Podcasts about berkeley divinity school

Henry S. Whitehead was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 5, 1882, and graduated from Harvard University in 1904 (in the same class as Franklin D. Roosevelt).[3] As a young man he led an active and worldly life in the first decade of the 20th century, playing football at Harvard University, editing a Reform democratic newspaper in Port Chester, New York, and serving as commissioner of athletics for the AAU.He later attended Berkeley Divinity School in Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1912 he was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church. During 1912-1913 he worked as a clergyman in Torrington, Connecticut. From 1913 to 1917 he served as rector in Christ's Church, Middletown, Connecticut.[2] From 1918 to 1919 he was Pastor of the Children, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York City.[2]He served as Archdeacon of the Virgin Islands from 1921 to 1929.[1] While there, living on the island of St. Croix, Whitehead gathered the material he was to use in his tales of the supernatural.[2] A correspondent and friend of H. P. Lovecraft, Whitehead published stories from 1924 onward in Adventure, Black Mask, Strange Tales,[3] and especially Weird Tales. In his introduction to the collection Jumbee, R. H. Barlow would later describe Whitehead as a member of "the serious Weird Tales school".[3] Many of Whitehead's stories are set on the Virgin Islands and draw on the history and folklore of the region. Several of these stories are narrated by Gerald Canevin, a New Englander living on the islands and a fictional stand-in for Whitehead.[2] Whitehead's supernatural fiction was partially modelled on the work of Edward Lucas White and William Hope Hodgson.[3] Whitehead's "The Great Circle" (1932) is a lost-race tale with sword and sorcery elements.[3]In later life, Whitehead lived in Dunedin, Florida, as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd and a leader of a boys' group there. H. P. Lovecraft was a particular friend as well as a correspondent of Whitehead's, visiting him at his Dunedin home for several weeks in 1931. Lovecraft recorded in his letters that he entertained the boys with readings of his stories such as "The Cats of Ulthar". Lovecraft said of Whitehead: "He has nothing of the musty cleric about him; but dresses in sports clothes, swears like a he-man on occasion, and is an utter stranger to bigotry or priggishness of any sort."Whitehead suffered from a long-term gastric problem, but an account of his death by his assistant suggests he died from a fall or a stroke or both.[1] He died late in 1932, but few of his readers learned about this until an announcement and brief profile, by H. P. Lovecraft, appeared in the March 1933 Weird Tales, issued in Feb 1933. Whitehead was greatly mourned and missed by lovers of weird fiction at his death.[4]R. H. Barlow collected many of Whitehead's letters, planning to publish a volume of them; but this never appeared, although Barlow did contribute the introduction to Whitehead's Jumbee and Other Uncanny Tales (1944).

Fr. Nathan introduces us to the Rev. Stephanie C. Bradbury, MDiv, an  Episcopal priest, who is drawn to the bright overlap between matter and spirit and how life in this reality is intertwined with the transcendent.  The Rev. Stephanie Bradbury holds a Master of Divinity from the Yale Divinity School, a Certificate of Anglican Studies from the Berkeley Divinity School, both located in New Haven, CT, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. She was ordained to the Diaconate in 1996 at the Cathedral of the Incarnation and to the Priesthood in 1997 at the Church of the Redeemer, both located in Baltimore, MD, and has been active in the dioceses of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maryland, as well as the Convocation of Churches in Europe, where she served in Lithuania. Read Rev. Stephanie's blog: Jesus and the Enchanted Cosmos https://revstephaniecbradbury.substack.comClick this link and let us know what you love about The Joyful Friar Podcast! Support the show​Connect with Father Nathan Castle, O.P.: http://www.nathan-castle.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/fathernathancastleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/father_nathan_castle/?hl=enYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FatherNathanGCastleOPListen to the podcast: https://apple.co/3ssA9b5Purchase books on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/34bhp2t4 Donate: https://nathan-castle.com/donateMy Dominican brothers and I live a vow of poverty. 501©3 of the Western Dominican Province.

Brandon Nappi and Ned Parker discuss scriptural perspective, to whom we're giving our hearts, and perfect love in Mark 13:1-8. The text is appointed for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 28, in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastBrandon Nappi is Executive Director of Leadership Programs at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School. Ned Parker is Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at Andover Newton Seminary at Yale and Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

The Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost. Imagine Jesus asking you directly, “What do you want me to do for you?” It's a question that reaches deeper than we might expect. Explore the story of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar whose answer changed his life. As he threw off his only possession, Bartimaeus saw something beyond sight—he recognized Jesus' power to give him what he truly needed to follow him. Uncover how Jesus invites us to look beyond our first requests to the deeper needs that free us to walk with him fully.Guest Preacher: The Very Rev. Andrew McGowan, Dean & President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University#episcopal #episcopalchurch #episcopalian #church #jesusmovement #wayoflove #christian #anglican #allarewelcome #christianity #prayer #jesus #iglesiaepiscopal   #theology #anglicanchurch #holyspririt #faith #stmarksnewcanaaan #ens #ecct #spirituality #bible #scriptures #joy #peace #grace #hope 

The Very Rev. Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, joins "Rev'd Up for Sunday". This week's Gospel lesson brings up themes of faith and spiritual blindness. Peter Walsh, Elizabeth Garnsey, John Kennedy, and Dean McGowan take a closer look at just what Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, saw in Jesus and what this lesson reveals about his identity as the Messiah. Plus, listen to Dean McGowan reflect on what insights he has gained from reading Mark's Gospel.Want to have your question or comment featured on the podcast? Leave a voicemail on our Rev'd Up hotline! Call (203) 442-5002.Learn more about St. Mark's at https://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org

We have a Disney Original Crossover episode today ... with our pals from The Leader's Way Podcast! And we have just a teensy question: what is hope? Why do we have hope? What is the point of hope in Easter? Why do Christians have hope? Be sure to catch our guest episode with Hannah and Brandon where we share our call stories to the priesthood, and more!We're so excited to dive into this conversation with Hannah and Brandon! More about Hannah: Hannah Black, PhD, grew up in Southern California and had a first career as a dancer at Disneyland. She went on to earn an MPhil and a PhD in theology at the University of Cambridge. Now, she is the Assistant Director of Leadership and Communications at Berkeley. She is also a Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School's Jonathan Edwards Center, where she is collaborating on a book project. Hannah is writing a translation for St. Vladimir's Seminary Press's Popular Patristics Series of seven short works by Gregory of Nyssa on the life of virtue. She is also working on a book project based on her doctoral work on Gregory of Nyssa's use of imagery for salvation as a resource for feminist soteriology. More about Brandon: Brandon Nappi, DMin, is the Executive Director of Leadership Programs at Berkeley Divinity School. With twenty years of retreat ministry, Brandon founded Copper Beech Institute, a worldwide contemplative community of 50,000 people from over 50 countries dedicated to sharing contemplative practice to heal our aching world. Brandon's life has been deeply nourished by Christian mysticism, mindfulness, interreligious dialogue, and Zen practice. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Yale Divinity School, he holds a Doctor of Ministry degree in Homiletics from Aquinas Institute of Theology. Brandon walks alongside seekers, divinity students, and healers as a spiritual director and mentor.The Leader's Way convenes conversation at the intersection of leadership and spirituality. Dean Andrew McGowan shares Berkeley's vision for the podcast: “The Leader's Way podcast is one of the core elements of Berkeley's strategy to support practitioners in ministry. By offering this important content, we believe that we will meet the needs and challenges facing the leaders of churches and communities and to offer hope and inspiration.”The Leader's Way Podcast: https://berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/transforming-leaders/leaders-way-podcastLike what you hear?We'd love your support on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/AndAlsoWithYouPodcastThere's all kinds of perks including un-aired live episodes, Zoom retreats, and mailbag episodes for our Patreons!Keep up with us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/andalsowithyoupodcast/ More about Father Lizzie:https://www.instagram.com/rev.lizzie/https://www.tiktok.com/@rev.lizzieJubilee Episcopal Church in Austin, TX - JubileeATX.org  More about Mother Laura:https://www.instagram.com/laura.peaches/https://www.tiktok.com/@mother_peachesSt. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA Theme music:"On Our Own Again" by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). New episodes drop Mondays at 7am EST/6am CST! 

Joel Baden and Andrew McGowan discuss textual criticism, reception history, and genre in Exodus 20:1-17. The text is appointed for the Third Sunday in Lent in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastJoel Baden is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School. Andrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

Joel Baden and Andrew McGowan discuss wordplay, prophecy, and numinous experience in 1 Samuel 3:1-10. The text is appointed for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastJoel Baden is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School. Andrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

Joel Baden and Andrew McGowan discuss reception history, empire, and hope in Isaiah 9:2-7. The text is appointed for Christmas in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastJoel Baden is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School. Andrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

Joel Baden and Andrew McGowan discuss sheep, shepherds, and the use of political metaphor in Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24. The text is appointed for the Feast of the Reign of Christ (Proper 29) in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastJoel Baden is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Director of the Center for Continuing Education at Yale Divinity School. Andrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost. Our spiritual lives are sometimes thought of as separate from all the other areas of life. The Very Reverend Dr. Andrew McGowan, Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, points toward Jesus' response on what should be given to Caesar and to God as a way of helping us see how everything ultimately belongs to God.#episcopal #episcopalchurch #episcopalian #church #jesusmovement #wayoflove #christian #anglican #allarewelcome #christianity #prayer #jesus #iglesiaepiscopal   #theology #anglicanchurch #holyspririt #faith #stmarksnewcanaaan  #ens #ecct #spirituality #bible #scriptures #joy #peace #grace #hope #andrewmcgowan  #YDS #yale

Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss miracles, healing, and grief in John 11:1-45. The text is appointed for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleBill Goettler is Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership and Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration at Yale Divinity School. Yejide Peters Pietersen is Associate Dean and Director of Spiritual Formation at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

Donate to the Living Church. What's more important, unity or justice? Today we're travelling back in time with the Rev. Dr. Brandt Montgomery and the Rt. Rev. R. William Franklin to look at some influential figures from the Episcopal past -- John Henry Hobart and the founders of Saint James School in Maryland -- and how they influenced the shapes of political engagement of Anglicans in the United States. We'll examine the choices they made that encouraged justice and flourishing among God's people, especially among Black Anglicans -- or not; and mistakes they made that, however clear or unclear they were at the time, we can now see in retrospect. What can we learn from them? One interesting pattern that we'll trace from the 19th century to today is the high-church Anglican habit of reserve, which often includes a strategy of gradualism or reticence when it comes to social justice issues. How do you balance social justice with a peaceful or coherent community life? Is it a matter of balance? Or some other kind of equation? Together Father Brandt and Bishop Franklin will examine this speckled history as it plays out in these leaders' responses to social ills and evils, especially those that affect Black Americans, from slavery to civil rights. And what do the Anglo-Catholics have to do with all of this? Bishop Bill Franklin is assisting bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. He was previously Bishop of Western New York, and has also served, among other places, at St. Paul's Within the Walls in Rome, as associate director of the American Academy in Rome, and as associate priest of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He served as dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and as a professor at the General Theological Seminary in New York and at St. John's University in Minnesota. Fr. Brandt Montgomery is the chaplain of Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland, having previously served as the Chaplain of Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, Louisiana and curate at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel and Student Center at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He is a trumpet player and profound lover of jazz, as well as a scholar of American religious history, Episcopal Church history, the Oxford Movement and Anglo-Catholicism, and the Civil Rights Movement. Last but not least, our interviewer today is the Rev. Mark Michael, who is our editor and interim executive director here at the Living Church. Now ready the horses and hold onto your garters. We're headed into 200 years of history to see what we can learn for today. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Donate to the Living Church. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/living-church/support

Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss the spirit of children, the multiplicity of interpretation, and pastoral responsibility at Christmas, with reference to Luke 2:1-14 (15-20). The text is appointed for Christmas Eve in the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleYejide Peters Pietersen is Associate Dean and Director of Spiritual Formation at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Bill Goettler is Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership and Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

AndrewMcGowan and Ned Parker discuss the holiness of divine absence and the anticipation of things to come  in Matthew 24:36-44. The text is appointed for the First Sunday of Advent in Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastAndrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School. Ned Parker is Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at Andover-Newton Seminary at Yale and a Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.Connect with Yale Bible Study: Facebook: @YDSCCE Twitter: @BibleYale YouTube: youtube.com/c/YaleBibleStudy LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/yds-center-for-continuing-education Thank you for listening!

Our guest on this episode of Crossings Conversations is the Rt. Rev.  Kirk Smith, Church Divinity School of the Pacific's interim Dean and President, and former Bishop of the Diocese of Arizona. Bishop Smith spoke with us about about deepening the churches understanding of its history while adapting to the need of a changing world to spread the Gospel in the 21st century. He also shared about his own call and his hopes for serving the CDSP community. Download full episode transcript hereGuest Bio:  Bishop Kirk Smith is the interim Dean and President of Church Divinity School of the Pacific.  He formerly served as bishop of the Diocese of Arizona from 2004 to 2019. Before and after his retirement in 2019, he taught church history courses at the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, General Theological Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and Virginia Theological Seminary. He served as Bishop in Residence at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale for the Spring term 2021.Prior to serving as bishop for the Diocese of Arizona from 2004-2019, Bishop Smith led parishes in Connecticut and California, including St James', Wilshire Boulevard, a large urban multi-cultural and multi-racial congregation which also operates a day school, nursery school, senior housing project and food program. He received his bachelor's degree from Lewis and Clark College, MDiv from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and PhD from Cornell University.About the Show: Crossings Conversations is a co-production of Church Divinity School of the Pacific and Trinity Church Wall Street. If you enjoyed the show, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or share it with a colleague. You can learn more about the only Episcopal seminary on the West Coast and subscribe to Crossings magazine at cdsp.edu.

