Human Together

After an unplanned break, we are wrapping up season two and our series on belonging with a roundtable discussion. Sarah has invited two guests—Brittany Tinsley and Rohadi Nagassar—to join her in responding to questions that have surfaced from fellow listeners or readers of The Way of Belonging over the course of season two. The desire with these roundtable conversations is to allow room for a variety of thoughts, beliefs, and experiences so that we can continue to walk in compassion, curiosity, and humility as we learn to live more deeply with God and each other.Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together on Substack. Sarah's book The Way of Belonging is available wherever you typically buy your books.You can connect with Rohadi at Rohadi.com or on Threads and with Brittany on Substack and Instagram.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Creativity does not often come up in conversations about belonging, but in this episode, Sarah talks with Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez (professional oboist and author of The Artist's Joy) about how reconnecting to our creative identity (yes, all of us…) changes not only how we see ourselves but also how we relate with God and each other. They talk about widening the definition of creativity and handling competition. Merideth also offers some practical questions to reconnect with our creativity and the joy of making, whatever it is that we make.Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together on Substack. Sarah's book The Way of Belonging is available wherever you typically buy your books.Connect with Merideth on Instagram, or pick up a copy of her book The Artist's Joy.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah chats with Tiffany Bluhm (author of The Women We've Been Waiting For) about redefining self-care as it relates to our identity, our hunt for wholeness, and our communal flourishing.Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together . Sarah's book The Way of Belonging is available wherever you typically buy your books.Connect with Tiffany on Instagram, or find her books at TiffanyBluhm.com.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Whether you are in the pulpit or the pews, you might question how much of yourself is welcome in faith spaces. In this episode, Sarah chats with Jon Pyle (Community Care Pastor in San Antonio) about authenticity, vulnerability, and belonging within the church, especially when you carry questions or wounds.Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together . Sarah's book The Way of Belonging is available wherever you typically buy your books.Connect with Jenai on Instagram or grab a copy of her book Othered.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah is joined by Jenai Auman to talk about our human tendency to lean toward sameness and distance ourselves from people who are different. Jenai shares her own experience of being “othered” and how placing people into us-versus-them categories can be so damaging to not only our worth but also how we relate. Together, they explore how we can move toward a wider, more welcoming way.Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together . Sarah's book The Way of Belonging is available wherever you typically buy your books.Connect with Jenai on Instagram or grab a copy of her book Othered.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Continuing our series on belonging, Sarah and guest Sara Billups dive into the notion of staying put—both to a geographical location but also to the church. Sara shares pieces of her own story as they ask: how does attaching ourselves to places and people affect our sense of belonging? Where and how might God be inviting us to stay?Find episode notes and additional essays on the communal life at Human Together or say hello to Sarah on Instagram.Connect with Sara Billups at Bitter Scroll on Substack.Human Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah talks with Aundi Kolber (therapist and author of Try Softer™ and Strong Like Water) about the interplay between authenticity and attachment. They talk about how our sense of belonging and ability to connect is affected when we carry unrepaired relational wounds. Aundi also offers some hard-earned wisdom on how we can take small steps toward healing while still honoring the experiences that have brought us where we are.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comDiscover more about Aundi and her work at AundiKolber.comHuman Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

In this third conversation in our series on belonging, Sarah talks with Chuck DeGroat (professor, licensed therapist, & author of Healing What's Within) about how so many of us live “habitually disconnected.” Together, they explore what it might look like to pay attention to our internal landscape and longings as a means of finding our way back home to ourselves, to God, and to each other.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Chuck at chuckdegroat.netHuman Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Who we are and how we relate are intimately connected. In this episode, guest Kimberly Phinney shares how life-threatening illness shifted not only her sense of self but also her pursuit of belonging. Sarah and Kimberly talk about identity based on performance, expanding our definition of belonging, and valuing presence in the midst of pain.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Kimberly at thewayback2ourselves.comHuman Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Loneliness is part of the human experience, but ethnic loneliness carries added layers of complexity for many people who have historically been pushed to the margins. In our season two opener, Sarah talks with Prasanta Verma about the ache to belong, how our “in-betweenness” can be essential to one's identity, and practicing curiosity with ourselves and others.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Prasanta at prasantaverma.comHuman Together is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

