to change the world as part of God’s larger work of mending. We do our part, we may design or plant or water or prune but it is God who brings the growth and new life.   I will close with these words from Sacred Resistance: “As followers of Jesus and as communities of the cross, our call and identity is love, mercy, solidarity, and justice. We can turn away from this call out of fear or selfishness, we can live smaller lives than we’re made for, we can reject the love that forms and fuels a life that is truly human. That is our prerogative.   But thanks be that it’s God’s prerogative to have mercy on us. Thanks be that in Jesus we meet our God who is radically free and will not be compromised or silenced or coopted to serve selfish, oppressive, violent human desires. Thanks be that our God hangs in there with us even when we want to trade God in for another model. Thanks be that our God is love and compassion. Thanks be that, even with so much evidence to the contrary, humankind is created in the image of that God. Thanks be that Jesus took the form of a humble, human servant so that we might take the form of a loving, merciful God.”[i]   [i] Sacred Resistance: A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent, p. 36.

Air Date 2/2/2020 Today we take a look at the relationship between fear, anger and how to deal with the structural forces of harm in our society. To help us, we examine two of the greatest thinkers of the past 65 years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and go beyond the nonviolence of King and interrogate Mr. Roger's insistence on liking everyone just the way they are. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 EPISODE SPONSORS: C-SPAN Campaign 2020  |  Clean Choice Energy SHOP AMAZON: Amazon USA | Amazon CA | Amazon UK  MEMBERSHIP ON PATREON (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: W. Kamau Bell on coming face to face with white supremacists - Finding Fred - Air Date 11-26-19 Empathy can be found when you understand what circumstances people came from Ch. 2: Author Christian Picciolini on how white nationalists recruit and radicalize online - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-18-19 Reformed neo-Nazi and author Christian Picciolini explains how white nationalists target vulnerable online communities Ch. 3: The dubious luxury of anger - Progressive Faith Sermons w @RevDrRay - Air Date 6-24-17 Understanding the fear that underlies anger. Ch. 4: Help the Helpers: Evil cannot withstand forgiveness - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 On being your best self. On the least of these. On the virtues of a cup of tea. Ch. 5: Help the Helpers: But forgiveness can be complicated - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 You can't be nice to everyone because being nice to certain people is inherently cruel to others. Ch. 6: Anger and forgiveness as a survival strategy - In The Thick - Air Date 10-4-19 Discussing the conviction and sentencing of Amber Guyger, the Dallas police officer who shot and killed her black neighbor, Botham Shem Jean Ch. 7: Forgiveness in the #MeToo era - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 6-24-18 Many faith traditions emphasize the importance of forgiveness. But in the context of the #MeToo movement, can forgiveness silence women who have been abused? Ch. 8: Why Do Black People Always Have to Forgive? - The Real News - Air Date 10-4-19 As Botham Jean’s brother makes headlines for “forgiving” Amber Guyger, Real News hosts Jacqueline Luqman and Lisa Snowden-McCray discuss what Christian forgiveness in the face of oppression means. Ch. 9: Why accountability matters for faith-based forgiveness - Interfaith Voices - Air Date 7-13-18 Serene Jones says deep forgiveness is actually part of a larger process of seeking justice and accountability. Ch. 10: The art and science of apologies and forgiveness Commentary - Best of the Left - Air Date 3-23-19 Final comments on strength, power, fragility, apologies, forgiveness and the legacy of the Confederacy Ch. 11: Help the Helpers: Grace - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 Grace is to focus on the humanity of others than to see them as monsters. Ch. 12: Help the Helpers: The fear and hurt that gets in the way - Finding Fred - Air Date 12-17-19 The difficulty of focusing on helping the needy rather than punishing the dangerous Ch. 13: Van Jones: Why Casting “Bigots” Out Doesn’t Move America Forward - Big Think - Air Date 12-6-17 There is a limit to empathy, you cannot tolerate the intolerant for too long—but having empathy for those who interpret change as scary, and understanding why they think that way, maybe the only inroad to untying this great mess. Ch. 14: The birth of the Black Power Movement - King in the Wilderness (HBO) - Air Date 4-2-18 The story of King's reaction to the rise of the Black Power movement and the roles of anger, fear and sickness FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 15: Final comments on the various sicknesses infecting our society MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Cases to Rest - Bodytonic Open Flames - Aeronaut Surly Bonds - Aeronaut Inessential - Bayou Birds The Spinnet - Castle Danger Algea Trio - Algea Fields Moon Bicycle Theme - American Moon Bicycle Beast on the Soil - Desert Orchard On Our Own Again - The Pine Barrens Streamer - Arc and Crecent Cat's Eye - Marble Run The Summit - K2 Vengeful - Warmbody Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Support the show via Patreon Listen on iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | Alexa Devices | +more Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Review the show on iTunes and Stitcher!

"Call It Grace" Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, BMPC 2020 Theologian-In-Residence on Sunday, January 26, 2020.

Serene Jones describes theology as the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, the world, and the possibility of God. For her, that place is a “dusty piece of land” on the plains of Oklahoma where she grew up. “I go there to find my story — my theology. I go there to be born again; to be made whole; to unite with what I was, what I am, and what I will become.” In her work as a public theologian, Jones explores theology as clarifying lens on the present — from grace to repentance to the importance of moving from grieving to mourning.Serene Jones is a minister ordained in the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. She currently serves as the 16th president — and the first female president — of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Her books include Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology: Cartographies of Grace, and, most recently, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World.This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Serene Jones — On Grace" Find more at onbeing.org.

Serene Jones describes theology as the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, the world, and the possibility of God. For her, that place is a “dusty piece of land” on the plains of Oklahoma where she grew up. “I go there to find my story — my theology. I go there to be born again; to be made whole; to unite with what I was, what I am, and what I will become.” In her work as a public theologian, Jones explores theology as clarifying lens on the present — from grace to repentance to the importance of moving from grieving to mourning.Serene Jones is a minister ordained in the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. She currently serves as the 16th president — and the first female president — of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Her books include Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World, Feminist Theory and Christian Theology: Cartographies of Grace, and, most recently, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World.Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

Dr. Serene Jones is the first woman president of Union Theological Seminary in the institution’s 183-year history. This episode, she talks about contending with sin and the legacy of racism in this country -- and within our personal lineage. Plus, she shares how her views on grace shape the way she sees the world. Serene wrote about her personal journey in her spiritual memoir, “Call it Grace: Finding Meaning in an Uncomfortable World.” If you’d like to skip over the portion of the story, the times are 8:30-9:30.

Dr. Serene Jones is the first woman president of Union Theological Seminary in the institution’s 183-year history. This episode, she talks about contending with sin and the legacy of racism in this country -- and within our personal lineage. Plus, she shares how her views on grace shape the way she sees the world. Serene wrote about her personal journey in her spiritual memoir, “Call it Grace: Finding Meaning in an Uncomfortable World.” If you’d like to skip over the portion of the story, the times are 8:30-9:30.

Dr. Serene Jones is the first woman president of Union Theological Seminary in the institution’s 183-year history. This episode, she talks about contending with sin and the legacy of racism in this country -- and within our personal lineage. Plus, she shares how her views on grace shape the way she sees the world. Serene wrote about her personal journey in her spiritual memoir, “Call it Grace: Finding Meaning in an Uncomfortable World.” If you’d like to skip over the portion of the story, the times are 8:30-9:30.

Serene's new book, Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World ... Serene's theological upbringing and early encounters with Calvin's writings ... What a romantic tragedy early in life taught Serene about God's grace ... A revelatory brush with death in rural India ... Timothy McVeigh and the challenge of forgiveness ... How Serene's father met an epic challenge to his faith and his charity ...

Race. Inclusion. Fear. Grace. Why do we struggle to talk about any and/or all of these? Could it be that we just don't know how? This week I sit down with Rev. Dr. Serene Jones in a deeply personal conversation about all of the above and the beautiful idea that Original Grace is entirely more important that Original Sin.  Guest Bio:  Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is president of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is a past president of the American Academy of Religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and chair of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Jones is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace. She appears regularly on MSNBC, and has recently appeared on FOX News, PBS NewsHour, and has been published in The New York Times, Time, The Washington Post, and Huffington Post. Guest Socials: Twitter: @SereneJones, Union: https://utsnyc.edu/faculty/serene-jones/ Music for this week is by Jervis Campbell. Find more of him at jerviscampbell.com/ Tracks include: Teach Me To Dance, Testify You can also find all the musical selections from all our episodes on our Spotify Playlist.  What are you waiting for; consider becoming a Patreon supporter of the show. You'll have access to many perks as well as guaranteeing the future of these conversations; even $1/Month goes so far as this show is 100% listener supported.  https://www.patreon.com/canisaythisatchurch Follow the show: https://www.facebook.com/CanISayThisAtChurch/ https://twitter.com/cistacpodcast https://www.canisaythisatchurch.com/

On this episode I go over an interview that New York Times journalist, Nicholas Kristof, had with Serene Jones. She is a protestant minister, president of Union Theological Seminary and author of a new memoir, "Call It Grace". We cover all the areas where she has completely butchered all that Jesus did whilst on earth and through His death and resurrection. For the full article go here. First set of bible references: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:14-21, Romans 1:3-4, 2 Timothy 2:8, Colossians 2:12, and Romans 6:3-4 Did God orchestrate Jesus' death? - John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:9 Job 12:7-10 "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you, or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you: and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind." 13-25 "With God are wisdom and might he has counsel and understanding. If he tears down, none can rebuild; if he shuts a man in, none can open. If he withholds the waters, they dry up; if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land. With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools. He looses the bonds of kings and binds a waist cloth on their hips. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the mighty. He deprives of speech those who are trusted and takes away the discernment of the elders. He pours contempt on princes and loosens the belt of the strong. He uncovers the deeps out of darkness and brings deep darkness to light. He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations and leads them away. He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in the trackless waste. They grope in the dark without lights, and he makes them stagger like a drunken man." Is there a Hell? - Revelation 21:8, Matthew 25:46, Psalm 9:17, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Matthew 13:50, Mark 9:43, Jude 1:7 (to name a few). For more information on John Calvin or Martin Luther (Amazon Prime has a great documentary over Luther that is short and very enjoyable). Be sure to download Podcoin if you haven't already so that you can earn points while listening to all of your favorite podcasts. Redeem your points for fun prizes, and if you sign up today and use the code SpiritandTruth you will get 300 bonus points! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/madison-sanderson/support

Serene Jones is the president of Union Theological Seminary. She also doesn't believe in a 'literal' resurrection and finds the virgin birth 'bizarre.' But love is stronger than life and death or something like that. Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/opinion/sunday/christian-easter-serene-jones.html

There's a passage in N. T. Wright's masterpiece, “The Resurrection of the Son of God,” in which he describes two kinds of people who refuse to even consider that Jesus actually rose from the dead: “hard-headed historians and soft-headed theologians.” The hard-headed historians proclaim that, when it comes to any supernatural event, “We can go no further.” People don't rise from the dead, they say, and so Jesus didn't either. Full stop. As methodological naturalists they refuse to consider anything supernatural. Those Wright called “soft-headed theologians” come in two types. The first type is captive to a kind of faux spiritual superiority, and believes that to even consider evidence outside of Scripture amounts to “a lack of faith.” The second type of soft-headed theologians are basically hard-headed historians with a twist. Also convinced that miracles aren't “reasonable,” they proclaim it doesn't actually matter whether Jesus rose from the dead. The real message of Easter is that “love conquers death,” or that “Jesus lived on in the hearts of His disciples,” or some other sort of rhetorical abstraction. Wright's description came to mind the day before Easter when I came across the latest installment of Nick Kristof's “occasional conversations with a Christian” series. Published in the New York Times, Kristof asked the president of Union Theological Seminary, Serene Jones, as he has several other religious leaders, to explain Christianity. Jones missed the mark throughout the interview, mocking the idea of substitutionary atonement, scoffing at the idea of “an all-powerful, all controlling omnipotent, omniscient being,” and calling the virgin birth “a bizarre claim.” But it was her answer to Kristof's very first question that called to mind Wright's book. Kristof asked Jones if she believed Jesus actually rose from the dead. She replied, “Those who claim to know whether or not it happened are kidding themselves. But that empty tomb symbolizes that the ultimate love in our lives cannot be crucified and killed… For me,” she went on to say, “the message of Easter is that love is stronger than life or death. That's a much more awesome claim than that they put Jesus in the tomb and three days later he wasn't there… What if tomorrow someone found the body of Jesus still in the tomb? Would that then mean that Christianity was a lie?” Well, Reverend Jones, the answer is “yes.” The earliest witness of the church, the thing that altered their Jewish faith, the thing that they lived and died for, was that Jesus not only rose from the dead, but that if He did not, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15, “our faith is futile; you are still in your sins… (and) we are of all people most to be pitied.” The message Reverend Jones thinks the resurrection proclaims—that love is more powerful than death—is neither earth-shattering nor unique to Christianity. Good heavens—it's the message of “The Lion King.” But the Apostles didn't preach some sort of ghostly Mufasa-like Savior. And they certainly didn't suffer or die for a Disney-worthy truism. But even beyond what the Apostles thought happened, there are, as N. T. Wright aptly argues, at least two broadly accepted historical facts that have to be dealt with: first, the empty tomb, and second, the numerous encounters with the risen Lord, including by skeptics. It's amazing that the grounding truth of all of Christianity rests not on a private vision from a prophet or the ruminations of a guru, but on a public event that happened in history, one fully open to scrutiny and investigation. And people have investigated the resurrection. Lee Strobel was so convinced by the evidence, he went from atheist news reporter to follower of Jesus. And one of the most important atheist philosophers of the 20th century, Antony Flew, concluded: “The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It's outstandingly different in quality and quantity.” You can investigate it too. If it happened, it's the most important event in history. If it didn't, Christianity is false. But the one thing the bodily resurrection of Jesus can't be is simply unimportant.

