Some thoughts on Inauguration Day
When I woke up on the morning of November 6 last year, I was sharply reminded of the day eight years ago when I rolled over in bed, opened the news on my phone, and read that Donald Trump had been elected President. In 2016, I was hit with a shock of fear, paralyzed with questions of what a Trump presidency would look like for my family, for the youth I worked with at the time, and for myself. It took me a few days to find my resolve and clarity and to re-center with those around me. . .
My experience in November, 2024 was different.
When I woke up on the morning of November 6 last year, I was sharply reminded of the day eight years ago when I rolled over in bed, opened the news on my phone, and read that Donald Trump had been elected President. In 2016, I was hit with a shock of fear, paralyzed with questions of what a Trump presidency would look like for my family, for the youth I worked with at the time, and for myself. It took me a few days to find my resolve and clarity and to re-center with those around me. We moved forward together, creating a web of support for young people and the broader community by showing up again and again. I learned a great deal during those four years: about how to be present with others and with myself, how to claim my voice in the face of dehumanizing rhetoric, and how to find tenderness in the midst of it all.
My experience in November, 2024 was different. I wasn’t surprised when I saw the election results. After an initial moment of finding my breath, I found clarity and resolve I hadn’t yet cultivated eight years before. I feel prepared and am more certain now than ever of the importance of what we are doing at Every Table. The work we have done over the last three years has transformed the way I understand myself and my calling here. While not reducing the potential impact of this administration on myself and so many people I love, I know I was made for this moment. I look forward to the next few years as a time of deep transformation and healing of our communities and the world.
I have been saying for years that we are going through a time of transformation unparalleled in our recorded history, and I will continue to say it. The systems we have known and relied upon are crumbling before us, to give way for something new and profound to be born. The next few years will be chaotic, but they will also open our eyes to new ways of understanding and living in relationship with one another. We need one another more than ever right now. As we learn to lean into our vulnerabilities and into community, we will see the abundance that is already here and will carry us into the future.
We have before us an invitation to claim a fuller life: a way of being beyond the oppressive systems which are killing us all and destroying the planet. We are being called, collectively, to step into that future where every child born has what they need to live into who they came here to be. The only way answer that calling is is together.
In November, after completing a lovely tenure as Interim Pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Richmond, I made the decision to focus solely on Every Table. It is a big leap for Charles and I to make this decision for both of us to be on staff full-time, but it is clear that the world needs what we are doing.
My energy as I focus fully on Every Table will be spread across a range of things. In addition to supporting our ongoing programs, I’ll be assisting in the completion of A Moment, our Mobile meditation hub. I’ll also be focusing on fundraising, searching for a space, and collaborating with Charles in building out our Mindfulness for Caregivers program. I’m excited for where we will go and all we will do, not only in this city, but in our greater communities all around the region and the nation.
I’ve also begun writing a book.It is a spiritual memoir that focuses on what I have learned about the world, myself, and the divine since I began having a series of mystical experiences in 2021. If you’d asked me in the early stages of my coming out if I’d known about my sexuality or gender identity from a young age, I would have said I had no idea. Yet, as I’ve begun working on this project, it’s become abundantly clear that I’ve known who I am all along, and that my gender has been key to connecting with my God, with my higher self, and my purpose here.
Trans stories need to be told, now more than ever. This book is an unapologetic celebration of the gifts that come from being trans and of the abundance of gifts trans people offer the world right now.
As a way of getting my story out there,I’ve started a Substack (for folks who may not know, Substack is a platform that allows writers and other text-heavy content creators to share things with a subscribed audience. Some of the content is free; some is behind a paywall). I’ll be sharing a variety of content, including sections of the book as they are written. Proceeds from paid content will go to support Every Table.
End of Year Update
As we near the end of 2024, we find ourselves at yet another precipice of transformation. From an individual to a global scale, we are moving through a time of collective change unparalleled in history. There is uncertainty as we watch the systems that have defined how we live our lives for hundreds, if not thousands, of years crumble. We are experiencing a rupture in our collective life, and it is painful. Yet it is a necessary rupture. There are moments of fear, for sure, but we can see that our need for collective healing is so dire that we meet this moment with an open heart and clarity of mind.
