The Loft LA - Progressive Christianity in Podcast Form

The Loft is a progressive Christian community that is unapologetically inclusive. If you're curious about what a socially and politically progressive Christianity looks like, this podcast is for you. This podcast is the edited audio from our weekly Sunday gathering of people who are interested in following Jesus’ spiritual path of radical compassion.

Enfleshed 06/30/2025

Enfleshed In our final Sunday during Pride month, we look into Paul's letter to the Galatians, ready to liberate it from theologies and assumptions that have been used to devalue our bodies and lives, and find freedom in a gospel of embodiment and connection. Dr. Carter will be away until July 9, while teaching a seminary cross-cultural immersion class in South Africa. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/37215170

Queerly Beloved 06/23/2025

Queerly Beloved Small groups were essential in the creation and maintenance of The Methodist Church. They remain the bedrock of how we sustain connectedness in our increasingly post-religious society. For the members of the Westwood UMC Queer Group, it has been a balm for the soul. Please join Rev. Dr. Carter as he is joined in conversation with members of our Queer Group to discuss their faith journeys, the role our community has played in their journey, and where we need to continue to grow in order to continue becoming the unapologetically inclusive community we hope to be. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/37111540

TRANSubstantiation 06/16/2025

TRANSubstantiation Trans identity is more than just what pronouns you use. For Christians, trans identity pushes us to wrestle with what it means to be created in the image of God and the transformation that takes place every time we celebrate Holy Communion. Join Rev. Dr. Carter and Everest Harvey as they explore what it is about being trans that isn’t clicking for people. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/37023400

Never Consider Unclean What God Has Made Pure 06/09/2025

Never Consider Unclean What God Has Made Pure We sometimes forget that no Gentiles (i.e., non-Jewish folks) were present to receive the pouring out of the Holy Spirit during the first Pentecost. To be sure, eventually there would be Gentile followers of the Way of Jesus, and those Gentiles would be baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. The story of the Gentile Pentecost teaches us that, despite our perceptions of ourselves, we are not qualified to determine who is and isn’t welcome at God’s table. This Sunday, we are celebrating Youth Sunday in The Loft. The Grapple youth will participate in worship by leading prayer, reading scripture, and playing with the handbells. We are also excited that three of our graduating high school seniors, Oz, Lauren, and Will, will offer their reflections on the role that Westwood UMC has played in their lives. We hope that you can join us as we celebrate our amazing youth and youth leadership. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36916140

Flesh That Needs Lovin' 06/02/2025

Flesh That Needs Lovin' That human beings are created in the image and likeness of God has been a fundamental theological pillar in the history of Christianity. However, who images God and to what degree do they reflect God’s image has been a consistent point of contention. In our current social and political moment, queer persons are now facing the same scrutiny over whether they image God in ways that mirror what Black, female, disabled, and other nonwhite bodies have, and still are, facing. So what do we Christians really mean when we say that human beings are created in the image of God? www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36822670

The Theo-Politics of Us and Them 05/26/2025

The Theo-Politics of Us and Them We are living through such a period of stark political polarization that the idea of a multi-racial, pluralistic democracy feels more like an idea than a tangible reality. Indeed, these are difficult, but not new times. Both the early Christian communities and those living with HIV/AIDS knew what it felt like to be cast as outsiders rather than members of their community. Is it possible to find healing and wholeness in the midst of such division? www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36709910

Grace, Redemption, & The Power of Letting Go 05/19/2025

Grace, Redemption, & The Power of Letting Go Life isn’t fair; this is a simple lesson that we learn in childhood. However, knowing that life isn’t fair doesn’t necessarily make responding to life’s unfairness any easier. How we respond to life’s unfairness shapes us in more ways than we often realize. We invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore how the biblical story of Joseph and the story of Jean Valjean from the musical Les Misérables show us how we can experience grace and redemption even when life has dealt us an unfair hand. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36623905

Motherhood In America: No One Is Coming To Save Us 05/12/2025

Motherhood In America: No One Is Coming To Save Us At its best, being mothering a child is likely one of the most rewarding things someone can do. And yet, the systems of society, both old and new, can make being the kind of mother you may want to be feel impossible. On this Mother’s Day, Rev. Dr. Carter will be joined by Rev. Blair Triggstad-Stowe to discuss what we can learn about motherhood from the musical Into The Woods and the biblical story of Hannah. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36532515

Celie & Esther: The Courage to Speak 05/05/2025

Celie & Esther: The Courage to Speak Celie is a young black woman growing up in rural Georgia in the early 20th century. Esther is a young queen and Jewish woman living under Persian colonialism around 450 BCE. Though they lived over two thousand years apart, their stories have unfortunate similarities that have stood the test of time. Patriarchy and sexism are not new, and yet what we see in their stories is that if you are faithful in an unfaithful world, you will find the voice that God has placed within you. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36430900

