In a world where religion is too often used to divide us, how can we return to spirituality as a path back to our hearts and shared humanity?
Faith in the Flesh is a three-part series at the intersection of healing, theology, and spiritual reclamation, co-created by Sweetgum Manor and The Hive. Together, we name toxic religion, reclaim what was stolen, and gather in the flesh to feel what’s holy again.
Part I: The Body as Holy Ground w/Special Guest Lama Rod Owens
Monday, Oct 28 @ 6:30pm – Sweetgum Manor
This gathering will offer more than reflection—it’s an invitation to release spiritual wounds, reconnect with your body as sacred, and discover practices that nurture freedom, connection, and belonging.
The series kicks off with a powerful conversation featuring Lama Rod Owens—renowned Black queer Buddhist teacher, Harvard-trained theologian, and acclaimed author of Love and Rage and The New Saints. Featured by CNN, NPR, and The Washington Post, Lama Rod is celebrated for his honesty, humor, and radical vision of healing and liberation.
He will be joined by Dr. Adam Clark (Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University and leading national voice in Black Liberation Theology), LaShanda Sugg (Licensed Professional Counselor, somatic practitioner, and founder of Labors of Love), and Chris LaRue (Director of The Hive, pastor, and facilitator of contemplative practice and collective transformation).
Moderated by Abigail Allen, founder of Sweetgum Manor, and a decades-long practitioner and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism and yoga.
Together, this interfaith panel will explore how harmful religion can be transformed into healing, how Christianity’s liberating roots can be reclaimed, and how embodied faith can restore wholeness for those who have felt disenchanted, marginalized, or left out. In doing so, this series asks us to consider: What’s still alive in the spiritual lineages we inherited—and what must be composted to set us free?
Save 15% when you book all 3 parts (scroll down for parts 2 & 3)
Just click the “Full Series Bonus” add-on at checkout
Part II: Leaving the Plantation
Friday, Nov 14 @ 6:30pm at Sweetgum Manor
How has the construct of whiteness shaped Christianity—and how do we depart from it as a spiritual and communal act?
For this second gathering, we bring back Dr. Adam Clark, LaShanda Sugg, and D. Lamar Hughes from our opening panel, joined by moderator Troy Bronsink—contemplative leadership teacher, ordained Presbyterian minister, and founder emeritus of The Hive. Together, they will draw on Black Liberation and Womanist Theology to imagine a faith rooted in justice and belonging, and free from domination, shame, and silence.
Part III: The Throne is Empty: Reclaiming Power, Presence, and the Feminine Divine
Friday, Dec 5 @ 6:30pm at Sweetgum Manor
In our final gathering, we welcome Leslie Hershberger (mystic, non-dual facilitator, and Enneagram teacher) and bring back D. Lamar Hughes, Chris LaRue, and Troy Bronsink to continue the conversation. Moderated by Abigail Allen, this panel will explore how reclaiming mystics and mothers, engaging Divine Feminine archetypes, and confronting what we call “the king wound” can open new pathways to power, presence, and creativity.
Together, we will consider how deconstructing submission-based theology makes space for a renewed vision of faith—a return of the sacred within—restoring authority to the inner self and calling us back to deeper wholeness.