ABOUT XAN
activist // preacher // theologian
"There is a difference between the faith of the slave & that of the slaveholder. There is a difference in the God of the lynched & those that do the lynching. There is a different practice of those who are systematically locked out and those doing the locking. I pray we delve deep into the liberating practices of our collective histories of resistance." -Xan West
Xan West considers herself a street theologian, a messy mystic, a radical ritual holder, a spiritual trauma healer and a black queer femme troublemaker. She is Director of Student Ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church where she enjoys inspiring resilience, preaching liberation and decolonizing scripture. She holds a Certificate of Spirituality & Social Change from the Pacific School of Religion. She was a 2016 Black Theology & Leadership Institute Fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2017, she facilitated a workshop on liturgical direct action for the Millennial Leadership Program at Union Theological Seminary. She is currently a member of the Young Leaders Cohort for the Mystic Soul Project, which is aimed at diversifying and reclaiming ancestral contemplative practice. Xan is a RISE TOGETHER Women of Color in Ministry mentee and contributor to Resipiscence: a Lenten Devotional for Dismantling White Supremacy. She is also a member of Second Acts, a direct action group of Jesus followers and 'feral Christians'. She can be found teaching direct action trainings, often from a liturgical perspective; preaching around the Bay Area about Black Lives Matter movements and millennial black liberation theologies or tossing money changers out of temples. Proud to have been born & raised in Oakland, Xan has over 20 years of experience in social justice movement work, mostly related to police accountability, queer rights and community healing. Lately, she just spends as much time as possible with her infant son, Glory.
Xan West considers herself a street theologian, a messy mystic, a radical ritual holder, a spiritual trauma healer and a black queer femme troublemaker. She is Director of Student Ministry at Trinity United Methodist Church where she enjoys inspiring resilience, preaching liberation and decolonizing scripture. She holds a Certificate of Spirituality & Social Change from the Pacific School of Religion. She was a 2016 Black Theology & Leadership Institute Fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2017, she facilitated a workshop on liturgical direct action for the Millennial Leadership Program at Union Theological Seminary. She is currently a member of the Young Leaders Cohort for the Mystic Soul Project, which is aimed at diversifying and reclaiming ancestral contemplative practice. Xan is a RISE TOGETHER Women of Color in Ministry mentee and contributor to Resipiscence: a Lenten Devotional for Dismantling White Supremacy. She is also a member of Second Acts, a direct action group of Jesus followers and 'feral Christians'. She can be found teaching direct action trainings, often from a liturgical perspective; preaching around the Bay Area about Black Lives Matter movements and millennial black liberation theologies or tossing money changers out of temples. Proud to have been born & raised in Oakland, Xan has over 20 years of experience in social justice movement work, mostly related to police accountability, queer rights and community healing. Lately, she just spends as much time as possible with her infant son, Glory.