Presidential historian, Contributing Editor at TIME, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham is Executive Vice President and Executive Editor at Random House. Meacham's latest book, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, will be published by Random House on November 10, 2015. His book, American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, was a New York Times bestseller. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2009, the book was cited as an “unlikely portrait of a not always admirable democrat, but a pivotal president, written with an agile prose that brings the Jackson saga to life.” His other New York Times bestsellers include Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship, exploring the relationship between the two great leaders who piloted the free world to victory in World War II, and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and of the executive board of the Society of American Historians, Meacham is a regular guest on “Morning Joe” and also occasionally appears on “Meet the Press,” “Charlie Rose,” and other broadcasts. He is editor-at-large of WNET Public Media, New York's public television station. After serving as Managing Editor of Newsweek for eight years, Meacham was responsible for all day-to-day editorial operations of the magazine as Editor from 2006 to 2010. He is a former editor of The Washington Monthly and began his career at The Chattanooga Times. Born in Chattanooga in 1969, Meacham was educated at St. Nicholas School, The McCallie School, and graduated from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, with a degree summa cum laude in English Literature; he was salutatorian and elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Meacham is a communicant of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, where he has served on the Vestry of the 180 year-old Episcopal parish. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees and of the Board of Regents of The University of the South, and currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University. Meacham also serves on the Vestry of Trinity Church Wall Street and the Leadership Council of the Harvard Divinity School. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University in 2005 and also holds five other honorary doctorates. He lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children.

Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss Mary and Martha, extroversion, and authenticity in Luke 10:38-42. The text is appointed for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 11, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleAndrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School. Ned Parker is Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at Andover-Newton Seminary at Yale and a Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.

Today we are chatting with the Rev. Craig Swan of St. Peter's by the sea in RI about John the Baptist. How did we get this man, where did he come from and where does his story end. Why is he important to our faith.  The Reverend Craig Swan is a life-long Episcopalian. Having experienced a call to ordained ministry during his freshman year in college, Fr. Swan pursued a multi-field major in Sociology and Psychology with a concentration in Religion during his years at St. Lawrence University. After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Science, Fr. Swan matriculated to Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University where he received his Master's in Divinity.  After Divinity School,  Fr. Swan pursued his interest in youth ministry by working with at-risk youth, first in New Haven, CT through the Dixwell Community House and then with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.   It was when he grew frustrated with the fact that he could not share his greatest joy - the love of God for each of us - with the children he was called to care for, that he began the formal journey to ordination.  Ordained in 2000, Fr. Swan continued his devotion to youth ministry and children's protection in the Diocese of Massachusetts where he served as the Assistant Rector and Director of Youth Ministries at the Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill and as a Massachusetts Diocesan Safe Church Trainer. Called to St. Peter's by-the-Sea in 2015, Fr. Swan has continued his work in Safe Church and now utilizes his protective services background as a Title IV (clergy misconduct) Intake Officer for the Diocese of Rhode Island.  Within the parish he enjoys working collaboratively with musicians and lay leaders towards the development of creative and meaningful worship. He also has found a new passion: teaching the faith through courses on the sacraments and Bible Study. A native Southern New Englander, Fr. Swan roots for all teams New England: the Patriots, the Red Sox, and UConn Basketball.

Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss love-songs, community, and connection in reference to John 17:20-26. The text is appointed for the Feast of the Ascension, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleYejide Peters Pietersen is Associate Dean and Director of Spiritual Formation at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Bill Goettler is Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership and Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration at Yale Divinity School.

During the Easter season, Sermons That Work is pleased to present reflections from bishops of The Episcopal Church on the resurrection of our Lord. Check back each week for a brief exploration of how Jesus Christ's rising from the grave changes everything. Today's reflection was written by the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya. Bishop Loya was consecrated the X Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota on June 6, 2020. He served as Dean of Trinity Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska from 2013-2020, and was the Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from 2009-2013. He received his Master of Divinity from Yale University and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in 2002. Sermons That Work is an offering of the Episcopal Church's Office of Communication. For more free resources, including sermons, Bible studies, bulletin inserts, and more, visit episcopalchurch.org/sermons. We would love it if you'd rate, review, and subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcasting platform – and while you're at it, share it with a friend!

Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss whiteness, danger, and comfort in Revelation 7:9-17. The text is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleAndrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School. Ned Parker is Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at Andover-Newton Seminary at Yale and a Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.

Episode Six of Lenten Contemplations is live and ready for your viewing/listening. Atonement - At-One-Ment - Jesus' death on the cross is an archetypal moment in human history. For some believers, it is the pinnacle moment for forgiveness of sins. For other believers, it is the moment when Easter actually begins with Jesus mortal death and metaphorical and salvific effort to reconcile humanity and creation to God and to one another. Whatever it may mean - this 'death' is not an end. It is a transformation of a life of faith from one depth to another. Perhaps this conversation with Dean Andrew McGowan of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale may shine light on the all understandings of atonement and Jesus' death on the cross. The images, silence, and music by Chris Keeney may provide resources for deeper contemplation and wisdom too.

Andrew McGowan and Ned Parker discuss community, sacrament, and suffering in Luke 22:14-23:56. The text is appointed for the Palm Sunday, the Liturgy of the Passion, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleAndrew McGowan is Dean and President of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology at Yale Divinity School. Ned Parker is Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at Andover-Newton Seminary at Yale and a Lecturer in Homiletics at Yale Divinity School.

