Resetting The Table

In this far-ranging and fluid conversation, Céline, Maria and Trixie speak with Kathy Kwon about church, hybrid identities, living in multiple tensions, the prophetic gift of queerness, and embodied social justice. They touch on many things including the fraught process of finding and making community, looking to the living world to learn change and transformation, and tuning into the work of liberation and justice on the margins of institutional power. We talk a lot about our Christian faith in this episode, so some of the language might get jargony for some listeners. Keeping this in mind, we’ve added some additional notes of explanation below. Notes on vocabulary: In the Christian tradition, the “prophetic” is that which speaks truth / the voice of God to God’s people, often into places and times of complacency and injustice. Probably the most well-known scholar on the prophetic is Walter Brueggemann (he was interviewed on the On Being podcast). Kathy, Maria, Céline and Trixie also all refer to “the kingdom,” short for the “the kingdom of God,” or in womanist theology, “the kin-dom.” In the Christian scriptures, this refers to what Jesus talks about bringing in as God’s renewed and transformative vision for creation: a radically upturned society where the marginalized are centred, systems of violence abolished, and resources and wealth are redistributed. We can think of this as similar to the concept of utopia in some radical political theory—a fully liberated future that is also actively manifesting in the present—or, the “community of creation” (Dr. Randy Woodley), reflecting the Indigenous worldview of deep reciprocity and relationship. Episode References & Annotations: Celine’s sermon for The Abbey Church, entitled “In Exaltation of Queer Bodies, Hybrid Bodies, Borderland Bodies,” on her blog, holyspit!: https://holyspitblog.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/in-exaltation-of-queer-bodies-hybrid-bodies-borderland-bodies-a-sermon-essay-for-transfiguration-sunday/ On embodiment, Kathy mentions Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions by Christine Caldwell and Lucia Bennett Leighton. Celine mentions Resma Manekim’s My Grandmother’s Hands. Kathy mentions trauma-informed therapist and educator Hilary McBride. Celine mentions Zen priest and activist Reverend angel Kyodo williams. Transcript coming soon. Episode References & Annotations: Celine’s sermon for The Abbey Church, entitled “In Exaltation of Queer Bodies, Hybrid Bodies, Borderland Bodies,” on her blog, holyspit!: https://holyspitblog.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/in-exaltation-of-queer-bodies-hybrid-bodies-borderland-bodies-a-sermon-essay-for-transfiguration-sunday/ On embodiment, Kathy mentions Oppression and the Body: Roots, Resistance, and Resolutions by Christine Caldwell and Lucia Bennett Leighton. Celine mentions Resma Manekim’s My Grandmother’s Hands. Kathy mentions trauma-informed therapist and educator Hilary McBride. Celine mentions Zen priest and activist Reverend angel Kyodo williams.

Trixie, Céline, and Maria respond to the Atlanta shootings, especially in embracing anger as a just and generative force “in the teeth,” in Audre Lorde’s words, of racism, misogyny, and white supremacy. We didn’t plan this episode extensively, so the conversation is free-flowing and organic, with some raw emotion. We conclude with a guided grounding practice for our listeners. Transcript available here: https://resettingthetablepodcast.blogspot.com/2021/04/episode-6-on-anger-after-atlanta.html A note on language: After the episode aired, we were very lovingly reminded by someone that using the term ‘female body’ can present various levels of baggage and barriers to our non-binary and trans listeners. We’re sorry. We commit to do better. Language has power, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to learn more liberatory and loving ways of being, speaking, and relating, together. Episode Notes & Annotations: Sermon mentioned, a conversation between Sunia Gibbs and Ekaputra Tupamahu for The Groves Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV7fHFja1LI Audre Lorde, “The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism (1981): ”https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/speeches-african-american-history/1981-audre-lorde-uses-anger-women-responding-racism/ John Cho: “Coronavirus reminds Asian Americans like me that our belonging is conditional,” https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-22/asian-american-discrimination-john-cho-coronavirus Stephen Yuen article (might be behind a paywall depending on how many New York Times articles you’ve read): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/magazine/steven-yeun.html Iyko Day, Alien Capital: Asian Racialization and the Logic of Settler Colonial Capitalism: https://www.dukeupress.edu/alien-capital Erna Kim Hackett, “Thoughts for WOC On Our Rage and Anger,” https://www.liberatedtogether.com/feisty-thoughts/thoughts-for-woc-on-our-rage-and-anger Hollaback bystander intervention trainings: https://www.ihollaback.org/harassmenttraining/

