The Living Church Podcast

Imagine you've just been dropped in the middle of a city center. You're stepping off the bus in a place you've never been, hundreds of miles from home, where no one speaks your language. You've been dropped there with your mom, your dad, maybe your in-laws, your kids, and you have no money, no papers. Now, figure out how to survive. This is how Mother Samira Page helps people put themselves in the shoes of a refugee. She says, even when you arrive in a place that's safer than what you left, you feel like you've been hit in the head. But now you've got to think, and act, and do it fast. How can Christians, of all types, all political persuasions, from different traditions and backgrounds, respond together faithfully to refugee neighbors? What types of welcome do refugees need, very practically speaking? And what are some steps to take from fear and uncertainty about refugees to understanding and human warmth? The original title of today's episode was "Refugee Pastor," not only because today's guest is a pastor among refugees, but also because she has been one herself. From receiving a visit from the Virgin Mary, to a house search in Iran, to a dangerous Rio Grande crossing, the Rev. Dr. Samira Izadi Page has quite a story to tell. Samira is an Episcopal priest and the founder and executive director of Gateway of Grace, an outreach ministry to refugees, many of whom are survivors of severe trauma. Her organization helps refugees start over with donations, baby showers, job assistance, and language lessons. Gateway also trains volunteers and churches to adopt refugee families, the point where friendships form and integration begins. She is the author of Who Is My Neighbor? and co-author and co-editor of No Longer Strangers: Transforming Evangelism with Immigrant Communities. This really was an eye-opening conversation for me. There's so much here that goes behind the curtain, to the stories, hopes, and needs of people forced to run away from home, and reveals the miraculous presence of God in the lives of people who have lost everything, as well as in the lives of those who help them to rebuild. Final note: This was recorded before the Russian attacks in Ukraine, but of course we hope you have Ukranian refugees in mind as well as you listen. More About Gateway of Grace Refugee Ministry FREE Lent Books Download! Living Church Institute Calendar & Events --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Ciao! Welcome to a very special episode of the Living Church Podcast. We are headed to Rome. In January, Nashotah House Theological Seminary and the Living Church Institute co-hosted an ecumenical pilgrimage to Rome. We were a group of Catholics and Anglicans, students, clergy, and lay pilgrims, from the U.S., Canada, and Nigeria. The group was hosted by the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Centro Pro Unione. I was deeply affected by my experience there and wanted to bring you all in, partly to answer some of the questions I had going in: What does ecumenism mean? What does it have to do with the average Christian? What can you learn about Christian unity, its possibilities and its snarls, by traveling to a holy site together? This episode was recorded on-site in the Eternal City, in various places, including the Anglican Centre in Rome, the office of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and my Airbnb. I'll let all my interviewees introduce themselves. We hope you enjoy the conversations and the journey, and maybe feel inspired to take a similar journey and start similar conversations yourself. Subscribe to the Living Church --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

In the beginning was the Word. For 2,000 years, theologians, pastors, philosophers, Christians in their devotional time, have been pondering this opening to the Gospel of John. Just the first six words, and no one has exhausted its meaning. Who is Jesus? Who is the Father? Who is the Spirit? What are they doing with us? Just the first six words. Well, like it says at the very end of John, the world couldn't hold all the books written about Jesus if we recorded all he did and said. So no wonder it's taken theologian David Ford 20 years to write a commentary on the Gospel of John. Fellow theologian and Episcopal priest Wes Hill joins us to interview David on this brand-new commentary and dive deep into this unique gospel. Why does super-abundance saturate the stories and images of John? Why is it full of Old Testament Easter eggs? Why are Christian theological traditions obsessed with John in particular? Where did John's passion for Christian unity come from? And why is John's prologue like a bucket? Tune in and find out. Prof. David F. Ford is Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College. He's written many books. Our listeners may be particularly interested in The Shape of Living and The Drama of Living, a rich blend of theology and spirituality, practical reflection, and poetry. You might also pick up Theology: A Very Short Introduction from the Oxford University Press Very Short Introduction series, or The Future of Christian Theology. David is also deeply involved in inter-faith relations. Purchase David's new book, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary Donate to the Living Church --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

