TWIH Episode 71: Creating Interfaith Families with Rabbi Mychal Copeland
Release Date: 02/23/2016
TWIH Episode 81: Planting the Church Unusual with Darnell Fennell #radicalinclusion #blacklivesmatter
This Week In Heresy
This episode we welcome Darnell Fennell, the founding pastor of Just Love, a radically inclusive church plant in Houstan, TX. We discuss what it’s like to create an inclusive church in an area that is seen as more conservative to the wider progressive community. What does it mean to be “church” and what are the difficulties in starting a new church in general? How do you bridge the conversation on race and privilege in a mixed congregation? What is the importance of doing the inner work outside of the worship space? We also discuss how to pastor people through the ever shifting...
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TWIH Episode 80: Learning from Where You're At with Pat Mosley #hb2
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk with Pat Mosley, a Gardnerian witch in North Carolina. We talk about how Wicca takes on the culture of where it’s at, and how it’s not that much of a stretch for people to be multi-faith practitioners. Pat discusses his coven, Granny Magick, and his involvement in CUUPs. We also talk politics and #HB2 (also known as the “bathroom bill”) and how, on the ground in North Carolina, there are more people who are against it rather than for it. Pat talks about the uphill battle in challenging their state government and the disconnect of their elected leaders from the...
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TWIH Episode 79: The Needles and the Compassion Done with Denise Cicuto #orlando
This Week In Heresy
Denise Cicuto returns in this episode to talk about her call to study acupuncture through a visitation by Kuan Yin. We talk about her journey, not only through acupuncture school, but her spiritual journey with Kuan Yin and her current studies of the spiritual side of acupuncture . We also discuss the nature of Kuan Yin, and how compassion isn’t necessarily “fluffy”. We also talk about the importance of self care when doing activism and after major emotional events such as Orlando. Denise Cicuto is a Witch and Healer. She is a third degree Priest in the Circle of Cerridwen. In...
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TWIH Episode 78: The Magick of Pagan Music with Sharon Knight
This Week In Heresy
After a brief TWIH hiatus, we return with our guest Sharon Knight, a pagan musician who does both solo work and plays as a group with her partner Winter in Pandemonaeon. We talk about the art of performing, the magickal experience of being on stage, the future and past of pagan music, and how music influences her work, both spiritually and professionally. We also talk about her latest album and the work that goes into writing, recording, and making videos for an album. Note: Please excuse the audio weirdness. We were having a bad Skype day. Festival Favorites Sharon...
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TWIH Episode 77: The Politics of the Body with Irene McCalphin
This Week In Heresy
Irene McCalphin joins us this week to talk about the intersections of fat liberation and marginalization. Why is it important to have representation in spiritual imagery, both in regards to race and body size? Why is the language of our rituals important? How can we move through learning about these issues of marginalization and come to a place where we can see outside of ourselves to a more inclusive community? Why is it important to keep the language of the diet industry out of spiritual space? How can kink (BDSM) be used as a spiritual tool and a pathway to a positive self image? ...
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TWIH Episode 76: Being Heathen with Cara Freyasdaughter
This Week In Heresy
In this episode, we talk to Cara Freyasdaughter, where we discuss her journey to Heathenism, her introduction to Freya and Freyr, and some of the issues that are challenging modern Heathenism. What are CUUPs and ADF? What does the lore say about racism and other issues that have been being dealt with within the Heathen community? ...
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TWIH Episode 75: Called by Kali with Chandra Alexandre
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk to Dr. Chandra Alexandre about her journey with Kali Ma and her experiences with the Divine Female. Not only through her travels and learning in India, and her current work in the Bay Area. What is Tantra and the SHARANYA practice? Why is daily practice important and how do you keep up a daily practice? How do we approach the everyday to support our own practices? ...
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TWIH Episode 74: The Polytheist Death Guild with Rebbeca Lynn Scott
This Week In Heresy
In this episode we talk about death and dying with Rebecca Lynn Scott, founder of the Polytheist Death Guild. She talks about her own experiences that lead her to creating the Guild and the importance and necessity of death rituals in our society. How do we talk about death in our society? How are we able to express grief? Do pagans (of any traditions) have a healthier view of death than other traditions? ...
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TWIH Episode 73: Paganism and Shinto with Megan Manson
This Week In Heresy
This week we talk to Megan Manson, a pagan who also practices Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. Megan talks about her path to Shinto, some of the history of Shinto and how it relates to the other religions practiced in Japan. We also talk about how religion co-exists together in Japan and how it differs from how religions get along in the West. What is the difference between Japan and the West in regards to religious identity? What does it mean to be multi-faith, and how do we explain it to others? ...
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TWIH Episode 72: Honoring Death with Robin Griffith
This Week In Heresy
Robin Lynn Griffith joins me in this episode to talk about death and dying. Both of us are called to minister to the dying and while, for the two of us, this is a normal process, for most people in our culture, death is something you just don’t talk about. Why does our society tend to try and banish the idea of death? Why are we so afraid of something that is inevitable? Are we doing a disservice if we don’t allow someone to really grieve in their own way or telling people to just “get over” their grief? When does one’s grief need more professional help? Should we...
info_outlineIn this episode of TWIH we talk to Rabbi Mychal Copeland, editor of “Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives” and Director of InterfaithFamily/Bay Area. We talk about her decision to go to rabbinical school, the varied interpretations of the bible, and how to navigate being part of an interfaith couple. How does being an interfaith couple today compare to the past? How does talking together about people’s experiences with religious traditions help families work out how to get along spiritually? How do we heal from our respective church burn when one’s partner (or partners) is practicing a form of the tradition that caused it? How can community help significant others through the ups and downs of an interfaith family in our society?
Rabbi Mychal Copeland is the Bay Area Director of InterfaithFamily after having served as Rabbi at Hillel at Stanford for 11 years. She has worked with interfaith couples and families throughout her rabbinate, and her blog about interfaith family life can be found at InterfaithFamily.com. Mychal writes a monthly Torah column for the J: Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. She is the co-editor of Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives [Skylight Paths Publishing, 2015]. She is passionate about opening the doors of Judaism wider and leading people towards a profound spiritual and religious life that embraces all of their disparate identities. Mychal is married to Kirsti Copeland and they have two children.
Links
Website: http://strugglingingoodfaith.com/
Facebook for Struggling in Good Faith: https://www.facebook.com/strugglingingoodfaith/
Rabbi Mychal’s Huffington Post Blog
Facebook for Interfaith Family: https://www.facebook.com/groups/InterfaithFamilySanFranciscoBayArea/
Books
Struggling in Good Faith: LGBTQI Inclusion from 13 American Religious Perspectives