In this episode, Céline, Trixie and Maria discuss the beauty and complexity of friendships, including their own, and explore ways of elevating and celebrating friendships and platonic intimacy. They discuss how we can move away from a relationship hierarchy built on romantic partnership and the nuclear family, and expand our practices of friendship and affection to be more generous, creative, subversive, and abundant. A lot of this conversation was inspired by Mia Birdsong’s book, How We Show Up, but you don’t need to have read the book to dial in (although we hope you eventually do!). Transcript available here: https://resettingthetablepodcast.blogspot.com/2021/03/episode-5-on-expansive-friendship-and.html Episode Notes & Annotations We brainstormed this episode topic before we’d all read the book, but Mia Birdsong’s How We Show Up ended up being a major anchor for our discussion. We especially recommend the audiobook version, which Mia reads herself. Trixie reads from Andie Nordgren’s “The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy:” “https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/andie-nordgren-the-short-instructional-manifesto-for-relationship-anarchy The final poem Céline reads is by Lora Mathis, part of their “Platonic Intimacy” series: http://www.loramathis.com/platonic-intimacy

In this episode, Maria, Trixie, and Céline discuss their relationships to their own bodies, and talk body hair, body shaming, beauty standards, white feminism, and problematic definitions of womanhood. They explore how the policing of bodies' presentation is connected to the upholding of the gender binary and colonial racial categories—and how marginal expressions of beauty, culture, and gender can be a form of resistance. Also, there's ranting about purity culture. This episode is a JOURNEY; buckle in! A note on language: Céline uses the words “white womanhood” and “white femininity” to describe the intersection of whiteness, or white supremacy, with ideas of femininity and womanhood as enforced by the gender binary. She is not referring to white women specifically, but to the power structures that create and uphold the categories of white and woman. Language matters, and we’re always learning how we can align our words and conversation closer with generosity and liberation. Got a tip? Email us at resettingthetablepodcast@gmail.com. Transcript now available: https://resettingthetablepodcast.blogspot.com/2021/03/episode-4-on-body-hair-and-beauty.html Episode Notes & Annotations Maria references White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad. Céline references Cornel West, specifically, the chapter “A Genealogy of Modern Racism” from Prophesy Deliverance: An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity. The hosts mention two episodes of Reclaiming My Theology podcast with Brandi Miller: Dualism with Randy Woodley, and White American Folk Religion with Jonathan Walton. Céline’s use of queer theory to interrogate ideas of hair, beauty, race, and gender, is learned in large part from non-binary scholar & social media educator Alok Vain-Menon. Check out their book reports, like “Womanhood as a Racial Project” if you’re interested in reading more on these topics.

In this episode, Celine and Maria talk with Métis plant educator and herbalist Lori Snyder on healing our relationship to the land, guerrilla gardening as decolonization, the wisdom of plants, and aligning our personal practices with the creativity and abundance of the living world. Lori shares a wealth of wisdom on living in wonder and reciprocity with the earth in an age of climate crisis, and our joyful responsibility for reverence and integrity with our non-human relations. We’re so excited to share this enlivening conversation with you! Transcript available: http://bit.ly/3aqdb91 Where to find Lori online: Facebook page: Earth Awareness Realized Through Health, Instagram: @earthandcompany Lori’s website: https://www.lorisnyder.co/. Lori also has an online course on medicinal plants available here: https://foraging.teachable.com/p/medicinal-plants-of-the-pacific-northwest. Alongside with Laura Cisneros, she leads “In Harmony With Nature” as Artist in Residence at Hastings Community Centre (https://inharmonywithnatur.wixsite.com/inharmonywithnature). Articles about Lori: “Metis Herbalist and Educator Lori Snyder on Urban Foraging and Food Sovereignty” on Food Network: https://www.foodnetwork.ca/food-network-insider/blog/metis-herbalist-educator-lori-snyder-urban-foraging-food-sovereignty/ “Vancouver Métis herbalist helps seed reconciliation with medicine wheel garden” on Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-metis-herbalist-helps-seed-reconciliation-with-medicine-wheel-garden Episode Notes & Annotations: Lori and Celine reference Robin Wall Kimmerer, especially her book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Lori mentions Bruce Lipton when talking about the quantum field of living things, who is a biologist, writer and speaker whose groundbreaking work bridges science and spirit. Here’s a captivating essay Celine found, called “Embracing the Immaterial Universe” on his website: https://www.brucelipton.com/embracing-the-immaterial-universe/ Lori mentions the detrimental effects of monocrops in the prairies, which this article in Briarpatch explores in depth as connected to settler-colonialism: “Decolonizing Ecology”: https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/decolonizing-ecology Celine references Randy Woodley’s use of “Eurocene,” rather than “Anthropocene,” which is from a presentation Randy gave at Inhabit Conference 2020 called “Welcome to the Eurocene: How White Supremacy is Driving Humanity to Extinction.”