In the fourth and final episode of our mini-series with survivors, we are sharing the story of Michael Mack. Michael is the author of the one-man play: "Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith." If you missed our previous survivor stories, please go back and listen to our interview with the Rev. Serene Jones, who talks about why it is both difficult and necessary to listen to survivor voices. Rev. Jones is president of Union Theological Seminary, an abuse survivor herself, and author of Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World. Links: www.michaelmacklive.com  

In this episode, we will share the story of Marie Collins, an Irish survivor who became an advocate for victims of sexual abuse and served on the pontifical commission for the Protection of minors at the Vatican. If you missed our previous survivor stories, please go back and listen to our interview with the Rev. Serene Jones, who talks about why it is both difficult and necessary to listen to survivor voices. Rev. Jones is president of Union Theological Seminary, an abuse survivor herself, and author of Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World.

S4 E16: In this episode, meet Sunita Puri, author of THAT GOOD NIGHT; Oren Jay Sofer, author of SAY WHAT YOU MEAN; and Serene Jones, author of CALL IT GRACE. By sharing spiritual lessons and life skills, these authors aim to help listeners communicate their needs and achieve more meaningful lives. Plus, discover which author’s dream narrator is Bryan Cranston. That Good Night by Sunita Puri: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/551602/that-good-night/ Say What You Mean by Oren Jay Sofer: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/576130/say-what-you-mean/ Call It Grace by Serene Jones: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/553290/call-it-grace/

In this episode, we feature the stories and voices of the Fortney sisters—5 women in Pennsylvania who were abused by the same priest. Four of the sisters, Carolyn, Teresa, Laura, and Patty talk about the trauma of the abuse, as well as the pain that came with sharing what had happened to them with one another, their parents, the church and the authorities. Most recently, the stories of the Fortney sisters were highlighted in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. If you missed last week’s episode, go back and listen to our interview with the Rev. Serene Jones, who talks about why it is both difficult and necessary to listen to survivor voices. Rev. Jones is president of Union Theological Seminary, an abuse survivor herself, and author of Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World.

We're stepping back from the investigations and the numbers and the theories to focus on what's most essential: Listening to survivors. This episode includes some advice on listening to survivors from the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, the president of the Union Theological Seminary and the author of Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World. Each victim story is different and that's why we want to give you the chance to hear several. We'll release two of them per week for the next two weeks.  

