Stories That Challenge, Heal, and Reimagine

This week’s Wild Goose lineup gathers voices that refuse to look away—from hard truths, hidden histories, and the stories we carry in our bones. Through ethics, music, scholarship, and storytelling, they invite us into a faith that wrestles honestly and lives courageously.

David Gushee
Christian ethicist, author, and global thought leader, David Gushee helps the church navigate faith in a changing world. A key voice in post-evangelical theology, his work on justice, democracy, and moral courage challenges believers to live what they profess.

Foosie
A storyteller from the heart of struggle and redemption, Foosie creates music that lifts up the unheard. With an “All-American Ghetto” style, he reminds us that every life holds a story worth telling—and every voice deserves to be heard.

Elizabeth “Libbie” Schrader Polczer
New Testament scholar and former singer-songwriter, Libbie Schrader Polczer explores the complexities of early Christian texts, especially the role of Mary Magdalene in John’s Gospel. Her work blends rigorous scholarship with a lifelong passion for story, music, and rediscovery.

Gareth Higgins
Writer, peacebuilder, and co-founder of Wild Goose, Gareth Higgins explores how stories shape our lives and communities. Drawing on roots in Northern Ireland, he invites us into courageous storytelling that nurtures justice, imagination, and a deeper, freer way of being.

Come listen closely. The stories we tell might just change the ones we live.

Workshops for a Deeper Personal Understanding

You didn’t come here for safe. You came for movement. Here’s your weekly nudge.

Listen to Yourself

Hannah Rowen Fry invites participants to be present in the moment with the presence of God. Experience the simplicity of guided reflection, moving thoughts from head to paper in this contemplative writing practice. Enjoy a moment of peace and stillness. Leave feeling lighter and equipped to receive what’s next.

Reclaim Your Story

Zach Helton leads this workshop for anyone looking to transform narratives that once felt binding—or even shaming—into living resources for healing and courage. Zach provides practical tools to move from “cringing” at your tradition to creatively reclaiming it. It’s an invitation to stop grieving the stories you’ve lost and start reimagining them as catalysts for your own spiritual liberation.

Write Your Lyric

Cheryl Wilder invites us to explore our inner lives, which are mysterious to us and beyond our control. The function of the personal lyric, broadly speaking, is to help us express and regulate our emotional lives, which are confusing and sometimes opaque. In this workshop we learn how to “translate” our emotions into language and actively make them into a poem.

This year’s Goose is writing something wild and wondrous. You in?

Color, Courage, and a Whole Lot of Love

This week’s Wild Goose gathering brings together artists and advocates who refuse to dim the light. From hip-hop that heals to theology that liberates, from mama-bear hugs to boundary-breaking ministry, these voices remind us that faith at its best is vibrant, embodied, and fiercely compassionate.

SkyBlew
A genre-bending hip-hop artist with a joyful, “coolest nerd you ever heard” vibe, SkyBlew blends anime, gaming, and lived experience into music that radiates hope. From foster care to global stages, his “Painting The Sky,Blew” sound inspires resilience and imagination.
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Stan Mitchell
Pastor, speaker, and advocate, Stan Mitchell is known for his courageous leadership in LGBTQ+ inclusion within evangelical spaces. Founder of GracePointe Church, he creates communities rooted in love, belonging, and honest dialogue across difference.
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Sara Cunningham
Founder of Free Mom Hugs, Sara Cunningham has become a national voice for love in action. Through advocacy, storytelling, and simple, powerful gestures of care, she helps families and communities embrace and celebrate LGBTQIA+ people.
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Chanequa Walker-Barnes
Theologian, psychologist, and author, Chanequa Walker-Barnes explores the intersections of racial justice, spirituality, and self-care. Her work invites deep healing and courageous truth-telling, equipping communities to confront injustice while nurturing the soul.
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Come find your people. Come find your voice. The Goose is waiting.

Slow Down. Let Go. Come Alive.

