SACReD Story, SACReD People

Vision

In a SACReD world, religious communities shift the culture to make Reproductive Justice a lived reality.

Mission

Our mission is to create and equip a network of spiritual communities with liberative religious education & practices that shift our culture to advance Reproductive Justice. We affirm bodily autonomy and moral agency, celebrate healthy sexuality, and advocate for reproductive dignity to support the flourishing of all people and families.

Core Values

Grounded in the principles that are at the heart of our religious traditions, such as pikuach nefesh (to save a life), kujichugalia (self-determination), and imago dei (image of God) SACReD’s core values are:

Joy: For SACReD, there is an undefinable gladness in knowing you are the co-creator of your life with the Divine in the pursuit of flourishing. Joy is always communal. Joy persists.

Justice: SACReD utilizes the Reproductive Justice framework. Justice to us is an embodied balancing of power that brings about healing, accountability and liberation.

Wholeness: SACReD believes that each person is born complete, good, worthy, and beloved. As we end systems of oppression, each person will be restored to themselves, one another, and the Divine.

Compassion: Being with; SACReD accompanies people through all their reproductive journeys, meeting people where they are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Support SACReD’s Work

SACReD exists because, as people of faith, we cannot abide the suffering and oppression caused by reproductive injustice:

The stripping of people’s bodily autonomy and moral agency
The inaccessibility of birth control, abortion, and maternal healthcare for many
The meager wages that don’t support parenting
The poverty, ill-health, racial/gender inequalities, and domestic violence stemming from lack of reproductive autonomy
The over-policing and polluting of children’s neighborhoods, especially in communities of color
The soul-injuring indignity and shame heaped by religious institutions upon those choosing not, or unable, to procreate

These conditions are morally reprehensible, and we are spiritually stirred to end them. We also reject a narrow, hollow theology of “life” that attempts to justify neglect of these moral concerns.

Social movements need both numeric and moral power. SACReD’s alliance and coalition partnerships bring exactly that. But this starts with the recognition that certain religious groups and hijackers of religion have done a disproportionate amount of the damage to healthy sexuality and reproductive dignity in this country. Therefore, religious people are uniquely positioned and have a disproportionate role to play in creating healing and justice.

In this context, SACReD works with partners to create a religious movement to change the culture. We break the silence and stigma, hold courageous conversations, critically examine the intersection of religion and Reproductive Justice, and equip leaders to facilitate the work that is specifically ours as people of faith. SACReD plays an essential role in the broader, long-term struggle for social transformation that will bring reproductive liberation for everybody and every body.

We need deep, transformational work in our congregations and our wider culture to meet this moment. While the religious right has justified and advocated for reproductive oppression, faith traditions are and can be a major source of reproductive liberation. By changing the culture around faith and reproductive dignity, we will inspire people to change policy for justice.

SACReD pursues culture change and movement mobilization via these program areas:

Education for Reproductive Liberation

We are not here to dictate specific theologies with respect to reproduction, but we invite congregations to:

Learn about intersecting systems of oppression that impact reproduction
Faithfully challenge beliefs that contribute to oppression, shame, and judgment
Recognize and magnify aspects of their traditions that are wholly consistent with Reproductive Justice

Alliance for Solidarity and Mobilization

Fulfilling our mission is difficult, but deeply meaningful work. We need each other’s inspiration, support, and collaboration to build the power for forging religious institutions and a society that truly manifest Reproductive Justice. SACReD is knitting together a mutually supportive network to grow our power and impact.

Advocacy for Reproductive Justice

Liberation is best practically achieved through a Reproductive Justice agenda, which centers the lived experience of Black women and supports:

The human right to have a child
The human right not to have a child
The human right to parent children in safe, sustainable communities
The human right to bodily autonomy

We champion this agenda in the public square.

SACReD grew out of the work of decades of faithful struggles for LGBTQIA+ equality, busting abortion stigma, and providing practical support to those who need it.

Numerous religious traditions and denominations have groups working toward inclusion, affirmation, and celebration of LGBTQIA+ people from within. One of the key strategies for over 50 years has been congregational educational and designation programs, such as Welcoming Churches, Open and Affirming, Unity Mosques, The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Welcoming Synagogues and Shuls, Reconciling Ministries, and so many more!

These designation processes create space for courageous conversations where individuals examine stories, theologies, and sacred texts, and explore different ethical understandings of sexuality and gender. When we recognize the full humanity and experiences of the people we already know and love in our communities, it’s harder to hold onto a belief or political posture that oppresses them.

Texas has been a frontline in the fight for abortion access for over a decade. In the wake of the omnibus anti-abortion bill HB2 that went into effect in 2013, over half of abortion clinics closed in the state. Clergy came to Texas Freedom Network advocating for a deeper strategy to change the culture beyond the legislative session. What other movements have successfully changed the culture recently?

