Modern Day Flappers

Modern Day Flappers is a one-on-one interview podcast dedicated to exploring women's identity beyond traditional scripts. My hope is for listeners to discover their own story in the lives of the women interviewed and cultivate love for themselves and those around them. Rev. Nancy Hawthorne is an energetic and creative pastor in the United Methodist Church living in Nashville, TN.

Body Obsessed with Marcia Mount Shoop 06/12/2015

Being Strong with Sarah Wilke 06/05/2015

Military Service and Valuing Dignity with Tiffany Daugherty 04/30/2015

Speaking Life with Rev. Toi King 04/10/2015

Good Friday Witness with Jeannie Alexander 04/03/2015

Good Friday Witness with Jeannie Alexander Good Friday is a day for lament. Jeannie Alexander speaks to the sorrow of prison while at the same time speaks words of hope and restoration about the future. This conversation is tough, but it's one of the best interviews I have ever had and my heart and mind are still wrestling with our conversation. Modern Day Flappers is a podcast dedicated to exploring women's identity beyond traditional scripts. My hope is for listeners to discover their own story in the lives of the women interviewed and cultivate love for themselves and those around them. This interview with Jeannie Alexander was recorded in the 4th Story Theatre at West End UMC Wednesday night event called Current. Jeannie Alexander served as the Head Chaplain at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for three years until September 2014. Prior to that, she was the volunteer chaplain for two years. As chaplain, she facilitated the creation of an unprecedented number of programs for insiders, both in minimum security and on “death row.” Before this, she worked as an attorney, but left the practice of law to become a community organizer and to complete a graduate degree in theology and ethics. As an educator, she’s been a professor of philosophy, ethics, and religion. As a pastor, she’s served and developed interfaith communities in prison based on a model of liberation theology, as well as served as co-pastor to Mercy Community Church, a congregation where 85% of the members were experiencing homelessness. She is the co-founder of Amos House and Open Table Nashville and was a writer for and sat on the board of The Contributor for several years. Two of her essays are published in And The Criminals With Him, and she features significantly in the documentary Tent City, U.S.A., available on Netflix. She lectures and preaches frequently on the topics of mass incarceration as slavery, mandatory sentencing, and the death penalty. She understands the Gospel as a manifesto for radical liberation now on earth and an invitation to experience God through the living presence of others.To read the Scripture story of The Gerasene Demoniac read Mark 5:1-17 and Luke 8:26-37 More about prison reform can be found at . /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3471639

Nancy's Thoughts on Season One 01/30/2015

Nancy's Thoughts on Season One A podcast dedicated to exploring women's identity beyond traditional scripts My hope is for listeners to discover their own story in the lives of the women interviewed and cultivate love for themselves and those around them. Things I learned this season: 1 -- I didn’t realize this Modern Day Flapper journey was really about how hard it is sometimes to be a woman pastor. 2 – I have the most amazing friends. 3 – Men have stories of how they can’t live up to the traditional scripts too. It’s hard for everyone. Season Two of Modern Day Flappers will be released in March of 2015. I am so excited about some of the women I have reached out to interview – but I am also thinking that I might interview a few men! Now I’m going to talk about some of my favorite moments: Fran: “I don’t think you know who that woman is yet.” You never know who will be inspired by the ashes… Heather Lefkowitz -- How do we make peace with scripts? Emily: Have you experienced the tension between: “I need to not care what anyone thinks about me and I’m so desperate for love and connection.” Lis: “La esperanza es que se pierde lo ultimo” – Hope is the last thing that you would loose. Betty Nixon: We need to invite someone who disagrees with us! How do you figure out your own style or voice? “Now I know what I’m supposed to sound like.” Have you had that moment? Megan’s interview held the most surprises! Carolyn German, "The status quo is allowed to step in and say 'you’re crazy.'" -- Breaking a stereotype: You get to choose who you want to be! “Now I Become Myself” By May Sarton Now I become myself. It’s taken Time, many years and places; I have been dissolved and shaken, Worn other people’s faces, Run madly, as if Time were there, Terribly old, crying a warning, ‘Hurry, you will be dead before-‘ (What? Before you reach the morning? Or the end of the poem is clear? Or love safe in the walled city?) Now to stand still, to be here, Feel my own weight and density! The black shadow on the paper Is my hand; the shadow of a word As thought shapes the shaper Falls heavy on the page, is heard. All fuses now, falls into place From wish to action, word to silence, My work, my love, my time, my face Gathered into one intense Gesture of growing like a plant. As slowly as the ripening fruit Fertile, detached, and always spent, Falls but does not exhaust the root, So all the poem is, can give, Grows in me to become the song, Made so and rooted by love. Now there is time and Time is young. O, in this single hour I live All of myself and do not move. I, the pursued, who madly ran, Stand still, stand still, and stop the sun! /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3327437