In this episode, Trixie, Celine, and Maria unpack their experiences growing up and breaking up with White Jesus, the damaging assumed default of whiteness when depicting the Divine, and how White Jesus functions to uphold the power of those at the top of the social and political hierarchy. They also discuss problematic white saviourism as apparent in colonialism (both historic and contemporary iterations), missions, and development work, and re-envision liberatory ways to represent God, Christ, and the sacred, as well as to reclaim cultural practices in decolonizing their spiritual journeys. Transcript available: https://resettingthetablepodcast.blogspot.com/2021/02/episode-2-on-unlearning-white-jesus.html Follow Resetting The Table on Instagram: instagram.com/re.settingthetable Support Resetting The Table on Patreon: patreon.com/resettingthetable Episode Notes & Annotations: Celine mentions Black liberation theologian James Cone, specifically his book “The Cross and the Lynching Tree.” Trixie mentions mujerista theology as a form of liberation theology, such as the work and writing of Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz. The hosts mention the podcast Reclaiming My Theology as an "adopted ancestor," or auntie podcast to Resetting The Table. The specific episodes that relate most to this one are on Paternalism, Objectivity, and White Centering. Celine mentions white saviourism as not just a symptom of church and faith spaces, but also prevalent in the non-profit and development sphere. For more on this, see Teju Cole’s 2012 essay “The White Saviour Industrial Complex,” and “No White Saviours,” a women-led advocacy group in Uganda (https://www.instagram.com/nowhitesaviors).

In our first full-length episode, Céline, Trixie, and Maria contextualize anti-Black racism in Canada from an East Asian perspective and discuss the importance of foregrounding Black lives and Black liberation in anti-racism work. We talk about holding a posture of openness, unlearning dominant narratives, uncovering hidden histories, and how anger can be a generative force for change. Transcript available: https://resettingthetablepodcast.blogspot.com/2021/01/episode-1-on-anti-racism-asian.html Follow Resetting The Table on Instagram: https://instagram.com/re.settingthetable Support Resetting The Table on Patreon: https://patreon.com/resettingthetable Episode Notes & Annotations: In this episode we speak from our own experience as East Asians, and don’t discuss how anti-Asian racism intersects with Islamophobia for some of our South Asian siblings (a form of racism and xenophobia which long predates the pandemic, notably rising after 9/11). We plan to unpack Islamophobia more in a future episode. If you want to point us to any relevant resources, you can email us at resettingthetablepodcast@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram. The concept of “conditional belonging” that Celine references, especially in the context of the Coronavirus, was written about by actor John Cho for the LA Times. Celine and Trixie reference Austin Channing Brown’s book, “I’m Still Here,” specifically the chapter on anger, which is based on Audre Lorde’s 1981 talk “The Uses of Anger” (available to read online at https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1981-audre-lorde-uses-anger-women-responding-racism/). Maria references Hogan’s Alley (https://www.hogansalleysociety.org/) when talking about learning Black History in local contexts, specifically Vancouver. Celine references The Secret Life of Canada podcast episode “The Secret Life of Birchtown” on Black History and slavery in Canada (https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-secret-life-of-canada/episode/the-secret-life-of-birchtown-52013370). Trixie mentions Reclaiming My Theology, a podcast that inspired our own, which is about taking theology back from oppressive systems and ideas (https://www.reclaimingmytheology.com/). Celine mentions two foundational books for understanding anti-Black racism in Canada: The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole and Policing Black Lives by Robyn Maynard. She also mentions The First Rainbow Coalition documentary: https://www.ket.org/program/independent-lens/the-first-rainbow-coalition/. The piece we mention in the prelude is “Police response to storming of U.S. Capitol should not surprise anyone” by Sandy Hudson: https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-police-response-us-capitol-building-racism-1.5864611 For access to more resources and supplementary readings for each episode, become a Patron!

Welcome to Resetting The Table, where we expand imagination around race, place, and faith for our collective liberation. In this trailer, we give a taste of the many conversations and topics to come. Subscribe and join us on the journey! Find us on Patreon at patreon.com/resettingthetable.