The Living Church Podcast

Happy Easter to all our listeners. We hope it's been beautiful and full of good food, nourishing time in nature or with people you love, and living into, even if in a small way, our Lord's victory. This week, we'll hear a conversation in honor of women's vocation, dedicated to a particular saint, that woman who stayed at the empty tomb, that bold apostle to the apostles, St. Mary Magdalene. The ordination of women, much less women's spiritual leadership and authority more generally, is not an issue from a bygone era. It's still a live question in many parts of the Church, as we know, and in many parts of the Anglican world. How does healthy, continued discernment happen, while maintaining unity in the Church? How does rooted transition happen when the time comes to change things? How can excavating history be a part of the Holy Spirit's work in helping the Church discern good paths forward? Women's leadership is a good case in point. And today we look specifically at the question of whether to open the ordained diaconate to women in the Roman Catholic Church -- or actually, to re-open it. This is a fascinating movement that offers a good case study for Anglicans and other Christians as we continue to discern together how to be faithful to his leading in our time. Today we hear from Dr. Phyllis Zagano. Phyllis is an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women's issues in the Church. Her award-winning books include Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church; Women & Catholicism: Gender, Communion, and Authority; and Women: Icons of Christ. Phyllis has also served as a member of the Papal Commission for the study of the diaconate of women and is the winner of two Fulbright awards. She holds a research appointment at Hofstra University. Thanks for joining us today. And as you listen in, think of a woman in leadership you can support or pray for this week. Read about Sister Priscilla Wright. Purchase Phyllis Zagano's book, Women: Icons of Christ. Give to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

A very Happy feast of Easter to all of you podcast listeners. To all of our Western listeners, he is risen! And to many of our Eastern listeners, a blessed Holy Week to you, and a very happy Pascha when it comes! Something else that's happening this week: Friday, April 22, is Earth Day. Our celebration of the Lord's Passion and victory over death coincides with Earth Day, so in light of the upcoming Lambeth focus on creation, and the persistent calls to mutual, loving sacrifice, prayer, and stewardship of the earth from Archbishop Justin, Presiding Bishop Michael, Pope Francis, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, among other local leaders around the world, we are recognizing this Easter/Earth day coincidence this week in a couple of ways. First, in our Daily Devotional. The Living Church puts out a free online devotional every day. This week our author is the Rev. Dr. Rachel Mash, Environmental Coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. She was also a guest on podcast episode #60, Green Anglicans: An Introduction. She's been reflecting on the connection between Easter and creation this week. You can sign up for the Daily Devotional here, or find them at livingchurch.org. We're also going to plunge deep into the topic of creation and Christianity on today's episode, in conversation with a good friend of the Living Church, the Rev. Canon Dr. Mark Clavier. Mark is Residentiary Canon of Brecon Cathedral in Wales where he also directs Convivium, an initiative to foster a vision of the Church that stands apart from consumerism. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Wales and The Living Church and spends a lot of his free time walking. His most recent book is A Pilgrimage of Paradoxes: A Backpacker’s Encounters with God and Nature. Mark and his wife, historian Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier, have been on our show before. (As have their dogs, Humphrey and Cuthbert: they provided the howling sound effects for our 2021 Halloween episode.) I brought Mark on today because his work as a pastor, and even his conversion as a Christian, has had so much to do with the earth -- especially landscapes, and preserving and loving local environments. So much of his call has been wrapped up in watching God reveal his character through the woods of South Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia, and then the Brecon Beacons and byways of Wales. Today we'll talk about his travels, being bowled over by God's glory, medieval bestiaries, living as Christians in climate apocalypse, and of course, Wendell Berry. And another coincidence: Monday, April 25, will be the feast of St. Mark. So let's get on with our conversation with our own friend, Mark, and listen together for God's healing word to our world. Sign up for our Daily Devotional. Check out Mark Clavier's latest book. Give to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Lately you may have heard about Pope Francis taking some heat for not being more severe and explicit with Vladimir Putin in denouncing Russian aggression against Ukraine. Yesterday evening I was taking a walk in my neighborhood listening to a recent episode of The Commonweal Podcast. And in it, New Yorker staff writer Paul Elie points out that as we wait to see how the pope and other church leaders will respond to this situation in Ukraine, we are also in a time when so many things about the papacy, church leadership, how they function on the world stage is unprecedented. Whatever's happened in the past, we really don't know what's possible now in terms of Christian witness and hope. Pretty good stuff to ponder in time for the Lambeth Conference. Pope Francis has undoubtedly been addressing some of the biggest issues of our time in some very public ways, notably with Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti, and today we're getting an inside look into the "What now?", into how the Vatican is addressing this big vision for human flourishing, in cooperation with other Christians. For this insider look I had the pleasure of chatting with Alessio Pecorario. Alessio is the Coordinator of the Security Task Force of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission and a senior official of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which includes many areas of dialogue and oversight. We discuss the importance of Christian witness in this moment, Christian unity even amid disagreement, Anglican vocations to unity and dialogue dovetailing with Catholic gifts, and the gift of the papacy to strengthen the influence of positive Christian leadership worldwide. Now before I let you go here, I've been meaning to ask you, dear listener, for feedback about the podcast. How do you like it these days? This show is for invested Christian leaders like you. So what would you like to hear more of? What are you appreciating? What would you like from this that you don't currently have? If you have a comment or an idea, email me at ambernoel@livingchurch.org. I would love to hear from you. And as always, if you enjoy the podcast, if you enjoy this episode, send it along to a friend. And now, let's head to the heart of Rome, for a listening session on Christian leadership and care for our world. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Learn more about the Laudato Si' Action Platform. Get the Early Bird Discount for Love's Redeeming Work. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/living-church/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Jacob Smith, an Episcopal priest and seasoned preacher from New York City, shares his passion for Anglican preaching with a twist. He explores what makes a sermon truly great, emphasizing connection to Christ while drawing inspiring parallels with stand-up comedy and pop culture. Jacob dives into common preaching pitfalls and the art of using evocative illustrations, including a near-death experience in nature. He highlights the importance of understanding your audience and offers insights from diverse preaching traditions to refresh one’s approach behind the pulpit.

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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/supportAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands