The Fellowship Hall

In this episode of the Fellowship Hall, we hear from the advocacy team of CBF. Stephen Reeves is the coordinator for Fellowship Southwest and the Director for Advocacy. John Mark Boes is the Advocacy Engagement and Programs Manager for all of CBF. Together, they lead the denomination in advocating for justice and equity. Their book The Mission fo Advocacy: A Toolkit for Congregations outlines their strategy and different ways to get involved. You can learn more about what they do HERE.  The song you hear in the intro and outro is: We Bless the Sun by Elephant Graveyard.

Rev Brittany Graves is the Associate Coordinator of Public Witness & Advocacy with the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS). As a graduate of Truett Seminary, Brittany has experienced and worked alongside many flavors of baptist life. Today, she helps “faith leaders, clergy, creatives, and nonprofits to speak up on pressing issues of injustice, providing inclusive language and creative storytelling to bring allies and supporters along in fulfilling the work of justice and advocacy.” In this episode, Brittany invites us to think creatively about advocacy and shares some wisdom about the importance of listening in living out the gospel. Check out her Advocates Prayer writing here: “Let Anti-racism be a cornerstone to the way you live”.  Brittany's Nuance Tea podcast is on anchor at https://anchor.fm/nuanceteapodcast. Also, all are welcome to join their social media community on Facebook and Instagram @nuanceteapodcast. Some resources mentioned in this episode: The National Council of Churches Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC)  American Baptist Mission Society “The Advocates Prayer” which you can find here. Luke Bretherton “Christ and the Common Life” and his podcast “Listen, Organize, Act” Aaron Griffiths, “God’s Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America” (Harvard, 2020) Keep an eye out for Nancy Ammerman’s new book “Studying Lived Religion”

On this episode of The Fellowship Hall, we hear from my good friend Sunny Ikojoh from the Welcome House Ministries about Christian hospitality and what it means to be a neighbor. I came to know Sunny while he was interning for Welcome House Raleigh. He is originally from Nigeria but now lives with people from across the globe at Welcome House- Knoxville. Sunny graduated with his Masters of Divinity from Logsdon Seminary at Hardin Simmons University and is currently working on his Masters in Counseling at Carson Newman University.

On this episode of the Fellowship Hall, we hear from Rev. Melissa Florer-Bixler, the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, about her new book How to Have An Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace. Melissa is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and earned a Masters in Religion from Duke University. To love your enemy means that you must first have an enemy. Her new book explores this concept and sheds light on what it looks like to live out the real, transformational biblical justice that the gospel calls us to. You can purchase copies of this book and her first book Fire By Night (which is also incredible!) on her website www.melissaflorerbixler.com.

This is the introduction to the podcast. This is a podcast about how the church in North Carolina is dealing with issues of racial equity and justice. Let me know what you think and who you would like to hear from!