Peacemakers Matthew 5:1-11 A sermon preached by Rev. Ben Roberts at Foundry United Methodist Church, Sunday, August 12, 2018   N-A-T-S, NATS, NATS, NATS, WOOOOOOO! A run is scored, the people sitting in (formerly Gwenda Martin’s Section) and around Larry Slagle's section extend their arms holding hat in hand, with the top of the hat pointed downward. They begin to chant; N-a-t-s, then what? NATS, NATS, NATS WOOOOO. What if someone new was near by? They have question; you explain it to them, this is what we do when a run is scored. For each run we do this. N-A-T-S, NATS, NATS, NATS, WOOOOOOO! A run is scored, someone else joins in, N-a-t-s, NATS, NATS, NATS,  AHUUUGA! What do you do? You would correct them, hard...it's not ahuuuuga! It's woo, pronounced WOOOOO. What are you doing get with the program? They inquire, what's the difference, it's still jubilation? No, it's woo. Maybe you are a tolerant person, you let it slide...the first two times, but tonight the Nats decide to score 25 for some reason not thinking about spacing the blessed runs out maybe, want to win some other games occasionally? Other games need runs Nats, all games matter!!!! You don't let ahugahhh slide, certainly not 24 of them. You call the usher. “This person is saying ahugaa not woo, they need to go. Get them out of here.” Usher totally gets it being there day in day out, they get rid of this person. Figure out the rules and participate or go. We teach (sometimes), we correct, this is how racismworks...I mean baseball, this is how baseball works. Slipped up there. But you get it, you understand how culture and cultural norms work. We teach we correct. We do it with gusto. We do it as duty. We do it as doing our jobs. We do it because we've been taught too, and whether we believe it or not, we find it important and normal to do so. This is how racism works, this is how racism works too. Rev. Dr. Shively Smith introduced for us a few weeks ago concept of “Sankofa.” She told us about the symbol, the Sankofa bird, with its feet planted forward and its head turned back. The word comes from the Akan people in Ghana. Sankofa is a Twi word meaning to go back and get it. One of the ideas around it being, the future can be planned by learning from the past. It’s important to go back and retrieve what’s at risk of being lost. A week before that Rev. Dr. Serene Jones told us of the power of faith communities to help their people be happier by sharing stories that also include hardship and difficulty. Those stories can make us more resilient. And so, this is what I have for you today. It’s just the sharing of story with the hopes it can help us live forward better together. Rev. Dr. Robert Brewer teacher, friend, and Th.D. in Homiletics, that is the craft of preaching advises this. “Don’t start a sermon with a question, because then the congregation will just be thinking about the question rather than what you’re saying. So, When did you first notice something was wrong with race or racism in the world?   Battlefields and historic sites were our playgrounds for good part of my childhood. From revolutionary war sites, to the many Civil War sites, and the battleship memorial in Wilmington, NC. These were the road trips we would take as a family and it was also our back yard. We would learn history through those places, we would learn the stories of the battels and the wars which occurred in those places. Cortney can tell you that I still enjoy going to those places when take trips. As a child, one of the best things about those places were the gift shops. What kid doesn’t love a gift shop. We would end up with little army men to play with when we got home. These toy soldiers were usually little blue men, and little gray men. The little blue men being the north and the little gray men being the south. We were young when we had these. Somewhere in the range of 4-8 years of age. I was not processing all that the blue and gray meant. History of the civil war and the history of the state of North Carolina, and the history of my family were very intertwined, not always processed, but intertwined. In addition to these battlefields we’d also visit cemeteries where relatives were buried like my grandfather, great grandparents and many cousins. They are all together in a little family plot near an old federal style house called Dalkeith where my family still gathers for Thanksgiving each year. The family bought the house in the late 1880’s, but it was built in 1825. We are confident there was enslaved African people present on that farm through 1865. We aren’t confident if the enslaved Africans were housed on the land or housed nearby with their labor being forced on multiple farms in the area. But that’s not really talked about at Thanksgiving. The family plot at the cemetery is at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Arcola, NC. At the foot of my immigrant, WW 2 United States Navy Veteran, grandfather Brodie’s grave is a little emblem they give to retired Methodist Pastors, it’s a circuit rider. At the foot of a number of my older relative’s graves, are little metal crosses with letters C.S.V. on different points of the cross. C.S.V., Confederate States Veterans. I knew what the C.S.V letters stood for this even when I was little, but again the privilege of not having to process was very real. I do think I knew enough to know that that meant they were the little gray men, the toys we would play with. We’d go to museums like the North Carolina History where two small artifacts are kept. Both carved from beef bone, one is a bird clutching a snake, the other is a book surrounded by what resembles a horseshoe shape. They were carved by George W. Davis, a cousin, while he was a prisoner of war, a little gray man, held in a prison in Elmira, New York. We were in museums. In Lexington, Virginia, home of the Red Hen, is also home of the cemetery where my father’s parents are buried. And Just a stone’s throw from my WW 2 United States Army veteran Grandfather Roberts, is the grave and statue of General Stonewall Jackson, C.S.V. Lexington is also home to my father’s alma mater and the place where my grandfather taught, cytology and histology, Washington and Lee University. Home of Lee Chapel where Robert E. Lee is buried, and where Confederate Battle flags hung just beyond an opening at the front of the chapel space. These were our playgrounds and our toys. Me, my brothers, my parents and theirs. These where spaces we learned stories both from the family and from history. Some stories incomplete, few stories reflected upon in the moment. When did you first realize something was wrong? In 2nd grade, so when I was 8 years old. I recall specifically and vividly the moment I realized something was wrong. It’s stuck with me ever since. It is possible I’m not remembering this perfectly, but here it goes. We were sitting in the rear section of our classroom on the floor. That meant that whatever we were doing it didn’t involve desk work and there’s a good chance we were watching a movie as part of our discussion. Mrs. Adams was my teacher. Mrs. Adams was an African American woman and had responsibility for teaching young children multiple subject. I won’t be able to stress the significances of this enough, but having her as a teacher in the state of North Carolina is proving more and more invaluable. On to our subject, through whatever medium, we were learning about the civil war. I don’t remember the film and I don’t remember any other aspect of the discussion. However, enough was said to finally articulate that slavery, was one, a thing, and two was a central to the civil war. Thankfully, I had a teacher (or teachers) who could say plainly enough that slavery meant black people were owned as property. And this was largely (not exclusively) the case in the South (my playground) and with the people of the gray team as owners (my team), and fighting to preserve this right to own and force people into labor. Eight-year-old Ben’s head (and probably heart) nearly exploded at this point. All of what I knew about my family and the gray team was