The Living Church Podcast

What hath Pentecost to do with Wall Street?  Or, for that matter, what do the drudgery and stress of balancing checkbooks, checking spreadsheets, and making financial decisions, in your parish, diocese, or at home, have to do with the Holy Spirit's creative, enlivening presence? As Christians we often do have an idea of how our personal finances are or at least should be guided by prudence, simplicity, justice. Dave Ramsey. Got it. But how do our economic lives as human beings, even on a national or international level, relate to the revelation of Jesus Christ, or to the life and vocation God has given to the Church? Is it even possible to have such a vision, or to do anything about it? We've got a conversation today with guests who bring two different and very unique perspectives to the table, to help us get a theological vision for God's purpose for our common life together and how economics and the Christian life might intersect. Our first guest is Dr. Daniela Augustine. Daniela is currently Reader in World Christianity and Pentecostal Studies at the University of Birmingham UK, with a previous background in economics. Her focus is in ethics and public theology and engaging Eastern Orthodox theology in conversation with Pentecostal theology, especially in liturgy, theosis, and the event of Pentecost as a paradigm for social transformation. Her latest book is The Spirit and the Common Good: Shared Flourishing in the Image of God. Our second guest is The Rev. Dr. Nathan McLellan. Nathan worked as an economist in the New Zealand Treasury for over six years before a hunger for theological education led him to a Ph.D. in Christian ethics. He is currently CEO and Teaching Fellow at Venn Foundation, an education institution helping Christians explore the depths and riches of the Christian tradition for the good of their homes, workplaces, churches, and communities in New Zealand. He is passionate about helping others deepen their integration of faith and life, especially in the areas of economics, business, and leadership. The conversation is moderated by Dr. Dallas Gingles. Dallas is the Site Director of the Houston-Galveston Extension Program of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, where he teaches courses in moral theology, systematic theology, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and bioethics. His current work includes a co-edited volume on the future of Christian realism. Donate to the Living Church Go to Rome with the Living Church! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We are heading to Toronto! Toronto, Ontario is a center of multinational life, education, commerce, the arts, and food. It's also full of thriving churches. How do urban and rural Canadian Christians thrive? Where is the church growing, and why? And what can the rest of us learn from what Anglicans in Toronto are learning about ministry, multiculturalism, and community? Today I speak with the Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison and the Rev. Dr. Jeff Boldt about these questions and more. They give me a little taste of life in this fascinating city, and a glimpse at how they've experienced immigration, ethnic diversity, and Indigenous life building up the body of Christ. The Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison is rector at St. Paul's Bloor St in Toronto. She is the former area bishop of York-Credit Valley in the Diocese of Toronto and has served in Toronto for many years. Bishop Jenny has also served in the Diocese of London (UK), and the Diocese of Tokyo. The Rev. Dr. Jeff Boldt serves as a priest in the diocese of Toronto. Jeff grew up as a Mennonite and has a previous career as an animator. Jeff has contributed to several volumes of Anglican theology, most recently in The Bible and the Prayer Book Tradition. Just a note, I want to mention that we recorded this episode before the horrifying news broke, about the unmarked graves of hundreds of Indigenous children found on the grounds of former church-run schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Though honoring multiethnicity and a growing church is where our conversation today will focus, we also acknowledge the history in North America, a history shared by Canada and the U.S., not only of ethnic tensions that naturally arise in diverse contexts, but of terrible abuses within the Church, a history that still cries out for repentance and healing. Lord, have mercy. Thanks for joining us for this conversation. Shoulder your knapsack. And Let's head to Toronto. Travel to Rome with the Living Church and Nashotah House. Give to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Live streaming and worship. Zoom and Bible study. Outreach and TikTok. For the average congregation, we used to think, never any of these twains shall meet. Now, if you work at a church, you'd better be on your iPhone and Facebook game. And, if you're ordained, you had better know how to use a tripod. Right? A couple of weeks ago we started a series on "Hybrid church." What is hybrid church, should we embrace it, is it theologically sound in part or in whole, who seems to be responding to it? Which technologies might work best for certain contexts, and how? Today we talk to someone whose journey might be helpful to other digital ministry skeptics. The Rev. John Mason Lock is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Red Bank, New Jersey, and he is passionately committed to traditional Anglican worship and liturgy, with a particular respect for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. And this is his story, his words of advice for rectors and other church leaders on how and why to adopt digital techniques for ministry today. And we also get his theological take on why it might be good still to keep the side-eye on all this hybrid stuff, so our tendency to avoid the challenges of embodied experience doesn't get out of control. Give to keep this podcast going! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Preachers, teachers, and Christians across the globe have found the passionate, pastoral, and psychologically astute writings of St. Augustine of Hippo fresh and relevant century after century. New City Press asked themselves, um, why hasn't anyone produced a really rock star translation of all of Augustine's sermons in English? And of course, being a publishing company, they did something about it. Their latest in this series is a new translation of St. Augustine's Homilies on the Gospel of John. (See link below.) June 8 TCLI co-hosted a master class and live Q+A session with Rowan Williams and Augustine scholar John Cavadini, focusing specifically on Augustine as a preacher, what we can learn as preachers from him, and on his homilies on John 6. Today we're pleased to present the audio of this master class to you. Our moderator is the Rev. Dr. Paul Kolbet. he is the author of a book on Augustine’s preaching, Augustine and the Cure of Souls: Revising a Classical Ideal. He is also Lecturer in the History of Christianity at Yale Divinity School, Co-Chair of the Augustine and Augustinianisms Group of the American Academy of Religion, and Interim Rector of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Chelmsford, Mass. Our first guest is Dr. John C. Cavadini, Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, where he also serves as McGrath-Cavadini Director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life. He specializes in patristic theology and in its early medieval reception. He has served a five-year term on the International Theological Commission (appointed by Pope Benedict the 16th) and received the Monika K. Hellwig Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Intellectual Life. Our second guest is the Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, and then as Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge until 2020.  He has published numerous books on theology and spirituality, including On Augustine (2016) and Christ the Heart of Creation (2018). A new volume of Collected Poems will be published later this year. Read new translations of Augustine by New City Press. Explore the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In the words of the old Pentecost hymn, where does "the Holy Spirit make a dwelling"? This is the question of our episode today. The Spirit is the person of the Trinity who conceives and animates the flesh of Christ and his body, the Church. How are these realities related, and how do we recognize them? In 1998, the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, professor of historical theology at Wycliffe College, published a book called The End of the Church, a spicy title that refers to the egregious reality of disunity and failure in Christ's body. Given that, the book asks, doesn't death in the body indicate the Spirit's absence? In 2019, Dr. Radner published another book on what he sees as our contemporary misreadings and misunderstandings of the Spirit's work in the world and our lives, and that book is called A Profound Ignorance: Modern Pneumatology and Its Anti-Modern Redemption. Are we given the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to fix, or even alleviate, the world's problems and sufferings? How do we know what the Holy Spirit is up to, when faced with vague or conflicting claims of the Spirit's work? Where is the Holy Spirit in our failure? The Rev Dr. Wesley Hill and I sat down for a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner about just these questions. We were delighted and challenged. Enjoy listening in! Register for Master Class with Rowan Williams. Give to keep this podcast going! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Church leaders, how do you welcome technology into congregational life after the pandemic? Are you excited by all the new possibilities? Or does the word "virtual" within a mile of the word "worship" make you cringe? Wherever you're at on this, very, very few of us are not asking questions about "hybrid church."  A couple weeks ago we set some framework with Dr. Sara Schumacher in a conversation about spiritual disciplines and the personal and communal development of Christlikeness and virtue as it relates to technology. Today we're going to get a different perspective from a rector who's been engaging technology for some time in pastoral care and evangelism, and especially social media and the internet, not only as a tool, but as a place for encounter. The Rev. Tim Schenck has been rector at St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, MA, since 2009. He's also served parishes in New York and Baltimore. In a former life he was a political campaign consultant,  public affairs officer, and a paratrooper. Father Tim is the author of five books including, most recently, Holy Grounds: The Surprising Connection Between Coffee and Faith (Fortress Press). He is also the mind behind the online devotional Lent Madness. Should we embrace "hybrid church"? What the heck does that even mean? Today begins a two-part conversation on this topic. Give to TLC. Register for Augustine Master Class with Rowan Williams. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