Sometimes the rupture has to happen in order for us to dig deep enough into who we are collectively so we may learn to trust the sacred bond that ties us not only with one another, but with all of creation. We at Every Table see this moment as an invitation to listen to the holy within us–a spirit which is always present, encouraging us with a steady and gentle hand to be the versions of ourselves we truly came here to be. We are all part of the sacred belovedness of all that is. We all came here to embody one part of the collective incarnation of this abundant creation. This moment is inviting us to see our interconnectedness, and to take our healing seriously enough that we listen to that still, small voice beckoning from within, telling us we are not alone. Telling us we are holy.
Wherever you may be when you are reading this, we invite you to take a moment and look around. Give yourself the opportunity to just be. Be with the birds. Be with a friend or a pet or a lover. Be with your favorite tree. If you don’t have a favorite tree, find one. Be with yourself and the simplicity of your own hands. Remember that you are an infinite spirit having an incarnational experience–the very flesh of the divine, incarnate here on Earth. It may not seem like the most intuitive thing to sit with creation as a response to fascism. Yet, the only way to truly defeat a dehumanizing system is to claim our humanity so much that nothing can outshine it. Because when we are most in touch with the things which make us human, we are most in touch with that which connects us to the divine.
This has been a clarifying few months for us, and for Every Table. The chaos of this moment has shown us more than ever the need for the kind of healing we are offering the world. We have already seen the kind of powerful transformation that comes when we choose to sit down together and find stillness in the midst of the chaos and to create systems of accountability that encourage healing and wholeness for us all.
2024 has been a full year for us. Some highlights from the last year include:
The Bus!
In May we were awarded the Winn Foundation grant from Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond to create A Moment, our mobile meditation hub.
A new gathering space. In March, we left the chapel at Ginter Park Presbyterian and began meeting at Challenge Discovery Projects, a community center offering school-based and community programs focused on preventing and addressing issues related to behavioral health, bullying, substance use, and trauma.
New Program: Mindfulness for the Movement. Our meditations, offered both online and in person, are designed to offer grounding for those in need of a spiritual home.
Sound healing. In October, we hosted Shanna Latia, a local sound healer, for a 45-minute sound bath, where she used her singing bowls to take us to a transcendent space together in community.
Supported community events. Notably, we were on a panel with Here4theKids on “Abolition, Liberation, and Solidarity” and Joined Marijuana Justice and Equality Virginia for their Partner Lobby Day.
Through our own paths of discernment, it is clear that Every Table needs our full energy and needs both of us on staff full-time. We have created an ambitious plan for 2025 that involves creating a spiritual hub for the community and taking healing out to a world desperately in need.
A few of our goals for 2025 include:
Supporting and expanding our staff. Our vision is both expansive and feasible. In order to bring that vision into life we will need increased and consistent administrative support. Fully supporting our two full time staff and adding a third person to the staff would enable us to be out in the community in the ways we need to be while also ensuring the ongoing internal support for the organization.
Completing the renovation of our recently-purchased minibus to create A Moment, our mobile meditation hub. We’ve been working with Jason at The Kilted Craftsman, who’s taking the lead on the remodel. This dream was first envisioned a little over a year ago, and it’s exciting to watch it take form. A Moment is basically a chapel on wheels: a sacred space, set aside to offer people an opportunity to connect back with themselves and the world around them.
Finding a space for our healing hub, The Clearing. The community needs a spiritual home where people are safe to gather and heal without the weight of religious dogma or expectations. The Clearing will enable us to offer and expand our regular programs. Additionally, it will serve as a yoga studio, communal workspace, and offer various other trauma-informed, facilitated opportunities for healing and embodied reconciliation. The Clearing will be a space for spiritual nourishment and rest, offering daily meditation and other resources to navigate the complicated landscape of the world.
Mindfulness Programming for caregivers. In our years of work with healers and teachers, we have found that it is often those who offer the most who get the least support. With this in mind, we are building out programming that offers skills for cultivating mindfulness among those in helping professions, beginning with Mindfulness for Pastors and Pastoral Caregivers in the Spring of 2025. This program, offered both in person and virtually, will offer leaders the resources they need to cultivate their own wellness as they support others who are doing the same.