Finding Vocation with Carolyn German 01/10/2015

What They Didn't Teach You in Catholic School with Megan Black 01/02/2015

Dreaming with Caren Tiechman 12/26/2014

Learning to Listen with Lori Mechem 12/19/2014

Learning to Listen with Lori Mechem http://lorimechemmusic.com/ http://www.nashvillejazz.org/ A respected jazz pianist, composer and educator, Lori Mechem, along with her husband Roger Spencer, has lived in the Nashville area since 1988. In addition to directing production shows and conducting musical theatre, she has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Red Holloway, Jimmy Smith, Cal Collins, Roy McCurdy, Terry Gibbs, Pete Christlieb, Edie Gorme, Bobby Militello, Kirk Whalum and Donna McElroy. A native of Anderson Indiana, Lori received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Lori's first CD, "Welcome to Brazil" was nominated for "Best Jazz Album of the Year" by the Nashville Music Awards in 1997. In 2003, Lori's second CD, "Shiny Stockings, rose to #26 on the jazz charts. In 2005 she released a Brazilian Christmas album on Village Square Music. Since then she has released three more CD's: "April in Paris" (a second Count Basie album), "The Dream of Life" (original meditation music), and "Return to Ipanema." Lori and Roger founded and direct the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Lori is responsible for curriculum, student advisement, and special events, and teaches vocal, instrumental, and keyboard classes. “You play good for a young girl” is something Lori hears a lot. “You’re a good pastor/preacher for a woman” is something I hear too. Have you ever heard this for your procession? Is it regional? is a jewel of Nashville! Visiting the Jazz Cave or taking a class is a MUST! Lori’s piano mentors: Oscar Peterson, Monte Alexander, Gene Harris, . Sue Level was the first woman Lori saw doing her thing and doing it well. Who is this in your life? a Documentary about jazz and mentorship. It’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time! Former NJW student A mentor that really molded Lori in college – “helped her out of the tree” -- was . Who was a mentor from your college days? Improvisation started with the blues – a musical question and answer. Singers and instrumentalists should play nice and listen to each other. You can hear the pain and where they were -- Carmen McRae. Charlie Parker – always busy. John Coltrane – deep. How do you figure out your own style or voice? “Now I know what I’m supposed to sound like.” Have you had that moment? /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3251032