coming into focus in a new way. Deep processing and unpacking was not necessary at this point, but I knew enough thanks to good parenting that this slavery thing, this owning people thing, this working people against their will, this abusing people thing, this violence, this denigration of an entire group of people thing, this separating of families, mothers from children, husbands from wives, sisters from brothers, peoples from land thing; was not a good thing. No time, much less capacity, to think though because, my God! My friend Meghan is sitting right beside me. Holy crap! Our whole existence has a new meaning, and what on earth shall I say to my black friend Meghan who was, I’m sure, more disturbed by all this than I was. So, I did what any 8-year-old would do when confronted about a truth of history indicating a form of responsibility for a bad thing. I lied! I lied my tail-off! Bold face falsity as a means of self-preservation, friend console-ment, but mostly self-console-ment. An example of what I mean here: you say to a young child knowing the answer is yes, “Did you take the cookie when we told you not to?” What’s the answer? “No.” Same for pretty much every kid, and far too many adults. I turned to my friend Megan, I leaned over and I said, I remember this clear as day, “My family was on the blue team.” Such a little liar. If you’re finding yourself having sympathy for 8-year-old Ben, don’t. Eight is a pretty late age to be learning something is wrong with racism in America. Maybe it doesn’t seem old for a white kid, but black boys and girls at that age are learning, as a matter of life and death how to navigate what they already knew was a problem. This was it, this was the first time I think I realized something was wrong. I’m embarrassed it took so long. Even up to last week I was still trying to change it because it presents racism as binary (white and black) and related to  tangible institutions like slavery or segregation when we know it’s so much more than that. But it’s my story and it’s mine to grapple with. The tendency, however, to deny our story, to lie to ourselves or others about the conditions of the world and our culture is not mine alone. When did you realize something was wrong? Do you remember your story? Is there something that you need to go retrieve from it before it’s lost? Is there something in that can help us live forward better and be more resilient in difficult times? We read the same texts they are reading at the worship service on the Mall today. The focus for is on the Matthew 5 text, verse 9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” It’s either a hard or very appropriate day to think of peacemaking when there are planned gatherings celebrating and encouraging violence. Our key verse begs the question, “Really? With them?” I’d say, “yes” and “no.” With the people of all the various groups that gather today? “Yes.” With the ideas that white supremacist espouse? No, never. Resist always evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. What a lot of us need to do today is begin making peace with our stories. Make peace with their incompleteness and their privilege. Make peace with them so our reaction to them isn’t what 8-year-old Ben did, lie about it, be embarrassed by it, feel guilty about it, re-write the history of it. You can’t change it, but you can learn from it. Ignoring the fullness of our stories isn’t helpful and only prolongs our inaction on the ways racism persists in our collective daily story. I’ll give you another story Foundry Church. When this congregation began 1814 it was over 50% African enslaved and free. But we were segregated in our seating and leadership. By 1836 Asbury Chapel was formed and the black constituency of Foundry made their way to that space further entrenching the forced racial divide that for Foundry persisted roughly another 130 years. In 1965 Norman and Francis Prince joined Foundry as members becoming the first black members of the church since the early 1800’s. It would be another 30 years before we became a reconciling congregation, committing ourselves to welcoming all people. Then between 2000 and 2001 a group of Foundry members decided it was time to make peace with our own story. I’m deeply grateful they did too. A congregation wide study on racism and white privilege took place over the course of at least a year. Joint classes and discussions were held with both Asbury and Foundry members. Through that Foundry was able to put together a formal act of repentance for the sins of racism through the church. Asbury received that and there were marches back and forth between our two buildings; of course, there was food. But these were the steps taken to make peace with our own story and culpability. To learn more from them and examine the deeper roots of entrenched systemic racism. Since then we’ve been able to collaborate in ministry in our downtown area. And we’ll stand together today on the mall against all forms of hate. Those Foundry and Asbury groups took a risk. They risked admitting to not knowing everything. They risked publicly acknowledging ways we have collectively and individually participated in systems of racism. They risked having others’ opinions about them being lowered. They put in work to make peace with a story, so that we could live forward better. Our verse today, “peacemakers;” one French translation uses “répandent (autour d'eux la paix).” I like this one, “it’s to spread peace around them.” It makes peace something you possess and spread all around you. In English though, peacemakers ends up essentially meaning peace is created. A peacemaker’s work is to reconcile two or more adversarial parties. That’s more appropriate for us today. There’s work to be done; with our own stories, so that we can alter the trajectory of our current shared narrative. Every second Sunday, the racial justice ministry team gathers for discussion, field trips, lectures or some other activity. We do something every month. Take advantage of that, it can easily help reframe your story and what you’re seeing around. This fall we’ll be working through writings of Howard Thurman. I’ll recommend you get involved with that group. I’ll also recommend to you the book “Waking up White, and Finding my self in the Story of Race,” by Debby Irving.  It’s a good baseline consciousness raising narrative of the author’s own figuring out of how racism is operating in systems of our culture and how she was operating within and perpetuating them, as a nice person, as well. Today if you’re wanting to go to the rally, but don’t want to get “yelled at” or something like that know this; if they only time you choose to show up is when the white nationalist come to town or shortly after another unarmed black or brown person is killed, you’re probably going to hear some yelling. Show up any way. Don’t ask someone who has an embodied experience of racism to sanitize their emotion or feelings for your comfort. Just show up. Then show up the next day and every day in between. Go ahead and make peace with the fact that you are going to make mistakes on this journey. That you are not all knowing and that there are ways that even you, good as I know you are, still participate in racist systems. Don’t let some sense of guilt or shame hold you back from engage the work, that is one of the subtlest yet most effective ways evil works to perpetuate this whole mess. Risk your public reputation as good a good person who has it all figured out, so that you can engage in the real work of peacemaking, of reconciliation; the work God calls us to. Soon you’ll begin to realize that the real conversations don’t happen in 3-hour blocks at rallies. Soon you’ll realize that the real work of breaking down your own privilege happens as you draw closer to one another, not in groups of thousands, but in groups of 2 or 3 or 4. This is where the real work of peace happens. Maya Angelou says this, “if we face the past with courage we don't have to repeat it.” There is peace making work to do friends, let’s commit ourselves this day.    

