Books, Bible, Beer, and Queer

I recently flew to North Carolina to be reminded that the best beer is from Michigan. Ok, not quite accurate.  I've always wanted to talk to the people in charge of beer at a Christian festival, and now I have! Many thanks to Betsy McGeorge and her daughter, Kristen, the Beer Team co-leads at Wild Goose Festival, for their commitment, their time, and yes, for bringing the best beer.

Flamy Grant’s new album, Church, has hit the top 10 on iTunes Country chart!  Woot! That’s right, a top 10 country album by an Appalachian drag queen.    At the same time, Flamy’s home region in North Carolina has been devastated by the aftermath of hurricane Helene. I was honored to score an early-morning interview with Flamy Grant at Wild Goose Festival 2024. They have so much to share, not only through their immense talent to write, perform, and entertain. They are improving our world by being present and standing in the gap for social justice and human rights.  Thank you, Flamy Grant! As you listen to this episode of BBBQ, please consider supporting Beloved Asheville [https://www.belovedasheville.com/] for hurricane Helene relief efforts and the Campaign for Southern Equality [https://southernequality.org/] to support human rights in the South.  You can follow Flamy on social media or find them online at flamygrant.com [https://www.flamygrant.com/].

There's only one way to equal the excitement of seeing Madonna live at the United Center on a Friday night ........that's seeing Spencer LaJoye on Saturday! Both musicians are gifted beyond imagination, know how to mix theology, sexuality, and gender into a single concert, or even a single song, and both were born and raised in Michigan. I was lucky enough to share this weekend with two good friends and my son, and they've joined me in this episode to share a glimpse with you.

Author Kenneth McIntosh recently published the book, Oak and Lotus: Celtic Christian Spirituality in the Light of Eastern Wisdom. In this episode Joyce talks with Kenneth about his inspiration for writing it, his hopes for readers, and an upcoming webinar opportunity to engage with others on this intersectional journey of faith traditions. Author Bruce Epperly had this to say about the book, "When you read this book, you take a voyage of discovery and venture toward far horizons. This is one of the most inspirational books you will read on interspirituality and the universal wisdom of the Celtic sages.”

Wild Goose Festival is a place where surprises happen, organic experiences leap out for you, and joy abounds. I wanted to meet the Beer and Hymn Sing crew, so I approached one of them after a session. Lucky me, they said "yes!" We found an empty tent in the midst of busy sessions and food vendors, I set up my laptop and a mic, and voilà! In this episode meet four members of the 2023 Beer & Hymn Sing crew, hear clips from an evening session, and learn how you can start Beer & Hymn sing sessions through your church.