Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action -

Eric Sapp has spent much of his career focused on the intersection of faith and politics. He is a founding partner of the Eleison Group, the primary political consulting firm working with Democrats and the progressive faith community on outreach and communication to faith and values voters.

Eric also serves as Executive Director of the American Values Network, a faith and values based non-profit that has received significant recognition the last few years for its successful media campaigns targeting faith, veteran, and independent voters on climate, national security, and economic justice issues.

Today we debrief on his Netroots Nation faith panel, talk about American Values Network’s Ayn Rand vs. Jesus campaign, and a pinch on the debt ceiling budget negotiations.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action -

Beth Dahlman is the Online Strategy coordinator at Faith in Public Life, a strategy center for the progressive faith community.

Beth has the privilege of leading Faithful America, an online community of progressive faith activists taking on issues like torture, the environment and healthcare, standing up to the religious right, and lifting up a vision of justice and the common good.

Today we discuss her work with Faithful America & the Netroots Nation panel, “Moving Forward With Faith.”

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read and comment on Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action -

Burns Strider is the founder of Eleison and The American Values Network. In the mid-90’s he spent two years in Hong Kong as youth minister at International Baptist Church.

Burns is one of the 12 most influential Democrats in the nation on faith and values politics and issues according to Religion News Service. He has worked on more than 100 campaigns, managing or general consulting 15 of them, including Senior Advisor and Director of Faith Outreach to the Hillary Rodham Clinton and her campaign for President.

Burns is a contributing blogger on Huffington Post and Business Insider.

He and his wife, Karen, live in Washington, DC. Where they raise two nearly perfect boys, Will (9) and Pete (7).

Today we discuss his Netroots Nation panel, “Moving Forward With Faith,” and the intersection of religion and politics.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read and comment on Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action -

Rev. Becca Stevens is an Episcopal priest, social entrepreneur, speaker and author of six books. She presently serves as chaplain of St. Augustine’s Chapel at Vanderbilt University, Founding Director of Magdalene, a residential community for women who have survived lives of violence, prostitution and addiction and Executive Director of Magdalene’s social enterprise, Thistle Farms–a bath and body care company. To date, Becca has raised over $12 million and gained nationwide press coverage for the organizations she supports.

In addition to having received awards from the Frist Foundation and the Academy of Women in Achievement, Becca was named “Nashvillian of the Year” and “Tennessean of the Year” by the Nashville Scene and The Tennessean respectively. In 2010, Becca became the youngest and first female recipient of the University of the South’s “Distinguished Alumnus” award.

Becca lives in Nashville with her husband, Grammy-winning songwriter Marcus Hummon, and their three sons.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read and comment on Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action -

Rev. Dr. Russell Elleven was born and raised in and around Ft. Worth, Texas; a city nicknamed “Cowtown” and where the Stockyards are still, for some reason, a tourist attraction.

Educated at the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and Vanderbilt University, he served as a faculty member and administrator for 17 years before joining the Unitarian Universalist ministry. He is now the minister of Westside Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth. He and his spouse, Gayle, are owned by a 14 year old Beagle named Prince Cornelius de Vanderbilt, better known as CornDawg.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read and comment on Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action - Jude is Filler is the retired Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Human Needs(1988-2002) and former state campaign chair for Amnesty International’s Texas Campaign Against the Death Penalty (1988-1998).

In her role with Amnesty International USA, she knew many men and several women on Texas’ death row.  For 22 years, her closest friend and partner in death penalty abolition efforts was the recently executed David Powell.  They often spoke daily, sometimes for hours and met together weekly.  She saw David during the 3 days before they killed him and she was in the room when the State of Texas ended his life.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries at the Free Souls Connection.

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action - Rev. Dr. Marie deYoung has served as religious leader and Minister in Catholic,Unitarian Universalist churches and as U.S. Army Chaplain.

She has run for the State Senate in Pennsylvania, has authored several books, and is a frequent guest in major media outlets.

Today we talk about the relationship of Spirituality and food.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries at the Free Souls Connection.

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action - Rev. Dr. Marie deYoung has served as religious leader and Minister in Catholic,Unitarian Universalist churches and as U.S. Army Chaplain.

She has run for the State Senate in Pennsylvania, has authored several books, and is a frequent guest in major media outlets.

Marie served Gulf coast churches in Louisiana & Mississippi and worked as a teacher for several years after Katrina.

Today we talk about the BP Oil catastrophe from many different angles and perspectives.

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries at the Free Souls Connection.

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Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action - Kim Coleman is originally from Chicago and now lives in the DC area. She has done research for the Democratic Party and currently volunteers to help Democrats in the 2010 election. She has appeared on NPR, CNN.com and a New Day with Micah Sims.

Her radio show, “SistaGirl speaks up” broadcasts on Progressive Blend Radio.  Kim’s  blog is “Sista Girl Speaks- Where the truth is spoken all day all the time!”

Fresh Off the Grill, From the Balcones Woods studio in Austin, Tejas.

Streaming on the web everyday, live on Thursdays, 2-3 pm. CST on Progressive Blend Radio.

Read Chuck’s Soul Food Commentaries at the Free Souls Connection.

Menu for the Day

Soul Stirrer with embodied faith in action - Wild Horse Charley Conatser is an artist of the spirit, and founding director of The Healing Center in Lubbock,Texas.

He had several careers on his life-long search for “the big medicine” and to his true calling as a shamanic practitioner including teaching mathematics at several universities, leading a group of application systems programmers for a large banking corporation and a supermarket chain.

In 1984, in the midst of his computer career with his workaholism becoming apparent to everyone but him, he was stopped in his tracks by lupus.  This life crisis led him to shaminism.

Since then, Charley has been a shamanic practitioner and teacher of complementary methods of healing, including extraction, power and soul retrieval, and psychopomp. Starting in 1989 he has had extensive training through The Foundation for Shamanic Studies with its founder Michael Harner as well as with a number of shamans from various countries.

Charley is a master drum maker, ceramist, and intermedia artist/sculptor.