In 2023, Virginia Theological Seminary will be celebrating its bicentennial. (Congratulations, VTS, on 200 years!) As part of preparing for that celebration, they've cooked up an interesting project. Send a preacher all around the world to preach in 200 pulpits. And along the way, as you're preaching and teaching, see what you can see, learn what you can learn. What kind of survey do you get of the state of the church that way? Today we'll talk with the very man who's been finding this out, the Rev. Dr. Mark Andrew Jefferson. Mark is Assistant Professor of Homiletics and the Associate Director of the Deep Calls to Deep Preaching Program at VTS. He has also taught at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Candler School of Theology at Emory. He has been a director of Christian education, and his academic work focuses on critical engagement of the American social imagination and African American socio-political enfranchisement and empowerment. He has an upcoming book, tentatively titled, The Mis-education of the African American Preacher. He is an internationally respected preacher and teacher of preachers. We talk about this preaching project, the importance of history and place, Christian unity, preaching in Cape Town after the death of Archbishop Tutu, and what revival might be looking like. Most of us are ministering week by week in a local parish, getting that intimate, zoomed-in view of what God is doing here, in this spot. But what do we get from a bird's eye view? What do you see particularly when you're a guest preacher? Give to help support this podcast --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Happy new year, and happy Epiphany! While we're in this time of Epiphany, we've cooked up a few episodes of the podcast that have to do with recovering and sharing the "aha!" of what God has shown us in his Son Jesus. What does this, God's mission, look like in different contexts, among seekers and people of other faiths or none, as well as among the long-ago baptized and catechized? And how do we as Christians and churchgoers, shaped by that Epiphany light,  experience it afresh, even after long habituation? What we've got in store for you today is the latest cutting-edge idea guaranteed to optimize discipleship and mission, involving a technology you barely know about, and all for the low price of... Just kidding. Today we're going to talk about liturgy. Something you've already got and know well. With God's help, that already-familiar Church toolkit may be all you need to share the gospel in a powerful way. My guest today is the Rev. Dr. Shawn McCain. He is an Anglican priest and church planter and the founding rector of Resurrection Anglican Church in South Austin, Texas. Before that, he helped plant Redeemer Anglican Church in Santa Cruz, Calif. He has also been a computer engineer at Hewlett Packard. And he's currently working on his first book. His bread and butter is liturgy as mission. Just like the Church seasons teach us, getting re-inspired by what we already have, by what we already know, can teach us so powerfully to seek out what God still has in store. Give to help support this podcast --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Happy Advent, folks. Almost, almost Merry Christmas. Here's a present for you. Today’s episode has its origins in the most recent meeting of the Living Church Foundation.  The Living Church Foundation is a diverse and dynamic group of leaders from around the Communion. They’re parish priests, business people, archbishops, prayer warriors, moms and dads, educators, organizers. And they're all dedicated to friendship, to the thriving of the Communion, and to the visible unity of the Church of God. So yes, after we discussed the budget and voted on some stuff, we moved to a discussion of synodality—what it means to walk together as Christians, as Anglicans in our time. And this is the Christmas present we have for you today. Four of our bishops on the Foundation gave us a few words: the Rt. Rev. Rowan Williams joined us from Wales, the Rt. Rev. Samy Shehata from Egypt, the Rt. Rev. Joseph Wandera from Kenya, and the Rt. Rev. John Bauerschmidt from Nashville. The conversation was rich, nuanced, patient, and deeply encouraging. Some of the presentation is almost devotional, some gets into the nitty-gritty of the history and current strategies aimed at synodality globally. Our Executive Director, Christopher Wells, makes some opening remarks to kick us off and introduces each of our speakers. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Make a Christmas gift to the Living Church! 🎁 Email Dr. Christopher Wells for information about planned gifts, gifts of stock, and giving to our Endowment. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Bold, confident, yet natural. No, we are not talking about makeup, furniture, or dating advice. We're talking about evangelism. There's seems to be this golden combination of boldness, confidence, yet naturalness, humanity, humility, simplicity, that makes for really effective evangelism, no matter the personality type or tradition a Christian is formed in. This kind of evangelism does not require you to either have a degree in theology or to apply the kind of cringe-worthy strategies you wouldn't want to be on receiving end of. So what makes for confident, bold, but really natural evangelism? The kind that doesn't require that you turn into someone else, but does require that, at least once in a while, you get out of your comfort zone? And what's the difference between an evangelistic vocation and the witness all Christians are called to? We'll hear more about all this today from two experts in the field: Canon J John is a Church of England priest and evangelist with over 40 years' experience. J John runs an organization called Philo Trust, which equips and mentors Christians to be more effective evangelists from where they are. Guiding the conversation is Canon Carrie Boren Headington. Carrie is canon for evangelism for the Diocese of Dallas and founder of the Good News Initiative. She is also consulting evangelist for revivals for the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and adjunct professor of evangelism at Fuller Seminary. Now sit back, relax, but definitely stay alert. You hear a challenge today. It's a good one. Learn more about J John Learn more about Carrie Headington Donate to the Living Church Try THE LIVING WORD PLUS free for 30 days --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Encountering Orthodoxy can feel, to Westerners, like a real re-orientation (pardon the pun) of their understanding of Christianity. A supposed point of departure, even contention, between East and West has traditionally been in their theologies of salvation—specifically in the atonement. What has Christ done for us? That question shapes entire lives, entire cultures. In his book Deification Through the Cross: An Eastern Christian Theology of Salvation, the Rev. Dr. Khaled Anatolios lays out the premise that, the deeper you go into Christian tradition, into the doctrine of salvation—which is to say, into the accounts of faithful Christians' exploration of what Jesus has done for them—the more you find a unified doctrine of salvation that East and West fully share and embrace. We've brought on three guests today for a conversation about just this question. Our first guest is Dr. Marcus Plested. Marcus is Henri de Lubac Chair in Theology at Marquette University, and has taught, lectured, and published widely in patristic, Byzantine, and modern Orthodox theology. He is the author of two books to date: The Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian Tradition and Orthodox Readings of Aquinas. He also taught at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge for 13 years. Dr. Joshua McManaway is our other guest. Josh is visiting assistant professor of the practice in the theology department at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses principally on early and Medieval Christianity. Our third guest and moderator is Dr. Timothy O'Malley. Tim is the director of education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life and academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He specializes in liturgical-sacramental theology, marriage and family, catechesis, and spirituality. Now strap on your knapsacks for another ecumenical adventure. Are you bringing along a rosary, or a prayer rope? Try THE LIVING WORD PLUS free for 30 days --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

