Martha's Story, Part 6: Conversations With a Friend: Inés Velásquez-McBryde

In the spirit of seeking God together and discussing good stories with a friend, we conclude our Martha’s Story series with a conversation with Inés Velásquez-McBryde from “The Church We Hope For.”

Inés talks about the ethics of who gets centered both by the words of the storytellers and by the actions of Jesus. In God’s upside-down kingdom, the margins become the middle.

Meanwhile, the first article in my next series is at the link below!

Explore other The Bible and the English Major seasons.


Inés Velásquez-McBryde, Pastor at The Church We Hope For

Inés Velásquez-McBryde is a pastor, preacher, reconciler, and speaker. She is the Co-Lead Pastor of The Church We Hope For, a multiethnic church planted during the 2020 pandemic in southern California. She is originally from Nicaragua. Inés earned her MDiv at Fuller Seminary and was a Chaplain at Fuller for two years. She has 20 years of combined ministry experience in church-planting and pastoral staff leadership in multi-ethnic churches. She has spoken in local church pulpits across the nation, as well as at national and regional conferences sharing her passion for multiethnic church planting, racial reconciliation, justice, and the full inclusion of women in pastoral leadership. She was the recipient of the Ian-Pitts Watson Preaching Award at Fuller Seminary. Inés has been married to Rob for 18 years and loves being a soccer mom to their son, Nash. She loves salsa dancing and café con leche.

Episode References

Inés' Social Media (Website, Instagram & Facebook)

The Church We Hope For (Website, Instagram & Facebook)

People In this Episode

Maren Jo Schneider

Writer, Speaker, Podcaster, Story Fiend, Beloved One

Maren Jo Schneider, a dynamic writer, speaker, and podcaster, transforms our understanding of biblical stories, centering women and others historically marginalized by the church. Maren unleashes her English Major magic on these narratives, highlighting the drama, context, and artistry that showcase God's divine love for all.

Her podcast, "The Bible and the English Major," is featured on Feedspot's "100 Best Bible Podcasts" and several of Chartable.com's top podcast lists. Thanks to her listeners, her podcast has 5 out of 5 Stars on Spotify and 4.9 out of 5 stars on Apple Podcasts. According to Spotify, “The Bible and the English Major” community grew 241% in 2023.

In addition to her podcast, Maren speaks at faith-based gatherings and in secular spaces. Based on the success of her 2023 “The Greatest Story Ever Told?” tour, she is now scheduling additional dates in 2024.

Maren’s passion derives from the unseen significance of Rebekah of Genesis. Her paper "Not Just Isaac’s Wife: Rebekah as Chosen One," written during her study of “The Women of Genesis” while at Claremont Graduate School, was accepted at The Society of Biblical Literature’s regional conference in 2020.

Maren holds a degree in English from Valparaiso University and has furthered her education in Women’s Studies at Claremont Graduate School. You can find some of her writing on Google Scholar. She has also served in roles at Zion-St. John Lutheran Church, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, and Ingham Lutheran Bible Camp.

Maren’s current work is writing a book shedding light on Rebekah’s role and unseen significance. Join her book-writing journey in Season 6 of “The Bible and the English Major.”

https://marenjo.com/about
Previous
Previous

The Gospels are Raining Men, Part 1: But One is Missing

Next
Next

Martha's Story, Part 5: Biblical Fanfiction