In Their Shoes

I'm glad to be able to share with you the work of one of our 2012-2013 interns, Jasmine Turner (no relation to our other intern Christina Turner who posted previously). Jasmine interviewed Becca Bishopric, Coordinator for Health Promotion and Violence Prevention and Response at Elon University, Elon, North Carolina. In their conversation, they talk about sexual violence on college campuses, care for victims, and prevention education.

To read Jasmine's companion blog post to this episode, click here.

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Welcome to one of our interns for the In Their Shoes podcast and blog, Christina Turner! Christina interviews Sister Sharron McMullin, a member of People's Institutional Baptist Church in Seattle, Washington. Sister McMullin, herself a survivor of domestic violence, is an outspoken advocate on behalf of victims and survivors. Christina and Sister Sharron talk about how congregations should deal with this issue--most especially including the fact that domestic violence is very likely to be present among families in the church itself. They also address teenagers and domestic violence, and how women need to be aware of the red flags.

For more from Christina Turner, visit our blog.

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We're so pleased to share with you our conversation with Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Magdalene and Thistle Farms in Nashville, TN. Magdalene is a residential program for women with a criminal history of prostitution and addiction. There are currently six homes that function without live-in staff, relying instead on residents to create supportive community, maintain recovery, and share household tasks. The two-year program offers housing, food, medical and dental needs, therapy, education, and job training free of charge--and is not supported by any government funds, relying instead on individual gifts, private grants, and the sale of Thistle Farms products.

Thistle Farms is a social enterprise run by women of Magdalene and program graduates. By hand, the women create body care products made with all natural ingredients and using earth-friendly practices. Through employment at Thistle Farms, women develop important job skills and move from poverty to independence. Purchase of Thistle Farms products support critical ministry!

For more information about Magdalene and Thistle Farms and to purchase products, visit www.thistlefarms.org.

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Youth can be such strong advocates and energetic workers for justice! In this episode, Elena and Courtney, both senior high young women, share with us their experience teaching their peers about such issues as human trafficking, domestic violence, and cyberbullying. We hope you're inspired to help youth in your area become involved in advocacy and world-changing!

For more information on the Break the Chains project that Elena and Courtney reference, visit our Break the Chains website.

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Sandra Uwiringiy'imana and her family are survivors of a massacre that occured in a UN-sponsored refugee camp named "Gatumba," in Burundi, Africa, August 13, 2004. Now living in the United States, Sandra, a high school senior, put together a multi-media exhibition entitled "Survivors" that lifts up the story of the massacre and expresses a passionate prayer for peace. In our conversation, Sandra shares her story of growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo and what led her family to be living as refugees in Gatumba, describes the events of the night of the massacre and the months following it, and what she nows plans to do with her life.

For more information about the Gatumba massacre, visit Gatumba Refugees Survivors Foundation website at http://www.gatumbasurvivors.org/.

For more information about the Foundation of Hope, visit their website at http://www.foundationofhopeministries.org/.

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Rev. Elizabeth (Liz) Congdon is pastor of First Baptist Church of Trenton, New Jersey, a congregation that includes over 15 different language groups creating Christian community. In this conversation, Rev. Congdon describes the many challenges and the many blessings of being part of such a community.

For more information about the First Baptist Church of Trenton, visit their website.

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Rev. Barbara Jim-George was led by God during her doctor of ministry studies to delve into issues putting girls at risk for sex trafficking. Out of that research and a whole lot of prayer, the Girls Rite of Passage program at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, California, was born. In this episode, we hear about Rev. Jim-George's call to ministry, how she came to the realization that God was particularly calling her to work in the issue of trafficking and vulnerable young women, and how the Girls Rite of Passage program seeks to address these issues.

For more information on the Girls Right of Passage ministry at Allen Temple, visit their web page.

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Although hunger can seem to be such an overwhelming need for one person to tackle, Bread for the World has launched a campaign that gives each one of us some simple things we can do to be part of the solution. In this episode, I talk with Rev. Nancy Neal of Bread for the World about the 1000 Conversations Campaign. By pledging to have 1000 conversations, we can each help spread the word about the importance of maternal and infant nutrition in the first 1000 days of a child's life, and advocate on behalf of women and children globally.

For more information about the 1000 Conversations Campaign, visit the Bread for the World website at www.bread.org.

You can also "like" the Facebook page and become part of the 1000 Days community.

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Rev. Christine Smith and the Covenant Baptist Church in Wickliffe, Ohio, have embarked upon a new ministry outreach to women returning to society after a period of incarceration. In this episode, Rev. Smith and I talk about the COTAAN project, how it got started, what it's goals are, and just what COTAAN stands for.

For more information about the COTAAN project, visit www.cotaan.org.

For information about how AB Women's Ministries is supporting the COTAAN project, visit www.abwministries.org.

To learn more about prisoner re-entry and aftercare ministries, visit the website of American Baptist Home Mission Societies. You will find links to contact Rev. Fela Barrueto there as well.

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Esteria Woods-White describes herself as a "foot soldier for women." She works tirelessly on behalf of women's improvement and women's rights in Africa, as well as working for the empowerment of women of the African diaspora living in North Carolina. Virginia Holmstrom, executive director of American Baptist Women's Ministries, shares a conversation she had with Esteria during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, held in February 2012 in New York City.

For more information about the Esteria Woods International Outreach Foundation, visit www.ewiof.org.

Check our In Their Shoes blog at http://intheirshoesblog.wordpress.com for a review of Leymah Gbowee's book, Mighty Be Our Powers, mentioned in this interview. The review will appear within a couple of weeks of this podcast episode.

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