You may have heard this, or you may have guessed, but the Living Church has two offices these days. One of course is in Milwaukee, the historical home base of our magazine. And now we've also got a home for the Living Church Institute, in Dallas, Texas. And the location of our office building fascinates me. Right now I'm looking out onto crepe myrtle trees, a library, bike racks, and students -- walking to class, going to grab coffee. We're right on the edge of Southern Methodist University's campus. Last year it was not like this. It was sort of eerily quiet. No traffic jams at lunchtime or rush hour. But now all the students are back.  I'm watching all these young people go by, slouching under their backpacks, hunched over their phones, talking with friends, and I'm thinking, "What are your lives like? Have you heard the gospel? Do you know the riches of the Church? And how can you scroll Instagram while walking?" Today we're going to have a conversation about students, student ministry, returning to campus, and what Episcopal ministry to Gen Z can look like, particularly post-pandemic. I invited the very generous Rev. Valerie Mayo to join me today and enlighten me about what's going on in her neck of the woods. Valerie is Campus Minister and Urban Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, and she is at the University of Louisville, where she serves in Episcopal-Lutheran Campus ministry. She's also the mother of two Gen Z young folks. It was fascinating to hear what's going on where she is, and how she sees grace and presence as some of the most powerful ministry we can offer to students right now. Are you a preacher or teacher who uses the lectionary? Sign up for The Living Word Plus, the Living Church weekly sermon prep toolkit, and get the first month free. (Coupon code LISTENUP at checkout) --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support

Happy All Hallow's Eve and All Saints Day, dear listeners! (Or close enough.) If you think this will be your typical episode, you're dead wrong. Today we're dealing with grave matter on The Living Church Podcast. Literally, we are talking about graves, churchyards, clergy wills from the 17th and 18th centuries in Wales, and some fascinating social and religious history that these wills unearth. What does it mean if a dying man leaves his wife a featherbed? What is an apostle spoon? How did poverty, wealth, and marriage prohibitions affect clergy life? Why did so many people give away cheese in their wills? This scary-cool history conversation is courtesy of Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier. Sarah is senior lecturer in early modern history at the University of the West of England, Bristol. She has a book out called Royalism, Religion, and Revolution: Wales, 1640-1688. Sarah mentions the English Restoration and Interregnum in our episode today. Quick definition of these for those who don't know: When King Charles I was executed in 1649, England had no king. Britain was run by various councils, assemblies, and parliaments until Charles II took the throne in 1660. Thus began the Restoration. Our episode opens today with amazing organ work by Julian Petrallia, organ scholar at Incarnation Episocpal Church in Dallas, Texas. And at the end of the episode, you'll get to hear Julian play in full Prelude in C Minor, by Bach, BWV 546. Shake out your church history trick-or-treat bag and open it wide. We promise more treats than tricks today! Learn more about the Living Church. Give to support this podcast. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/support