A sermon preached by Rev. Frederick Davie on Sunday, January 14, 2018 at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington DC.  Scriptures: 1 Samuel 3:1-20, John 1:43-51   I want to thank your pastor Ginger Gaines-Cerelli for the invitation to speak at this historic church.  I thank her for her leadership and this church for your faithful witness to an inclusive and compassionate world -- leadership and witness needed now more than ever.  I also owe a debt of gratitude to Rev. Dawn Hand, your executive minister, who so warmly welcomed me this morning, and whose family I have known my entire life. I also bring you greetings from Union Seminary and our President Dr. Serene Jones, who introduced me to your senior minister.  And even though Ginger, Serene and I are graduates of Yale Divinity School, I want to encourage anyone here who is considering seminary, to come to Union in New York City.  Thank you for this opportunity. Let us pray.   On the morning of Doug Jones’s victory over Roy Moore in the recent Alabama US Senate race, I listened to NPR, as I do most mornings.  In one story about that election, a reporter visited a gathering of young African American voters celebrating Jones’s victory. The first speaker of that group started her remarks with “giving honor to God...” And following a few more remarks from the speaker, the group started to chant “Woke Vote…Woke Vote…” It seems that woke vote had been the rallying cry in some quarters in Alabama as canvassers and organizers rallied their fellow Alabamians, especially black Alabamians, to go to the polls and vote.   To be woke, in modern vernacular, as many of you know, is to be conscious.  Conscious of the world around, conscious of your place in it, and conscious of all you bring, especially your internal stuff -- that spiritual, psychological and emotional stuff we bring to the worlds, micro and macro, in which we find ourselves.  To be woke is to understand at many levels the dynamics that swirl around us, to be able to respond in ways where we don’t shut down ourselves, growing sullen, quiet and offended; nor should we shut down others. To be woke is to understand the complexities beyond our particular milieu, to see and experience life and the world beyond our particular station and status with empathetic eyes and compassionate souls.   As I listened to those young people on that news report giving honor to God as their source of inspiration that sustained them during their days of organizing and advocacy in the public square, I had my own epiphany – a recognition of something divinely inspired.  I had my own encounter of being woke.  The insight was and remains this: it is faith in an eternal and loving God that is, for those of us who are believers, just about the only thing that will keep us woke and see us through dark and troubled times.  Let me say it again, for those of us who believe, faith in an eternal and loving God is just about the only thing that will keep us woke and see us through dark and troubled times.   Think about woke faith represented in the scripture lessons for this epiphany Sunday: the call of Samuel in the Old Testament reading and the call of the disciples, at least some of them, in the reading from the gospel of John.  This is the time of the liturgical year where we celebrate and commemorate the manifestation of God in our midst, highlighted in many Christian traditions with the magi or Wise Men who visit the baby believed to be God made manifest in human form. A mystery so divine, so loving that it requires a response from those who had heard and experienced it.  Epiphany is a time of Woke faith, when we are intensely aware that something extraordinary has occurred in our midst, something otherworldly that requires something of us.  The season of Epiphany.  A time of intense woke faith.  “Speak, Lord, your servant hears” is what Samuel said after being instructed by Eli. Woke faith.  Come and follow me is Jesus’ message to the disciples and their message to others.  Men declaring their allegiance to one they believed to be the Son of God, perhaps even God in every sense, declaring it so, picking up  where they are, turning around, waking up, and following this man called Jesus.  In the Book of Samuel, we hear the story of this little boy Samuel answering the call of God to become a prophet of God, a prophet sprung from Divine Love; a prophet to his people. Woke faith.   As I continued to listen to that report about those young African American organizers in Alabama, and their praise of God and chants of “woke vote,” I thought about the faith of the folks who had preceded them.  I thought of my enslaved ancestors, who had every right to be woke and to give up on God.  Theirs was a heavy burden.  You know of the horrors.  We have read of the horrors of slavery in books; seen them depicted in movies, on stage, mini-series on TV.  When slaves could have simply turned their backs and lost faith in everything, they did not fold, because surrender for them was not an option, as the late Derrick Bell wrote in his book “Faces at the Bottom of the Well.”   Even though my slave ancestors labored in anguish under the cutting lash of the whip and the merciless weight of oppression, surrender was not their final answer; faith in an everlasting God was their answer to the horrors of oppression.  In the midst of their often unimaginable and unspeakable circumstance, they remained woke.   You can hear it in the words of Harriet Tubman, who risked her life to free more than three hundred of her enslaved sisters and brothers.  Tubman said: "I always tole God," she said, "'I'm gwine [going] to hole stiddy on you, an' you've got to see me through.'" Theirs was a faith in a God of deliverance, a God of love and a God of justice.  Theirs was a woke faith.   It was this same faith that gripped the man we remember and commemorate this weekend: Martin Luther King Jr.  Dr. King was a very young man when he stepped out to lead the Montgomery bus boycott, barely 26 years old.  He was 28 when he because the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; a position he held until he was assassinated 11 years later. For all of his humanness, Dr. King had a consciousness of God we rarely see in our midst, a woke-ness if you will, so woke, that his faith and his response to God compelled him to make the ultimate sacrifice of his life so that I and many others might live a bit more freely.  This type of faith is a challenge to all of us, not just this weekend, but for every day we take a breath on this earth.   I see the emergence of this faith in the students who come to Union never having opened a bible or as much as sung a hymn.  We have many students who come as spiritual but not religious.   They come because after all their advocacy and protests, something stirs within them.  Something woke them up and something woke up within them.  I have heard them say they are looking to be grounded in this world but not of it.  They’ve had their epiphany---their faith awakened within them.  After occupying Wall Street and insisting that black lives really do matter, through marching, lying down in the middle of major highways, or sitting in at statehouses and on Capitol Hill, spending nights in jails, these students come to us. They were woke. Many of these students come to us looking for the faith and sustenance that carried Martin Luther King through the trials and struggles of trying to make a dream real.  Woke faith.   And I dare say we need woke faith in this age as much as we have ever needed it before.  I came of age in the civil rights movement.  I came of age when there was much hope in my young heart for continued racial, economic and social progress even in this midst of strife.  There were elections along the way and circumstances that befell from time to time to test that hope, but there was always a sense of progress.  Always a sense we were moving forward.  And clearly we have.  The work of Martin King and the thousands who have heard a similar call to action has not been in vain.  The success of people of color in the US is remarkable given where we started.  We still have deep and seemingly intractable issues:  the overrepresentation of black and brown people in prison; underfunded and poorly staffed schools; limited access to healthcare, particularly in many southern states, with little to know access for new medicines to retard and treat the spread of HIV infections.  The killing of unarmed black men by law enforcement, even while we had the nation’s first black president, destabilized the nation.  But the progress of black and brown people in America is real.  I feel like I embody this progress.   Yet, something is desperately wrong in these United States of America today.  Not just for black or brown folks, folks from those (expletive) nations like Haiti, El Salvador and of the continent of Africa, but for everybody.  If there was ever a people who needed to be woke and hear afresh the message of the Almighty it is many of those who live and labor blocks from here.  From 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right up to Capitol Hill, something is wrong.  Too many folks over there ain’t woke.  Scripture says the people who lived in darkness have seen a great light.  Way too many leaders from the Hill to the White House don’t seem to have seen any light at all.  Everyday some new revelation has the feel of plunging us deeper into darkness.  Trampling on the basic standards of fundamental human decency.  Shredding of environmental regulations, gratuitously destroying healthcare for the weak and vulnerable while grotesquely shifting massive amounts of money to corporations and people who have many times more than they will ever need.  Tweeting transphobic and homophobic changes in military policy with little regard for military commanders and even less regard for disrupting the lives of loyal Americans serving in our armed forces. Mysogyny unfettered. Erecting obstacles at every turn to keep people from participating in the democratic process.  That so-called and now defunct voter fraud commission defined fraudulence by its very mission. It all makes implicit bias and microaggressions seem down right civilized. No. Not woke.  But demonic, diabolical, deliberate walking in darkness, destroying God’s creation and God’s creatures while popping corks of celebratory champagne, clinking bottles of beer in fits of glee, and shamelessly smiling before the cameras.  Something is desperately wrong. In his final speech 50 years ago this year, the night before he died, Dr King said:  The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period…in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding--something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up…the cry is always the same--"We want to be free." Yes, in this darkness some are woke enough to see the stars. I have a sense that we are here this morning because we have a notion that whatever is wrong out there, or within us, or perhaps out there and within us, there might be a few woke answers in this place, some enlightened direction, a word from the Lord, even a call from God asking us to follow.  Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, puts it like this:  "Can there be something in life that has power over us which little by little causes us to forget all that is good? And can this ever happen to anyone who has heard the call of eternity quite clearly and strongly? If this can ever be, then one must look for a cure against it. Praise be to God that such a cure exists – that is, to quietly make a decision. A decision that joins us to the eternal. It brings what is eternal into this time. A decision that raises us with a shock from the slumber of monotony. A decision that breaks the magic spell of custom.  A decision that disrupts the long row of weary thoughts. A decision that pronounces its blessing upon even the weakest beginning, as long as it is a real beginning.  A decision that is the awakening to the eternal."    So what is our decision this morning? This is always the question of people of woke faith.  What will be our experience of walking with God? Will we wake up our spirits, minds, souls and psyches?  Will we wake from the slumber of paralyzing monotony and the enslaving spell of custom?  Will we authentically, profoundly, consistently stay woke? Will we hear anew the words of Dr. King as he quoted the prophet Amos when he said “let justice roll down like rushing water and righteous like an ever-flowing stream”?   Fifty years ago, on the last night of his life, Dr. King preached his final sermon.  He said: “Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”    Woke faith…to God be the Glory. Amen

Joining Tom today to discuss ----religious freedom---- in America today: The Rev. Dr. Serene Jones. She is the president of the Union Theological Seminary in New York. She is the first woman to head the historic institution. She also holds the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy at UTS. She is the Immediate Past President of the American Academy of Religion, and she served for 17 years on the faculty of Yale University. She joins us from Argot Studios in New York.Asma Uddin joins us as well. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of altmuslimah.com, and the co-founder of altFem Magazine and altVentures Media, Inc. She is a lawyer and a scholar who speaks frequently about American and international religious liberty. She speaks to us from NPR Studios in Washington, D.C.

Michelle Alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate, and legal scholar. Alexander is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and Stanford Law School. Following law school, she clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court and for Chief Judge Abner Mikva on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Prior to entering academia, Alexander served as the director of the Racial Justice Project for the ACLU of Northern California, where she coordinated the Project’s media advocacy, grassroots organizing, coalition building, and litigation. The Project’s priority areas were educational equity and criminal justice reform, and it was during those years at the ACLU that she began to awaken to the reality that our nation’s criminal justice system functions more like a caste system than a system of crime prevention or control. She became passionate about exposing and challenging racial bias in the criminal justice system, ultimately launching and leading a major campaign against racial profiling by law enforcement known as the “DWB Campaign” or “Driving While Black or Brown Campaign.” In addition to her nonprofit advocacy experience, Alexander has worked as a litigator at private law firms including Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, in Oakland, California, where she specialized in plaintiff-side class-action lawsuits alleging race and gender discrimination. In 2005, she won a Soros Justice Fellowship, which supported the writing of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" (The New Press, 2012), and that same year she accepted a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. She currently devotes much of her time to freelance writing; public speaking; consulting with advocacy organizations committed to ending mass incarceration; and, most important, raising her three young children—the most challenging and rewarding job of all. In this plenary address from the 2016 AAR Annual Meeting, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas (Goucher College) interviews Alexander, and the women converse in turn about racial (in)justice, the election, and religion's role in U.S. politics. The session is introduced by 2016 AAR president, Serene Jones. This plenary was recorded during the 2016 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, on November 20.

Serene Jones was the 2016 president of the American Academy of Religion and the sixteenth President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 179-year-old interdenominational seminary, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy and has formed Union’s Institute for Women, Religion, and Globalization as well as the Institute for Art, Religion, and Social Justice. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and chair of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She holds degrees from the University of Oklahoma, Yale Divinity School, and Yale University. Jones is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. The author of several books including Calvin and the Rhetoric of Piety and Trauma and Grace, Jones is a leading theologian who regularly contributes to scholarly and public discussions on matters of faith, social justice, and public life. 2017 president of the AAR, Eddie Glaude, provides opening remarks.

This session was organized for the 2016 AAR Annual Meeting as a roundtable discussion between authors of recent major books that address issues of religion, race, and politics. Additionally, these authors have served as frequent public commentators on the 2016 election. Drawing upon on their research and experiences during the election cycle, the panelists discuss our understanding of the role that religion and race played in the election (e.g., the surprising white evangelical Protestant support for Donald Trump over Ted Cruz, the role of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, the Black Lives Matter movement, etc.), the impact of changing demographics of the electorate, and prospects and resources for coming together after a political season that promises to be one of the most polarizing and divisive in the modern era. Serene Jones, Union Theological Seminary, presiding Panelists: Kelly Brown Douglas, Goucher College Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research Institute Stephen Prothero, Boston University Jim Wallis, Sojourners Responding: Andrea C. White, Union Theological Seminary This session (A19-100) was recorded during the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 19–22, in San Antonio, Texas.

On this week's episode of Multifaithful, we are excited to welcome Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College in California and one of the most important Muslim scholars in the world. Shaykh Hamza discusses the intersections between religious and secular education in the United States and the ways in which both religious and secular identities can coexist in this arena. For more information on this topic, listen to the lecture that Shaykh Hamza gave along with Dr. John Sexton and Reverend Dr. Serene Jones in our previous episode.

In case you missed the incredible event last night (9/27), you can now listen to the full audio from The Secular and the Sacred in Higher Education: A Conversation with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Dr. John Sexton, moderated by Rev. Dv. Serene Jones. This lecture was the annual Fritzi Weitzmann Owens Memorial Lecture at the Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership at NYU and was cosponsored by the Islamic Center at NYU and the New York Community Trust. -- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf is an American-Muslim Scholar and President of Zaytuna College, the first accredited Muslim undergraduate college in the United States. The New Yorker Magazine called him "perhaps the most influential Islamic scholar in the Western World." He has authored several encyclopedia articles, research articles and published books, including "Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart" (Starlatch, 2004). Dr. John Sexton is an American scholar of Law and Religion and served as the15th President of New York University from 2002-2015. During his presidency, NYU was named the "number one dream school" four times by the Princeton Review. As president, Sexton taught a seminar on the Supreme Court's church and state cases, and a popular course called "Baseball as a Road to God," which is also the title of his book (Gotham, 2013). Moderator Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is a highly respected scholar and public intellectual. Rev. Dr. Jones is the 16th President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 180-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is also currently the President of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world’s largest gathering of scholars of religion. Rev. Dr. Jones is the author of several books, including Trauma and Grace (Westminster, 2009).

This week we discover the story behind the story: the feminist theology foundations of Irenicast. Mona welcomes to the show Kat, Jeff’s wife (whom you may remember from our family reunion episode), and a feminist theologian named Dr. Debbie Blades. Debbie has played in significant role in walking with both Mona and Kat during uneasy and challenging times of spiritual de- and re- construction. Mona, Kat, and Debbie share with listeners personal and poignant story of their feminist theology group called Gentle Thursday. They offer their understanding of the foundations of feminist theology and its significance to their lives; they also discuss the importance of language and why language has played such a central role in their work with women who don’t fit the typical mold in religious spaces. RELEVANT LINKS Kat’s first appearance on Irencast was for Irenicast Family Reunion – Welcome to Our Living Room – 043 Kat mentions an episode in which Jeff discusses a profoundly impactful gift they received after their miscarriage.  That was on Charitable Giving – With My Mind on Minding My Money – 067 at 56:42. Hope Deferred: Heart-Healing Reflections on Reproductive Loss by Nadine Pence Frantz (Book - Amazon Affiliate Link) This book was incorrectly mentioned as being by Serene Jones, however she did write a similar article called Hope Deferred: Theological Reflections on Reproductive Loss (Infertility, Stillbirth, Miscarriage).  Both resources are absolutely worth checking out. Feminist Theology Womanist Theology When Women Were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of Their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity by Karen J. Torjesen (Book - Amazon Affiliate Link) Battered Love (Overtures to Biblical Theology) by Renita Weems (Book - Amazon Affiliate Link) THANK YOU Thank you to Kat and Dr. Debbie for joining us this week and sharing your journeys and understanding of feminist theology.   Thank you to Mike Golin for our intro and outro music.  Check out his band Soulwise. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Thank you for supporting the podcast!  Your ratings, reviews and feedback are not only encouraging to us personally, but they help others find the show.  If you appreciate the content we provide please rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher.   Join our conversations on faith and culture by interacting with us through the following links:   Read Us on our blog An Irenicon Email Us at podcast@irenicast.com Follow Us on Twitter and Google+ Like Us on Facebook Listen & Subscribe to Us on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and TuneIn Speak to Us on our Feedback Page and the Post Evangelical Facebook Group See Us on Instagram Support Us on Amazon Love Us This post may contain affiliate links.  An Irenicon is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Matt talks to the Union Theological Seminary president about the church and Trump, "unending" sermon endings, and her book "Trauma and Grace."

In this plenary 2015 AAR president Tom Tweed addresses urgent issues we face within and beyond the academy by asking about how the study of religion is valued. First, he analyzes how it is valued—and devalued—in the public arena and discerns what that can tell us about how to refine the usual arguments for the importance of the study of religion and, thereby, help endangered programs fare better in negotiations with administrators and stakeholders. Second, he encourages the Academy to identify the epistemic, moral, and aesthetic values it enacts to confront two challenges we face in the AAR: how to advance the divisive conversation about divergent approaches and how to enhance our ongoing discussion about professional obligations and professional ethics—from institutions’ duty to report graduate student placement rates to individual researchers’ obligation to adhere to standards of professional conduct. We must remain vigilant in addressing trends that violate shared commitments and endanger professional life—from the recent rise in contingent faculty to the chilling challenges to academic freedom. Finally, a focus on values allows us to address divisions within the academy by reframing the stale debate about the relation between religious studies and theology. By frankly acknowledging our guiding values—and concomitant normative judgments—we will not resolve all differences, but we might gain more clarity about what we share and what we don’t. Serene Jones, of Union Theological Seminary, presides over the session and introduces Tweed. This plenary was recorded at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion on November 22, 2015 in Atlanta, GA.

Sermon by Rev. Dr. Serene Jones

Faith is critical to the lives of so many working Americans, so I talked to Sister Simone Campbell, Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, Rabbi Marcia Zimmerman and Imam Makram El-Amin about what faiths in the United States tell us about the economy. MUSIC: "Let It Carry You" and "With the Ink of a Ghost" by José González from the album Vestiges and Claws (2015).

"We Are Sorry"

3/25/2014. Sermon by Dr.Serene Jones, Union Theological Seminary. Sermon title: "Through the Front Gate."Sponsored by Candler Women. Scripture reading: John 10:1-10.

"We crave learning how to love and be near those we don't like. We've grown weary of the wars inside our own culture, that divide us in hate."    Sermon by the Rev. Serene Jones at All Saints Church, Pasadena, on Sunday, February 16, 2014. Readings: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-24. (Due to technical difficulties, photographs have replaced the video image) To learn more about All Saints Church visit http://www.allsaints-pas.org and follow us on Twitter @ASCpas.

Sermon given by the Rev. Serene Jones at All Saints Church, Pasadena, on Sunday, February 3, 2013. Readings: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, and Luke 4:21-30. For more about All Saints Church visit http://www.allsaints-pas.org. Watch the video on Youtube: http://youtu.be/L66Ez6fDDSA.

Sermon given by the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones at All Saints Church, Pasadena, on Sunday, December 18,2011. "Visceral Reckonings." Readings: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26, Luke1:26-38.

In the days and months after 9/11, St. Paul’s Chapel became the hub where thousands of volunteers and rescue workers received round-the-clock care. It was a moving setting to explore how 9/11 changed us as a people — and to ponder the inward work of living with enduring grief and unfolding understanding. From a live conversation at the edge of Ground Zero, The New Yorker‘s Hendrik Hertzberg, journalist and novelist Pankaj Mishra, and theologian Serene Jones.

In the days and months after 9/11, St. Paul’s Chapel became the hub where thousands of volunteers and rescue workers received round-the-clock care. It was a moving setting to explore how 9/11 changed us as a people — and to ponder the inward work of living with enduring grief and unfolding understanding. See more at: http://onbeing.org/program/who-do-we-want-become-remembering-forward-decade-after-911/257

Sermon given by the Rev. Serene Jones at All Saints Church, Pasadena, on Sunday, March 21, 2010. "Grace Trumps."

Bill Moyers sits down with Trudy Lieberman, director of the health and medical reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and Marcia Angell, senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School and former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A Bill Moyers Essay.

Bill Moyers looks at the influence of money and lobbying on health care reform efforts in Washington, D.C.

Bill Moyers talks to Cornel West, Serene Jones, and Gary Dorrien for a fresh take on what our core ethics and values as a society say about America's politics, policy, and the challenges of balancing capitalism and democracy. And, why are America's food banks suffering shortages? Find out what you can do to help.

Bill Moyers talks to Cornel West, Serene Jones, and Gary Dorrien for a fresh take on what our core ethics and values as a society say about America's politics, policy, and the challenges of balancing capitalism and democracy.

In this panel discussion led by Yale Law School Professor Harlon Dalton, academicians, journalists and activists examined the intersection between faith and politics in American life. Panelists included Randall Balmer, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of American Religion, Barnard College; Serene Jones, Titus Street Professor of Theology, Yale Divinity School ; Michael Kieschnick, President and Co-founder, … Continue reading Faith and Citizenship in America →