One thing that is abundantly clear is that we cannot do this without your support. We are building out an ambitious fundraising plan for 2025 and need your help to make it happen. We know through our years of work organizing within the community that transformation cannot happen in isolation, and your support makes it possible for us to do the healing work we are being called to do.
An Update from Charles
When you learn how to stand, people are not going to like it... stand up anyway…
I often have flashbacks of my time in discipleship school. One of our teachers, Kim Clark, used to say to me, "Charles, I see you as this giant that has to shrink down to fit in the space." For years, I have been learning how to stand up for myself, my values, and the community around me. Recently, I met with a friend who reminded me of all the ways I stood up for people in my community this year—asking for fair wages, explaining how "professionalism" is a tool of white supremacy, telling well-known wellness professionals to mind their tone with practitioners, and even telling CEOs of wellness companies that polo shirts are not the way to go. This year I learned how to stand up for myself and the community around me.
When you learn how to stand, people are not going to like it... stand up anyway. After years of working with a local healing space, this fall I made the decision to leave that studio. Through my experiences, I have seen the ways Black people can uphold white supremacy, even if it’s packaged differently. I have witnessed appalling behaviors, particularly in the ways staff were treated and a lack of true accountability, and I realized I needed to move to a different space in order to embody and invite the kind of healing I am here to create in the world.
My experiences have clarified even more the community I want to build with Every Table: one that is rooted in equity and accountability, and is actively healing from the ties white supremacy has on all of us. As we step into the new year, I can see a wellness work space that will be a hub for grassroots organizations and individuals working toward liberation. The Clearing will be both a yoga studio and a coworking space, where people can gather, practice, network, and build relationships with others focused on healing. Our vision for The Clearing supports practitioners by giving them ownership of their own content and allowing them to take home the profits from their classes, rather than everything going to uphold the space.
Looking ahead to 2025, I'll be teaching exclusively with Every Table, at Humble Heaven, and online at radicalyogi.com. All proceeds from the online yoga classes will go toward Every Table, specifically to support opening The Clearing. I am excited to put my full energy toward cultivating a wellness and yoga workspace that focuses on healing from the ways white supremacy and capitalism divide us, offering affinity groups and other programming where people can work through their indoctrination to whiteness.
To join us, come to one of the online offerings at radicalyogi.com.
Monday Morning Movement - 7:00 AM ET
A 45-minute session of gentle movements, breathwork, and meditation to energize your week
Tuesday Morning Power - 7:00 AM ET
An invigorating 45-minute power vinyasa class to start your day with energy
Tuesday Night Yoga Nidra - 9:00 PM ET
A journey into deep relaxation, promoting stress reduction and improved sleep
Wednesday Night Reset Yoga - 6:00 PM ET
A 45-minute gentle yoga session to help you unwind and reset your week
Thank you for your continued support of me and Every Table as we continue to build this community. We are excited for all that 2025 will hold, and look forward to the journey with you.
A Prayer for When Someone Comes out
A Prayer for when someone comes out as LGBTQIA+
A Prayer for After Someone Comes Out
Creator and Source of All that IS,
We thank you for the ways in which you claim us as your own. We thank you for this community, for your Spirit woven through each of us individually and drawing us together as a whole.
Abundant Creator, we thank you that before N was born, you knew what you had in store for them. You knew as you knit them in their parent’s womb, all of the challenges and celebrations that would come in their life. You knew there would be a time when they would answer the call to share this part of their identity with this community. We thank you for N’s desire and willingness to invite us along this exciting part of their journey, and we celebrate with them today.
We ask that you would help N see the mighty shoulders on which they stand, of all those who’ve come before and paved the way and opened doors to this moment.
Like Lazarus being called out of the tomb, or Mary Magdalene whose eyes were opened to the resurrected Christ upon hearing her name, we know you have called N’s name and claimed them as your own.
When things get difficult, remind N of this community who loves them and has promised to walk through life with them. May the people who surround N today be a source of nourishment for them alone this journey - a reminder that they are not alone on their path.
In a world where most people go their whole lives without asking questions about their gender or sexuality, remind N of the strength and beauty they’ve shown in claiming their beloved identity as their own.
Open the eyes and the hearts of family or friends who may not have as much joy in N coming out as we have here today.
Keep us ever aware that family is not just defined by blood, and community is not bound by space or time.
Remind N always that they are seen by this community. Continue opening our eyes and our hearts to one another.
Keep us grounded in our awareness of the holiness within everything, and of the infinite love which envelopes us all.
Making it Through the Apocalypse
The Greek origins for the word apocalypse mean to uncover or reveal: to lay bare. While we look around and see so much destruction in the world today, it is helpful to remember that these times of destruction are also revealing something…
The Greek origins for the word apocalypse mean to uncover or reveal: to lay bare. While we look around and see so much destruction in the world today, it is helpful to remember that these times of destruction are also revealing something. Not only are they showing the underbelly of the systems which have dictated our lives for so long, they are also revealing something new about how we understand God, ourselves, and one another.
As we have witnessed genocide livestreamed through our phones since October, the reality of war has been revealed in a new way. No longer can we deny the violence of colonialism.
As we watch our elected officials justify and explain away war crime after war crime, the thread of lies that we’ve been fed for centuries is uncovered. No longer can we deny the inhumanity of white supremacy.
As we see those calling for an end to violence met with increasing violence, the brutality it takes to uphold capitalism is laid bare. No longer can we deny the barbarity of our financial systems.
We are at a time in our collective history where we have the opportunity to create the world so many of us feel being born. Healing is a process of coming home so fully into one’s own experience that they realize we are all part of One cosmic, eternal experience. By bearing witness to the brutality of the world while refusing to lose sight of the connections bringing us all together, we have the capacity to see the abundance that already exists in both the now and the not-yet.
Bearing witness is not enough, though. Our witness is the springboard of our action, giving us the energy we need to embody the transformation within ourselves that will translate to transformation beyond. We must find ways to integrate healing, using our bodies as the vessels for transformational action in the world. As such, we’ve begun to create programs utilizing yoga to heal from religious trauma, meditation practices for activists and those in the movement. We believe in our capacity to heal, and that our healing connects with the healing of the world.
When we started Every Table in 2021, we knew the focus needed to be on healing from the ways so many death-dealing systems were destroying us. As we’ve gathered over the last couple of years, we’ve seen two notable things happen: the world has continued to fall into destruction; and we’ve found a steadiness within ourselves we’d previously not known. In short, the healing is working. We are learning that the goal is not to calm the chaos of the world, but to find the stillness within and among, so we find the strength and resilience to not only survive, but thrive in this time of such profound transformation.
As we watch our courts and governments fail us, as we see the rise in fascism both at home and abroad, we refuse to give in to the nihilism permeating so much of the world. Instead, we stand with those calling for and working to create systems of nourishment and repair, of interconnectivity and imagination. We are casting our lots with those who believe in a better way of being, and who are embodying that way together in community.
Summer 2024 Updates
In our Spring Newsletter, we said we were looking for a new location to gather and support to bring to life our vision for a mobile mediation hub we’ve affectionately named A Moment. We are delighted to share that we’ve made significant progress on both!
In April, we began meeting at a new location. We are now gathering in the building of a local community-based organization who’s graciously welcomed us as we continue searching for a space of our own. We’re grateful for the partnership with Challenge Discovery Projects and for the warm welcome they’ve extended to us.
In addition to our Sunday evening gatherings, we are now meeting on Thursday nights for rest and mediation. This gathering is specifically focused on solidarity with the Palestinian people and all those suffering in the genocides happening around the world as a result of colonialism and capitalist imperialism. These intimate gatherings offer a spiritual grounding to those who are speaking and marching and protesting for an end to the ways of war that have saturated every aspect of this planet.
In June we received word that we’ve been awarded a grant from the Winn Mission fund at Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond to make A Moment. Once we secure a minibus, we will begin renovating the soon-to-be traveling sanctuary. In the midst of so much ongoing chaos, A Moment meets people where they are: whether at a festival or street fair, or just out and about in the city, folks will be able to sign up for a time and location to step out of their day and find the steadiness already within them. The time could be used to sit with noise-canceling headphones, mediate, pray, or to simply share space and a cup of tea with someone, feeling a little less alone in this increasingly isolating world.
Have a minibus? Know of someone who does? Help us out!! We would like to dedicate as much of the grant funds as possible to renovation, so we are asking our networks and friends to let us know of any connections that could help us secure a mini-bus.
We continue to seek a more permanent space of our own. We’ve got dreams and visions of a location with communal work spaces, where yoga and meditation are offered daily, where we can share meals and invite people into a space where they are seen and affirmed in the fullness of who they were born to be.
At our core, we continue to be grateful for all of the ways this community is forming. We are grateful for the support and the love of all those who are holding us and holding space for us, and we are ever so grateful for your continued presence with us along this journey toward healing and wholeness.
We often envision a time in the near future when Richmond, Virginia will be seen as the most peaceful city in the world. Go to our donate page to support us financially in this vision, and in leaning into collaboration wherever in the world you may be, until it is no longer a dream but the reality we create together.
Aparigraha and Ahimsa: Be Uncomfortable
I often hear that people feel uncomfortable discussing the ongoing genocides in the world, claiming they lack sufficient understanding. If this is you, I want to assure you that your discomfort is a sign of remaining humanity, untainted by capitalism.
Aparigraha, or non-attachment, and Ahimsa, or non-violence, are two powerful principles that can guide us towards a more compassionate and mindful way of living. However, truly applying these principles often means stepping outside of our comfort zones.
As an American who enjoys privileges such as accessibility and comfort, I recognize that our comfort can sometimes be tied to the suffering of others. This becomes especially apparent when considering global issues like the ongoing genocide in places like Gaza, Congo, and Haiti.
Discussing Gaza can be uncomfortable because it implicates us in some way—we understand that billions of our taxpayer dollars are funding a genocide and continuing the occupation of Palestine. This discomfort is necessary and important, serving as a wake-up call and a reminder of realities we often ignore or aren't aware of due to our privileged positions.
Additionally, as I type this on a device powered by resources extracted through the enslavement and genocide of the Congolese people, I'm forced to ask: Is technology moving us forward if we have to revert back to inhumane practices? Capitalism seems to be a cycle of exploitation and suffering.
Looking at Haiti, the imposition of Western and European influence is clear. The people of Haiti deserve the right to create their own system of government, free from outside manipulation and control.
So what can we do? We can practice being uncomfortable. We can engage with content that makes us squirm, read the experiences of marginalized people, and sit in that discomfort. Understand that being attached to comfort can blind us to the suffering of others.
We can also practice tipping because any type of labor involves some level of suffering, and having someone serve us can be a form of violence. If you need to get a new Phone buy it second hand.
Most importantly, we can use our voices. Call your representatives and express your discomfort with your tax dollars being spent on violence. Be uncomfortable because children are dying. That should make us uncomfortable.
Recognize your comfort in avoiding these difficult topics and challenge it. Practice non-attachment. Practice non-violence. Because only when we step out of our comfort zones can we truly begin to make a difference.
Here We Are
It all begins with an idea.
Like so many other LGBTQIA+ children of God, we have experienced the dissonance that happens from being part of a church that is unable to recognize the fullness of our humanity.
We have experienced the pain of being told the church has no room for our full selves.
We have also experienced the transforming power of communities where people are seen in the fullness of who they are.
We understand what it is to sing because we have to sing. We understand resurrection because so many of us have experienced it ourselves….
Queer people have a unique perspective on their faith because in order to hold on to it, so many of us have had to walk through our own shadows of death.
Claiming our belovedness as queer people has taught us the power of claiming embodiment as the holy gift it is.
That’s why we have come together to build a new foundation for how we embody church.
Queer people have a unique perspective on their faith because in order to hold on to it, so many of us have had to walk through our own shadows of death.Claiming our belovedness as queer people has taught us the power of claiming embodiment as the holy gift it is.
OUR STORY…
When the three of us connected in 2021, it was clear we’d each been on our own journey to bring a message of hope free from affectation to the church.
