Making Room on the Pew
By Making Room on the Pew
Making Room on the PewMay 04, 2021
Episode 32: Being an Ethnically Jewish Anglican with Sarahbeth Caplin
Sarahbeth Caplin is a writer, editor, and author based in northern Colorado, where she lives with her husband and two spoiled kitties.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and on my website at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Episode 31: Sex, Masturbation, & Sexual Ethics with Kelly Wolfe
Kelly Wolfe is a creative, a question-asker, an Enneagram 8w9, and passionate about seeing all people welcomed, affirmed, elevated, and able to lead in the Church.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and on my website at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Episode 30: National Infertility Week & How to Support Those Experiencing Infertility
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Episode 29: What the Church Is and Is Not with Kate Boyd
Kate Boyd is a writer, speaker, and Bible teacher centered on creating community full of intimacy and integrity.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Born Again and Again with Megan Westra
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
How to Live a Fully Authentic Life with Chelsea Anderson
Chelsea Anderson is a writer, speaker and podcaster with a passion for mental health awareness, addiction recovery and helping people live their best, authentic lives. Her work seeks to create awareness & empathy for those suffering, both in families and society. Reaching out to historically marginalized people and advocating for increased mental health treatment funding are special priorities. As a member of the LGBTQ community and former U.S. Army soldier, Chelsea offers a firsthand perspective around struggles facing these populations. Much of her free time is spent conversing with those who feel alone and offering hope and friendship.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Queerness is Holy with Rev. Bailey Brawner
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
Episode 25: The Events at the Capitol & the Importance of Making Room on the Pew
Welcome to Season 3! It’s time to make a change. It’s time to lay down our pride and our weapons, whether they be words, guns, or the Bible, and settle in for hard conversations. It’s time to gather around the campfire, halfway between our camp and theirs, and bring an open heart and curious mind.
I am longing for a community who prioritizes love over hate and people over theology—maybe you are too?
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelchpomerantz.com.
How To Be Antiracist with Tori Williams Douglass
Join Tori Williams Douglass and Bailey as they sit down to talk about race, state-sanctioned racial terrorism, and the difference between being not racist and being antiracist. Connect with Tori on Twitter @toriglass and learn more about how you can do your part with White Homework whitehomework.com and on Instagram @whitehomework. You can also monetarily support Tori and her work by becoming a Patreon at patreon.com/toriglass.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Holy Week 2020: Holy Saturday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, darkness fell over the world and there was nothing to do but wait. Just wait. Death is here now, but Resurrection is coming.
Isaiah 53
Matthew 27:57-66
Mark 15:42-47
Luke 23:50-56
John 19:38-42
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Good Friday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, was sentenced to death. After a hasty trial and enduring mockery, humiliation, and torture at the hands of the Empire, he was executed by the State.
Psalm 22
Matthew 26:47-75 and Matthew 27:1-56
Mark 14:43-72 and Mark 15:1-41
Luke 22:47-71 and Luke 23:1-49
John 18 and John 19:1-37
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Maundy Thursday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus ate with his disciples and revealed to them the events of the coming days.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Wednesday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus continued to preach his shocking message of grace, love, and redemption, painting a picture of an upside-down kingdom where the first is last and the greatest, the least.
Deuteronomy 6:1-6
Matthew 22:34-46 and Matthew 23
Mark 12:28-40
Luke 20:41-47
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Tuesday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, the people in power - the rich, the elite, the educated, the religious leaders - challenged Jesus, asking him to prove that he was who he claimed he was. Questioning everything he was and stood for, they tried to disprove that Jesus’ power truly came from the greatest One of all.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Monday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus got angry. Showing us the very human part of himself, Jesus allowed his holy rage to spill out as he overturned tables and berated those who were using the temple in Jerusalem as nothing more than a place to do business rather than worship God.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Holy Week 2020: Palm Sunday
On this day, over 2,000 years ago, Jesus - Emmanuel, God with Us - rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. His arrival was met with great jubilation and celebration, but only he knew it was the beginning of the end of the life of God wrapped in skin.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this most important week of the year in the life of yourself and your family. Happy Holy Week, friends. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Episode 24: Using Adventure as an Antidote to Grief with Sheri Hunter
Join Sheri Hunter and Bailey as they sit down to talk about grief, adventure, and how the intersection of the two gave Sheri her life back. Connect with Sheri on Twitter @SheriHunter and grab a copy of her new book, Daring to Live: How the Power of Sisterhood and Taking Risks Can Jump-Start Your Joy wherever you buy your books. (Please remember to support your local bookstores if you can during this time that small businesses need all the support we can give!)
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Episode 23: How to Survive a Global Pandemic (Without Losing Your Humanity)
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Episode 22: Why Immigration Policy & Procedure Matters with Hannah Vickner Hough
Join Hannah and Bailey as they sit down to talk about immigration, policy and procedure surrounding immigration, and why it really matters for real people. They also talk about why we should care about what's happening in immigration right now, specifically in America, and how Hannah's faith informs her work (and the other way around!). Hannah is an immigration attorney and currently works as the Immigration Program Director at The Legal Aid Society. Keep learning about immigration policy and procedure and connect with Hannah on Twitter @HannahVH.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Episode 21: Angelia White is Teaching Us How to Be "Yes Sisters"
Join Bailey as she sits down with Angelia White, author of the new book, Yes Sisters: Surrounding Yourself with Women Who Affirm, Encourage, and Challenge You. They talk about why Angelia decided to write this book, the story behind the story, how Angelia began Hope for Women magazine, a quarterly publication with a reach of 200,000, and how to affirm, encourage, and challenge our friends to become "Yes Sisters" ourselves.
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Angelia L. White is the creator of Hope for Women magazine, a quarterly publication with a reach of 200,000. A Ball State University Black Alumni Award of Achievement recipient, Angelia is a mother of three and the publisher, president, and CEO of HOPE for Women, headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Rising from a background of discouragement, she spends her life encouraging other women to step into their full potential and share their inspiring stories.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Episode 20: All People Need People (Yes, Even Single People) with Holly Stallcup
Join Bailey Welch-Pomerantz and Holly Stallcup as they talk about singleness, marriage, and seeing God in both. Holly teaches us that we don't build unity by ignoring our differences, but rather by showing up in our differences. Don't miss Bailey's very favorite quote from Holly during this conversation: "The Church can't BE what they can't SEE."
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Holly Stallcup is the the founder & Executive Director of Rise living with her beloved dog Jack in Fort Worth, Texas. Holly teaches, preaches, writes custom small group curriculum and is gifted in event planning and facilitation. She works with all age groups, ranging from young girls to older adult women. She talks about hard things through a lens of redemption and teaches "cut to the chase" truth, with a desire to see each woman fulfill her Kingdom call. Rise has recently lost a significant amount of funding from a local church and is making up the difference one person at a time. If you are able to spare a few dollars a month, please head over to support this amazing organization and it's fantastic founder! Connect with Holly on Twitter @HollyStallcup.
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Connect with Bailey on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
Episode 19: Lament is a Holy Thing with Abby Norman
Join Bailey Welch-Pomerantz and Abby Norman as they talk about the joys and challenges of parenting in today's world, the education system, and race relations. Abby reminds us that it's okay to be wrong and shows us how by teaching us how to apologize to our kids. The last few minutes is Bailey's favorite part, as Abby dives deep into the holiness of lament.
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Abby Norman is the pastor of a church plant in Atlanta with her husband and two daughters. After nine years of teaching in the classroom, she now preaches from the pulpit and is in the process of seeking ordination with the United Methodist Church. She blogs at abbynorman.net and you can connect with her on Twitter @abbynormansays.
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll certainly accept support in any amount :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me @baileyjowelch!
Episode 18: The Best of 2019 (& Our 2020 Words of the Year)
Join Bailey and Sarah on this special holiday episode as they discuss their favorite books, movies, TV shows, and sermons of 2019. They also share the biggest lesson they each learned last year, why there's a few episodes missing from the podcast (hint: HONEYMOON), and give an adoption update since there finally is an update to be given! Then they wrap up this episode by talking about their words of the year for 2020 and why they chose them.