A Pilgrimage Through Wild Goose

What if the festival itself became sacred ground? Inspired by the ancient Camino de Santiago — a route Julie McElmurry completed herself in 2002 — this slow, joyful walk transforms the Wild Goose grounds into a pilgrimage route, complete with roadside chapels, tea and oranges, surprise encounters, and new friendships. Julie will map the route fresh each day, weaving in spontaneous stops and unhurried moments of connection. Everyone is welcome, every pace is honored, and at the end, you’ll earn your very own Compostela. Come for the walk. Stay for the community.

Waning Moon Circle: A Ritual of Release

Under the waning moon, this candlelit nighttime gathering invites you to set down what no longer serves you. Author and meditation teacher Chelsea Kim Long leads an intimate circle blending guided meditation, journaling, and embodied ritual — creating space to release harmful beliefs, old identities, and the stories that keep you bound. What if your emotions aren’t obstacles, but holy guidance? This is a gentle, grounded space for anyone ready to honor both the light and the dark within.

Soul-Focused Energy Healing

What does it mean to live from your Soul rather than your ego? In this experiential workshop, certified practitioner Kendal McDevitt introduces Soul-Focused Energy Healing — a precise, systematic approach to restoring balance across body, mind, heart, and Spirit. Through guided meditation, energy-sensing practices, and chakra work, you’ll explore how the human energy field holds the map to deeper health, wholeness, and presence. A grounding, transformative way to open your Wild Goose weekend.

The path winds. The moon wanes. The Soul stirs

Sound, Spirit, and Sacred Courage

This week’s Wild Goose lineup hums with music, prophecy, and fearless truth-telling. From global soundscapes to justice-driven preaching, these voices don’t just inspire—they stir, challenge, and heal. Come meet the artists and leaders helping us imagine a faith big enough for the world we’re becoming.

HuDost
Blending folk, rock, and Sufi soul, HuDost creates a transcendent musical experience rooted in activism and healing. Partners in life and art, Moksha Sommer and Jemal Wade Hines craft genre-defying soundscapes that carry both the ache and beauty of the human story. MORE

John Pavlovitz
Writer, pastor, and activist John Pavlovitz brings bold clarity to faith in turbulent times. Author of A Bigger Table and Worth Fighting For, he cultivates compassionate community through his writing and the Empathetic People Network. MORE

Paula Stone Williams
Pastoral counselor and global speaker Paula Stone Williams explores gender, faith, and power with honesty and grace. Her memoir As a Woman and widely viewed TED Talks invite deeper understanding and courageous conversations about identity and justice. MORE

Yvette Flunder
Bishop Yvette Flunder is a pioneering pastor, gospel artist, and founder of City of Refuge UCC. A leading voice for radical inclusion, she weaves worship and justice through ministries addressing HIV/AIDS, community health, and spiritual empowerment. MORE

Come for the music. Stay for the transformation. The Goose is gathering.

Prophets, Poets, Pastors, and Possibility

Some voices sing truth. Some preach it. Some write it into being. And some stir it up just enough to make you laugh while you’re being transformed. This week’s Wild Goose guests bring music, theology, justice, and joy into the same holy conversation—reminding us that faith isn’t static, it’s alive, and it sounds like all of us together.

Crys Matthews
Equal parts songwriter, storyteller, and social justice troubadour, Crys Matthews delivers music with a mission. Her blend of folk, gospel, and blues fuels the movement and feeds the soul — think Joan Baez meets Tracy Chapman at a protest rally. MORE

Doug Pagitt
Pastor, author, and merry theological disruptor, Doug Pagitt brings bold ideas wrapped in bigger questions. As founder of Vote Common Good, he helps faith communities reimagine public life with hope, humor, and just the right amount of holy trouble. MORE

Grace Ji-Sun Kim
Theologian, author, and professor Grace Ji-Sun Kim brings global perspective and Spirit-filled imagination to conversations about faith, justice, and belonging. A leading voice in feminist and intercultural theology, she invites the church into a more expansive, inclusive vision of God and community. MORE

Victoria Robb Powers
Senior Pastor of Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, Victoria Robb Powers is a gifted preacher, pastor, and children’s book author whose ministry bridges compassion and courage. With experience across chaplaincy, congregational leadership, and public witness, she embodies a faith that is both deeply rooted and boldly lived. MORE

Witches, Hot Glue Guns & Humans — Oh My!

Stay inspired—each week we showcase a new set of Experiences, selected at random to surprise, inform, and engage.

Get GLUEY with hot glue & the gun

Grab a hot glue gun and get ready to make something beautiful out of the broken pieces. In this wildly fun, all-ages experience, the theatrical duo hot glue & the gun invites you to transform trash, treasure, hope, and struggle into collective assemblage art — set to live theater-rock music. It’s part concert, part art project, and pure community. Come ready to let it go, let it grow, and #betheglue.

Human Nature Reimagined: Evolution, Sin & Healing with JD Stillwater 

What if your most “sinful” traits were actually essential to your survival? Science ambassador and Cornell graduate JD Stillwater flips the script on human nature, exploring how evolution offers a surprisingly hopeful — even grace-filled — lens on who we are and why we struggle. In this interactive Science Tent workshop, you’ll shed shame, reconsider repentance, and discover how gratitude might be the most transformative force of all.

Magic, Faith & Questions

Can you love Jesus and do magic? Is it ever right to cast a curse? Whether you’re a seasoned witch, a curious Christian, or still waiting on your Hogwarts letter, this candid Q&A with professional taumaturgo Jo’el Adifon is your safe space to ask the questions you’ve always wondered about. Drawing from West African roots, Italian heritage, and a Columbia MA in Clinical Psychology, Jo’el navigates the electrifying intersection of faith, magic, and lived practice — and closes with a blessing for everyone.

Come get messy. Come get free. 

Brave Voices, Bold Faith, Big Hearts

This year’s Goose gathers artists, authors, prophets, and truth-tellers who refuse easy answers and shallow spirituality. Together, they sing, write, challenge, and bless their way toward a more honest, courageous, and compassionate faith. Meet four voices helping shape the conversation.

Flamy Grant
A trailblazing drag artist and musician from Asheville, Flamy Grant blends Appalachian roots, fearless storytelling, and powerhouse vocals. With chart-topping albums and national acclaim, Flamy creates theatrical, healing performances where faith, freedom, and fabulousness meet.
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Frank Schaeffer
New York Times bestselling author and cultural critic Frank Schaeffer brings hard-earned wisdom shaped by faith, doubt, disability, and resilience. A survivor of fundamentalism and polio, he writes with honesty, humor, and deep compassion.
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Starlette Thomas
Author, activist, and womanist theologian Starlette Thomas leads powerful conversations on race, faith, and belonging. Through The Raceless Gospel, her preaching, teaching, and scholarship call the church toward deeper justice and truer community.
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Diana Butler Bass
Award-winning scholar and author Diana Butler Bass is one of America’s most trusted voices on spirituality and religious life. With clarity, warmth, and wit, she helps people see faith, history, and hope in new and life-giving ways.
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Come listen for the holy in unexpected places. Come be changed. Come home to the Goose.

Music, Dance, Eros

Stay inspired—each week we showcase a new set of Experiences, selected at random to surprise, inform, and engage.

At Wild Goose Festival, you don’t just sit and soak it in. You move, you listen, you play, you become.

The Drum on the Far Shore

Rev. Victoria Robb Powers invites us to step into the wilderness: moving from every narrow story we have inherited to wide open space – wide enough for dignity, for difference, for joy. And on the far shore of that widening, when the grip of the narrow place finally loosens, there is a drum. The first act of a free people is not control. It is rhythm. It is movement. It is dance.

Punk Festival Chaplaincy

Rev. James Clarke offers  his experiential wisdom and best practices for offering music-festival chaplaincy, along with his insights into punk and metal culture, particularly where it intersects with spirituality and theology. His work includes setting up and running listening stations, and he will share his tools and tips for meeting music festival attendees where they are. 

Men, Christ, and Eros

Jon Carl Lewis helps followers of Jesus explore healthy, justice-oriented, Jesus-centered and joyful attitudes and practices around sexuality, relating, and the body. This Experience explores how men who cultivate their creative yearnings before God find the freedom to serve, live, work and play alongside other bodies as we co-create the beloved Shalom envisioned for us from the beginning of time.

This isn’t passive learning.
It’s holy mischief. It’s sacred play. It’s embodied revolution.

Are you ready?