Building on the tried and true strategy of congregational designations, Texas Freedom Network initiated an innovative congregational designation called Reproductive Freedom Congregations. Seeing the need to expand this work nationally, a diverse group of academics, religious leaders, and representatives from numerous LGBTQ+ and reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations coalesced to create what we now know as SACReD.

Read the full story here

We are people who work for a world where families have the resources to flourish, and everyone is free to make decisions about their body with dignity at every stage of life. This is necessary to achieving Reproductive Justice.

SACReD’s current work is conducted by staff, consultants, members of our working committees, and the SACReD Governing Board.

Historically, SACReD came into being throughout 2020-2022 thanks to the labors of love given by representatives of these Founding Organizations:

All Souls Church Unitarian – Washington, DC
Auburn Seminary
California Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Congregation Beth Israel – Austin, TX
Emory University – EnFaith Project
Faith in Women
The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
First Unitarian Church – Dallas, TX
Florida Interfaith Coalition for Reproductive Health and Justice
Just Texas – Texas Freedom Network
Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective
Whole Woman’s Health Alliance

Growing out of Texas means that SACReD is infused with deep care and concern for people making reproductive decisions in states hostile to bodily autonomy. SACReD operates nationally, educates people in 40+ states, and connects people virtually, often by region.

In recent decades, there has been little investment in a religious movement supporting Reproductive Justice, which undermines the strength of the broader reproductive freedom movement. The overturn of Roe v. Wade is the result of an intentional 40-year political campaign, and it will take many years to return to the floor that Roe gave us, much less full access to abortion care in all communities.

SACReD seeks to build strong faith-based networks in all 50 states to support local and state-based efforts to promote Reproductive Justice. SACReD provides resources to people across the country to equip them to show up at the local and state level, which, with enough power, creates national impacts.

Staying true to our roots, SACReD seeks to build a web connecting faith communities to the academy, the secular reproductive freedom movement, and beyond, all working together for the sake of Reproductive Justice!

SACReD and members of its alliance, in deep partnership with many others, will absolutely tell a bigger liberation story to its beautiful conclusion, writing it day by day through our work, for as long as it takes.

Become a part of this story!

Leadership

Rev. Latishia James (She/They)

Co-Director for Organizational Development

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Latishia James, MDiv (she/they) affectionately known as Rev. Pleasure is a Black queer femme, womanist, writer, facilitator of healing spaces for BIPOC women, femmes, and LGBTQIA folks, and sacral spirituality coach. A Master of Divinity and Certificate of Sexuality+ Religion graduate from Paciflc School of Religion she lives – and works – at the intersection of pleasure activism, sacral sanctity, spirituality, reproductive and healing justice.

Latishia also holds a bachelor of arts from Villanova University in Human Services, which is where they flrst understood that they could be a healing practitioner beyond a medical professional and began advocating for the wholeness of women and girls of color. Their startup spirit and ministry of presence reaches beyond the physical walls of “the church.” Her service as a rape crisis counselor, LGBTQ activist, hospital and abortion-clinic chaplain, and facilitator blossomed into Empathic Solutions, LLC, their consulting and spiritual coaching practice for people harmed by religious rhetoric and patriarchal power-based violence.

Latishia is dedicated to the wholeness of Black folks, and that is at the forefront of everything she does including her care of herself. They are committed to experiencing the fullness of joy and goodness of their body for their own benefit, outside of systems of oppression, in this lifetime and wants the same for their beloveds.

Rev. Angela Tyler-Williams (She/Her)

Co-Director for Movement Building

Angela is a queer pastor ordained by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) into her call to engage people of faith to speak publicly and politically in support of reproductive health, rights, and justice and LGBTQIA+ equality. Angela holds a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The Center for American Progress named Angela as one of the 22 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2022. Angela learned about faith-based community organizing and building people power to create positive social change from the Industrial Areas Foundation. In her free time, Angela volunteers as a clergy counselor with Faith Aloud Talkline. She finds life in experiencing music, listening to podcasts, exploring creation, and engaging in theological discussions that go off the beaten path.

Rev. Lyndsey Godwin (She/They)

Program Operations Coordinator

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Lyndsey grew up very Presbyterian in rural Ohio, but at a time when the Presbyterian Church didn’t have space for a queer minister focused on questions of justice. They were welcomed into Glendale Baptist, a progressive baptist congregation, for their Divinity School internship where they planted unexpected roots through youth and community-based ministry. Each year she works with a group of progressive baptist and UCC ministers to co-create BYC Youth Camp, and in 2019 she was ordained to continue her work as a community minister focused on the places where faith connects to reproductive freedom, trans and queer liberation, and anti-racist practice.

Lyndsey brings 20 years of anti-oppression education, facilitation, capacity building, and relational organizing to SACReD. They have worked as the Manager of Education at Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, the Assistant Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and the Manager of Capacity Building at GLSEN. They were one of the founding directors of Nashville Launch Pad, an LGBTQ+ affirming emergency shelter for youth 18-24, and they serve on the Board of Directors for SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.

Lyndsey is white, feminist and queer, and is southern by the way of y’all. They live on the land of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi outside of Durham, North Carolina. Lyndsey has a Masters of Divinity and Certificate in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality from Vanderbilt Divinity School. Her work is informed by relationships with and the wisdom of Black feminists, womanists, radical trans activists, indigenous and liberationist theologians, and queer visionaries.

Dr. Elizabeth M. Freese (She/Her)

Scholar-in-Residence

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Elizabeth is a scholar-activist, currently supporting SACReD’s curriculum and advocacy programs. In other service to the faith and repro movement, she was Associate Director of the online Learning Center at RCRC (Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice), and she developed abortion access advocacy resources for Christians through Auburn Seminary. Elizabeth is also Adjunct Professor of Religion and Society at Drew University Theological School and is working on her first book.

In her public scholarship, Elizabeth contributes to an understanding of the dynamic interactions between Christianity and the politics of reproduction. Her essays have been featured in Salon, Religious Dispatches, Common Dreams, and Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Interventions forum, and she has participated in webinar panels with Drew University’s Forum on Religion and Global Heath, Women’s March, RCRC, and Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Program in Religion and Justice.

Elizabeth earned a PhD in Religion and Society at Drew University, a MA in Religion at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, a MA in Communications at the U of AR, and a BA in Sociology at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Rev. Kentina Washington-Leapheart (She/Her)

Curriculum Support Consultant

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Kentina Washington-Leapheart is an independent speaker, writer, facilitator, and consultant. She has dedicated nearly 15 years to causes related to Reproductive Justice, and has a deep appreciation for, and commitment to, the causes of bodily autonomy and freedom for Black and brown people broadly, and Black women specifically, particularly in healthcare settings, as well as in faith spaces.

For three and a half years, Kentina led the Religious Institute’s national education and advocacy initiatives as the Director of Programs for Reproductive Justice and Sexuality Education. In that role, she developed and facilitated trainings, curated roundtables, and published a variety of essays and op-eds in the spirit of advancing the moral case in faith communities – and in the wider world – for the Reproductive Justice framework. Most recently, Kentina served as the Project Manager for the Donor Milk Health Equity Task Force at the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). In that role, Kentina and a team of external experts examined the accessibility of donor milk, culminating in the publishing of a blueprint document of recommendations for nonprofit milk banks, healthcare institutions, and funders on strategies that would ensure an ethically-sourced and equitably distributed supply of donor human milk. This project had a special emphasis on Black, Latinx, and Native/Indigenous populations, as well as Muslim communities for whom usage of donor milk has specific and nuanced religious grounds and implications.

Kentina has previously worked as a chaplain in long-term care facilities, hospices, and hospitals, where she spent extensive time providing spiritual care and support to individuals and families making reproductive decisions across the lifespan. She has also served as a board member for a national women’s health organization and is a long-time volunteer for pregnancy/parenting/early intervention causes in Philadelphia, where she resides with her family.

Kentina is ordained via The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) and finds great joy in her identities as a Black, queer, womanist whose lived experiences inform every aspect of her work.

Governing Board Members

Rev. Rob Keithan

Co-Chair of the Steering Committee

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Rev. Rob Keithan is the Minister of Social Justice at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington, DC. He has a passion for organizing at the intersections of religion and reproductive health, rights, and justice, with a focus on long-term culture change. Previously, Rev. Keithan served as a consultant at the Center for American Progress and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, as well as Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations Washington Office. He is a graduate of Wesley Theological Seminary.

Rev. Dr. Andrea Vassell

Co-Chair of the Steering Committee

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Bishop Andrea Vassell is a graduate of Lancaster Theological Seminary and the proud recipient of the Delores Berry Liberation Preaching Award. She is ordained to Christian Ministry in The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM) and currently serves as the Bishop to Africa and the Caribbean. In the New Jersey Association of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, she serves as the Social Justice and Witness Taskforce representative to the NJA Council. Most recently, Rev. Vassell represented TFAM at the White House along with other denominational leaders in a roundtable discussion on reproductive rights after the leaked SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Strong family values centered in love is foundational to the work she does. Her commitment to justice and the care of humanity is evidenced in her work at the intersections of faith, justice, and healthcare.

In 2017 she founded Keeping Our Girls in School – a program that provides menstrual hygiene products to girls experiencing period poverty in Nairobi, Kenya. She believes that no girl’s education should be interrupted by her period and all girls ought to be given the opportunity to a full and robust education. In 2019 B. E. Vassell started the Wawa Aba Womanist Leadership Institute, a program designed to teach womanist theology and leadership tools to emerging leaders in East Africa. She conducts theological, healthcare education, and leadership conferences for clergy and community activists internationally.

Rev. Dr. Daniel C. Kanter

Senior Minister, First Unitarian Church of Dallas

Rabbi Kelly Levy

Associate Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel, Austin, TX

Glenn Northern

Abortion Access Campaign Co-Director, National Council of Jewish Women

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters

Professor of Religious Studies, Elon University

Margaret Velto

Outreach Coordinator, Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice