Episode Details

🎙️ 10. Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes aka Pastor Sarah of Disorganized Religion (UCC) — Faith That Resists Empire

Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes is helping thousands rediscover a Christianity rooted not in power — but in conscience, community, and courage.

In this episode, Alexis Rice sits down with UCC pastor, organizer, and digital ministry leader Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes, known online as Pastor Sarah of @disorganized.religion, to explore a version of Christianity many people were never taught: Christian resistance — protecting the vulnerable, building community, and telling a truer story than empire tells.

Drawing from scripture, church history, and modern organizing, Pastor Sarah shows how Christian resistance spans centuries — from early church movements to global resistance stories to modern mutual aid and faith-rooted organizing.

Together, Alexis and Sarah explore today’s spiritual hunger for faith spaces where certain questions are not dismissed as "doubts", dignity is protected, and belief is lived through action. They also discuss digital church spaces — from livestream congregations to Discord-based communities — and how online faith spaces are becoming lifelines for people healing from church harm, navigating deconstruction, or seeking belonging outside traditional church structures.

Stay through the end for Pastor Sarah’s blessing for those rebuilding faith after spiritual harm.

👤 About Our Guest
Rev. Dr. Sarah Townes is a United Church of Christ pastor serving Church of the Shepherd (Albuquerque, NM). She helps people explore progressive Christianity, deconstruction, and justice-rooted faith through digital ministry.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

*The Bible For Normal People @biblefornormalpeople

*1946 the movie @1946themovie with Director @rockyroggio 

*Checkpoint Church (Digital / Discord church)
 https://www.checkpointchurch.com/
@checkpointchurch

*#ProgressiveClergy

*Riverside Church (NYC Digital Ministry) https://www.trcnyc.org/
@riversidechurchnyc

*Convergence Digital Ministry Fellowship
 https://convergenceus.org/digital-ministry-fellows/
@convergenceus

*James Talarico @jamestalarico on @stephencolbert (both Christians, Stephen- Catholic, James- United Methodist, both progressive)

🕊️ Stay to the end for Pastor Sarah’s blessing for a reconstructing faith.

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About The Sacred Slope
Where the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.
For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.
Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.

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