Spirit of Joy Podcasts

Marnie Dahle Backer welcomes Spirit of Joy partner Jason Ahrendt to talk about his faith story. Jason grew up in Sioux Falls, was high school sweethearts with his wife, Heather, and has raised two college-aged children. He starts by remembering growing up in a house where faith was always important. Jason and Marnie dive deep into questions of faith while dealing with the death of his young nephew to cancer. He also opens up about how those challenges have led to the creation of a foundation to help families dealing with childhood cancer.

Today's episode might sound like it belongs in a seminary class, but trust us, Pastor Eric helps explain what we are talking about! So, what exactly is The Book of Concord? Does it involve grapes? Airliners? A college in Moorhead? Not quite. To put in simply…The Book of Concord helps us answer what it means to be Lutheran. Written in 1580, it is the document that creates the foundation that all Lutheran churches can agree upon. The word “concord” literally means an agreement or harmony between people or groups. Have a listen…we promise you will come away with some new knowledge!

On this week's podcast, you get two guests for the price of one! Heather Wald and Bella Kumagai sit down to talk with Marnie about the different styles of worship we offer at Spirit of Joy. Depending on the service, it's a little bit of hymns, a little bit of contemporary, a little bit of liturgical elements, all blended into one. Bella and Heather talk about the enjoyment of a group of instrumentalists and singers creating music together. They give a little plug to invite more people to join in to play/sing (especially if you play guitar!). And Heather might persuade Bella to give a sample of the Lord's Prayer in Portuguese!

Pastor Eric is in the studio today to talk about the wedding at Cana, which is Jesus' first sign (we'll get into why the Gospel of John calls it a “sign” and not a “miracle”). He gives us a little background to set up the story and then treats us to a retelling of it to fill in the details. And Eric and Marnie discuss how the story is about God encountering us amid our everyday lives and saying He will be present with us.

On this episode of Full of Joy, we welcome into the studio our youngest guest to date, Taylor Quinn. Taylor shares his life story of the last twenty years which has involved major life transitions and personal tragedy, but also how these experiences have helped him to find the good in difficult situations. Currently a sophomore at Augustana University majoring in government and economics (with goals of going to law school and the military), he discusses why service is so important to his faith and why he truly believes in loving your neighbor as yourself. And he talks about the importance to his faith of being surrounded by good family and friends. Trust us, he is no ordinary Gen Z'er!

Okay…let's get down to business (sort of). On today's podcast we are explaining the organizational structure at Spirit of Joy. It's how we do what we do. Pastor Eric lays out the framework of the church leadership and how it all starts at the top with every partner in our congregation. From there, we have our 10-person leadership team, our ministry teams, and various subteams, all of which are organized around our five core values. Eric and Marnie discuss in detail what each team does and how everyone can get involved in the mission of Spirit of Joy.

Heather Wald walks us through the different components of the Taking Faith Home insert included every Sunday in our worship bulletins. For those unfamiliar, Taking Faith Home offers a guidepost for bringing faith into your whole week. Each week it includes the following items: daily Bible readings, weekly scripture verse, prayers & blessing, weekly milestones, devotions, service ideas, rituals & traditions. Heather and Marnie talk through these things and how they have brought faith home in their own households.

As the Full of Joy podcast kicks off a new year, you are in for a special treat! If longevity equals wisdom, then today we welcome Spirit of Joy's wisest partner…Adeline Schempp. Adeline sits down with Marnie and shares about her life growing up on a farm outside of Menno during the “Dark ‘30s,” a time that included grasshoppers, cow pies for heat, snakes in the cellar, and lots and lots of dirt. She includes stories about attending & teaching in a one-room country schoolhouse, meeting her husband, raising four children, and working on their farm outside of Hurley. She also talks about the importance God's presence during the death of her brother and how she was raised with the belief “If you can stay out the night before, you have to get up and go to church the next day.”

