Spiritual Misfits Podcast

I’m taking a little breather between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Thankfully, there are so many incredible conversations in our back-log. I’m pulling a few favourites out to revisit - like this one!If you’re in Sydney (or willing to travel) join us on the 25th of Jan for Future Church Conference (futurechurchcon.com) with Joel Hollier, Safina Stuart, Karen Pack and Christine Redwood. They’ve all been on the podcast before and they’re all great. So we’d love to see you then. It’s going to be a big year for Spiritual Misfits. Jump in our Facebook group or join our mailing list to stay in the loop. ABOUT BECCABecca De Souza is a doula, and a writer (check out links below to some articles we reference in this conversation). And she has a profound story of coming to see God in new ways in the midst of trauma and PTSD. Read some of her words here: https://www.cbeinternational.org/person/becca-de-souza/https://thesheisproject.org/2018/02/out-of-the-dust-beccas-story/Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

I’m taking a little breather between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. Thankfully, there are so many incredible conversations in our back-log. I’m pulling a few favourites out to revisit - like this one!If you’re in Sydney (or willing to travel) join us on the 25th of Jan for Future Church Conference (futurechurchcon.com) with Joel Hollier, Safina Stewart, Karen Pack and Christine Redwood. They’ve all been on the podcast before and they’re all great. So we’d love to see you then. It’s going to be a big year for Spiritual Misfits. Jump in our Facebook group or join our mailing list to stay in the loop. DAVE TOMLINSONDave is a vicar from London, a wonderful storyteller and truth seeker and has written many books including ‘how to be a bad Christian and a better human being’ which we discuss in this conversation.Simon Buckingham Shum who is a part of meeting ground church joined me to co-host this one - as a Brit who has been following Dave’s work for a long time. Simon and Dave make reference a few times to Greenbelt, which is an annual festival in the UK bringing together faith, justice, philosophy, art and a shared space for people from all walks of life. There’s a link in the shownotes if you want to learn more. At the end of the conversation Dave gives one of the best definitions of hope I’ve ever heard.This was a delightful conversation to have and I hope it encourages you.Listen to Dave's talks at  Greenbelt here: https://www.greenbelt.org.uk/talks-archive/#~tomlinsonCheck out Dave's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpGqunuXebtPE1SaSlVjsdAWant to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

How do we think about Christmas this year? What does it mean to celebrate the ‘Prince of Peace’ when the realities of war and genocide continue without ceasing? What use is the Christmas story when church bells are drowned out by bombs? If our Christian spirituality doesn’t engage deeply with the darkness, what right has it to proclaim the coming of light? We’ve created an audio experience to help locate our hearts with those who suffer this Christmas. A mix of poetry, music and reflections to remind us that the heart of the Incarnation story is a God who does not shy away from the darkness, but comes to dwell in it. We encourage you to take 30 minutes on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to experience this liturgy and to consider sharing it with others, in the belief that Christmas is not a distraction from the horrors of the world; it’s an invitation to confront them directly and show up in solidarity however we can. With special thanks to Jon Reichardt and Peter Espevoll for music and production on this episode. Listen here to 'Among the Stars' by Hrada for some of the tracks on this episode ('Christmas Mass', 'We Three Kings', and 'O Holy Night')'Subversive Nativity' poem by Dean Johnston & Will Small, inspired by Reverend Dr. Munther Isaac.'The Uninvited Christ' by Thomas Merton. For more on this piece, read this great article.Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

We are currently cooking up a NEW Christmas listening experience/liturgy, which will be released next week on Christmas Eve. In the meantime, here's our Advent Liturgy from last year, which we still hold dear to our hearts. Whether you’ve listened to it previously or this is your first time, this is a grounding, stirring, contemplative audio experience, and we reckon there’s something here for you.Also THIS in January: https://futurechurchcon.com/ (every speaker at this one day conference has been on the podcast previously and we love them all. Come join us!) Almost all of the stunning music in this episode is used with grateful permission from  Bjear. His two Christmas albums ‘a Christmas with Bjear and friends volumes 1 and 2’ are available now. You can go and grab them on Bandcamp here and support an independent Australian artist this Christmas.Special thanks to Erin, Leksi, Ellaina, Caro, Emily, Becca, Hannah, Mel, Kerry and Sam for reading on this one, as well as Noah and Leo who had brief cameos.Scripture:Luke 1:46-55Poetry:Advent: Mary, Will SmallSometimes I Wonder, Kaitlin ShetlerSongs: Have Yourself a Merry Christmas, performed by Bjear & friendsThe First Noel, performed by Bjear & friendsChristmas Eve, 1818, performed by Bjear & friendsMidnight, Christians, is the Solemn Hour, performed by Bjear & friendsO Holy Night, performed by Bjear & friendsWant to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Mitch has now officially become a pastor in the Uniting Church, and has the sweet wardrobe to prove it. In light of this Will, Hannah and Mitch have a discussion about the relationship between tradition and progress. How do we know what from the past is worth holding onto? How do we know if we’re actually making progress?Plus the trio come up with a name for the metaphorical Spiritual Misfits pub. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Sara M. Saleh is a human rights lawyer, community organiser, writer and the daughter of migrants from Palestine, Egypt and Lebanon. She has many very impressive achievements to her name including being the first poet to win both the Australian Book Review’s Peter Porter Poetry Prize and the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, which she did back to back in 2020 and 2021. Sara’s debut novel Songs for the Dead and the Living is out now (link below where you can buy).  Sara is one of the voices that has been a helpful guide for me in recent weeks as we’ve seen the Israeli government cause enormous levels of destruction and loss of human life in Gaza. This conversation is really helpful for decoupling anti-zionism and anti-semitism and understanding why it’s so dangerous when these are conflated. It’s so obvious, as you’ll hear throughout this conversation that Sara holds a fierce commitment to any group of oppressed and suffering people, while striving for solutions that do not simply flip who is oppressing who. The way she speaks about liberation is so generous and beautiful and just. We talk about the limits of identity politics and the deep solidarity that can be found in shared values — and there’s just so much wisdom here. Listen deeply, share widely, and take whatever actions you can — great or small — in the direction of justice.  Sara’s website:https://www.saramsaleh.com/Buy ‘Songs for the Dead and the Living’:https://www.booktopia.com.au/songs-for-the-dead-and-the-living-sara-m-saleh/book/9781922848536.htmlFollow Sara on Instagram: @instasaranade‘A guide to Palestine for beginners’ (this is a fantastic doc): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lgiFGdUKiPfzC-xo6LZQXvGNIXGHyMYsGCA035kKc80/mobilebasicDonate to the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network: https://apan.org.au/donate/Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Noah (8 years old) makes his podcast debut with a whole lot of wisdom on all the big questions.Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Radhika Sukumar-White is an ordained minister in the Uniting Church of Australia and she co-leads Leichhardt Uniting Church, a beautiful and vibrant community of faith, justice and creativity. We talk about Radhika's own story as well as some of the unique characteristics that make LUC the special place that it is and what other communities might be able to learn from their approach. Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Michael Frost (the kiwi version who hosts 'In the Shift' podcast) and Shane-Meyer Holt join me for a rich conversation exploring their own stories and experiences around high control religious settings and their attempts to create much more open, gentle and generous communities these days. We talk about power dynamics, coercive control and the risk these things can pose to communities of all sizes - mega to micro. We also talk about embodiment, processing trauma and the kind of spirituality that embraces and listens to the body. There's so much good stuff in this one. Enjoy.Check out the excellent 'In the Shift': https://intheshift.com/Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com

Mikali Anagnostis and Gabi Cabenhead are behind a new sacred art project called ‘Marion St’, an attempt to create “worship music that fits with the theology and experience of the progressive church.”Gabi and Mikali are also young, open-eyed about the injustices often attached to religious spaces, while simultaneously passionate about their faith and its expression in community. We explored some big questions together, such as: - Why do churches with slick services often have narrow theology…and churches with inclusive theology often have daggy services? Is the best of both possible? - What do young people in Gen Z think about spirituality and organised religion? What do they actually want from church?This was a lovely conversation with two excellent humans. Enjoy!Listen to ‘Whole’ by Marion St hereThe songs ‘Shaping a New World’ and ‘Garden’ are featured at the beginning and end of this episode.  Want to reach out and let us know your thoughts or suggestions for the show? Send us a message here; we’d love to hear from you.The Spiritual Misfits Survival Guide (FREE): https://www.spiritualmisfits.com.au/survivalguideSign up to our mailing list:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/Join our online Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/spiritualmisfitspodcastSupport the pod:https://spiritualmisfits.com.au/support-us/View all episodes at: https://spiritualmisfits.buzzsprout.com