In Good Faith

Utah Make a Wish creates magical moments for children suffering from debilitating illness--and that magic can turn into mental and physical health miracles. Steve interviews Jared Perry, the CEO of Utah Make a Wish in this bonus episode of In Good Faith.

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is a classic story of redemption and change that has become a central part of many family's holiday celebrations. Hana Sharif, Artistic Director for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, is contributing to this legacy with her second annual production of the classic story. Hana spoke with Steve about the spiritual power of theater and what it means to share this story with modern audiences almost 180 years after Dickens first published it. She also speaks about her interfaith background and how story can cross over religious and cultural lines. Hana Sharif has enjoyed a decorated career in the theater, including roles as an artistic leader, director, playwright and producer with a specialty in leadership. During her decade-long tenure at Hartford Stage, Hana served as the Associate Artistic Director, Director of New Play Development, and Artistic Producer. From 1997–2003, Hana served as the co-founder and Artistic Director of Nasir Productions, a theatre dedicated to underrepresented voices to challenge traditional structures. Additionally, Hana has directed many acclaimed productions, including Porgy & Bess, The Who & The What, Sense and Sensibility, The Christians, Pride and Prejudice (DCArts: Best Director/Best New Play), and The Whipping Man. Her plays include All the Women I Used to Be, The Rise and Fall of Day and The Sprott Cycle Trilogy. Hana holds a BA from Spelman College and an MFA from the University of Houston. She is the recipient of the 2009–10 Aetna New Voices Fellowship and a litany of other awards She serves on the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, the Black Theatre Commons, and the Sprott Foundation.

Four guests talk about our sacred responsibility to protect and appreciate the natural environment. J Phoenix Smith works as an ecotherapist and is called to the station of elder in the Lucumi tradition. In these roles, she promotes the health benefits of spending time outside, both individually and communally. Victoria Loorz talks about the true meaning of the wilderness coming from a background in Evangelical Christianity, while Rich Blundell discusses with wonder the growing convergence of science and religion. As a special feature, Austin takes to BYU campus to ask students about the ways they value nature -- their insights are sagacious! Lastly, Hamzah Iqbal introduces the deep interconnection of Islamic scripture and environmentalism.

Steve talks with Mark Miner, a close friend, about his struggle to overcome addiction and how God reached out to him to heal and nurture.

America's religious diversity is growing. Eboo Patel argues that emphasizing that diversity will make the United States stronger, especially if US citizens invest in civic institutions. Patel's use of the potluck metaphor is especially pertinent. Named “one of America’s best leaders” by US News and World Report, Eboo is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, IA has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books, including “We Need to Build: Fieldnotes for Diverse Democracy” published in May 2022. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and two sons.

Eckart Tolle's "The Power of Now" (1997) was many North Americans' first introduction to what we now recognize as mindfulness. The In Good Faith production team--Heather Bigley, Austin Ball, and Peter Ellison, chat with host Steven Kapp Perry about their thoughts and reactions to the book's ideas, and even trying some of the meditation practices described in the book. Join the book club by reading "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson in preparation for our next IGF Book Club episode in February 2023!

While we might normally think of grief as the collection of emotions we feel after the death of a loved one, in this episode of In Good Faith, we explore some of the many different ways grief can manifest and consider some new ways of responding to grief. First we hear Julie Milor Donovan discuss how losing a child changed her outlook on life. Next we hear from Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, professor at ASU and Zen priest, speak to Steve about healthy ways of responding to grief in ourselves and others. Then we spoke we Leonard Bagalwa, founder and executive director of Utah Valley Refugees, about his experience fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child and then making a new life in Salt Lake City. Next we heard from Mark Miner, who spoke about the grief of shattered expectations when his life was thrown off-course by the aftermath of a traumatic childhood. Finally we talked with Dr. Adam Miller, a philosopher and theologian, whose recent work considers how the grief of time's passage is impossible to escape and how we ought to think about the eternities as a result.

Dr. Farina King joins the podcast to discuss her experiences with the spiritual power of the peoples and places of Dine culture. To learn more go to https://farinaking.com/. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is the Horizon Chair in Native American Ecology and Culture and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, in the ancestral lands of the Caddo Nation and Wichita & Affiliated Tribes. Many diverse Indigenous peoples have converged in the region of what is now considered Norman, Oklahoma, including Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, and Osage nations. Before joining the University of Oklahoma faculty, King was Associate Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, in the homelands of the Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees. She also directed and founded the NSU Center for Indigenous Community Engagement. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in History, and she specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies, especially Indigenous experiences in boarding schools. She is the author of The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century, and co-author with Michael P. Taylor and James R. Swensen of Returning Home: Diné Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School. She is the current President of the Southwest Oral History Association

Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is the Executive Director of the Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute. Recognized among TIME Magazine’s “sixteen people fighting for a more equal America”, he is an Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, Senior Adviser on Equity and Inclusion for YSC Consulting, and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. He is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, CNN, and TIME Magazine and writes a monthly column for Religion News Service. Simran is the author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life and he lives with his family in New York City. Check out more of Simran's work here: https://simranjeetsingh.org/

Steve speaks with Aubrey & Tim Chaves as they prepare for the upcoming Faith Matters Restore Gathering. The couple discusses how their faith crisis led to a stronger marriage and connection to their faith community. Aubrey and Tim grew up near Salt Lake City, Utah; the two married after Tim served an LDS mission to Montevideo, Uruguay. He attended BYU for his undergraduate studies before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is now an entrepreneur working in Utah County. Aubrey received a degree in Elementary Education from Utah State before teaching fourth grade for two years; she now owns a cake decorating business. Tim and Aubrey are the parents of four children. Listen to Faith Matters here: https://faithmatters.org/