Dear Soulful Revolutionaries,
Happy New Year. We are writing to you from the in-between (and the upside-down).
Between seasons, between years, between our collective grief and hope. And quite honestly, from between what we have been doing, and what our lives are asking of us now.
Season 4 has come to a close, and as we turn toward Season 5 and all of its dynamic participants, we felt it was important to pause. Not to rush past what has been said, felt, or revealed, but to listen again. To notice the patterns that kept emerging without being planned, and frankly, to name the weight many of us are carrying as the world continues to burn and break around us.
To quote Hannah in this episode: “This is a heavy time.” And it should disturb us. We are living amid chaos, violence, displacement, and profound injustice. We are witnessing the public moments of horror — and only getting a glimpse at the countless other injustices happening behind closed doors. Rage is close to the surface. Grief lives in our bodies. The fear stirring within us is not theoretical; it is embodied, daily, by our immigrant, migrant, trans, and targeted siblings.
And yet — we are still here.
In this interlude conversation, we found ourselves returning again and again to questions of discernment:
Who am I being called to be right now? What work is mine to do — and what is not? There is a temptation, especially in moments like this, to believe that we must do everything, be everywhere, carry it all. But discernment invites a different faithfulness.
It asks us to listen — to our bodies, to our limits, to the relationships entrusted to us, to the long arc of justice that requires endurance, not just intensity.
In this episode we speak about rage — holy rage — and the truth that while rage can be fuel, it “cannot be our home. If we do not tend to it with tenderness, it will consume us or turn sideways. Staying soft in a violent world is not weakness; it is discipline. It is strategy. It is survival. We also talk about the deep soul care required of us in this moment…not the polished, consumerism version sold to us by wellness culture, but the deep, necessary work of tending the soul so that we can continue to show up with love, clarity, and courage. We owe that care not only to ourselves, but to those who are most directly in harm’s way.
And we talked about not knowing. “I don’t know” is not failure. It is not apathy, it is sacred space. We talk about how “I don’t know” can be the thin space where imagination returns, and visioning new worlds and new possibilities can happen.
As we prepare for Season 5, we want you to know this: these conversations have changed us. Every guest, every story, every moment of deep listening has left an imprint. We are not the same people we were when this podcast began — and we hope you aren’t either.
So as we step forward together, our invitation is simple:
Come with an open heart. Come with a soft center. Come willing to be changed…And stay with us. Ask us questions! Share your stories! Let this continue to be a space where misunderstanding is resisted, nuance is honored, and liberation is pursued relationally.
We are so very grateful you are here, and we’ll see you in Season 5.
In justice, faith, peace, and love,
The Souful Revolutionaries Team
Rev. Lauren Grubaugh Thomas, Hannah Curtis, and Stephanie Whitehouse
