April 23, 2022 – Fasting From Whiteness

04/23/22 • 48 min

State of Belief - Religion and radio done differently.

The holy season of Lent came to an end this past Sunday as millions celebrated Easter. While one would think that the Religious Right might take some time off, their outrage machine is working harder than ever – this time to attack fellow Christians. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we will look into what one church did to mark Lent, and how the right wing echo chamber sprang into attack mode.

Members of the First United Church of Oak Park marked this season of reflection and contemplation in a unique way that called attention to racial inequities in the church and the broader community: a “Fast from whiteness.” The Rev. John Edgerton, lead pastor at the church, will join Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief, to discuss what this fast meant, and how the congregation dealt with attacks from across the nation fired up by right wing media.

It was one of the iconic images following the 9/11 attacks: rescuers rushing the lifeless body of a Catholic priest from Ground Zero. Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan friar and a chaplain for the city’s fire department, was designated victim 0001 and has since been memorialized as an icon not only to those impacted by this tragedy, but New York City’s LGBTQ+ Catholic community as well. Rev. Gaddy will sit down with Francis DeBernardo, longtime head of New Ways Ministry, to discuss his new biography of Father Mychal, Take Me Where You Want Me To Go.

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The post April 23, 2022 – Fasting From Whiteness first appeared on State of Belief.

The post April 23, 2022 – Fasting From Whiteness first appeared on State of Belief.

Previous Episode

April 17, 2022 – The Best of State of Belief Radio

It’s an Interfaith April! This month, at least nine faith traditions observe major festivals. As a program with a richly interfaith audience, we’re proud of the cultural and constitutional protections that have – for the most part – allowed diverse communities to flourish in the United States. As we celebrate this rare confluence of celebration and spirituality, we also acknowledge the ongoing struggle to ensure those protections remain in place. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, we’ll look back at some of our favorite conversations from past shows.

Folks from across the political and media worlds were shocked by the tragic death of press integrity activist Eric Boehlert earlier this month. Throughout his career, Eric recognized that a free and healthy press are fundamental toward preserving our democracy and enabling social progress. This week, we’ll revisit Eric’s elucidating conversation in 2016 with Rev. Welton Gaddy, host of State of Belief.

Few have left their mark on the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in the way that Donna Red Wing did across decades of courageous activism. A veteran of numerous civil and human rights organizations who was once called “the most dangerous woman in America” by the Christian Coalition, sadly Donna passed away after a fierce battle with cancer in 2018. In recognition of her powerful legacy, we’ll look back at her conversation with Welton on the show in 2016 as she was retiring from leading the influential OneIowa.

Ramadan is a demanding but rewarding month-long spiritual practice, occurring this year in April. A few years back Welton spoke about this holy month with the first Muslim Chaplain hired by an American University, Georgetown’s Imam Yahya Hendi.

This interfaith holiday season is as good a reminder as any that building understanding between diverse faith groups strengthens our communities and empowers us to overcome division. Dawn Kepler, director of Building Jewish Bridges, joined Welton in 2010 to discuss parenting in an interfaith context. We’ll revisit that conversation on this week’s show.

The post April 17, 2022 – The Best of State of Belief Radio first appeared on State of Belief.