today Jenny's going to read a part of a presentation she's giving in a week, and I hope you really listen in The political times are heavy and the news about Epstein has been triggering for so many, including Jenny and myself. I hope as you listen, you find yourself somewhere in the conversation and if you don't, I hope that you can find yourself with someone else in your close sphere of influence. These conversations aren't perfect. We can't resolve it at the end. We don't often know what we need, so I hope as you listen along that you join us, you join us and you reach out for connection in your community with friends, people that you trust, people that you know can hold your story. And if you don't have any of those people that maybe you can find the energy and the time and the internal resources to reach out. You also may find yourself activated during this conversation. You may find yourself triggered and so this is a notice that if you feel that that is a possibility and you need to take a break and not listen to this episode, that's okay. Be gentle and kind with yourself and if you feel like you want to keep listening, have some self-care and some ways of connecting with others in place, go ahead and listen in.

Welcome to the Arise podcast. This is episode 12, conversations on Reality. And today we're touching on organizing and what does it mean to organize? How do we organize? And we talk to a seasoned organizer, Mary Lavelle. And so Mary is a queer, grassroots organizer, visual artist and activist who has been fighting oil and gas infrastructure and fighting for social justice in their adult life. Living in the Kitsap Peninsula. They're working on their first book and love working with people to build power in their communities. Join us. I hope you stay curious and we continue the dialogue.

"The word resilience, saying Dia de Los Muertos, that's self-determination, something you practice to keep it going, to remember all those things. I was thinking through resilience feels like this vacillation between different levels, levels of the individual in relation to the community, how much do we participate in self discovery, self-determination, all those things, but then also connect it to community. How do we continue to do that as a community to stay resilient or keep practicing what we've been taught? But then also generationally too, I think that every generation has to figure out based on their experience in this modern world, what to do with the information and the knowledge that is given to us, and then how to kind of encourage the next generation too." --Renee Begay

I think we talk about what's happening in one sense, it seems like social media and other ways like Zoom, we're on a screen with Zoom and we're all in three different locations right now. We think of ourselves as really connected. But then when tragedy strikes or trauma or an invasion, for instance, strikes, we're connected, but it seems like we're also disconnected from one another and the practical needs and storytelling on the ground, and what does resilience look like for one person versus another? Or what does survival versus thriving look like for one person versus another? And how do we kind of join together and form a collective bond in that? Sandra Van Opstal joins us from Chicago and Chasing Justice, to discuss the practicality of being on the ground in the midst of an invasion

Good morning. I just had the privilege and honor of interviewing my colleague, another therapist and mental health counselor in Chicago, Vanessa Les, and she is located right in the midst of Chicago with an eye and a view out of her office towards what's happening with ICE and immigration raids. I want to encourage you to listen into this episode of the Arise Podcast, firsthand witness accounts and what is it actually like to try to engage in a healing process when the trauma may be committed right before someone comes in the office. We know that's a possibility and right after they leave the office, not suggesting that it's right outside the door, but essentially that the world in which we are living is not as hopeful and as merry as we would like to think, I am sad and deeply disturbed and also very hopeful that we share this power inside of ourselves.

With my buddy Jenny McGrath, and then a dear colleague and a new friend, Reverend Dr. Starlette Thomas. We're going to jump from history and Constantine and Faith and Christian nationalism, and then we're going to go into some current events. We're actually even going to talk a little bit about our families and our grandparents. I hope it sparks some interest for you around your own family history and ethnicity, and you stay curious. Here we go. The distinction between Christianity and Christian supremacy and Christian nationalism, and I have been researching Christian nationalism for probably about five or six years now. And one of my introductions to the concept of it was a book that's based on a documentary that's based on a book called Constantine Sword. And it talked about how prior to Constantine, Christians had the image of fish and life and fertility, and that is what they lived by. And then Constantine supposedly had this vision of a cross and it said, with this sign, you shall reign. And he married the church and the state. And ever since then, there's been this snowball effect of Christian empire through the Crusades, through manifest destiny, through all of these things that we're seeing play out in the United States now that aren't new.

Welcome to the Arise podcast, and as you know, we're continuing on the intersection of where our reality meets and today it's where our reality meets our resilience. And how do we define that? A lovely conversation. It's actually just part one. I'm thinking it's going to be multiple conversations. Jenny McGrath, LMHC, and Rebecca Wheeler, Walston. Join me again, look for their bios in the notes and tag along with us. I thought we could start by talking about what do we see as resilience in this moment and what do we see, maybe like I'm saying a lot now, what do we see as the ideal of that resilience and what is actually accessible to us? Because I think there's these great quotes from philosophers and our ancestors, but we don't know all their day-to-day life. What did it look like day to day? So I'm wondering, just kind of posing that for you all, what do you think about resilience? How does it intersect with this moment and how do we kind of ground ourselves in reality?

Welcome to the Arise Podcast - speaking with Sarah Van Gelder on Reality and Politics of our time Welcome to the Arise podcast, conversations about reality and talking a lot about what that means in the context of church, faith, race, justice, religion, all the things. Today, I'm so honored to have Sarah Van Gelder, a community leader, an example of working and continuing to work on building solidarity and networks and communication skills and settling into her lane. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Hey, Sarah, it's so good to be with you. And these are just casual conversations, and I do actual minimal editing, but they do get a pretty good reach, so that's exciting. I would love to hear you introduce yourself. How do you introduce yourself these days? Tell me a little bit about who you are. Okay.

Welcome to the Arise Podcast, conversations based in what our reality is, faith, race, justice, gender in the church, therapy, all matter of things considered just exploring this topic of reality. Hey, I'm having this regular podcast co-host. Her name is Jenny McGrath. She's an M-A-C-P-L-M-H-C. She's dope. She's a licensed mental health counselor, a somatic experiencing practitioner, certified yoga teacher, and an approved supervisor in the state of Washington. She spent over a decade researching the ways in which the body can heal from trauma through movement and connection. And she's come to see that bodies are so important and she believes that by approaching the body with curiosity, we can begin to listen to the innate wisdom our body has to teach us. And that is where the magic happens. So I hope you're as thrilled as me to have such an amazing co-host join me. Yeah, we're going to talk about reality and therapy. We're just jumping in. Jenny and I are both writing books.

Welcome to the Arise podcast, conversations in Reality centered on our same themes, faith, race, justice, gender in the church. So happy to welcome my buddy and a colleague, just a phenomenal human being. Dr. Phil Allen, Jr. He has a PhD. He's a theologian and an ethicist whose research and writings include intersections of social structure, race, culture, and theology, and the ethics of justice. He has also authored two books, open Wounds, A Story of Racial Tragedy, trauma and Redemption, and the Prophetic Lens, the Camera and the Black Moral Agency from MLK to Dan Darnell Frazier. He's an affiliate assistant professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, a poet and a documentary filmmaker. Dr. Allen is also founder of the nonprofit Racial Solidarity Project based in Pasadena, California as a former division one college basketball player. Yes, he has enjoyed opportunities as a guest chaplain for college and professional sports. Hey, you're not going to be disappointed. You're going to find questions, curiosity ways to interact with the material here. Please just open up your mindset and your heart to what is shared today, and I encourage you to share and spread the word. Hey, Phil. Here we find ourselves back again talking about similar subjects.

