Welcome to People Watching!
Today I’m talking with Cayce Utley.
I first met Cayce almost 20 years ago, when she started attending a writers' group that I helped start. One of the things I've always admired about Cayce is her passion for social justice and community organizing, especially in the face of dealing with chronic illness.
Cayce has a BA in English with a history minor, and an MA government and public policy. After a brief stint as an English teacher right out of college, she's been involved in community organizing and political work for most of her adult life. She lives with her husband in Northern VA, where they've raised four kids currently at each institutional level: elementary, middle, high school, and most recently, college. Cayce has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of movies, tv, and pop culture, which pairs nicely with her affection for cross-stitching snarky projects that mix the traditional and the sarcastic.
In this second part of our conversation, we dig into the intersections of faith, activism, and community. Together, we explore Cayce's journey through various faith traditions, her advocacy for social justice, and the importance of finding joy in the mundane aspects of life. Our discussion highlights the influences that shape Cayce’s understanding of justice and the role of community and ancestors in her work. I loved how Cayce emphasized the need for collective action and the significance of recognizing the teachers and guides present in our lives.
Talking with Cayce are always challenging and exhilarating. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
Let’s be hopeful, creative, and wise—together.
Shalom,
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:14 Welcome & Touchstones
04:09 Appreciating the Mundane and Ordinary
11:00 Role Models for Advocacy and Justice
24:41 The Cloud of Witnesses and Teachers
39:28 Staying True to the Voice That Calls You Into the Wilderness
42:23 Looking for People to Admire
48:47 The Most Helpful Thing
50:29 Surprised by Tacos
53:28 Where to Find Cayce's Work
55:53 Outro
Watch on YouTube!
Links Mentioned
Lynn Burnett: Cross Cultural Solidarity:
The Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms, Andrew Root: https://www.andrewroot.org/church-in-an-age-of-secular-mysticisms/
The Revolt of the Rich, Mike Lofgren: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/revolt-of-the-rich/
The Martyr of Loray Hill:Ella May and the 1929 Textile Workers' Strike in Gastonia, North Carolina, by Kristina Horton : https://www.amazon.com/Martyr-Loray-Mill-Gastonia-Carolina/dp/0786499648
Batya Levine: https://www.batyalevine.com/bio
Priests of History, Sarah Irving-Stonebraker:
Remembering How to Care: Lessons from DS9: https://truthout.org/audio/remembering-how-to-care-lessons-from-deep-space-nine/
Other Places to Find Cayce
SURJ: https://surj.org/
SURJ IG: https://www.instagram.com/surjnova/
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