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Favorite Books of 2019:
Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow
Dear Girls by Ali Wong
Remember God by Annie F. Downs
Scoot Over and Make Some Room by Heather Avis (Heather was also on episode 13: How to Scoot Over and Make Some Room with Heather Avis!)
Reforesting Faith by Matthew Sleeth, M.D.
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
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Want to support the podcast? We're over on Patreon and we would be honored to partner with you to further this work. Even just $1 per month really helps, but we'll accept support of any size :) Check out the perks each supporter receives depending on the level of giving here!
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me @baileyjowelch on Twitter and Instagram!
Episode 17: Laura Jean Truman is Sparking Our Imaginations This Advent Season
Join us as we talk about the Advent color debate (blue v. purple), being an Enneagram 1 during Advent, and what Laura Jean loves most about this season of the church calendar.
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Connect with Laura Jean on Twitter and Instagram at @LauraJeanTruman and on her blog at laurajeantruman.com.
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Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Want to help me reach my goal for #Dressember? Head over to www.dressember2019.org/fundraiser/bailey-welchpomerantz.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
Episode 16: Learning that Advent is a Waiting Game with Lyndsey Medford
Lyndsey Medford is a writer, speaker, activist, and author of the guided journal, Making Friends With My Body and God. She also manages autoimmune disease and a tiny front-yard garden. Lyndsey holds a Master's degree in Theology from Boston University, but she's most proud of her improv theater and gluten-free baking skills; her family; and her rescue dog Miya's dainty high-fives. She writes regularly on her email newsletter, "Justice and Joy," and at lyndseymedford.com.
Join us as we talk about what Advent is, why it's important, Mary's role in Advent, and why Lyndsey loves this season in the Church calendar.
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Connect with Lyndsey on Twitter and at lyndseymedford.com.
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Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
Want to help me reach my goal for #Dressember? Head over to https://www.dressember2019.org/fundraiser/bailey-welchpomerantz.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
Episode 15: Thanksgiving and the Importance of Gratitude
Join Bailey and Sarah on this special holiday episode as we discuss Thanksgiving, historical inaccuracies of the holiday, and how it actually started (hint: Abraham Lincoln). We also give an update on the status of our adoption journey and talk about what we're most thankful for this year. And, of course, we discuss our least favorite and most favorite holiday food!
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The poem shared in the middle of this episode is written by Kaitlin B. Curtice, a Native American Christian author and speaker. Find it here!
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
Separated at the Border with Gena Thomas
Gena Thomas is a writer and advocate living in Tennessee with her husband of 10 years, Andrew, and their two children. After living as missionaries in Mexico for four years, Gena now writes books and works as an instructional design specialist at a nonprofit that equips local churches with a theology of holistic development. Join us as Gena and I talk about her new book and the incredible true story which birthed it. Weaved in with the telling of this story, we also discuss immigration, the crisis at the border, the foster care system, transracial adoption, and white savior complexes.
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Connect with Gena on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and at genathomas.com.
Grab her book Separated By the Border: A Birth Mother, A Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child's 3,000-Mile Journey.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
How to Scoot Over and Make Some Room with Heather Avis
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Connect with Heather on Instagram and at heatheravis.com.
If you love Heather as much as I do, make sure to grab her books, The Lucky Few and Scoot Over and Make Some Room!
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Connect with me on Instagram and Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, make sure to use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
PSA: Everyone Has Mental Health
Join Bailey and Rev. Sarah as they talk about mental health, why there is such stigma around it, and what the Bible says about mental health. They also talk about Demi Lovato and some practical ways to take good care of your mental health.
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Episode Highlights:
02:23 Why is there such a stigma around mental health?
07:40 What does the Bible say (or NOT say) about mental health?
17:16 How do we handle shame about mental health?
20:36 Why pastors don't talk about mental health (and why we need them to)?
30:15 Demi Lovato & mental health
33:54 What are practical ways to take care of your mental health?
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Manda Carpenter's online mental health course, Stronger than the Struggle
Why God Won't Go Away by Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene D'Aquili, M.D., Ph.D., AND Vince Rause
How to Find Healing After Being Hurt by the Church
Join Bailey & Rev. Sarah as they talk about the Church. They discuss the Early Church in Acts, what church should look like, and how the little, local churches have the power to change the institutional Church for the better. Bailey also talks more about how she's been hurt by the church and cries, not once, but twice! (So you know it's going to be good!)