Independent of one another, we had been gathering with people envisioning a new worshiping community based in Richmond, Virginia, a city with wounds as old as this nation.
We all felt called to create spaces of abundant welcome focused on healing and reconciliation.
A year later and we have started a new worshiping community, through the Presbytery of the James.
We’re calling it EveryTable.
EveryTable is a space where everybody can embody worship.
Why Every Table?
Jesus didn’t have a table…
Jesus ate at tables where he was welcomed, and almost never were those tables within the walls of the Temple…
Every table where Jesus is welcomed is his table…
And every table where he is welcomed also welcomes the disenfranchised masses…
At EveryTable, our mission is to encounter the living abundance of God through embodied reconciliation, with the First and Second Commandments as our guide.
We want to experience the fullness of what it means to be alive, and to live in the abundant community proclaimed at the heart of the Gospel.
We envision a world where every child is born with the structure and support to live into the fullness of who they are created to be.
We are seeking our healing and the healing of this world, to eradicate ourselves from the disease of white supremacy.
We are drawing together with the trust that the Spirit is moving between and among us, weaving us together as she draws us into herself.
We have an ambitious vision, we know. We’re not naive about the resources it will take to build a new foundation for the church. One that is equitable, that prioritizes the bodies of people participating and cultivates regular spaces for embodied worship as well as healing programs.
The War on Drugs: A Tool of White Supremacy in Systemic Oppression of Black Communities
an Antwon cultivated cannabis and God said it was good…
The war on drugs in the United States, ostensibly aimed at combating drug abuse, has been a pervasive force in the systemic institutionalization of Black individuals. This essay explores the roots of the war on drugs, its connection to the incarceration rates of Black Americans, the resurgence of forms of slave labor through its policies, and the subsequent exacerbation of the economic wealth gap within Black communities.
The genesis of the war on drugs can be traced back to President Richard Nixon, who employed it as a strategic tool against two perceived enemies: the antiwar left and Black Americans. John Ehrlichman, a key figure in Nixon's administration, admitted that the administration sought to associate marijuana with the antiwar left and heroin with the Black community. By criminalizing both substances heavily, the government aimed to disrupt these communities, leading to the arrest of leaders, raids on homes, and the vilification of these groups in the media. This deliberate manipulation perpetuated the systemic institutionalization of Black individuals within the criminal justice system.
The consequences of Nixon's strategy are evident in the staggering incarceration rates among Black Americans. Despite constituting only 13% of the population, Black individuals account for almost 40% of the incarcerated population. This stark disproportionality reflects the systemic targeting and unjust imprisonment of Black citizens, perpetuating cycles of poverty, broken families, and limited opportunities.
The 13th Amendment, while abolishing slavery, included a clause that allowed for involuntary servitude as a punishment for a crime. This legal loophole provided the framework for the resurrection of slave labor within the prison system. As a result, incarcerated individuals, disproportionately Black, found themselves working for nominal wages or, in some cases, for free.
The labor extracted from incarcerated individuals has become the backbone of capitalism, as corporations benefit from cheap and exploitative prison labor. This modern-day form of indentured servitude not only perpetuates the historical exploitation of Black labor but also contributes to the widening economic disparities within the Black community.
The war on drugs has played a pivotal role in deepening the economic wealth gap for Black Americans. The disproportionate incarceration rates and the exploitation of prison labor contribute to a cycle of economic disenfranchisement. Limited access to education, employment, and housing opportunities further exacerbates the struggles faced by Black individuals released from prison, hindering their ability to break free from the cycle of poverty.
In conclusion, the war on drugs in the United States has been a powerful tool of white supremacy, leading to the systemic institutionalization of Black individuals, the resurgence of forms of slave labor, and the exacerbation of the economic wealth gap within Black communities. Recognizing the roots of this issue is crucial in dismantling systemic oppression and working towards a more just and equitable society.
Citations
Krystina Murray. “The War On Drug’s Ongoing Impact on Black People https://www.addictioncenter.com/news/2021/08/war-on-drugs-impact-on-black-people/ August 11, 2021
Alex S. Vitale. “The End of Policing” October 10, 2017