First of all, ugh. My advisor, big sis, soror -- Khalia Williams def has me boo hooing on this episode LOL!

What you will hear throughout this episode is the many ways that Dr. Williams has methodically challenged my views surrounding wealth, wellness, and worth for Black women. Upon entering seminary, I had no idea what womanist theology was—Dr. Williams quickly changed that. Her class introduced several womanist and feminist texts that shifted my perspective on women, the Bible, and religion. We were often asked in class during discussions: “Who is God and how is God active?”

The relational dynamic of this podcast conversation is personal and sensitive because Dr. Williams truly helped me to shape my womanist lens. Though I am continuing to expand my ideological groundings around how womanism will inform my work, I am grateful that Dr. Williams cultivated a sacred space through her class and even through our podcast conversation.

I am so glad that Black women will walk away from this episode experiencing the same transformation that I received through Dr. William’s womanist/feminist worship class. My hope is that you will listen to Episode 6 and make the decision to go within yourself to search and explore how God is active in every single aspect of your life while also exploring worship, embodiment, liberation, liturgy, and freedom for women in the safe way that Dr. William’s creates for her students.

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Episode 5 features leading ethnographer the Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, Dr. Marla Frederick as we discuss race, class, religion and liberation for Black women. In class (at Candler School of Theology) Dr. Frederick challenged my views around race, class, human behavior, religion, and the Black lived experience.

Dr. Frederick’s approach to Black women and religion stemmed from her curiosity of the relationship between Black women and church and how we reconcile our time between Sunday’s, which is the title of her best-selling book. Dr. Frederick’s work pushed me to explore the themes of my life and religion that I was not yet familiar with before her class because I did not yet have language to express frustrations.

Though this conversation was academic and focused on her text: Between Sundays,’ it was still important for me to acknowledge the ways that I brought my authentic self to her classroom—even when she pushed back on—my research, and my understanding of her ethnography. From this episode, I hope that you will hear Dr. Frederick’s expression of God as an everyday self-discovery that deserves life outside of the four walls of the church on Sunday.

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Episode 4 is all about deconstruction and theology for every Black woman. How do we identify our own beliefs and put them into practice when we are oftentimes victims of harmful tradition and our surroundings?

Candice and I discuss her latest book Red Lip Theology where she states that “Womanist theology gave me the language to best articulate Black women’s relationship with God, and it gave me permission to honor and explore my own unconventional spirituality, but it did not give me my ethics or sense of purpose.” I believe that Red Lip Theology is a gift to every Black church girl seeking to know herself. The ground-breaking essay collection features Benbow’s theological tension surrounding issues like sexism, racism, and more throughout the church and the academy. Benbow uses her own personal narrative of family and relationships to connect with Black Christian millennial women in ways that have not been done before in the womanist theological context.

Black women will walk away from this episode empowered to explore how God is active in the world through an honest exploration of our personal faith and lived experiences as Black women while also giving God all the frustration and pain that comes with that—without worrying about judgement.

Follow Candice on social at @candicebenbow

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Episode 3 features Master Well-Being Educator and Advisor, Devi Brown. This episode is deeply grounded in the healing and self-mastery. Devi and I discuss how Black women can begin to seek out life giving practices (such as yoga and crystal healing) that are not always well received in the Black church tradition. During Episode 2 we dive into how Devi was introduced to God, faith, and different healing modalities that were not being talked in her urban Los Angeles community.

Devi is also the host of the Deeply Well podcast and the author of the upcoming book Living in Wisdom: A Guide to Awakening Your Highest Self and Developing Self-Mastery!

From this episode, you will hear Devi’s expression of God as a journey of well-being that supersedes one religious ideology or expression. My hope is that you listen to the episode and walk away with the freedom that you can explore all the ways that God is active in the cosmos through interfaith traditions, tools (such as crystals and yoga), and more expansive ways of being.

You can find Devi on social @devibrown

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Episode 2 features my soror, my girl, and Candler School of Theology graduate, Daeja Langston. While there are many Candler students and grads that have made an impact on me, there have been NONE quite like my boo, Daeja. Her willingness to hold my hand and challenge me to fight through my unwillingness to settle in seminary is why she was one of the first guests chosen for this womanist podcast.

Though Daeja’s seminary focus was vastly different from mine, and did not center around womanism, her love and care each day that we sat in class highly informed my womanist research. I learned through my relationship with Daeja how Black women can have degrees of separation with our theological ideologies but still be grounded in a foundation of womanism that supports, cultivates, and mirrors our ancestors.

From this episode, I hope that you will hear Daeja’s expression of God as a personal journey that we all should strive for and that you will will walk away thinking about the way God is active in the world through our authentic and personal relationship with God outside of the church.

Follow Daeja on social at @daejalangston

Learn more at: girlplusgod.com

Welcome to girl+god! This special edition of the podcast is our first season and it is SUPER special because it was submitted apart of Master of Theological Studies Final Portfolio.

Seminary was HARD AF. Many days I felt like I was dying inside. A true wilderness experience. I realize that this ain't for everybody and if you are sensitive about deconstructing faith, wellness and wealth for Black women, liberation, and authentic spiritual formation--this ain't the podcast for you, sis!

If you're ready for a journey into my authentic spiritual formation experience at Candler School of Theology then let's goooooooo!

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Follow me on social at @iamkrystallee