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Episode Highlights:
04:26 What does Sarah actually believe about how the Universe was created?
13:30 What's the difference between the Church and church?
16:10 What do you do when there's not the space you need in church?
22:30 When did we first see the Early Church emerge in the Bible?
31: 48 Why should Christians go to church?
38: 04 What if you've been too hurt by the Church and Christianity to go back to church right now?
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Recommended Resources:
Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey
No One Has the Monopoly on God
Join Bailey & Rev. Sarah as they talk about what making room on the pew actually means and how we can all be involved in breaking down the barriers around church, God, the Bible, and the Gospel for the misfits and outcasts. They also talk about what theological issues they disagree on and their own experiences being excluded from church and church leadership.
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Episode Highlights:
3:00 Introducing the new podcast format!
07:45 What theological issues do Sarah & Bailey disagree on?
16:15 How have Sarah & Bailey been excluded from the church and church leadership?
38:10 What does it actually mean to "make room on the pew for the church misfits and outcasts"?
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Recommended Resources:
The Pentecost Paradigm: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation by Jacqueline J. Lewis and John Lanka
Scoot Over and Make Some Room: Creating a Space Where Everyone Belongs by Heather Avis
Flickers of Hope: Daily Invitations to Find God in the Midst of Sorrow by Bailey Welch-Pomerantz
"What makes the gospel offensive isn't who it keeps out, but who it lets in." -Rachel Held Evans
Rev. Emmy Kegler is a Seeker of Lost Coins
Kat Armas is an Egalitarian
Hearing God's "Yes!" Over the World's "No" with Rev. Sarah Welch-Pomerantz
Steve Austin is Teaching Us How to Catch Our Breath
Steve Austin was a pastor when he nearly died by suicide. He is the author of two Amazon bestsellers, From Pastor to a Psych Ward, and Catching Your Breath. Join us as we talk about mental health, fear-based theology, and
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Connect with Steve on Instagram & Twitter @iamsteveaustin and at iamsteveaustin.com. Grab Steve's latest book, Catching Your Breath here.
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Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
Manda Carpenter Believes the Church is for Everyone
Manda Carpenter is a writer and foster parent living with her husband Eric in Chicago, IL. Join us as we talk about the hard and beautiful ministry of foster care, how to survive your evolving theological beliefs, and who Manda thinks the Church needs to get better at welcoming in.
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Connect with Manda on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @mandacarpenter and at mandacarpenter.com.
Get involved with #MonthlyLettersOfEncouragement here.
Grab Manda's new devotional, Space: An Invitation to Create Sustainable Rhythms of Work, Play, and Rest here.
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Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
B.T. Harman, On How to Support Christian Parents of LGBTQ Children
B.T. Harman is a writer and advocate for compassionate, grace-filled relationship--even when there are disagreements about fundamental ideas and theology. B.T. is the writer of Blue Babies Pink: A Southern Coming Out Story and the creator of Harbor, an online support group for Christian parents of LGBTQ children. Join us as we discuss being a gay Christian, how to foster grace-filled relationships with those we fundamentally disagree with, and how to better support the parents of LGBTQ kids.
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Connect with B.T. on Instagram & Twitter @bt_harman and at btharman.com.
Want to read more of B.T.'s story? bluebabiespink.com
Interested in the Harbor program? harborhere.com
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Connect with me on Instagram & Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!
Shannan Martin is a Church Misfit
Shannan Martin is a writer and speaker living as a grateful neighbor with her jail-chaplain husband, Cory, and their four funny children in Goshen, Indiana. Join us as we talk about how to neighbor well, the problem with the American penal system, and being church misfits.
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Connect with Shannan on Instagram & Twitter @shannanwrites and at shannanmartinwrites.com. Grab Shannan's new book, The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking Up To God's Goodness Around You here.
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Connect with me on Instagram & Twitter @baileyjowelch and at baileyjowelch.com.
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Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if this content is encouraging you or positively impacting you in any way. If you share on social media, please use #MakingRoomOnThePew and tag me!