New Creation Conversations Episode 048 - Kat Armas on Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength

Welcome to episode forty-eight of New Creation Conversations. In today’s conversation I am very excited to be joined by Kat Armas. Kat holds both MDiv and MAT degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary and is currently working on a ThM Degree at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She has published in several venues, including Sojourners, RELEVANT,Fathom Magazine and Mutuality. She is affiliated with the Fuller Youth Institute and Missio Alliance. She is also an accomplished podcaster. Her podcast, “The Protagonistas,” centers on the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in church leadership and theology. Kat is Cuban-American and insightfully writes and speaks from the intersection of women, Scripture, and her Cuban identity.

I have been very anxious to talk with Kat about her recent book, Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us about Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength – published by Brazos Press. I know it’s still early in 2022, but I don’t doubt that when the year is over it will make my personal list of most formative books that I read this year. Not only is the book a great tribute to her Cuban heritage and the women (especially her grandmother) who were such important sources of wisdom and guidance in her life, it is also an amazing journey exploring many of the overlooked women in the pages of the Scripture. As Kat’s book helps the reader realize, those of us from various majority cultures often read about various people on the margins, but faith to read with them. Because the Scripture emerges from a marginalized people, often reading with those on the margins can help us see the richness, beauty, and truthfulness of the text in ways we simply cannot see. I am very grateful for voices like Kat’s who can help us recognize the theological beauty and insight from persons and places that have too often been overlooked. I deeply loved Kat’s book. I was thrilled to get to talk to her about it, and it brings me joy to get to bring that conversation to you.