Episode 22
Amazement
Acts 2: 1-21

Guest: Rev. Jess Cook

In this episode, host Rev. Alex Patchin McNeill is joined by the Rev. Jess Cook as they discuss Acts 2:1-21 (the Pentecost story) through the lens of amazement.

Jess is More Light’s Program & Communications Manager. Prior to joining MLP, Jess was the Youth Programs Director at Side by Side, an organization in Richmond, VA serving LGBTQIA+ youth. While at Side by Side, Jess worked with hundreds of young people through support groups, a leadership program, and various programs in the community. They created a parent support group and a meals program, and trained a wide variety of faith community leaders and service providers on best practices for working with LGBTQIA+ youth.

Jess’s call is to help facilitate spaces where reconciliation is possible, with the acknowledgement that reconciliation is only possible if we are able to be honest with ourselves and one another about the ways in which we are broken. True reconciliation requires relationships, and relationships require trust and vulnerability. Jess sees their role as helping make spaces where that vulnerability is celebrated and trust can be built. To learn more, check out Jess’s TEDxTalk on what faith communities can learn from LGBTQIA+ youth.

 

 

Return to Liberation Bible Study