Christmas in January? Of course! The Christmas season lasts from Christmas Eve until the arrival of “we three kings” on January 6th (for those doing the math, that would be twelve days of Christmas). Pastor Eric sits down with Marnie to wrap up our season of Christmas podcasts by talking about the differences between Matthew and Luke's Christmas stories.

Michele Vogel, Director of Children's Faith Formation, is back for one more story this Christmas season. This one is a little different than the traditional church Christmas tale, but one that will probably be familiar to most: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Don't worry, Michele will explain how it fits into the reason for the season. So, grab the whole family, pour some hot cocoa and, if you have a copy, follow along in the book and look at the pictures! (Music credits: https://uppbeat.io/t/matt-stewart-evans/crazy-circus: License code: 65SOGVADX0GPE2II; https://uppbeat.io/t/matt-stewart-evans/mischief-makers: License code: NMR3NSI1ETTHNQSW; https://uppbeat.io/t/cory-alstad/the-night-circus: License code: 8IM3XVQ9SEKCROQJ; https://uppbeat.io/t/giulio-fazio/snowbound-serenade: License code: KKQHRYZY3DIPY9FU; https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/sweet-lullaby: License code: 7L7K7Y7UBRNDZSEY)

On this special Christmas episode, the Spirit of Joy staff shares memories and traditions in their own households, both today and in years gone by. Here's a sneak peek: Idaho potato rolls, family sing-alongs, Advent logs, pig trauma, oyster stew, cassette recordings, and Truman singing Silent Night.

We are excited to welcome our new Spirit of Joy pastor, Dayna Weltzin, to the podcast this morning! Pastor Dayna is here to share more about herself and help us get to know her better. Dayna covers a childhood that sounds a little bit like a Norman Rockwell painting, to attending Gustavus Adolphus, to living in Spain for six years, to meeting her husband (Tim), to deciding on seminary later in her career, to what she loves about being a pastor. She also talks about what excites her about being in Sioux Falls and at Spirit of Joy!

Holy Moly, you're going to like what we have in store this week! Today's podcast welcomes Michele Vogel as she reads a Christmas story for the whole family to enjoy: The Holy Moly Christmas Story, by Rebecca Glaser. (Music credit: https://uppbeat.io/t/roger-gabalda/winters-tale; License code: ZLGTJQKANSUHPIDW)

We kick off our Advent season podcasts with Pastor Eric in studio to dive deeper into Hannah and Mary's songs and explain how they are connected to one another. Mary's song, known as The Magnificat, is the most familiar, and we sing it every week during Advent services as part of Holden Evening Prayer. These are two of the three songs we will be including this year during Advent services: Hannah's song (1st Samuel 2), Mary's song (Luke 1), and Zechariah's song (Luke 1). All three songs of prayer and praise relate to the birth of a child: Samuel, John the Baptist, and Jesus.

On today's episode of Full of Joy, we get to talk to our one and only pastor's wife and potter extraordinaire, Krista Ohrtman. We hear so often from her husband it's more than time for her to get the chance to talk to us! Krista shares about her “classic Lutheran upbringing” growing up in Detroit Lakes, MN, attending Augustana College, and working at Luther Heights Bible Camp in Idaho. She discusses how she lives her faith through empathy, kindness, care, respect and by being in service to others. And, of course, she talks a little about her life as a pastor's wife!

What are the regular elements of a church service that help make it feel familiar to us? At Spirit of Joy, we call these frequent pieces that help connect everything together Common Threads. Heather Wald explains all the different ways we incorporate these reoccurring segments and how our worship and visual arts teams intentionally plan out all the details. We also discuss how the lectionary helps us organize our worship services into a three-year cycle. And Heather talks about some of the different ways YOU can be involved to help with our worship (hint…there is a shameless plug to join the choir).

Spirit of Joy's five core values—you're probably familiar with them if for no other reason than they hang on banners in the sanctuary: 1) Radical Hospitality 2) Passionate Worship 3) Lifelong Faith Formation 4) Extravagant Generosity 5) Bold Service They've been around since the first partners of our church gathered to discuss who we would be and what that vision would look like. They are woven into our purpose as Spirit of Joy to Welcome, Grow, and Send. Marnie and Eric go through the why and what of each value, and how we use these values to relate to God as a community of faith.

Carole Chell joins Marnie Dahle Backer in studio to share about her life and her faith. Topics include growing up in a tight knit church community and how that has stayed with her to this day, her life-changing trip to Holden Village, her career as a nurse practitioner, and how her faith has helped bring a sense of calm and peace during the most difficult times in her life. Make sure you listen to the end to hear a great story about looking back to see how God works in your life!

We all know the legend of David and Goliath: The Original True Underdog Story. Pastor Eric sits in to give a more in-depth examination of what makes it one of the most well-known moments of the Bible. At its heart, it is a tale about trusting God and playing to your strengths. And, if you are the type who likes to do a little pre-listening research, our podcast word of the day is WADI!

Did you know it takes between 75-100 people to pull off a typical Sunday morning at Spirit of Joy? Heather Wald is in studio to tell us all the different ways people are involved in putting together everything needed for worship. We try to cover everyone—from bulletin folders to Sunday school teachers to offering counters and everyone in between. And it's quite apparent just how much Marnie loves Sunday morning coffee (she could probably do a whole podcast episode just on that).

Pastor Eric Ohrtman joins us to talk about the things of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that the average Lutheran probably doesn't know. How did it get here and where is it going? We dive into the structure of the ELCA, with congregations on top, followed by synods, regions, and the churchwide national office based in Chicago. And we discuss Spirit of Joy's work with our state synod in South Dakota.

Marnie sits down with Spirit of Joy partner Tim Hazlett to talk about what faith means to him. Tim looks back on his time growing up as a pastor's kid, where being aware of the needs of others was ingrained in him at a young age. He also discusses carrying his faith with him today as the principal of a public high school, the power of hope, dealing with doubt and guilt, and living by the old camp song They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love.

Trying to get a grasp on different translations of the Bible? It's all Greek to us...or Hebrew, or Latin, or English, etc. (you get the point). Pastor Eric Ohrtman talks through how the Bible was interpreted throughout history, what we use today, and some options to help make reading the Bible more accessible and understandable. Consider this episode the New Revised Standard Version of the Full of Joy Podcast!

Worship Stories: Sacred Spaces Chancels and Altars and Naves, Oh My! Heather Wald joins us to talk about the different areas of our church building. What is the difference between a lectern, a pulpit, and an ambo? Is the baptismal candle only lit for baptisms and how long does it take to burn all the way down? What all goes on in the Shalom Center? Do you know how The Well got its name (seriously...do you know)? And what exactly is, as Marnie describes it, the Pit of Glory? Listen in and learn about our Spirit of Joy building!

Lutheran Stories: Protestant Reformation Pastor Eric Ohrtman is in the studio to give the Cliff Notes overview of The Protestant Reformation. Get your pen and notebook ready because there is a lot to cover in 13 minutes! Martin Luther…check. John Calvin…check. Henry VIII…check. Gutenburg Press…check. Formula of Concord…check. Ninety-five Theses…check. Augsburg Confession…check. But the story involves so much more and it all comes back to the doctrine of grace.

Worship Stories: Why Do We Worship? Marnie Dahle Backer talks with Heather Wald, Spirit of Joy's Director of Worship Arts, about why we worship. The short answer: Because God tells us to! But the conversation doesn't end there. Heather dives into the reality that worship is so much more than just Sunday mornings—the truth is we worship all the time, in every way. Topics include confession, forgiveness, communion, community, music, and livestreaming.

Bible Stories: What is the Bible? On this episode of the Full of Joy podcast, we are starting as broad as possible for our first Bible Story topic with the question: What is the Bible? Pastor Eric Ohrtman gives the basics of this “story between two trees.” How was it formed? What is its structure? Are there more books than the 66 we recognize? These are some of the questions we break down in our discussion.