{"id":23059,"date":"2024-12-05T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=23059"},"modified":"2026-02-09T08:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:27:45","slug":"melody-gee-conversion-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2024\/12\/05\/melody-gee-conversion-and-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Melody Gee: Conversion and Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.blubrry.com\/?podcast_id=139306002&amp;media_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.blubrry.com%2Fmessyjesusbusiness%2Fcontent.blubrry.com%2Fmessyjesusbusiness%2FMJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3#mode-Light&border-000000&progress-000000\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"165\" frameborder=\"0\" id=\"blubrryplayer-1\" class=\"blubrryplayer\" title=\"Blubrry Podcast Player\"><\/iframe><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/content.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/MJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?powerpress_pinw=23059-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/content.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/MJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"MJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/category\/podcast\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/category\/podcast\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong>Episode 85 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Podcast:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/content.blubrry.com\/messyjesusbusiness\/MJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Play in new window<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/MJB_Episode_85_Melody_Gee.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subscribe:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/messyjesusbusiness.com\/feed\/podcast\/\">Email<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/\">RSS<\/a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/catholic-podcast\/subscribe-to-podcast\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Sometimes [conversion] just felt so hard to do. I had so many questions and I had so many doubts and it was conveyed to me by more than one person that It shouldn&#8217;t be this  hard, but I look back and I&#8217;m actually really grateful for it, for how much I had to wrestle with my adoption and my parents language and what liturgy means now and with our embrace of death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All these things that I carried with me culturally as the daughter of Chinese immigrants had to be reexamined in my conversion. They didn&#8217;t fit into what my life as a Catholic was turning into. I would do these things that felt antithetical to the way my parents raised me&#8230;And I had to maybe not revise those things of my past and those things of how I grew up, but I had to, I guess just reconcile them in a different way and say, yes, where I come from makes me who I am today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It all comes with me, but I can look at it differently.&#8221;<\/p>\n<cite>-Melody Gee<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Topics Discussed:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Immigration experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Conversion to Catholicism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ritual, routine, and liturgy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Discomfort <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The messiness of prayer and community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embodiment of faith<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Balancing different cultures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embracing conflict<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Resisting perfectionism<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Name Drops:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesus<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Thomas Merton<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ronald Rolheiser<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Oliver Burkeman<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greg Boyle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Saul\/Paul<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Books Mentioned:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the Bible<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/we-carry-smoke-and-paper-essays-on-the-grief-and-hope-of-conversion-melody-s-gee\/21501378?ean=9781609389758\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">We Carry Smoke and Paper<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/new-seeds-of-contemplation-thomas-merton\/12409205?ean=9780811217248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Seeds of Contemplation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"964\" height=\"1464\" src=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait.png\" alt=\"Melody Gee\" class=\"wp-image-23063\" style=\"width:656px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait.png 964w, https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait-674x1024.png 674w, https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait-99x150.png 99w, https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-portrait-768x1166.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 964px) 100vw, 964px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Melody Gee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>ABOUT THE GUEST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/melody-s-gee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Melody S. Gee<\/a> is the author of <a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/we-carry-smoke-and-paper-essays-on-the-grief-and-hope-of-conversion-melody-s-gee\/21501378?ean=9781609389758\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">We Carry Smoke and Paper: Essays on the Grief and Hope of Conversion<\/a> (University of Iowa Press, October 2024), which explores the cultural costs of religious conversion. She is also the author of three books of poetry: The Convert\u2019s Heart is Good to Eat, The Dead in Daylight, and Each Crumbling House. She is the recipient of Kundiman fellowships in poetry and fiction, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and an Artist Support Grant from the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. Born in Taiwan and raised in Cerritos, California, Melody is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of New Mexico. She has taught writing at Purdue University, Southwestern Illinois College, and St. Louis Community College, and currently works in renewable energy communications. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband and daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MESSY JESUS BUSINESS<\/strong>&nbsp;is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Email us at&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:messyjesusbusiness@gmail.com\">messyjesusbusiness@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>BE SOCIAL:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MessyJesusBusiness\"><br>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MessyJesusBusiness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facebook:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MessyJesusBusiness\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MessyJesusBusiness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twitter: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/messyjesusbiz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">@messyjesusbiz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instagram:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/messyjesusbusiness\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/messyjesusbusiness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>S<strong>UPPORT US:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/messyjesusbusiness\">https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/messyjesusbusiness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Episode 85 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast:\u00a0Play in new window\u00a0|\u00a0Download Subscribe:&nbsp;&nbsp;Email&nbsp;|&nbsp;RSS&nbsp;|&nbsp;More &#8220;Sometimes [conversion] just felt so hard to do. I had so many questions and I had so many doubts and it was conveyed to me by more than one person that It shouldn&#8217;t be this hard, but I look...","protected":false},"author":149585918,"featured_media":23064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755390],"tags":[698756785,698756788,7104,698756787,698755374,698755651,106887,1098,8437,698755376,150427,234842,130758,39932,4363,8329,13777,1705019,698756786,1861871,853,110427,200003,1494],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-23059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-adoption","tag-asian-american","tag-catholic","tag-chinese-american","tag-community","tag-community-building","tag-conversion","tag-culture","tag-death","tag-discipleship","tag-discomfort","tag-doubt","tag-embodiment","tag-hospitality","tag-immigration","tag-jesus","tag-liturgy","tag-messiness","tag-perfectionism","tag-poetry-2","tag-prayer","tag-ritual","tag-routine","tag-spirituality","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Melody-Gee-landscape.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"eT1AhTSTws\"><a href=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2024\/12\/05\/melody-gee-conversion-and-community\/\">Melody Gee: Conversion and Community<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2024\/12\/05\/melody-gee-conversion-and-community\/embed\/#?secret=eT1AhTSTws\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Melody Gee: Conversion and Community&#8221; &#8212; Messy Jesus Business\" data-secret=\"eT1AhTSTws\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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