Yejide Peters Pietersen and Bill Goettler discuss reconciliation, spiritual role-models, and what it means to “become the righteousness of God” with reference to 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. The text is appointed for the 4th Sunday in Lent, in Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary.More Yale Bible Study resources, including a transcript of this episode, at: https://YaleBibleStudy.org/podcastFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BibleYaleYejide Peters Pietersen is Associate Dean and Director of Spiritual Formation at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Bill Goettler is Associate Dean for Ministerial and Social Leadership and Lecturer in Parish Leadership and Church Administration at Yale Divinity School.

Mike Kinman is a follower of Jesus, husband, father, Episcopal priest, and the Tenth Rector of All Saints Church, Pasadena. He believes God gives the church the ministry of reconciliation, which requires us to meet Christ in those among us who are most marginalized, oppressed and targeted and allow their voices and concerns the center place in community life. That God calls Christian communities to support one another in growing in life-changing relationships with Christ and dreams church buildings to be sacred public space where diverse communities gather to dismantle structures of us vs. them and to build the Beloved Community of equity and justice for all God's children and to be a catalyst for the common good. As the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis (2009-2016) Mike had a particular interest in the Cathedral's role in dismantling systemic misogyny and homophobia and promoting racial and economic reconciliation in St. Louis and with Christ Church Cathedral was active in the new civil rights movement that was ignited in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. He has a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master's of Divinity from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Prior to his ministry at Christ Church Cathedral, he was the founding Executive Director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation (EGR) a nonprofit that gathered individuals, congregations and dioceses across the church to work across divisions to help eradicate global poverty, and was the founding campus missioner of Rockwell House, the Episcopal Campus Ministry at Washington University in St. Louis. Mike is also president of the board of Magdalene St. Louis, a two-year residential community for women recovering from lives of prostitution, violence and drug abuse that opened its first house in June, 2015. Mike had a previous brief career as a sportswriter and loves major league baseball and college basketball, especially the Los Angeles Dodgers and the University of Arizona Wildcats (from his hometown of Tucson, Arizona). He loves listening to U2 and the blues, is a voracious reader and loves everything Aaron Sorkin has ever written for the large and small screen. He can be found on Facebook and followed on Twitter at @MKinman LINKS: All Saints website Mike Kinman Linkedin

Anne Rowthorn, Ph. D. is a passionate, long-time environmentalist. She has written or compiled 12 books, of late specializing in the area of religion and ecology. Long an admirer of John Muir, she took particular pleasure in compiling the book, The Wisdom of John Muir:  100+ Selections from the Letters, Journals and Essays of the Great Naturalist,which is available in most book stores and national park gift shops.    The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Rowthorn was one of the founding faculty members of the Institute of Sacred Music, and a professor of Liturgy at Yale Divinity School, and was the school’s first Chapel Minister. In 1987 he was elected Suffragan Bishop of Connecticut and then from 1994 to 2001 served as Bishop of the Episcopal congregations in Europe.  Over the past forty years he has compiled and edited three hymnals and written hymns, among them the school hymn for Berkeley Divinity School and a hymn commissioned to mark the tercentenary of Yale University.  His most recent hymnal is Sing of the World Made New: Hymns of Justice, Peace and Christian Responsibility.    Read the show notes here: 

The Rev. Peter Walsh has been the Rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, Connecticut since 2008. Previously, he served in Phoenix, Arizona; Cleveland Heights, Ohio; and was a Chaplain at the Kent School. Peter grew up in Delmar, New York, a small town outside of Albany. He is a graduate of the Hotchkiss School, Harvard College, and Yale Divinity School.  Embracing the new missional age, Peter publishes a weekly vlog on St. Mark’s website, which makes my Digital Storyteller heart happy.      Professor Miroslav Volf is an esteemed author and the founding Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture and the Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School. A member of the Episcopal Church in the USA and the Evangelical Church in Croatia, Miroslav has been involved in international ecumenical dialogues and interfaith dialogues, and is an active participant in the Global Agenda Council on Values of the World Economic Forum.    The Rev. Justin Crisp has been a member of St. Mark’s clergy since 2014, and since 2018 is the Associate Rector and Theologian in Residence. In his roles, Justin focuses on St. Mark's liturgical, pastoral care, and youth ministries, he teaches a weekly theology class, collaborates on Christian formation initiatives, and teaches in the formation programs. Justin is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Yale Divinity School, Berkeley Divinity School, and Yale Intstitute of Sacred Music. Currently he is completing his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (concentrating in theology) at Yale University.        Justin and Miroslav are co-editors of "Joy and Human Flourishing: Essays on Theology, Culture, and the Good Life" (2015).    Welcome Peter, Miroslav, and Justin!    Read the show notes here: 