Creation Care & The Wilderness Economy 04/28/2025

Creation Care & The Wilderness Economy This Sunday, we’re celebrating Earth Day by reflecting on and reimagining our relationship with the land. After their escape from slavery and bondage, the Israelites are given the opportunity to build new economies that run counter to the Imperial Domination System they had seen within the Egyptian Kingdom. Against this social background, the wilderness narrative reveals the struggle of a people charged with cultivating a radically different way of living in community on the land. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36336250

The Kingdom of God 04/21/2025

The Kingdom of God Throughout his entire earthly ministry, Jesus taught his followers that the kingdom of God had arrived that and now was the time for them to choose which kingdom they would serve, God or humanity. That Jesus was crucified tells us that he was executed by the rulers of the Kingdom of Rome, and that he was resurrected tells us that he was vindicated by God. . We invite you to join our Loft community in the Sanctuary for an Easter Sunday Celebration featuring the Singers of Soul Gospel Choir as we reflect on the hope we find in the resurrection of Jesus. Children are welcome in The Loft gathering as Easter is an especially meaningful time to worship together. We will have kids worship activity kits that you can pick up on your way in, just in case they need a little distraction during worship. Additionally, there will be a kids area in the back of the sanctuary for those who need a little more space to wiggle or parents who want to sit on the floor with their kids. On-site childcare is also available for children from birth through age 4. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36240860

Jesus & Resisting The Domination System 04/14/2025

Jesus & Resisting The Domination System The Bible is both personal and political, and thus, the way of Jesus is both personal and political. The Way is a path towards personal transformation and political resistance to religious and secular domination systems. The spiritual path of Jesus is an invitation to advocate for the kingdom of God and criticize those complicit in upholding the domination systems that harm the most vulnerable. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36124760

Following the Way of Jesus 04/06/2025

Following the Way of Jesus Like other wisdom teachers, Jesus spoke of two ways. There is a common way, the one followed by most people, and an alternative way, a path of transformation leading from how we ordinarily live our lives to a different way of being in the world. By following the narrow way, Jesus suggests that we move closer to discovering our true and authentic selves in God. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/36223205

Jesus, Mysticism, and Social Action 03/31/2025

Jesus, Mysticism, and Social Action The majority of Christians would probably not use the term “mystic” to describe Jesus. Many Christians, especially those of us in the West, think of mysticism as a spirituality that is disconnected from the everyday experiences of life. However, what we see in the life of Jesus is that his spiritual practices created a sense of Oneness with God and other human beings that deeply informed his beliefs on our responsibilities towards one another. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35928365

Jesus & His Experience of God 03/17/2025

Jesus & His Experience of God Jesus’s baptism and subsequent time alone in the desert mark the beginning of his ministry. Both events describe profound spiritual experiences of the Divine, whom Jesus names his Father. While these experiences follow patterns similar to previous prophets, his response to the tempter while in the wilderness offers helpful insight into how our experience of the Divine can sustain us if we listen for the still, small voice. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35731130

Jesus & The Imperial World 03/12/2025

Jesus & The Imperial World The context surrounding Jesus’ life was complicated by an imperial domination system. The central features of Roman colonial power were that it was politically oppressive and poverty-inducing. How was it possible for Jesus to develop a spiritual path of radical compassion out of this social world of political and economic marginalization? www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35602755

Who Do You Say That I Am? 03/03/2025

Who Do You Say That I Am? After having spent time in his community preaching and teaching, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do the people say that I am?” For those of us who grew up Christian, how we answered that question was extremely important. However, as we mature in our faith, an equally important question begins to emerge: how will we tell the story of Jesus? There are many ways to tell the story of Jesus, but how we choose to tell it significantly informs how we practice the religion he taught his disciples. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35505035

Blessed Are the Women 02/23/2025

Blessed Are the Women We know that there were women whose resources and labor enabled Jesus to travel and heal and preach. We even know some of their names: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna. On this final Sunday of our “Blessed Are the Women” series, we honor their stories, and imagine what they offer to us today. On this final Sunday of our series, we center the stories of these women at the margins (in diverse ways!), who claimed and shared power for the sake of the Gospel. This series has been inspired by the book “Blessed Are the Women” by Claire McKeever-Burgett. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35402675

Daughter Your Faith Has Healed You 02/17/2025

Daughter Your Faith Has Healed You This Sunday we will continue our sermon series that focuses on women in the Christian tradition and highlight the work of M. Shawn Copeland, a Black Roman Catholic theologian whose work explores the nature of being human as we recognize Black History Month. What does it mean to be human and yet treated as an outsider, less than human? The story of the bleeding woman forces us to wrestle with this question and explore the gender dynamics at play. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35307935

Hagar’s Story & Black Women’s Experience 02/10/2025

Hagar’s Story & Black Women’s Experience For the next two Sundays, we will be highlighting the work of two pioneering black women theologians as a way of both honoring Black History Month and our current sermon series that focuses on women in the Christian tradition. This Sunday, we will be celebrating the work of Rev. Dr. Delores Williams. When most Christians read the story of Abram, Sarai, Hagar, and Ishmael, Hagar is seen as having a small role in a story that ultimately is not about her. However, using womanist biblical interpretation, Williams shows us that Hagar’s story of survival, hope, and redemption mirrors the experiences of many black women in America. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35215555