We're wrapping up season one with Steve Bezner, and this episode covers a number of bases. Steve shares about his own pastoral journey, the communities that have formed him as well as the loneliness he can experience within the role. Sarah and Steve also chat about his forthcoming book Your Jesus is Too American (October 2024).Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Steve on Instagram.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah chats with Linnea Bergstrom about hospitality in the middle of our everyday lives. Linnea shares how she has had to rethink her approach to welcoming people into her home and a few practical ways she is learning to invite others in.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Linnea on Instagram.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Musician and writer Amanda Held Opelt joins Sarah to talk about what place has to do with the communal life. They cover a little bit of everything: church, creative circles, online life, as well as Amanda's latest book Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Amanda at amandaheldopelt.com.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah chats with Brandy Wallner about curiosity and compassion—two ingredients that are essential to being human together, but don't always come easily. Brandy shares pieces of her own in-process journey of growing up with a strong sense of duty and desire to be right as well as what she is actively learning about finding comfort in questions and embracing with-ness as a way of Jesus.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Brandy at Curious Compassion on Substack.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Poet Grace E. Kelley sits down with Sarah to talk about goodness that grows out of the ground and out of our grief. They chat about Grace's newfound farm life, navigating wounds and weariness, and her new collection of poetry, as the Sparrow flies.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comYou can find Grace most often at her Substack, The House of Rest.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Gary Morland joins Sarah to talk about what he has learned about the communal life through 51 years of marriage. They talk about the complexities of being committed to another person for the long haul and how small acts of love go a long way in how we relate to one another.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Gary at SimplerMarriage.com.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, and book club, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah and guest Emily P. Freeman talk about the shared struggle we often experience when trying to decide whether to stay or to go. Whether we are assessing relationships, ideas, faith communities, or the PTA, these decisions often carry the weightiness of a capital D. In this conversation, Emily shares some of the wisdom she has collected in her latest book How to Walk into a Room, giving us a framework for paying attention and discerning our way forward with peace and compassion.Find episode notes and ways to connect with Sarah at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Emily and discover more about How to Walk into a Room at emilypfreeman.com.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, book club, and more, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah is joined by Lara d'Entremont, who generously shares her story of navigating anxiety amidst the throes of young motherhood. They chat about the pressure we often put upon ourselves to “have it all together” and learning to live within our own limitations, while also inviting the love and care of God and other people along the way.Find episode notes at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Lara on Substack.To support the podcast and access extended episodes, essay series, book club, and more, become a Human Together subscriber.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah chats with author and Bible teacher Jessica Herberger about the significance of Holy Saturday, both in the context of our current season of Lent and our in-between days of darkness. Jess shares a bit about caregiving for her parents and how that season was formative to herself and her family. They also go in-depth about the days leading us toward Easter, exploring the invitation found within her latest book Peace in the Dark.Find episode notes at sarahewestfall.comConnect with Jessica at jessicaherberger.comTo support the podcast and access to extended episodes, essay series, book club, and more, become a Human Together subscriber on Substack.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah is joined by pastor, poet, and public theologian Drew Jackson, and they talk about how questions have become formative to Drew's work and to the way he relates to God, himself, and the world. They also chat about poetry, pastoring, and cultivating a life of paying attention.Find episode notes at sarahewestfall.com.To support the podcast and access to extended episodes, essay series, book club, and more, become a Human Together subscriber on Substack.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Navigating our differences is not easy, and disagreements often become a reason to pull away from one another. In this episode, Sarah talks with author Lore Ferguson Wilbert about ways we can stay tender toward each other's humanity and deepen our connections, even when our thoughts and opinions do not align.Find episode notes at sarahewestfall.com.To support the podcast and access to extended episodes, essay series, book club, and more, become a Human Together subscriber on Substack.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and is produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Sarah sits down with Korean-American storyteller and author Tasha Jun to talk about the tension of inhabiting in-between spaces and finding a sense of home in people, places, and (our favorite) food.Find episode notes at sarahewestfall.com.To support the podcast and get access to essays, extended episodes, book club, and more, join us over at Human Together on Substack.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.

Join Sarah E. Westfall for a peek into the new Human Together podcast, featuring conversations on the communal life. It's a podcast for people who agree it is not good to be alone (but who secretly wonder whether it might be easier). Season one begins January 2024.To support the podcast and get extended access to essays, extended episodes, book club, and more, join us over at Human Together on Substack.The Human Together podcast is written and recorded by Sarah E. Westfall and produced and edited by Ben Westfall. Theme music is “Sit with Me” by Sarah Scharbrough.