The Prospects for a Polycentric Anglican Communion
Bishop Ian T. Douglas is the retired Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and the former Agnes Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at the Episcopal Divinity School. With Kwok Pui-lan, he has coedited Beyond Colonial Anglicanism (2001) and Living Postcolonial Anglicanism (2025). In this episode, he discusses the historical backgrounds of these two books. In the past two decades, we have increasingly seen postcolonial Anglican structures and realities across the Anglican Communion. Yet, the postcolonial Anglican church is always a church becoming. As the Anglican demographic has shifted toward the Global South, the Anglican Communion is increasingly polycentric. Douglas has participated in many commissions and council meetings of the Anglican Communion. He argues that we can’t use a politics of containment to uphold authority and instead must celebrate differences among churches, including racial, cultural, and linguistic differences.
Ian T. Douglas’s book Living Postcolonial Anglicanism
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Gender-based Violence and U.S. Moral Compass
Dr. Traci C. West is Professor Emerite of Christian Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School. She is known for her scholarship and activism around gender-based violence, particularly against Black women. In this episode, she uses the lens of gender-based violence to examine the moral compass of the U.S. society. She shows how public morality has shifted when sexual violence and abuse are not disqualifying factors for people who hold high positions in government, including the presidency. As a Christian ethicist who has done research work internationally, she discusses the challenges of learning from and standing in solidarity with global activists as a citizen of the U.S. At a time when American imperialism is on the rise, Dr. West encourages the upcoming generation of ethicists and activists to use an intersectional approach and combine theory with praxis, paying attention to institutional, personal, and intimate violence.
Dr. Traci C. West's book Solidarity and Defiant Spirituality
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Stand In Solidarity with LGBTQ Communities in Precarious Times
Dr. Cody J. Sanders is a queer Baptist minister, pastoral theologian, and Associate Professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Previously, he served as pastor of Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In this episode, he responds to the taking away of trans rights and the Supreme Court decision not to reconsider the legality of same-sex marriage. He argues that the affirming of LGBTQ people by churches is only the first step. Churches must publicize LGBTQ stories and learn from how LGBTQ lives have become sources of theological wisdom. Despite the rejection and violence LGBTQ Christians have experienced, they have been practicing faith at the margins of religious communities. Dr. Sanders shares why he wrote the first book on the intersection between religious and spiritual narratives and LGBTQ suicide and interviewed LGBTQ people who had attempted suicide. He analyzes the stories that came out from the survivors and learned about their inspiring refashioning of Christian faith and queer theology. In our precarious times, churches and faith communities must take risks to stand in solidarity with this marginalized community in the public square.
Dr. Cody J. Sanders’s books include Christianity, LGBTQ Suicide, and the Souls of Queer Folk and A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth
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Notes of Rest with Julian Davis Reid
Julian Davis Reid is the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest®, which invites the weary into the rest of God practiced in the Bible and Black music. He is a musician, speaker, writer, and a Black artist-theologian of Chicago, who graduated from Candler School of Theology. In this episode, he discusses his upbringing in the church, immersed in both Black and classical music. He has studied and appreciated contemplative spirituality in the Black tradition, influenced by the works of Barbara A. Holmes, Howard Thurman, and Barbara L. Peacock. Reid has released the album Vocation, which includes the single “Moan.” He plays a short excerpt in the episode. In addition to music, Reid has published chapters in books and is writing a book, Notes of Rest. His Substack newsletter is entitled “Julian’s Notes.”
Julian Davis Reid’s Website
His Substack
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Asian American Buddhist Women and Emergent Dharma
Dr. Sharon A. Suh is a professor of Religious Studies at Seattle University, a practicing Buddhist, and a yoga teacher. In this episode, she shares why she edited the book Emergent Dharma, inviting Asian American Buddhist scholar-practitioners to share their practices. American Buddhist scholarship has focused on white Buddhist communities. This book intervenes by introducing the lives and practices of Asian American women. Suh has also published Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir, in which she discusses eating disorders, family dynamics, and trauma. She discusses the journey behind writing this moving book. She teaches yoga through a trauma-informed lens, helping women of color reconnect with their bodies. As we face uncertain and anxious times, Suh discusses how Buddhist practices can nurture a spirituality of resilience.
Dr. Sharon A. Suh's books Emergent Dharma and Occupy This Body
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What does it mean to be a Christian and a person of faith in today’s challenging world? How can we have meaningful dialogue across racial, cultural, religious, and political differences to address the urgent needs of our time? Join Kwok Pui Lan, a pioneering postcolonial theologian, in her conversation with leading intellectuals, courageous religious leaders, fearless activists, and inspiring artists and roll along.
New Zealand