In “Part Two” of our two-part series we spoke with faith leaders and change-makers about how we listen, learn and move forward in the face of deep national divisions. If dualistic “us-vs-them” thinking is a part of American democracy, we discussed how wisdom traditions and religious practices help expand our imaginations beyond binaries. On November 19, 2020 the Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime, Director of Religion and Civic Engagement at Odyssey Impact led a panel including special guest panelists from The On Being Project and Religion News Service who shared their candid experiences, diverse perspectives and insights on how to move toward courage, honesty, and hope.

In a year when political extremism is compounded by concurrent pandemics, how are faith leaders uniquely positioned to help heal and convene healthy dialogue? Many faith leaders face difficult choices about how to provide leadership and care amidst severe political polarization, often within their own communities. Faith communities may be among the few public spaces where Americans of diverse political and cultural viewpoints can meaningfully dialogue and be in relationship. Join us as we gather faith leaders to share their candid experiences and diverse perspectives on how to provide hope and healing amidst vitriol and even violence.

In this moment of social uprising and the compounding crises related to the global pandemic, many clergy and lay leaders are experiencing a pull to use pastoral skills in service to the wave of social change and constantly shifting needs. Movement Chaplaincy, the work of spiritual accompaniment to justice movements and their leaders, is an emerging vocation that brings care, healing, and resilience-building to our struggles for justice. Join us for a conversation on how spiritual leaders can show up in this movement moment in supportive, healing, justice-centered ways of accompaniment such as the emerging vocation of movement chaplaincy and beyond.

Spiritual Care Providers working within correctional facilities across multiple faith identities face many challenges every day. But now, in pandemic conditions, the complexities have multiplied: grief needs, religious accommodations, increased stress and trauma on both those who are incarcerated and staff, and overall strain on already scant resources. Join us for a critical conversation with chaplain colleagues who are working in various correctional contexts, including men’s and women’s, private/federal/state/county, juvenile/adult facilities. How are they providing care and hope during COVID-19?

Panelists

Rev. Ulli Klemm
Religious Services Administrator Pennsylvania Dept. of Corrections,
PA

Dr. Rachelle Green
Fordham University,
NY

Rabbi Dr. Shaul Marshall Praver
Cheshire Correctional Institute,
CT

Rev. Lillian Hines
Northern State Prison,
NJ

Chaplain Zeynab Abdullayeva
Albion Correctional Facility,
NY

CAs the social impact campaign for The Rape of Recy Taylor comes to a close, and in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Odyssey Impact and the NAACP Youth & College Division invite you to join a live town hall conversation on the legacy of Recy Taylor, the disproportionate discrimination faced by survivors of color, and why it is important to be a vocal ally against racism and sexual assault.

The Rape of Recy Taylor highlights the legacy of physical abuse inflicted upon Black women by examining the story of Recy Taylor who, in 1944, bravely identified her White rapists in racially segregated Alabama. Since 2018, the film has educated the public about sexual violence against women and the historical trauma faced by Black women in the Jim Crow South. Please join Odyssey Impact and the NAACP Youth & College Division for a live town hall conversation to celebrate the conclusion of the social impact campaign for The Rape of Recy Taylor documentary film.

Panelists

Jewel Cadet,
Director of Programs,
The Center for Anti-Violence Education

Nancy Buirski,
Director,
The Rape of Recy Taylor

Precious Freeman,
Executive Director,
The G. W. Carver Interpretive Museum

Reverend Jacqueline Lewis, PhD,
Senior Minister for Public Theology and Transformation,
Middle Collegiate Church

Frank Walker,
Youth Council Advisor for the NAACP Collier County in Naples, FL
Florida SouthWestern State College

Jane Manning,
Director,
Women’s Equal Justice Project

Moderators

Melissa C. Potter,
Head of Social Impact and Communications,
Odyssey Impact

Kyra Mitchell,
Eastern Michigan University,
Chair of the NAACP National Youth Work Committee

Co-presented by Odyssey Impact and Ending Mass Incarceration

Join us for a live town hall conversation on the challenges of life post-incarceration, the importance of communal support for the formerly incarcerated, and the power of second chances.

