The Open Pew Rev Corey Simon

Corey recently sat down today with Tony Caldwell, a psychotherapist, and public theologian living and working in Nashville, to talk about how we can best care for ourselves in this time of corona and quarantine. The conversation deals with some best practices, some hopes, and a few recommendations for what to be aware of in how you care for yourself in this time.

You can find out more about Tony at Red Letter Christianity or on his personal webpage. 

In this episode, Corey sat down with Jenny Yang, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief for a conversation on education and welcome towards immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. 



Jenny Yang provides oversight for all advocacy initiatives and policy positions at World Relief. She has worked in the Resettlement section of World Relief as the Senior Case Manager and East Asia Program Officer, where she focused on advocacy for refugees in the East Asia region and managed the entire refugee caseload for World Relief. Prior to World Relief, she worked at one of the largest political fundraising firms in Maryland managing fundraising and campaigning for local politicians. She is co-author of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion and Truth in the Immigration Debate, serves as Chair of the Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) Africa Work Group, and was named one of the “50 Women to Watch” by Christianity Today.

This week Corey sits down with Dr Kris Norris, visiting professor of public theology at Wesley Theological Seminary to discuss his upcoming book, Witnessing Whiteness: Confronting White Supremacy in the American Church. 



Dr. Kristopher Norris is Visiting Distinguished Professor of Public Theology and the Program Consultant for the Center for Public Theology. Norris teaches classes in the areas of Christian Ethics and Public Theology and co-directs the National Capital Semester for Seminarians with Prof. Mike McCurry. He is currently helping develop Wesley’s new Faith & Public Life Immersion experience through the Center for Public Theology. He has published two books and several journal articles on church practices, faith and politics, and just war theory, as well as the ethics of Bonhoeffer and Barth, and his current research is at the intersection of church, race, and politics. He is an ordained Baptist minister from North Carolina.

Kicking off the return of The Open Pew, Corey and Ethan sit down with Shae Tuttle, author of the new book, Exactly As You Are: The Faith and Life of Mister Rogers and editor of Can I Get A Witness?: Thirteen Peacemakers, Community Builders, and Agitators for Peace and Justice. Together we talk about peacemaking, justice work, the witness of Fred Rogers and spend a few minutes speculating on the upcoming film. 

In this episode Corey is joined by Wesley alum and fellow pastor Nick McMichael of Falls Church UMC in Pennsylvania and the Rev Dr Alexia Salvatierra, a Lutheran pastor, professor at Fuller, and a community organizer on both the local and international level. With a focus on the immigration crisis, Dr Salvatierra offers up a brief history lesson in the Central and South American refugee crisis and goes on to talk about how the church is uniquely gifted for engaging those displaced by state and non-state violence and how perhaps the biggest goal we can hope for in this present moment is resisting the current administration. 
Dr Salvatierra is the co-author of Faith-Rooted Organizing, a primer on preparing churches and communities for organizing and advocacy.

In this episode Corey, AhnnaLise, and Elizabeth Hurd of Caledonia UMC sat down with Shane Claiborne, activist, speaker, public theologian, and leader of the Simple Way Christian Community in Philadelphia, to discuss Christian nonviolence, the idolatry of guns, and what it means to be pro-life from the womb to the tomb.