Birthing Team
Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson
Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson is a preacher, pastor, and prophet. Riana is passionate about speaking the truth in love, offering a constant invitation for people to see themselves as beloved, and providing various ways to respond to the command to love God, self, and neighbor. Riana was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament with the Reformed Church in America (RCA).
Riana recently served as the Associate Pastor of Formation at Oakland City Church (OCC) where she spearheaded efforts to help the community live more deeply into its anti-racist values. As the Minister of City Engagement, she expanded the church’s community partnerships and commitment to solidarity with marginalized communities in Oakland.
Riana is a wife and proud mom of four. She is an East Bay native and currently lives in Oakland.
Rev. Sally Steele
Sally Steele is an ordained minister in the RCA (Reformed Church in America), an experienced nonprofit executive, and outdoor enthusiast committed to fostering social impact, equity, and inclusive community. She’s worked with churches and faith-based organizations for the past 15 years, most recently serving as Co-Executive Director of City Hope San Francisco, an organization providing meals, transitional housing, and a deep sense of belonging to San Francisco’s most vulnerable residents. Throughout her adult life Sally has found her sense of rootedness and connection in the outdoors, and this year she embarked on her newest adventure as co-founder and CEO of Outdoorithm, a company dedicated to making camping more accessible to urban families by removing the key friction points of knowledge, gear, and community.
Sally is married to Justin, and they live in Oakland, CA, with their four daughters.
Aeryn Seto Johnson
Aeryn Johnson has been preaching in Bay Area churches since 2014. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley, she is a candidate for pastoral ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA) enrolled in the Master's of Divinity program at Fuller Theological Seminary.
For over 20 years, Aeryn has served as a leader in the corporate banking industry, where she is committed to advancing opportunities for women and people of color. She currently leads transformational learning programs for thousands of team members globally.
Aeryn is the wife and covenant partner of Shan, and the mother of high school aged twins.
Birth Story
BEFORE THERE WAS MIRIAM'S SONG
THERE WAS A CHURCH BABY
In March 2020, I (Riana) found myself at the first in-person gathering of the Grown Ass Women cohort of Liberated Together. I couldn’t have imagined how much I needed to be surrounded by women of color to set me on a journey of healing.
These previously unknown sister-friends listened me into life. They held up a mirror and helped me to get a glimpse of freedom while I was still being crushed under the weight of existing in the world (and the church) as a Black Woman.
There, a Church Baby started to make a home in my soul. These women were among the first to bear witness to the freedom and liberation growing inside me.
The language of gestation and birth is an act of resistance against the inherent white supremacy and patriarchy undergirding traditional church planting models. We are not trying to spread seeds!
During the season of Advent in 2022, Miriam’s Song came into the world surrounded by more than fifty, midwives and doulas; aunties and grandmothers; comadres and Godmothers; pastors and prophets; sisters and friends. Our first gatherings felt like freedom. Many of the women that attended, and the preachers, said they had never been to a church where they could bring the fullness of themselves.
Miriam’s Song is a co-creation with God that honors the inherent wisdom of women of color’s bodies and souls, is honest about our limits, and is aware that new life needs a community to thrive. Her DNA already reflects the joy and pain, the oppression and resistance, and the healing and flourishing of our ancestors.
***The acts of birthing and mothering are not limited to people that have wombs or the desire to raise children. Everyone has the capacity to participate in acts of holy creativity. Everyone needs care and nourishment when we make space in our bodies and souls for new life. Everyone needs a community to tend to us after the labor required to bring something new into the world.
gathering Rhythms
The birthing team made a decision to create rhythms for the year that would not make us sad or tired. That state of being, productivity over peace, is all too common for women and GNB folks of color. Our approach is intentionally resisting the church planting models that prioritize growth over care and relationships.
Keeping with the birthing/mothering theme, we have honored the healing and recovery work that needs to happen during the fourth trimester [link]. When we bring a new thing into the world, our bodies and souls need time to heal and reorient to a new normal. In many cultures, the community offers deep care, nourishment, and protection during these early days. That has been true for Miriam’s Song.
Folks continue to affirm the vision of centering the healing, wholeness, and flourishing of women and gender nonbinary fam of color by showing up, making donations, sharing and celebrating, praying, and encouraging. Thank you!