Sound of the Genuine

In the final episode of season four, Dr. Patrick Reyes answers questions from staff and previous guests that help him reflect on his past and present. He shares his thoughts on theological education, advancing technology, and the things in his life that contribute to his thriving and bring him joy. In typical Patrick fashion, his reflections are braided with deep gratitude for the people and places that continue to shape him. Dr. Patrick B. Reyes is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0664266703?pf_rd_r=B8720QSXY0RCCYGGMAZ8&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=4d812a0f-7312-4024-9be8-743dae31db32&pd_rd_w=gkldQ&pd_rd_wg=Xq24R&ref_=pd_gw_unk], and Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood [https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Cries-When-Die-Community/dp/0827225318#:~:text=Nobody%20Cries%20When%20We%20Die%20is%20an%20outstanding%20journey.,struggle%20for%20justice%20and%20healing.]. A Chicano educator, writer, futurist, and cultural change strategist, he is the dean at Auburn Seminary. He was the Senior Director of Learning Design at the Forum for Theological Exploration and former host of the Sound of the Genuine podcast. He is the current board President of the Religious Education Association and co-dean of the Children's Defense Fund Dale Andrews Freedom Seminary. He serves on several boards in higher education and the non-profit sector, supporting the next generation of Black, Indigenous, and Chicano leaders and educators. Patrick lives in New Mexico with his family, loving and belonging to the land and his people.     You can learn more about Patrick and his work at thepurposegap.com [https://www.thepurposegap.com/].   Rate, review, and subscribe to Sound of the Genuine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week, Dr. Patrick Reyes talks to FTE’s own Allison Arsenault. The two discuss her nomadic childhood and how she found deep affirmation and a welcoming community within the walls of Presbyterian churches. Allison has spent a lot of her life discerning her own vocation and now uses her experiences to help others do the same.  Allison is an experience design manager at FTE, where she works with programs supporting young adults in discernment and grantee partners. She received her Master of Divinity degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and is currently a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She also serves on the alumni board of her alma mater, Millsaps College, and on the board of Memorial Drive Ministries. Allison and her husband live with their daughter and two corgis in Atlanta, Georgia. Rate, review, and subscribe to Sound of the Genuine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week Dr. Reyes talks to Rev. Sandhya Jha about their multiracial, interfaith upbringing, which is deeply rooted in both a love of Jesus and the fight against injustice. Their work in politics, the church, and non-profits is where they find community, inextricably tied up with the sacred.  Sandhya Jha [https://sandhyajha.com/] (they/them) is an anti-oppression consultant who particularly loves helping organizations get diversity, equity, and inclusion teams off the ground. Sandhya is the founder and former executive director of the Oakland Peace Center, a collective of 40 organizations working to create equity, access, and dignity as the means of creating peace in Oakland and the Bay Area. An ordained pastor with a master’s in public policy, Sandhya is comfortable in the pulpit, on the picket line, or hanging out with friends and friends-to-be over a good cup of tea and a good story. Sandhya’s fifth book with Chalice Press [https://chalicepress.com/], Rebels, Despots, and Saints, is now available where books are sold. Portrait Illustration by: Triyas Music by: @siryalibeats Rate, review, and subscribe to Sound of the Genuine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week, Dr. Patrick Reyes talks with Rev. Dr. Montague Williams. He recounts his early life navigating Chicago and serving as a cultural translator for his immigrant family. Steeped in church life as the child of a pastor, he didn’t always think ministry was in his future but always felt a deep sense of who God is and what is possible through prayer and connecting theology with people's lived experience.    Montague Williams is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and has served in congregational, non-profit, and educational ministry over the past 15 years. His doctoral research offers an ecclesiological proposal that takes seriously the experiences and pastoral needs of youth and young adults in multiracial and multicultural ministry contexts. He has written articles and chapters for several publications and regularly speaks at conferences and retreats about the church's presence and engagement with society. His latest book, Church in Color: Youth Ministry, Race, and the Theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. is available wherever books are sold.  Portrait Illustration by: Triyas Music by: @siryalibeats Rate, review, and subscribe to Sound of the Genuine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This week Dr. Patrick Reyes sits down for a conversation with Ched Myers and Elaine Enns. Each talks about their radically different upbringings and how their peacemaking and restorative justice work led to their chance meeting. Ched and Elaine have spent the past 25 years at the helm of the Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries, whose motto is “Revisioning the intersection of Word and world. Animating communities of discipleship and justice.”  Ched, an ecumenical activist theologian, is a well-known educator, writer, teacher, and organizer committed to animating and nurturing church renewal and radical discipleship and supporting faith-based movements for peace and justice. Elaine, a Canadian Mennonite, is an educator, writer, facilitator, and trainer in conflict transformation. She focuses on how restorative justice applies to historical violations, including intergenerational trauma and healing.  Their latest book, Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization, and other publications are available at Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries [http://bcm-net.org]. Portrait Illustration by: Triyas Music by: @siryalibeats Rate, review, and subscribe to Sound of the Genuine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.