The Allender Center Podcast

Food and how we feel about our bodies can be a place of great conflict, especially as we emerge from the pandemic. It's imperative we treat our bodies with kindness and be able to name the dangerous influence of diet culture. So today, we're bringing this episode out from the archives! You'll hear the first part of a conversation recorded in 2020 featuring guests Matt Tiemeyer, LMHC, and Diane Summers, RDN, CEDRD-S, CD about how we can step into greater kindness around food and our bodies.

This week on the podcast, Dan and Rachael continue their conversation about what flourishing looks like as we emerge into a different stage of the pandemic. Much is reopening, and yet we're also waiting in anticipation for what is to come in the next few months. How can we continue to be faithful in the small without giving in to the urge to jump into major changes? What imagination can we grow for what we are anticipating in this next season of life, particularly as we begin to allow our hearts, bodies, and relationships to flourish?

As many communities are beginning to open back up and some semblance of "normal" returns, Dan and Rachael check in with each other and have an honest conversation about how they're doing and what it means to be moving towards wellness. In some ways it feels like we're engaging a new stage of a process versus a clear ending as the pandemic is very much ongoing in many parts of the world, and for some instead of gaining more energy we're beginning to process the impact of this past year. So, as Dan and Rachael discuss, how can we be honest with ourselves about expectations, what we're feeling in our bodies, and how can we move into reopening with intentionality? Listener Resources: Read a blog post "Honoring Our Bodies in the Midst of Embodied Trauma" Listen to a podcast, "Parenting in the Midst of a Pandemic" Listen to a podcast episode with guest Dr. Steve Call, "Connection in Marriage During a Pandemic"

Today Dan and Rachael revisit one of the most listened-to topics on the podcast: spiritual abuse. However, before we dive into the conversation, we recognize that we cannot address the reality of spiritual abuse without taking into account that many, many people have encountered violations of various kinds within spiritual contexts. Over the course of their conversation today, the first of two on this topic, you'll hear more about how to define spiritual abuse in Christian contexts, tools used by spiritually abusive leaders to maintain power and control, and the insidious nature of spiritual abuse. Listener Resources: Register to attend Confronting Spiritual Abuse on June 5 Listen to a podcast episode, "Narcissism and the Church with Chuck DeGroat" Listen to our very first, three-part podcast series on Spiritual Abuse Listen to a podcast episode about the particulars of "Mind Control and Dogmatism in Spiritual Abuse"

Over the past few weeks on the podcast we've talked about grief on a more personal level in our lives, but we also recognize we're in the midst of an unrelenting season of trauma and grief on a collective scale. So today, Dan and Rachael invite guests Danielle Castillejo, Rebecca Wheeler Walston, and Rev. Michael S. Chen to the podcast to continue a conversation about the nature and impact of collective grief. As you'll hear Dan say, you may not see how your story fits into this conversation, but "part of the development of wisdom is to enter a world we may not be familiar with" and we encourage you to be open to hearing the wise words these guests have to share. Listener Resources: Read a blog post by Danielle Castillejo "Emergency Mental Health Care: How Therapists of Color Contend with Racial Trauma"

Dan and Rachael continue a conversation about grief on the podcast, this week engaging Jeanette White, Interim Senior Director of The Allender Center. Jeanette, a dear friend and colleague of our hosts, graduated from The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology with an MA in Christian Studies in 2007 and has been an essential member of The Allender Center since its founding in 2011. As you listen to their conversation, you'll hear them discuss in more depth Jeanette's story and the two sides of grief—one that is messy and hard, and the other that opens your heart and eyes to the realities that we cannot engage without walking through the valley of the shadow of death. As we are in a season of collective loss, trauma, and grief, it is our hope that grief would move us to a deeper understanding of the suffering of others and ways we can come alongside and be a catalyst for care. Listener Resources Listen to the first episode in this series, "Encountering Grief: Mary Ellen Owen" Read a blog post by Jeanette titled "The Loudness of Grief" Listen to a podcast series about "Grief, Emotions, and Essential Oils" Listen to a podcast series about "The Grief of Miscarriage"

This week on the podcast, Dan and Rachael begin a new series that takes a deeper look into the topic of grief. In this particular episode they engage in conversation with special guest Mary Ellen Owen, who is a core member of The Allender Center team as well as a mental health therapist with over 20 years of experience. Rachael describes her as a woman with wild depth and someone well acquainted with grief, both in her own life and the lives of those she serves. So, what are we talking about when we talk about grief? Over the course of their conversation, you'll hear more about the necessity of and different kinds of grief, what boundaries we put up to avoid engaging grief, and how grief connects us to the work of Jesus and the tenderness of God. Listener Resources Read a blog post by Mandy Hughes about "Embracing Grief, Embracing Joy" Listen to a two-part podcast series about engaging Grief and Gratitude

In these days of what feels like endless ache and wave after wave of trauma and demand for resilience, we have the opportunity to develop a greater capacity to know who we are and who God is in the midst of this season. Today we're re-sharing the second part of a series on qualities of a well-lived story, and we're excited for you to revisit these conversations with our friends and partners in this work. You'll hear from one of the most courageous people we know, Danielle Castillejo, who is a therapist, writer, activist, and podcast host, and Jimmy McGee, President and CEO of The Impact Movement, who is someone who exhibits Gospel curiosity in his life and ministry.

Every day we're reminded what it means in this odd and heartbreaking season to live well the Gospel story and the story we have been uniquely called to live. That being said, we feel right now is timely to revisit a podcast series we did about qualities of a well-lived story. Stories so deeply influence how we respond to crisis, events, the people around us, and how we live in the world, particularly as we talk about the qualities of courage, commitment, care, and that deep need for kindness. Throughout this series we talk with our spouses, friends, and colleagues that we've looked to to say, "this is someone who's living well in the midst of their story," and it is our hope that you'll be invited to engage these themes in your own life and story.

Today we're pausing to share an important conversation with you from our partner, The Impact Movement. They host a series of panel discussions called "Real Talks" which are live conversations about real-time topics at the intersection of faith and justice. A few weeks ago, they hosted a Real Talk called "Stop Asian Hate: Christian Responses to Anti-Asian Racism" featuring Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Rev. Sabrina Chan, and our colleague Sam Lee and former colleague Jen Oyama Murphy. We are honored that Impact Movement and the panelists have given us permission to share this conversation with you. You'll hear this important and timely discussion about the surge in anti-Asian racism and violence taking place across our country. We hope you take the time to listen to this conversation and let the words and experiences of the panelists bring you closer to the truth and impact of the gospel. Listener Resources Learn more about The Impact Movement Follow the Impact Movement on Facebook and Instagram