Welcome to the Arise podcast, conversations on Reality. This is season six. We're into episode three with my dear colleague, Rebecca Wheeler Walston, and she's going to be talking about her perceptions of reality and experiences was in the context of story work. She's an amazing lawyer, works for a nonprofit. Yeah, I think you're really going to love getting to know Rebecca and what she's about as a story worker, as a storyteller, as a human being moving through this world, and I'm personally hoping this isn't the last time she's on the podcast, and hopefully she listens to this. She hears me say that. Additionally, at the end of the podcast in the show notes, there are mental health resources. There's also a link to Rebecca's bio, link to how to get in touch with her if you want to work with her. I really encourage y'all to take care, find someone that helps you ground yourself in reality, put your feet in some dirt,

Reality and Faith The theme of the conversation and touch points that you may want to speak to: 1. What are the formations or structures for how you know you are in reality in regards to your faith? Do you have indicators? Internal senses? External resources? 2. Who are you in active dialogue with in regards to your faith? Who that is living and who that is passed on? 3. When you encounter dissonance with your reality of faith, how do you stay grounded in your experience?

Season 6: Episode 1 What is reality? How do we determine reality? What our the inputs? Who is in our circle? As it pertains to faith, race, gender, and the church - how do we find the reality and experience of this moment? This introduction was recorded over vastly changing reality and political violence and school violence. You will hear that shift in the recording. (It’s painful to be around people who think differently. The question is: how do we converse without devolving into hate or shouting? Today is September 11. Between Charlie Kirk’s assassination, yesterday’s school shooting, and attempted political killings, it’s clear our nation is split into competing realities that shape everything—from how we see safety to how we practice faith and empathy. This podcast is about examining those realities and how we process them.)

Spiritual Abuse, Christianity and the Election with Guest Host spiritual abuse, the election, and the role of Christianity in that.

Dr. PhilAllenJr.com, you can see that his quote is Justice Matters, my neighbors Matters, creation matters, faith Matters. And really in this conversation. Pay attention to those points that he makes in this quote from his website and how that filters through in the research he does in the point of view he's bringing to the table for this conversation on what are we doing. From understanding creates pathways towards action, towards organizing, towards being together with one another in community so that we can support justice, so that we can support our neighbors so that we have faith in creator. Go find his website, philallen jr.com. Look up this amazing man, this professor, he's got a podcast, he's got books, poetry speaking, a documentary. Don't hesitate to reach out, but as you listen, focusing on justice Neighbor and creation and Faith.

In the Words and Voice of Rebecca W. Walston: Anticipatory intelligence is a phrase that I heard at a seminar talking about racial trauma. The speaker whose name I can't remember, was talking about this idea of a kind of intelligence that is often developed by marginalized people. And because this was a seminar on racial trauma in the United States, her examples were all primarily around racialized experiences as the United States understand that sense of racialized society. And so the idea of anticipatory intelligence is the amount of effort or energy that we put in emotionally, mentally, psychologically, to anticipating how our bodies and the stories that they represent will be received in a space that we are in before we get there.

Election Conversations with two of my favorites: Matthias Roberts Danielle S. Rueb Castillejo We grapple with politics, humanity, faith, and where do we go from here?

A continued conversation Themes would be continuing political dialogue in our current climate, and what is at stake if we do not vote. I feel pressed to continue to keep our neighbors in mind. The following are questions to keep in mind as you listen. Questions: how do you vote when candidates support or do not support critical issues to your own conscience? Guests include Poulsbo For All's Pam Keely and Community Activist (Kitsap County) Sarah Van Gelder How do you see change happening in our society - both long term and short term? Context of keeping in mind the humanity of our neighbors. Are you a part of any social movements?

A Brief Recap of the past year, where we left off with the North Kitsap School District and then a variety of voice contribute to thoughts on these two questions: The mportance or how you see being human in the age of politics 1. How do you see your own humanity in the context of political dialogue. 2. How do you make space for folks in your proximity who do not share your political views

Justice for ALL Students Campaign, Part 4 In Their Own Voices - here first hand from those at the November 22, 2022 meeting, including other voices who spoke publicly in the past few months to the North Kitsap School Board, with no response to this date as to implementation of any of the (7) solutions presented to the Superintendent and School Board in February 2023.