Vox Veniae Podcast

What does it look like to prayerfully open up more fully to both suffering and hope?  Christopher Mack wonders how we attend to the Goodness of God as an invitation to grow in prayerful discernment, empowerment, and liberation. [Colossians 1:9-14]   Reflection What is one way I can grow in attending to God’s Nonviolent Inclusive Kin-dom? Where do I need to grow my endurance for building Beloved Community? How might  I compassionately welcome this moment without feeling resigned to the status quo? Resource Book: The Way of the Heart: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers & Mothers by Henri Nouwen Book: Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie

On this 5th Sunday worship, centered around tables and brunch, and inclusive of all ages, Vanessa Maleare reflects on the recent Art Camp and what it means that kids and all of us are created to be creative, just like our Creator.  [Genesis 1:26-27]   Reflection What do you create? What makes you want to create? How might you involve the Creator to become involved in your process? Resource Book: The Creator In You, written by Jordan Raynor and illustrated by Jonathan David

What songs evoke lament and joy for you? Gina Bastone looks at the psalmist’s cry like a mixtape to the heavens, which invites us to companion our grief and imagine how God is calling us to participate in building a new world.  [Psalm 22] Reflection What is causing your lament, what is causing your praise, and how is God showing up in between? What kind of world do you want to build—with our Vox community in Austin, Texas, and in our world more broadly? How might we dwell in God’s possibility and open our narrow hands to gather paradise in these difficult times? What phrases might we add to the space after the em dash?

On Trinity Sunday, we conclude our series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looked at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. Today, we consider how God is shaping our leadership for our own lives, our faith community, and the larger world.   [John 16:12-15]   Reflection In what ways can I courageously lead in my larger community? What can I do to tend to my full self while I am doing that?

On Pentecost, we are in the penultimate message in the series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. Today, we consider how God might be inviting us to bear witness to beauty and brokenness, as we humbly listen to one another’s stories.   [John 14:15-27]   Reflection As we sit together in our own metaphorical upper room, can we pray together that the Holy Spirit would astound us with unexpected beauty? How might God be inviting you to speak into or bear witness to another’s beauty and brokenness? How might God be breathing beauty or possibility into the broken places in or around you?

On the seventh Sunday of Easter, we continue in the series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. Today, we ponder how to be complete in unity by highlighting the unique ways we have been created and called to illuminate God’s Love.   [John 17:20-26]   Reflection What difference does it make to hear Jesus praying for Vox Veniae, churches across our continent, and the global church? Is there a specific way you or Vox could show oneness with other Christians from whom you are divided? How might you begin to pray for people  who will be part of Vox and the global church in future? 

We pick up in our series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. On this sixth Sunday of Easter, we confront transition as an inevitable part of life and consider what it is to wake up to Jesus making a home in our everyday lives.  [John 14:23-24, 28-29]   Reflection How might our collective faith buoy us in seasons where our personal faith is lagging? Is there an invitation for you to keep company with Jesus? How might our experience of loss and joy be in transformative conversation?  

On the fifth Sunday of Easter, we begin a new series, Teach Em How To Say Goodbye: Jesus’ Parting Words to a Community in Transition, which looks at the final discourse of Jesus with his disciples before the whirlwind of his death, resurrection, and ascension. On this graduation Sunday, we hear reflections from Olaya Hinojosa and Sam Malare about how they are navigating this transition.  [John 13:31-35]   Reflection How do you navigate challenging feelings during times of transition? What legacy of love has been shared with you? How might God’s Love guide you and ground you in times of transition?

What is Divine goodness inviting us into? On the fourth Sunday of Easter, giving his last homily as a pastor at Vox, Weylin Lee recalls moments of Divine goodness through the restoration of contemplation, comfort through solidarity, and mercy through nonviolence.  [Psalm 23]   Reflection Where can I make space to reflect in stillness and truly rest? How might I practice presence with those experiencing a dark valley? How am I invited to adopt a lens of abundance in practicing mercy?

What is that thing you just can’t help but do? On the third Sunday of Easter, Vanessa Maleare sifts through our lives in search of our precious and peculiar calling as she juxtaposes our journey with Peter’s call to be God’s Presence in the world.  [John 21:15-19]   Reflection What is written on your rock? What are you being called to in this season? What are you being called out of this season?