Ian Morgan Cron is a champion of the Enneagram, awakener of people, and bestselling author of the popular Enneagram book, The Road Back to You. As a pioneer in the contemporary Enneagram movement, Ian is a highly sought-after speaker, thinker and advisor to a growing roster of clients such as: Leadercast, Catalyst, Ramsey Solutions, Michael Hyatt Company, Discovery Channel, EDGE Mentoring, Willow Creek, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Denver Seminary, Belmont University, Laity Lodge, and The Storyline Conference with Donald Miller.Ian is an accomplished author who "has the gift of making his human journey a parable for all of our journeys" (Fr. Richard Rohr). Ian's writing career began in 2007 when he published his widely acclaimed novel, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale, which offers a historical account of St. Francis of Assisi's life, woven into the compelling narrative of a 21st-century pilgrimage. Ian's 2011 memoir, Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A memoir of sorts..., was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and a featured title in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program. Most recently, Ian authored the bestselling book, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, which introduced the Enneagram to its broadest audience yet. Ian is an Episcopal priest and a trained psychotherapist. He and his wife, Anne, live in Nashville, Tennessee.This month we also have a free resource giveaway you can easily download to help you learn how to create your own personalized plan to sustain belief for your dreams.Are you ready to start dreaming big? CLICK HERE to receive your free Dream Big Workbook. —————————On the episode: Producer : Haley King Engineer : Jackson Carpenter Co-host : Scott Schimmel

Ian Morgan Cron is a champion of the Enneagram, awakener of people, and bestselling author of the popular Enneagram book, The Road Back to You. As a pioneer in the contemporary Enneagram movement, Ian is a highly sought-after speaker, thinker and advisor to a growing roster of clients such as: Leadercast, Catalyst, Ramsey Solutions, Michael Hyatt Company, Discovery Channel, EDGE Mentoring, Willow Creek, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Denver Seminary, Belmont University, Laity Lodge, and The Storyline Conference with Donald Miller.Ian is an accomplished author who "has the gift of making his human journey a parable for all of our journeys" (Fr. Richard Rohr). Ian's writing career began in 2007 when he published his widely acclaimed novel, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale, which offers a historical account of St. Francis of Assisi's life, woven into the compelling narrative of a 21st-century pilgrimage. Ian's 2011 memoir, Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A memoir of sorts..., was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and a featured title in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program. Most recently, Ian authored the bestselling book, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, which introduced the Enneagram to its broadest audience yet. Ian is an Episcopal priest and a trained psychotherapist. He and his wife, Anne, live in Nashville, Tennessee.This month we also have a free resource giveaway you can easily download to help you learn how to create your own personalized plan to sustain belief for your dreams.—————————Also on the episode:Producer : Haley KingEngineer : Jackson CarpenterCo-host : Scott Schimmel

Ian Morgan Cron is a champion of the Enneagram, awakener of people, and bestselling author of the popular Enneagram book, The Road Back to You. As a pioneer in the contemporary Enneagram movement, Ian is a highly sought-after speaker, thinker and advisor to a growing roster of clients such as: Leadercast, Catalyst, Ramsey Solutions, Michael Hyatt Company, Discovery Channel, EDGE Mentoring, Willow Creek, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Denver Seminary, Belmont University, Laity Lodge, and The Storyline Conference with Donald Miller.Ian is an accomplished author who “has the gift of making his human journey a parable for all of our journeys” (Fr. Richard Rohr). Ian’s writing career began in 2007 when he published his widely acclaimed novel, Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale, which offers a historical account of St. Francis of Assisi’s life, woven into the compelling narrative of a 21st-century pilgrimage. Ian’s 2011 memoir, Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A memoir of sorts…, was a Wall Street Journal bestseller and a featured title in the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program. Most recently, Ian authored the bestselling book, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, which introduced the Enneagram to its broadest audience yet. Ian is an Episcopal priest and a trained psychotherapist. He and his wife, Anne, live in Nashville, Tennessee.This month we also have a free resource giveaway you can easily download to help you learn how to create your own personalized plan to sustain belief for your dreams.—————————Also on the episode:Producer : Haley KingEngineer : Jackson CarpenterCo-host : Scott Schimmel

Today we have with us Pat Cage and Ana Arellano, both of the Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba. And today we’re going to learn about that grassroots organization. We held the interview in the Annand Room of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, in New Haven and Pat joined us by phone. Patricia, or Pat, Cage, is from Saint Luke’s in Darien. She was one of the founders of Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba 2016 and serves as their executive director. Before that Pat served as director or president of several non-profits in Connecticut including Person to Person and A Better Chance. Pat has a degree in business marketing from Cal State University. Ana Arellano is Cuban American and an active member of St. Peter’s, Cheshire. She is also an artist and a journalist, specializing in Latino news, photographer and freelance writer, webmaster and social media afficiado, and earlier, a bank vice president. Ana has a BA from Yale and lives in Cheshire. She’s been involved in Friends of the Episcopal Church in Cuba since its creation and oversees their Facebook page Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba is a US-based volunteer organization working with Bishop Griseldo to help her and her team in Cuba. They have a website and Facebook page, friendsofeccuba.org. We began with Pat telling us how she got involved in this, a story that started with her home parish of St. Luke’s, pursing possible mission partnership opportunities. She and her husband visited in 2016 with a group from the parish, and were hosted by Bishop Griselda of the Episcopal Church of Cuba. Bishop Griselda shared her vision with the group, and shared a small strategy document. That inspired Pat and her husband to offer their expertise in developing a larger strategy document and business plan that could be used to approach large philanthropic organizations, for example. They also learned the bishop wanted a U.S. based support organization, and that became the genesis of the Friend of the Episcopal Church in Cuba. The priorities come from Bishop Griselda and respect the Cuban Episcopalians’ creativity. Ana then shared how she got involved in the organization. It was at an ECCT conference that she first heard about the opportunity for the mission trip to Cuba; prior to that she hadn’t thought much about reconnecting with her homeland.   Karin asked what the priorities of the Friends are now, and Pat said that Bishop Griselda is focused first on providing food and water in many communities. People line at the Cathedral to get water, Pat said. Alli asked about the number of parishes, and while Pat gave a number, Pat and Ana shared the impact of the Cuban revolution and its aftermath on churches. While the Episcopal Church in Cuba is relatively small, they both saw that in many of them, the first few rows are reserved for children. Before we ended, Pat and Ana talked about the historic vote last year, 2018, by the General Convention of The Episcopal Church to readmit the Episcopal Church of Cuba into the full embrace of the Church, and the efforts by the Friends organization to generate support, and some of the committee meetings that led up to the vote. Ana talked about what it meant to her as a Cuban American Episcopalian. Visit: https://www.friendsofeccuba.org/ for more information!

Our guest today is the Rev. Canon Nicholas T. Porter.   Nicholas, former rector of Trinity Church in Southport. He is the Executive Director and Founder of Jerusalem Peacebuilders: jerusalempeacebuilders.org.   He is the re-founder and past director of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem as well as the founder of Anastasia Pilgrimages in France.    Nicholas holds advanced degrees in Middle East Studies, Theology, War Studies, and Conflict Transformation. A two-time graduate from Yale University, he served on the board of the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, initiating key projects in theology and in Jerusalem. In 2016 Dwight Hall at Yale awarded him the Curran Prize for distinguished public service.   Jerusalem Peacebuilders (JPB) is an interfaith, non-profit organization with a mission to create a better future for humanity across religions, cultures, and nationalities. Integral to that mission is the belief that the future of Jerusalem is the future of the world.  To that end, JPB promotes transformational, person-to-person encounters among the peoples of Jerusalem, the United States, and the Holy Land.   JPB’s interfaith programs focus on uniting Israelis, Palestinians, and Americans and providing them with the opportunities, relationships, and skills they need to become future leaders for peace in the global community.  A passion for peace drives our mission and partnerships power our program.   Welcome Nicholas!    Alli asks in Nicolas’ own words to describe what the Jerusalem Peacebuilders is. Nicholas says the primary mission is to promote peace through education. The first session started with 11 people, and this summer it’ll be over 100 young people.    JPB started off with offering summer programs focused on leadership.   While there are fun camp things like canoeing and ropes courses, these young people also focus on hard conversations and interfaith dialogue. Next step was to introduce experimental-learning courses in school in Israel, Palestine, and the United States (especially in Houston, TX and in CT, VT, MA) which became a 4-year curriculum. These courses are geared to four areas: understanding their identity, communication skills, recognizing conflict, and conflict management. JPB uses Critical Youth Empowerment, a program to work closer with young people to become instruments of change. This focuses on providing three specifics things to flourish the growth of young people: providing a safe environment, a low-power asymmetry, and working towards a realistic contribution by the group. This final part usually results in a project the young people work towards in their community.    Alli asks where JPB receive the funding for these programs and how are the young people able to participate. JPB receive fund from individual donors, Episcopal Diocese in Jerusalem, and mission funds in ECCT. It costs about $3,000 to being over a young person from the Middle East to participate in the peace-building programs.    Nicholas says that what is fundamental for change is the removal of oneself from the environment they are in. Therefore it is essential to peace-building to gather together outside of their current environment and community, and return back.    Nicholas shares one particularly spectacular story of a young person that has gone through the JPB program.    Nicholas stopped by The Commons on his way to New Haven and then on to New York. One of the five programs JPB offers is based in New Haven and hosted by Christ Church, New Haven. The group of 20 young people spend the first half of August working with IRIS - Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, visiting the United Nations, meeting with Ambassadors.    An exciting new initiative the group in New Haven will be doing this year is happening on Thursday, August 8 a service learning program. JPB with the Muslim community in New Haven, the Mishkan Israel in Hamden, and Christ Church, New Haven are hosting a city-wide interfaith service day. All day long there will be groups working in parks, a feeding station, working at IRIS, and with Habitat for Humanity. This event is open to anyone who is interested and would like to attend.    To wrap up, Alli asks how this work has been spiritually for Nicholas. He said both the conflict and peace-building reside within his family history and within himself, which he didn’t realize would take hold until he went to Jerusalem himself. Nicholas said that his faith and life were traumatized by 9/11. On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Nicholas and his wife decided to work towards the future — peace.   

Today we have five of the six founding members of YAE spelled, “Y A E” Young Adult Episcopalians, in the South Central Region. The group launched in fall 2017 and has held several events for young adults in the New Haven area and larger South Central Region.  The Rev. Elise Hanley is the Assistant Rector at Trinity Church on the Green in New Havenand an Assisting Priest at the Episcopal Church at Yale. She has been ordained for two years, and is originally from New York.   The Rev. Paul Carling is the Chaplain for the Episcopal Church at Yale,a position he has held for five years. Before Yale he served in a variety of parishes in Vermont and Connecticut and was a professor of Psychology for many years.   Mary Beth Mills-Curran is a candidate for ordination with the diocese of Massachusetts and is in her third year at Yale Divinity School and Berkeley Divinity School. She serves as the program director for the Episcopal Church at Yale.  The Rev. Rachel Field, a returning guest on our podcast, is the Region Missionary for the South Central Regionof ECCT. She has held this role for just over a year and a half, and is a key supporter of this collaborative ministry between various parishes and ministries in New Haven.  Alli Huggins, serves not only as our co-host for Coffee Hour at The Commons, but also the Digital Communications Associate for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.   The sixth member, who could not make it, is the Rev. Keri Aubert the priest-in-charge at St. Thomas Church in New Haven.   We met in the library and office of the Episcopal Church at Yale, and Alli wore headphones, so she sounds all subdued, slow, and smooth compared to the rest of us. Actually we’re getting new equipment soon, which will include headphones for everyone, so she’s practicing. We began with how YAE began; the Episcopal Church at Yale was the spark behind it. Young adults at Yale (or Yale/Berkeley) have opportunities for formation and fellowship, but there wasn’t much for young adults in congregations. Mary Beth said she was part of a similar model in the Diocese of New York They started in New Haven and have opened it up to other churches in the South Central reason; it claims an Episcopal identity but doesn’t want to be exclusive. It leans toward engagement beyond the divinity school but everyone is welcome. “Young adult” is considered 21-35. ECY received a grant for their ministry to fund events, identifying young adults as a “mission field.” The grant supports food for fellowship events. There’s no agenda for the future; the call has been to be present in the community; to gather and talk about what it means to be a Christian now, so people 21-35 can ask questions, or know they’re not alone. Bruch is like the main thing that church conflicts with, said Mary Beth, adding that it’s an encapsulation of how a life of faith is in some ways swimming against the stream of what our culture calls us, encourages us, to do. The church calls us to be a different type of community, she said, then asked: What does that mean for my friends, and how I experience my life socially? Being a Christian and going to church will disrupt the pattern; ministries built on the “skeleton” of building fellowship first and foremost are the most important and allow the Christian life to be sustainable; not to be lonely, she said, and others agreed. YAE can show people how to do that, to make space for young adults to have full lives in the church. The group talked about a few of the events they’ve had so far; they try for one event a month. We closed by hearing each of them share how this has impacted their own personal spiritual life, and their insightful reflections on its importance and implications.

The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens is bishop suffragan for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT). Laura is a graduate of Princeton University and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and has a D.Min. from Hartford Seminary. She was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in Massachusetts and served two parishes in Massachusetts before being called to Saint Luke’s, Darien and later to St. James’, Danbury. She was elected as bishop suffragan in 2007 and consecrated later that year. Laura has been to the Holy Land twice, and is a co-leader for the upcoming 2019 pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Rev. Harrison West, rector of Christ Church in Guilford. A native of Oregon, he received in BA from Carleton College in Minnesota, and studied architectural history at the University of Oregon, and earned his M.Div. from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and after his ordination served parishes in Maryland, Oregon, and Tennessee before taking the position in Guilford in 2010. Harrison has taken one trip to the Holy Land so far, over New Year’s in 2013, and it snowed that year. Our primary focal point for this episode was the upcoming ECCT pilgrimage, June 9-19, 2019, with an optional three-day extension. (Check out the previous episode, #25, interviews with John Lent and Heidi Shott of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem). We talked about where the idea for the pilgrimage came from (learn about the “Holy Landers” group), and how going on a pilgrimage is different from going as a tourist. On a pilgrimage you really enter the geography and connect with the people, Harrison explained. