In today's conversation Pastor Kelsey talks with the woman behind Every Woman is Worthy, Maggie.

Maggie Winzel is a women's wellness advocate, business owner, writer, and coach. She recently launched a new social impact brand called Every Woman is Worthy that celebrates womens' value and gives back to marginalized and oppressed communities of women. Maggie has been featured in Shape, NBC News, Thrive Global, MyFitnessPal, The Washington Examiner, and dozens of other outlets for her holistic wellness advice through the years.

Website: https://everywomanisworthy.com/

Continuing the conversation from last week with our guest today, Anna Gustafson. This conversation feels like one that is needed but this time we talk about how toxic diet culture has made it's way into church culture. In this conversation we are reminded that we are wonderfully made, and are meant to love our body.

About Anna:
Anna Gustafson (she/her) is a non-diet, HAES-aligned (Health At Every Size) registered dietitian on a mission to help people heal their relationship with food. With a food science background, she challenges common misconceptions about “scary” ingredients and encourages folks to think outside the “good vs. bad” binary of food. Anna believes that we are all made whole and good in God’s image, and that we don’t need to eat “clean” to be clean because we are made clean each and every day, thanks be to God!

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"Whether your body is small or large, aged or young, disabled or abled, toned or soft, lithe or stiff--or somewhere in-between--anti-fatness affects us all, because it is intended to. Fat Church critiques anti-fat prejudice and the Church's historic participation in it, calling for a fatphobic reckoning for the sake of God's gospel of freedom."
- from the back cover of Rev. Anastasia Kidd's book, Fat Church: A Gospel of Fat Liberation.

All year long we hear messages of anti-fatness. At the beginning of the new year, goals of losing weight; not eating chocolate during Lent; prepping our "summer body"; not eating too many treats over the holidays. It's relentless, and those messages seep into our church pews, too. Rev. Anastasia Kidd invites us to bring the conversation around to understanding how anti-fat bias shapes our culture, and how we, especially as Christians, can work to change that. She invites us into a liberation rooted in God's love for us.

About Anastasia
Rev. Anastasia Kidd (she/her) is a lecturer and director of enrollment at the Boston University School of Theology. She was ordained by the Metro Boston Association of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ and previously served as the Chair of the Leadership Development Commission of that Conference.

Happy Pride month, beloveds! We are excited to kick off the month by talking to Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber (she/her) about her new book, Queering the American Dream. She shares about traveling the country and learning about the presence of divinity all around her.

About Angela
Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber (she/her) is an 8-time award-winning author and publisher at Tehom Center Publishing, a press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. She holds a Ph.D. in Art and Religion and has been a seminary professor for nearly two decades. Her recent memoir, Queering the American Dream, is listed in QSpirit's Top LGBTQ Religion Books and her work has been featured in Forbes, NPR, HuffPo, Ms Magazine, the television show Tiny House Nation, and more. For more on her work and ministry, visit www.angelayarber.org and for more on Tehom Center Publishing, visit www.tehomcenter.org

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Burn out is a universal feeling - everyone reaches their wits ends at some point. This has been especially true in the Church world lately, from pastors to volunteers. Rev. Callie Swanland addresses that head on and tackles the conversation in a new way to make us think about how best to fill our wells each and everyday.

About Callie
Callie Swanlund is an Episcopal priest, retreat leader, spiritual companion, and coach who helps others know their belovedness and find their Spark. Her new book, From Weary to Wholehearted, is a restorative resource for overcoming ministry burnout. Callie is a creative minister and leads individuals and groups in the work of Dr. Brené Brown as a Certified Daring Way Facilitator. Her How2charist: Digital Instructed Eucharist film has reached Christians and curious individuals around the world, and her Wholehearted Wisdom movement invites others into deeper reflection and connection across social media. Callie is an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellow and has keynoted such conferences as: Kanuga Christian Formation Conference, Episcopal Communicators Annual Conference, and Episcopal Camps and Conference Centers Annual Conference. She lives in Philadelphia with her co-dreaming partner Jeremy, their two tween/teen children, and a rescue pup named Rufus.

www.callieswanlund.com

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Kelsey shares how a few Veterans changed her understanding of Memorial Day worship services.

Our weekly interview will drop tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28th.

Witnessing the war in Gaza can make us feel hopeless and like there's nothing we can do. Dr. Peter Makari (he/him), a Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe, shares with us today a message of hope, justice, and peace. He offers important background information in relationships in the Middle East and lifts up voices of Palestinian partners who are on the ground doing important work. Peter reminds us to recall Jesus' message of "who is my neighbor" and how that neighbor is not just the person next door, but our global neighbor as well. This is an important conversation and we hope it encourages you to utilize the links below to continue learning and connecting, and turning hope into action.

About Peter
Dr. Peter E. Makari (he/him), PhD, serves as Global Relations Minister for the Middle East and Europe with the Common Global Ministries Board of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a position he has held since July 1, 2000.

He serves on the National Council of Churches’ Interreligious Convening Table, of which he is a co-convener, and has been an active participant in national Jewish-Christian and Muslim-Christian dialogue initiatives. He represents the UCC and Disciples on the Faith Forum for Middle East Policy, of which he is a co-convener, and on the board of Churches for Middle East Peace. He also represents the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on the Steering and Executive Committees of the Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign.

An Egyptian-American, Peter has lived in the Middle East, where he worked with the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS) in Cairo, Egypt (1991-1994), and then with the Middle East Council of Churches, based in Limassol, Cyprus (1997-2000).

Peter earned an M.A. in Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo (1993) and a Ph.D. in Politics and Middle East Studies from New York University (2003). He is the author of Conflict and Cooperation: Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Egypt (Syracuse University Press, 2007).

Peter is a member of West Park United Church of Christ in Cleveland, OH.

Important Links to Learn More

Global Ministries' Middle East and Europe Homepage: https://www.globalministries.org/regions/mee/

Resources, including recommended reading (under “Bookshelf”): https://www.globalministries.org/resource/mee_resources_index/

Our UCC and Disciples response page to the current crisis in the Middle East: https://www.globalministries.org/the-disciples-and-ucc-address-the-crisis-in-the-middle-east/

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Sit down with a group of kindergartners and ask, "Raise you hand if you're creative!" and every single child will raise their hand. Ask a room full of adults that same question, and you'll only get a few hands. So what happens between childhood and adulthood? It's not that we are no longer creative - perhaps we have just lost touch with our creativity! Diane Harpster (she/her) is all about reminding people of their inner creative, reminding them they are made in the image of the greatest Creator. With her Zentangle art, she connects with her own faith and with God, and by teaching that artform to others, she encourages them to do the same.

About Diane (she/her)

As a child, Diane was surrounded by women who made beautiful things with their hands using fabric, yarn, flowers, and fruits of their gardens, and more. It was through them that she learned that creating not only brings joy to the Creator but has the potential to bless others with beauty and joy as well. Diane is a certified Zentangle teacher, an artform founded by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. She has experienced the calming benefits of this meditative practice, and enjoys teaching others. She says, "Anyone who can hold a pen and write their name can do this!"

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