Milwaukee 53206, chronicles the harsh reality of those living in the ZIP code, 53206, that incarcerates the highest proportion of African American men, up to 62%. The documentary features stories of affected individuals and families, which highlight the need for greater support for those who have been recently released from incarceration and seeking to reintegrate into their communities.

We encourage ALL faith leaders, in any context, to join us!

Panelists

Brittany White,
Live Free Decarceration Campaign Manager,
Faith in Action

Chad Sean Alexander,
Featured in Milwaukee 53206,
Owner of Plethora World,
Milwaukee, WI

Craig DeRoche,
Senior Vice President,
Advocacy & Public Policy, Prison Fellowship, VA

Moderators

Melissa C. Potter,
Head of Social Impact and Communications,
Odyssey Impact

Rev. John Vaughn Executive Pastor,
Ebenezer Baptist Church,
Atlanta, GA

Co-presented by Odyssey Impact, Faith Trust Institute and ACPE

Odyssey Impact, Faith Trust Institute and ACPE are convening a live town hall conversation examining how COVID-19’s stay-at-home orders are impacting the psychological and spiritual isolation of people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing intimate partner violence, and how both chaplains and congregational leaders can help.

We encourage ALL faith leaders, in any context, to join us!

Panelists

Rev. Amy Gopp
Sr. Minister, Kent United Church of Christ
President, Faith Trust Institute

Rev. Tawana Davis
Co-Founder
Soul 2 Soul Sisters

Imam Mohamed Magid
Executive Imam
All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center

Cortney Fisher, JD, PhD
Deputy Director
Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA)

Fr. Charles W. Dahm, O.P.
Archdiocesan Director
Domestic Violence Outreach
Associate Pastor
St. Pius V parish in Chicago

Co-presented by Odyssey Impact, Macedonian Ministry
and Institute for Collective Trauma and Growth

For faith leaders, no disaster exactly parallels the COVID-19 pandemic. However, what about other crises and communal traumas weathered by congregations and those who lead them? Join us for a live town hall conversation with colleagues and experts who’ve led congregations in through both human-caused and natural disasters, and what pastoral care and leadership wisdom those experiences provide us now.

We encourage ALL faith leaders, in any context, to join us!

Panelists

Rev. Matt Crebbin,
Senior Pastor,
Newtown Congregational Church,
Newtown CT

Rev. Dr. Storm Swain
Assoc. Prof. of Pastoral Care & Theology,
United Lutheran Seminary
author of Trauma and Transformation at Ground Zero: A Pastoral Theology

Rev. Tyshawn Gardner,
Pastor,
Plum Grove Baptist Church,
Tuscaloosa AL

Moderators

Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime,
Director of Religion and Civic Engagement,
Odyssey Impact

Rev. Mark Ramsey,
Executive Director,
Macedonian Ministry

All faith leaders are invited for a candid conversation with leading chaplains and pastoral theologians about the particular challenges facing those who provide spiritual care in health care settings. Join our first Live Town Hall as we discuss solutions for moral dilemmas facing spiritual caregivers: when “do no harm” is threatened by a chaplain’s bodily presence, and when acute moral stress is caused by denials of care and other pandemic dynamics. What unique value does spiritual care have in the COVID-19 pandemic?

We encourage ALL faith leaders, in any context, to join us!

Panelists

Stephanie Crumpton, Associate Professor of Practical Theology
McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL

Carrie Doehring, Clifford Baldridge Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling
Iliff School of Theology Denver, CO

Zachary Moon, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology
Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago IL

Michael Shochet, Senior Clergy
Temple Rodef Shalom, Falls Church, VA

Moderators

Michael Skaggs, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab
Katie Givens Kime, Odyssey Impact