In this episode of South to America, Kendall & Erin Dooley sit down with Rev. Breana van Velzen—a powerful voice in the intersection of faith, justice, and cultural memory—for an inspiring conversation on formation, decolonizing theology, and the sacred responsibility of community storytelling.

With deep roots in southeastern North Carolina and a rich journey that includes time at Duke Divinity, Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix, and her current work with Durham Congregations in Action, Rev. Bre shares how her multiethnic identity, lived experiences of poverty, and communal upbringing shaped her call to ministry.

The conversation explores womanist theology, the violent undercurrents of dominant atonement narratives, and the liberating power of theology grounded in love, land, and liberation. Breana also sheds light on the Indigenous history embedded in Durham’s soil, how sacred sites like Stagville Plantation carry stories of both trauma and resilience, and what it means to live into a theology that refuses empire.

What does it mean to hold faith for one another when belief feels impossible? How do our ancestral histories—and the land itself—call us into radical responsibility? And how can cities like Durham serve as teachers for the rest of the nation on truth-telling, belonging, and mutual care?

This episode is a conversation on spiritual depth, historical consciousness, and the fierce, compassionate work of reimagining the world as it should be.

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