People of Faith for Justice

By: Gina Whitaker & Jason Sisk-Provencio
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  • Summary

  • As clergy and laity from a variety of backgrounds, our commitment to justice is expressed in differing ways dependent upon our faith tradition and our personal understandings of God. We will not always agree on issues, rather find ourselves surprised when we do. The manner in which we negotiate the differences amongst ourselves is in itself part of our commitment to justice. We believe that God wills shalom; peace, justice and well-being for all people, all nations, and for our planet. God’s shalom has firm scriptural grounding in the concepts of social righteousness, justice and peacemaking.
    2021-2025 People of Faith for Justice
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Social Sciences Spirituality
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Episodes
  • Braver Angels - Connecting Across the Partisan Divide - 027

    Braver Angels - Connecting Across the Partisan Divide - 027
    Mar 23 2023
    Civic engagement in the U.S. has been on the decline for many decades. Citizens are participating in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and in too few venues to develop and sustain a robust democracy. What’s more, effective engagement is being seriously hampered by a partisan divide between people that seems to be growing. Our podcast this month takes a look at how these divisions are affecting our relationships, and what we can possibly do about it. There are groups currently working to facilitate interactions between people despite their political disparity. The non-profit Braver Angels, formed after the 2016 presidential election, has been convening meetups both online and in person, nationally and in states across the country, with the express intent of providing a venue for open and respectful dialogue across the political divide. Might we be able to forge a path toward productive and constructive conversations, even friendships, with the help of Braver Angels’ programs? This is a question Cal Stevens, our guest today, has been exploring. We invite you to to find out more about Braver Angel’s Red/Blue Workshops and how you can participate in Braver Angels’ work in your community to deepen connections, find commonalities, and reduce disparities.  RELEVANT LINKS PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (Gina’s Congregation UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (Jason’s Congregation UCC) Trinity Presbyterian Church - Cal Stevens’ Congregation Braver Angels “A Tale of Two Karens” - YES! Magazine “Can We Make An Alien Nation Familiar Again?” - YES! Magazine “Healing A Divided Nation Begins Face to Face” - YES! Magazine- Winter 2020 Living Room Conversations Braver Angels: Reuniting America (Video) Braver Angels: Seeking to Depolarize America - CBS News Register for April 16 Workshop in San Luis Obsipo The Righteous Mind - by Jonathan Haidt (Influenced guest Cal Stevens) Love Your Enemies - by Arthur Brooks (Influenced guest Cal Stevens) Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing - by Katharine Hayhoe   MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST Cal Stevens is a southern California native who, after some years in Colorado, Arizona, and northern California (Roseville), settled in 2014 on the Central Coast. He has taught business at Cal Poly (Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Management) and has had prior careers in Christian ministry and as an Organizational Development practitioner/consultant with Intel, Corp. He and Nancy enjoy the fact that all three of their kids, and their three grandkids, live in SLO County. Cal and Nancy enjoy their church, travel, camping, film, theatre, opera, classical music, reading, family, and friends. Cal is also active on a city government advisory board, the Chamber of Commerce, has served on non-profit boards (including Leadership SLO), and currently takes consulting gigs in strategic and organizational design. Right now, he is in training with Braver Angels to be a moderator and a local Alliance Co-Chair. Reach out to Cal with questions or comments at cal.stevens1@gmail.com   SUPPORT PFJ We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal. People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.   CREDITS The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman
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    41 mins
  • Weaving Our Garment of Destiny - A Pilgrimage - 026