What Would a World Look Like if You Felt You Were Believed? 02/03/2025

What Would a World Look Like if You Felt You Were Believed? Throughout the gospels, we see both men and women sharing stories about Jesus’ ministry and his miracles. Yet, it was only when women were sharing his message that we encountered disbelief and, at times, outright resistance. Why? What is at stake? Building upon last week’s conversation, this Sunday we explore Jesus’ encounter with a woman at a well and imagine what may have happened if her community believed her. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35119290

What Would Happen If We Believed Women? 01/28/2025

What Would Happen If We Believed Women? Throughout the gospels, we see both men and women sharing stories about Jesus’ ministry and his miracles. Yet, it was only when women were sharing his message that we encountered disbelief and, at times, outright resistance. Why? What is at stake? How might believing women change the way we see ourselves and the world we live in? www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/35037025

Mary: The Revolutionary 01/20/2025

Mary: The Revolutionary Mary, the mother of Jesus, is often portrayed in art as a meek, mild-mannered woman who happens to be Jesus’ mother. However, a closer look at her words in the Gospels reveals someone who sought to upend oppressive regimes and uplift the poor and oppressed. How might reimagining Mary as a revolutionary inform how we think about the radical teachings of her Son? www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34917300

Re-imagining Eve – The Mother of Creation 01/12/2025

Re-imagining Eve – The Mother of Creation Interpreting Eve’s actions in the Garden of Eden as having doomed all humanity is perhaps the foundational claim used by many Christians to uphold patriarchy. Eve has been associated with evil, sin, temptation, and fallenness. Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, none of these claims are mentioned in the biblical story. Join us this Sunday as we read the story of Eve through a feminist and womanist lens and re-imagine Creation’s origin story beyond the patriarchal gaze. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34832430

L.A. - Where We All Live - Is On Fire 01/11/2025

L.A. - Where We All Live - Is On Fire This is a special crossover posting from the Progressive Christians Podcast, hosted by Rev. Dr. Carter. Los Angeles is suffering from a historical fire. Thankfully, Julia, Westley, Rev. Blair, and Dr. Carter are safe, but we are thinking about and actively working on ways to support our local community. If you are interested in supporting, please check out the links below. In this episode, Rev. Dr. Carter is solo, recording from San Diego, where he and his family have evacuated from the Pallisades and Sunset fires. He discusses the difficulties that lie ahead for their community and what the root causes of the fire really are, and what they are not (hint: it has nothing to do with DEI). We end this episode with a prayer and we hope that you join us in keeping our community uplifted in prayer and support during this difficult time. Links to organizations that are supporting Angelinos: /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34814295

The Road Isn’t Straight 01/06/2025

The Road Isn’t Straight Too often, we’ve been told that a successful life is a linear one. But in reality, our lives unfold with many unexpected twists and turns. The Magi follow a star, embarking on a long journey in a foreign land to honor the newborn Christ. Instead of returning to Herod as commanded, they trust their dreams and go home by another way. Their road isn’t straight, but God “makes a way in the wilderness” as they follow their intuition and diverge from the expected path. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34736435

We Are The Answer To Our Ancestor’s Prayers 12/29/2024

We Are The Answer To Our Ancestor’s Prayers After eight days have passed, Mary and Joseph circumcise their child and give him the name Jesus. They return to the temple in Jerusalem to enact the sacred birth rituals of their culture and tradition. Rituals mark sacred turning points in our lives. As new parents, Mary and Joseph would reasonably be nervous about the future of their family. Given this, the invitation for us is to view these sacred rituals as a response to and a reminder of the ancestral legacy upon which we stand. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34701765

Do The Good That Is Yours To Do 12/16/2024

Do The Good That Is Yours To Do As John the Baptist teaches about bearing good fruit, the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers ask him, “What, then, should we do?” His answer to each group was some version of: “Do the good that is yours to do. In the same way, the question we are invited to consider this Advent is, what is the good that we are called to do? Join us as the Singers of Soul will be performing timeless Christmas and gospel carols! www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34464495

We Can’t Go Alone 12/09/2024

We Can’t Go Alone One of life’s most essential lessons is that we are never meant to go alone. And yet, modern culture pushes us more and more into lonely silos. Our scriptures reveal how vital community is and how God can bring even unconventional pairs of people together. Indeed, the stories of Ruth and Naomi and Mary and Joseph exemplify how unlikely pairs can become a covenant community. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34340190

On Not Being Afraid 12/03/2024

On Not Being Afraid When Mary encounters the angel of the Lord, the angel reminds Mary that God favors her and exhorts her not to be afraid. To be sure, fear would be a natural response to everything that is happening to her and her community. However, Mary shows us that when we remember who and whose we are we can avoid succumbing to fear and trust that all things are possible with God. www.TheLoftLA.org /episode/index/show/theloftla/id/34264930

The Loft LA - Progressive Christianity in Podcast Form

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