Being Controversial with Betty Nixon 12/15/2014

Being Controversial with Betty Nixon Betty Nixon started her work career as a high school teacher in Anniston, Ala. and eventually became a Metro Councilwoman and two-time mayoral candidate in Nashville/Davidson County; Videos during the time of her campaign: http://youtu.be/aFzqJG7sU6c, http://youtu.be/Egn2zgckYLU, http://youtu.be/ZojONV4X7dw. She was Deputy press secretary to Tenn. Gov. Ray Blanton; Managed a few campaigns: including the state campaign for Mondale/Ferraro presidential campaign, state campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Jim Sasser for his successful 1988 re-election campaign and served as as a professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations. She chaired the board for the Metro Election Commission. She worked at Vanderbilt University as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations. Betty also attends West End UMC and was willing to host my Modern Day Flapper release and 30th birthday party – all my friends were inspired by her! · She is the fourth generation to be college educated (and for someone born in the late 1930s that is incredible to me)! · She went to college to find a husband and had to figure out something else… how much of my non-traditional script is because life didn’t work out like I thought it would? · Mary Catherine Bateson author of . · Is the idea of balance a privilege afforded to me because of women like Betty? · Betty’s daughter Mignon Nixon teaches at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, UK. She studies sexuality and aggression in art since 1945, focusing in particular on questions of feminism and gender politics. She is the author of Fantastic Reality: Louise Bourgeois and a Story of Modern Art (MIT Press/October Books, 2005) and the editor of the Eva Hesse October File (MIT Press/October Files, 2002). She is a co-editor of October magazine (New York). · She explains the privilege to be involved at the tipping point of feminism and civil rights in 1960s. · Rural Women experience power – The 50s model verses pre-50s model · Powerhouse meeting for the 1984 election talking about Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket. o – women’s rights activist and author of Feminine Mystique (1963): o o , President of the Feminist Majority and the Feminist Majority Foundation. o -- United States Senator from the State of Louisiana o – wife of West Virginia Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV. · · : My school was in Lakeland, FL · We need to learn to live out diversity in our lives! · A discussion of fear and scarcity: economic disparity in the US. Video I referenced: http://youtu.be/QPKKQnijnsM · – a leader of the women’s movement in the 1960s and 70s · -- New Yorker, feminist, antiwar activist, politician and lawyer: /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3240201

La esperanza es lo último que se pierde with Lis Valle 12/08/2014

La esperanza es lo último que se pierde with Lis Valle Modern Day Flappers is a podcast dedicated to exploring women's identity beyond traditional scripts. My hope is for listeners to discover their own story in the lives of thewomen interviewed and cultivate love for themselves and those around them. My guest today is Lis Valle we met at Vanderbilt Divinity School because we both love the intersection of visual and performing arts and the ways they help us explore our faith. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt University in the Homiletics and Liturgics Program. She has more than 30 years of experience in acting, and more than 20 years of experience directing and using theatre as a means for education and transformation. She also has a law degree from University of Puerto Rico. Lis is an ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is the mom of Jotam (21) and Kemuel (13). Is there anything she hasn't done ... A story about the first time Lis learned about cultural stereotypes. “I learned to bat the ball and run home to turn the rice.” Dr. Ana Ines Braulio Doña Barbara a novel by Rómulo Gallegos first published in 1929 and translated in 2012 http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo12611628.html Lis explains how her mother’s story impacts her own story. How does your mom effect your story? Lis navigates her call to preach and teach while also being a woman. What do you do “like a girl?” How do you exist as sexy and _____. Lis is a young, pretty, sexy, woman pastor (I am too!). “A patriarchal system locks people of every gender and sexual orientation within the social construct. Everyone within that system is being hurt and so when a particular man doesn’t treat me the way I expect to be treated… I remove myself from that situation knowing that he is as victimized by that situation, but I’m also not going to stay there.” It’s up to me to not let them hurt me “La esperanza es que se pierde lo ultimo” – Hope is the last thing that you would loose. /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3225636

Wild In A Way That Can’t Be Tamed with Emily Kilbourn 12/01/2014

Improv and Scripts with Heather Lefkowitz 11/24/2014

Improv and Scripts with Heather Lefkowitz Modern Day Flappers is a podcast dedicated to exploring women's identity beyond traditional scripts. My hope is for listeners to discover their own story in the lives of the women interviewed and cultivate love for themselves and those around them. My guest today is Heather Lefkowitz we met at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She’s most happy when she’s learning new things, affirming people’s gifts and talents, and laughing – she laughs a lot – For 15 years she worked in higher education. She also is an improviser both teaching and performing. She has helped me, companies, and educational realms to be better communicators and make our mission and vision clear. She is also a member of Music City Improv: https://www.facebook.com/musiccityimprov/reviews · Childhood in the 70s with divorced Parents · · What do you think about the “country kitchen”? · TJ Jagodowski – improve and the one “right” word. · How do we make peace with scripts? · How do we make peace with scripts while raising a girl? · “When I got married and had a kid it freed up an enormous amount of space in my head…” I never subscribed to the scripts but it did free up space to be able to do what I wanted. What takes up space in your life? · Middlemarch by George Eliot – Virginia Woolf called it “novel written for grown-up people” · Learn about – Theresa of Avila – you won’t regret it. Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castles is a key text in mystical theology · – fixed verse growth mindsets · Being in the kitchen – separate the noise in your head and ask do I enjoy this? · Hippie Barbie: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/hippie-barbie but I am more inclined to go with Graduate School Barbie: http://www.openculture.com/2013/10/graduate-school-barbie.html /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3199813

Being a Queen with Franchelle Lucas 11/21/2014

Episode 1: Meet Nancy and Discover Modern Day Flappers 11/18/2014

Episode 1: Meet Nancy and Discover Modern Day Flappers A few weeks ago I shared late night nachos at Sunset Grill in Hillsboro Village with two of my dearest friends, Ben and Elizabeth. We had just watched the movie Boyhood across the street at the Belcourt. Boyhood is the kind of movie that would show at the Belcourt –a non-profit movie theatre specializing in documentaries, artstic, and innovative films. The director, Richard Linklater, filmed the same cast over twelve years and, like the title suggests, it’s about childhood and growing up. Literally the boy actor grows into a man before your eyes. So, we were discussing the movie over nachos and Ben says, “I can’t help but think about what the movie would have been like if it were about girlhood.” I laughingly said, "You would say that!" (Ben might be more of a feminist than I am because of his deep appreciation for Marylynne Robinson’s poetry, fiction, and prose…) and replied, “What would the movie womanhood look like?” I rambled on, “What if I filmed my best friends over the next ten years and see what happens?” “I think I’d watch that,” Ben responded, “What would you call it?” And without really thinking I replied, “Modern Day Flappers.” We kept eating nachos and discussing various parts of the movie that we liked — but the idea didn’t leave my mind and the next day I typed in the domain name: moderndayflappers.com. It was available. Then I Googled “Modern Day Flappers” and found two interesting articles: in the Huff Post and from Biographile. Both reference the same book published in January of this year by Judith Mackrell. I immediately searched for the book at Nashville public library and sent it to the branch near my house. I love the parallel between Lena Dunham and Girls and flappers. I have seen every episode of Girls and I am intoxicated by the woman’s locker room conversation put on national television from a realistic perspective in an authentic and unapologetic tone. Yet, there is more than one conversation going on in a women’s locker room! Many of my friends have talked about how we resonate with Dunham’s characters, yet they do not allow for their spiritual domains to influence their life choices and their context of NYC is very different than Nashville! A few days later, I picked up the book from our branch and read in the introduction, “The young women of this era weren’t the first generation in history to seek a life beyond marriage and motherhood; they were, however, the first significant group to claim it as a right (pg. 5).” “Yes. This.” The voice in my gut said when I read those words… A few pages later Mackrell’s words resonated again with this statement about the six women whom she presents to represent flappers, “Often they feel closest to us when they were struggling and uncertain. None of them had role models to follow as they grappled with the implications of their independence. Their mothers and grandmothers could not advise them how to combine sexual freedom with love, or how to combine their public image with personal happiness (pg. 10).” I feel a lot of uncertainty when I try to articulate how to be a woman, in the south, in public and private settings, seeking my right to an identity outside of wife or mother, navigating singleness, love, sex, and independence, while also discovering and being found by God, and desperately trying to “be human in the most inhumane of ages (Thomas Merton).” All of this coupled with the fact that I am clergy and “should” know these things! I, for sure, do not have all the answers — but I do have a ton of questions. Therefore, over the next year of my life — “30, flirty, and thriving” — I am going to ask as many questions as possible and ask them of those who are on the journey with me — my modern day flappers — my late 20something and 30something friends who are also seeking their identities, wholeness, and love. I hope to discover parts of myself in the stories I unearth in them. I will record my interviews in a podcast called — you guessed it — Modern Day Flappers! /episode/index/show/moderndayflappers/id/3186560

Modern Day Flappers

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