    Weaving Our Garment of Destiny - A Pilgrimage - 026
    Feb 23 2023
    “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that.”  These words, written by Martin Luther King, beckon us to a search for truth and meaning in the quest for racial justice and human rights everywhere. Two of our guests today, Ken Hill and Gina Whitaker, spent three weeks traveling the U.S. Civil Rights Trail this past October through Mississippi and Alabama. Everywhere they went, everyone they met and all the stories they heard added pieces of the puzzle that eventually formed a picture of our single garment of destiny, and highlighted our network of mutuality. What they learned was that we are all connected, and that Martin Luther King had it right…only love can overcome hate.  The Deep South. A place neither Ken Hill nor Gina Whitaker ever thought they would visit, was the scene. People like Terry Chestnut, our third guest today, filled in many missing pieces of the puzzle with his deep love for Selma, Alabama–his hometown–and all the people and all the places in Selma where major battles of the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s took place and are recorded in history. Terry will share his story today, and we are certain that his perspective will move our listeners. So, welcome to the People of Faith for Justice 26th podcast and to our guests, Gina, Ken and Terry.       RELEVANT LINKS PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC) MLK People of Faith for Justice Service - 1/15/23 (Video) Living Legacy Project - Civil Rights Pilgrimages to the South  Selma Interpretive Center - US Civil Rights Trail Edmund Pettus Bridge Selma, Alabama Hancock’s BBQ - Selma, AL Live Oak Cemetery - Selma, AL National Voting Rights Museum - Selma, AL Selma Voting Rights Memorial Park St. James Hotel -  originally The Gee House Hotel - Selma, AL Benjamin Sterling Turner - AL’s first Black Congressional Representative Brown Chapel AME Church - Selma, AL Dallas County Voters League - Selma, AL “Courageous Eight” Rev. James Reeb (Video) Jimmie Lee Jackson (Video) March Selma to Montgomery - 50th Anniversary (Video) Tabernacle Baptist Church - Selma, AL Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Rev. C.T. Vivian Rev. James Bevel Rev. James Lawson  J.L. Chestnut, Jr. - Black Author, Attorney and Civil Rights Activist; Terry Chestnut's father Black in Selma: The Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr. (Book)     MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS Gina Whitaker is a board member of People of Faith for Justice and a member of the Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo. Social justice concerns in 1960 brought her to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara as a teenager, and she’s never looked back. A social justice activist for 64 years, Gina went on a pilgrimage to the Deep South in October, 2022 with her husband, Ken. Her experiences there transformed her, and brought her attention to the fact that though life in the Deep South is better than it was during the 50’s and 60’s, the job is not yet finished. Gina continues her work for racial justice, immigration justice and voting rights in between spending time with her two granddaughters, Jimi, 2 1/2, and Rubi, 7 months. She lives in Arroyo Grande with her husband, Ken Hill, and their cat, Sufi.  Ken Hill is Gina Whitaker’s husband and resident of the Central Coast for the last three decades. Ken is now retired from a long engineering career in electronics, computers and software in Southern California and on the Central Coast. He has rooted himself in relationship to family, community and the quest of grounding our communities in love and grace; without these, all else is for naught. At the heart of that community are his wife, stepsons, grandchildren, sister, brother in-law and extended family bonded in blood relation and shared purpose. Ken is a passionate member of Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo, participates in People of Faith for Justice (PFJ) through the Central Coast Center for Ecological Civilization and can be found at many events around the Central Coast trying to transform us all into a beloved community. Terry Chestnut was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, the 4th of six children, to J.L. Chestnut, Jr. and mother Vivian Chestnut. J.L. was the first Black attorney in Selma, and was also Dr. Martin Luther King’s attorney, of which Terry is very proud!  Terry graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans with a double major in Mass Communication/Criminal justice, and a minor in Music. Terry has a great love for Selma Alabama, and has spent the last three and a half  years working as a tour guide for groups from all over the world who visit Selma, Alabama to learn about the 1960’s American civil rights and voting rights movement. With Terry as their...
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    44 mins
  • Climate Change - Global Challenges, Local Solutions - 025

    Climate Change - Global Challenges, Local Solutions - 025
    Jan 26 2023
    Global climate change is on all our minds these days…or is it? Should it be? How can we ignore it? We live our lives, trying to maintain the status quo, but our status quo is leading to suffering and destruction. There is nothing that is in our lives that is not touched today by global climate change. The homes we build and live in, our transportation, the weather we experience every day, the clothes we wear, the trash we discard, the fuel that powers our heat, lights and automobiles, the food we choose to eat, how our cities, towns and buildings are designed…there is nothing that isn’t touched by the state of our planet today. Humans are changing the climate, and how we cope with these changes says a tremendous amount about our relationship to life on planet Earth. But wait! There are possibilities, and there are solutions! They start with us, and the changes that come from hope, not fear. Join our guests today as they help us discover how to set a joyful path toward climate health.   RELEVANT LINKS PFJUnitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church (Los Osos)Solve Climate Change Now by Don MaruskaSharm el-Sheikh Climate Change ConferenceSLO Climate CoalitionResilient SLOResilient Central CoastECOSLOInterfaith Power and LightUU Ministry for EarthCitizens’ Climate LobbyLiving in the Time of Dying (film)This is What We DidThird Act350   MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS Deb Pritchard is a native Californian who loves to snorkel, and has done so all around the world. Her favorite snorkeling was on the island of Palawan, in the Philippines, where she spent 10 years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and then as a management consultant, founding and growing NGOs and private businesses. She helped start the Special Olympics there as well as the Palawan ICT Association, working on many community projects with the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. Deb began her career in sales at Shell Chemical and was the first woman promoted to management with a B.S. in Chemistry and Psychology. She married and raised two daughters, returning to school for a teaching degree in Special Education and Educational Therapy. Deb has had a variety of careers: Corporate Sales and Marketing Director, Special Education teacher, and International Management Consultant with a specialty in organizational development.  She has returned to California’s Central Coast and focuses on intergenerational work addressing climate change and women’s empowerment. Her passion is the environment, and she attended the UN summit, COP27 in Egypt in November, 2022. Deb is in the process of publishing her memoir, Vipers and Geckos: Defining Friend, Foe, and Truth in the Peace Corps. Don Maruska engages people around the world to take climate action and have fun doing it. He enjoys grassroots actions. These include developing strategies with businesses and community organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and restore our balance with nature. Don has also created videos, study guides, and support resources in use by faith-based groups from multiple denominations. He sees an important role for people from faith and justice communities to demonstrate stewardship for creation and the practices of sacrificial giving to reorder our lives for a healthy climate and a world that works for all. These values and experiences inspired Don to write Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet. Earlier in his career, Don founded and was CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a national Innovator Award. Now, he’s a Master Certified Coach helping others succeed. Don is also the author of How Great Decisions Get Made and co-author of Take Charge of Your Talent. He earned his BA magna cum laude in government from Harvard University and an MBA and JD from Stanford University. Audiences appreciate Don’s inspiring keynotes and productive workshops delivered both in person and online.   SUPPORT PFJ We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal. People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.   CREDITS The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman
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    42 mins

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