church'd podcast

The God I Dont Believe in Anymore w/Kareem Manuel

This episode is about the quiet work of unchurching. The much like an addict attempting to beat addiction beginning is the hardest part. Not just leaving a religion. Not just changing what you believe. But slowly untangling the ways we were taught to see ourselves, God, and the world. Because many of us left Christianity, but the programming didn’t leave us. The habits stayed. The fear stayed. The pressure to be certain stayed. The instinct to perform stayed. And sometimes, the hardest part of unchurching is naming the shame that shows up when we realize we were wrong. Wrong about God. Wrong about people. Wrong about ourselves. Not because we were intentionally harmful but because we were faithful to what we were taught. There is grief in that realization. There is humility in that realization. And there is also freedom. Freedom to admit: I am still learning. I am still becoming. I am allowed to change. Freedom to reconstruct. This conversation holds space for that truth that unchurching is not a one-time decision. It is a practice. A returning. A willingness to see differently, even when it costs us certainty. Because spirituality is not just what we believe. It is what we practice. It is how we show up after we know better. About our guest! In this episode, I’m joined by Kareem Manuel, hailing from Chicago, a spiritual leader in our community and an artist who uses creativity as a form of devotion. Through music, expression, and the vision behind his brand WE, Kareem models what it looks like to live your belief system, not just talk about it. Together, we explore what it means to keep becoming. To lead without a pulpit. And to practice what we believe in real time. Thank you for being part of this community conversation. A community committed to honesty, growth, and spiritual ownership. love, Penelope

Under The Spell: How We Learned to Fear Pleasure & How Pleasure Was Never the Problem

We were taught to multiply but not to feel. To discipline the body, but never listen to it. In this episode, I sit with Mxter Xero (The Bishop of Bliss) to talk about the spells many of us were raised under theology and how they disconnected sensuality, sexuality, and sacredness from our bodies. What happens when rebellion is actually remembrance? When pleasure is not a sin but a language of the spirit? When play, joy, and sensation become portals back to ourselves? Raised in the church, preaching as a youth, and later stepping away to reclaim their body, desire, and spiritual authority, Xero now bridges church language with embodied liberation, inviting us to heal shame, burnout, and survival patterns through presence, pleasure, and truth. This conversation is an invitation to ask: ✨ When was the last time you played? ✨ How do you experience sensuality without apology? ✨ What would it mean to take ownership of your body, fully? Liberation is sacred work. Pleasure is not a sin. And the spirit still speaks through the body. 🎧 Listen now 🌀 Weekly stew + playlist + sensory meditation available this month! 💌 For those unlearning, remembering, and coming home to themselves More About Our Guest: Mxter Xero (aka The Bishop of Bliss) is a Safe, Sexy, Sacred embodiment guide, Radical Change Strategist, subconscious explorer, and sacred disrupter whose work lives at the intersection of liberation, pleasure, spirituality, and personal power. Raised  Full Gospel Baptist as the child of a lifelong church steward, Xero began preaching as a youth before stepping away during their process of individuation and spiritual re-definition. What some would call rebellion or “backsliding” became a journey of exploration and harm reduction. Now at 36, their work bridges the language of the church with the lived reality of healing, embodiment, and liberation beyond traditional religious frameworks. Through hypnosis, specialized psychedelic facilitation, erotic and sacred ritual, and community spaces like the S³ Sanctuary, Xero supports leaders and creatives in transforming burnout, shame, and survival patterns into embodied peace, pleasure, and purpose. Their message is simple: liberation is sacred work, pleasure is not a sin, and the spirit still speaks through the body.

We Were All Church'd: The Permission Slip

"WHAT IF EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT FAITH, CHURCH, AND SPIRITUALITY IS JUST A PIECE OF A BIGGER PUZZLE?" ✨ Drop a 🔥 if you're questioning what faith really means to you.For years, I believed church was the only way to connect with God and that everything outside it was wrong. But what happens when your own journey pushes you to question everything? After deconstructing my beliefs, I realized faith isn’t about following rules, it’s about owning your spiritual truth. Questioning isn't a sin; it’s a part of growth. The power to redefine your spirituality lies within you, not in doctrines or institutions. Trust your lived experience; it’s your most authentic guide. So, I ask: what are you holding onto that no longer serves your soul? And what would it take to give yourself permission to let it go?Let’s talk in the comments. 💬 #SpiritualOwnership #DeconstructingFaith #OwnYourJourney #FaithReimagined