Minister Blyth Barnow: Holy Harm Reduction

Minister Blyth Barnow  went to seminary to learn how to hold spiritual space for the communities she comes from. People deemed “too much” for the church. Too difficult, too poor, too “addicted”, too queer, too sexual, too political. These are the people who raised her. These are the people who taught her about the sacred. 

Now Blyth is a harm reduction specialist who is here to talk with us about the intersection of harm reduction and Christian faith. For her, harm reduction is a spiritual practice rooted in unconditional love. It calls us to healing and demands justice. Just like the Gospel.

If you have ever been told that folks who fit in those categories of “too much” are not beloved by God, Blyth is here with the good news of the Gospel: all people are created and loved by God. 

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Min. Blyth Barnow serves as the Harm Reduction Faith Manager for Faith In Public Life in Ohio, where she works to bring clergy and people who use drugs together to end the racist war on drugs. She is a preacher, harm reductionist, writer, and community organizer. She is the founder of Femminary, an online ministry offering spiritual support for queers, femmes, people who use drugs, and harm reductionists. Everyday she finds divinity in the profane, in the ordinary. She has brought her worship service, Naloxone Saves, to several states. Blyth graduated from Pacific School Of Religion where she received a Master of Divinity and the Paul Wesley Yinger preaching award. She also serves on the National Leadership Team for Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), the Overdose and Drug Use Ministry of the United Church of Christ, and is a lead partner with Faith In Harm Reduction.

You can find Blyth on Instagram @femminary or online at https://femminary.com/.