Ashley and Katey are back together again! To celebrate our 20th episode Ashley is busy creating a custom Kindreds playlist on Spotify and Amazon Prime to share with our listeners. As a special treat for our Patreon supporters, we’ll make the playlist available two weeks early. Not a patron yet? It’s so easy to sign up. Head over to our Patreon page and sign up. http://patreon.com/kindreds
We’re really grateful for our friends over at the Pulpit Fiction podcast who are having accessible conversations about the lectionary texts each week. In particular we love the conversation they did last year with writer and theologian Rob Bell. Check them out and be sure to subscribe.
This episode we’re talking about apologizing in the era of #MeToo and #ChurchToo. We talk about the different kinds of apologies, why genuine apologies are so important (and hard), 
and the dynamics of accepting apologies. We talk about the four components of a genuine apology that was developed for elementary school kids but is a useful tool for grown-ups too. And, we critique the emphasis in many churches on offering forgiveness to those who have done the harming, even if the person has refused to accept responsibility or change their behavior.
What We’re Reading and Watching
Katey is reading the graphic novel Are you My Mother? by Allison Bechdel (known for the Bechdel test), a visual exploration of relationships, therapy, and her complex relationship with her mother.
Ashley is watching the Facebook TV show Red Table Talk with the Pinkett-Smith family. These short 20 minute episodes between three generations of Pinkett-Smith women–Willow, Jada, and Adrienne–feature conversations on topics like family, divorce, and sex. The first episode is about Jada’s role as a stepmom (or “bonus mom” as she calls it) and her evolving relationship with Will Smith’s first wife. Bonus: she offers her an apology!
Kindreds of the Moment: Together Rising
If you’re like us, the separation of children from their parents at the southern U.S. border has you infuriated, heartbroken, and feeling helpless. Glennon Doyle’s organization Together Rising raised $1.5 million for legal advocates for 60 immigrant children in a detention center at the Arizona border through the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project.
Check out Together Rising’s blog post to learn more about the “missing’ unaccompanied minors and the children being forcibly removed from their parents–and what you can do to help put a stop to it.
Stuff We Mentioned in the Show
- Pulpit Fiction’s Thursday Night Special with Author Rob Bell
- Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry” (Katey’s favorite 2017 summer jam!)
- Mario Batali’s apology/cinnamon roll recipe (*eye roll*)
- Brene Brown talks about the difference between guilt and shame