How many Zoom meetings, Facetime calls, Netflix hours, and general hours on a screen have you had this week? This experience is so common these questions have become a trope. But they're not really new. Don't forget: Before the pandemic, we were getting an avalanche of research about the risks and harms of screen time and digital technology. We were starting to hear about screen fasts and not letting our kids even see a smart phone until they reached a certain age. And then, suddenly, screens became a window to the world in a whole new way. Digital technology has enabled, sometimes powerfully, sometimes feebly, connection with other people and places: a way to go to school, keep tabs on family and friends, have game night, date, and even (maybe?) go to church. Today we introduce a series on just this tension, between what we're told we need, or actually need, in terms of digital tools and screen time to live faithfully as Christians in this moment, and the need to practice wisdom and discernment when it comes to choosing how to engage digitally with the world. We're setting up a little philosophical framework today with Dr. Sara Schumacher. Sara is Academic Dean and tutor & lecturer in theology and the arts at St. Mellitus College. She's also author of the booklet Reimagining the Spiritual Disciplines for a Digital Age. We had her on the show to talk about how the spiritual disciplines—particularly solitude, simplicity, and Sabbath—can help us to prepare to make choices about our use of digital technology, break addictive habits, and recognize when technology itself shows us where its limits are in helping us do what God calls us to. Check out Sara's book here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sparkling waterfalls. Sacred wells. Talking animals. Is this a fairy tale? Or Celtic Christianity? We love to explore all things Celtic. Celtic prayer services, Celtic Christian art, like the Book of Kells. Celtic pilgrimages. We can get a little romantic about Celtic Christianity. The visual culture. The deep connection to creation. The sense of humor. And of course its wonderful panoply of saints. But what is "Celtic Christianity" actually? Is it helpful, or even correct, to lump together Irish and Welsh Christianity like that? What do we get wrong? What distinctives do we miss? And what is actually unique about what God was up to on those wet, cold, beautiful coasts? And how do Welsh people feel about all this? Well, today we'll be joined by: Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier, senior lecturer in history at the University of the West of England, Bristol, and a scholar of Anglicanism and early modern political culture.  Her forthcoming book is entitled, Royalism, Religion, and Revolution: Wales, 1640-1688. We're also joined by her husband, the Rev. Dr. Mark Clavier, residentiary canon at Brecon Cathedral, and the author of Reading Augustine: On Consumer Culture, Identity, the Church, and the Rhetorics of Delight. Our conversation is led by Dr. Hannah Matis, Assoc. Professor of Church History at Virginia Theological Seminary. Now grab your handcrafted Iona coffee mug and hold onto your prayer books -- for this fascinating conversation about the complex and surprising history of Celtic British Christianity! Donate to keep this podcast going. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

He is risen! Today we've got an Easter gift for you. Every so often we have an episode of the podcast we call "Classic Texts," kind of like a mini audiobook, in which a special guest comes on and reads an excerpt from a good book, usually a spiritual classic, for us to enjoy. Today there are several special guests, and several kinds of goodies in the Easter basket. Today we'll hear fiction, sermons, theology, and lots of poetry. If ever there was a Christian season for poetry, it is Easter, amen? Give to support this podcast. Our very warm thanks to our guest readers: Novelist Heather Cross reads an excerpt from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (by kind permission of The CS Lewis Company, Ltd.). Poet and priest Malcolm Guite reads "Easter" by George Herbert. The Rev. Dr. Katherine Songerdegger reads "Come Forth" by Wendell Berry, "An Altogether Different Language" by Anne Porter, and "That Nature Is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry reads an excerpt of No Future Without Forgiveness by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Dr. Jane Williams reads an excerpt from a sermon by Lancelot Andrewes, preached Easter Day 1622. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams reads "Hymn of the Resurrection" by William Dunbar. Mother Samira Page reads "Recognising You" by Amy Scott Robinson and Richard Lyall. Our hope for this reading today is that it might usher you more deeply into the presence of the one who comes and seeks us out, in the garden where we weep, in all our locked rooms. May you find him, may he find you, may the hope of the resurrection touch you and give you joy, in these readings today. Give to support this podcast. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Do you remember that episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where he goes into the crayon factory, and we see all the crayons getting made? SO GOOD. And, call us biased, but we think today's episode of The Living Church Podcast is kind of like that episode of Mister Rogers. Because today we've pulled together six different guests to take us behind the scenes of the Living Church, to the colorful variety of folks who influence our identity and our business operations. Today we'll meet some folks from our Foundation, the people who have a big impact on shaping TLC. Editors Mark Michael and Amber Noel talk to TLC's five newest Foundation members. If you want to see all the fascinating stories and delightfully varied backgrounds of this amazing group, you can go to livingchurch.org/foundation. Give an Easter gift to the Living Church. Guests today include: Heidi J. Kim The Very Rev. Dr. Paul F.M. Zahl The Rev. Clint Wilson The Rt. Rev. Samy Shehata The Rev. Colin Ambrose --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands