Good Faith Media and Christian Athlete Circles Announce Partnership
“Good Faith Media (GFM) and Christian Athlete Circles (CAC) are excited to announce a partnership to highlight and amplify the stories of athletes living out a faith that uplifts justice, mercy and inclusion…Through the partnership, GFM will provide space on its platforms for CAC to share stories that feature their revolutionary and transformative work in providing a nurturing faith community for athletes. This will include regular content on GFM’s online platforms, athlete features in Good Faith Magazine, and spots across a growing network of podcasts and multimedia offerings.”
Christian Athlete Circles provides alternative space in sports
“With funding from the Episcopal Church, the organization plans to launch four pilot circles in the fall. They will include one each at Wake Forest University, Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C., and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The fourth will be hosted online for athletes regardless of location…The ministry is openly affirming but not exclusively LGBTQ+. That’s because gays, lesbians and transgender athletes aren’t alone in needing refuge from far-right Christian theology and practices such as those endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton ruling last month, she explained. The Kennedy case affirmed a high school football coach’s right to conduct public prayer meetings on the 50-yard line immediately after games…”
This is the story of a semi-pro team in North Carolina that believes homosexuality is a sin - and the effect this belief has on its gay players. This is also the story of another team, 130-miles down the road: the Asheville City Blues, a team owned and coached by gay women and rainbow-loving allies who believe you can love whoever you want to love. The rivalry between these two teams is about more than just the queers playing against the evangelical Christians during Pride month.
Christian Athlete Circles Executive Director and Co-Founder, Kelsey Davis, and her wife, Heather, tell their story of being rejected by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Charlotte Eagles for simply being their most authentic selves. It is out of these stories that CAC was formed.
“Play away the gay”
Student-athlete prayer vigil
All are invited to hold space in prayer and community to lament, grieve, and celebrate the lives of student-athletes who have died this year. Our time will be guided by an ecumenical liturgy. If you are able and willing, please bring a candle to light during our time together.
Our time of prayer will be guided by Kelsey Davis and Georgia McKee. We will gather for 30 minutes (7:00pm-7:30pm)
Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century
Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century from the studios of Blue Ridge Public Radio is a podcast that looks at some of the most pressing issues in sports and society. The hosts are the husband and wife team of John Shoop and Marcia Mount Shoop. John coached football for more than two decades in both the NFL and NCAA Division 1, while Marcia is a theologian, minister, and author of books such as Touchdowns for Jesus and Other Signs of Apocalypse.
In this episode, they talk to CAC co-founder, Kelsey Davis, about the founding and vision of Christian Athlete Circles. Listen to this great conversation!
Christian Athlete Circles Offers College Athletes an Open and Affirming Community to Belong, Grow, Pray, and Act
“Our deep hope is to open space for Christian athletes to be nourished and loved as their full and authentic selves, accompanied on their faith journey. I hope that as Circles are born, they are rooted in love and openness, ready to always welcome the next person, and ever widening as there is always room at God’s table.”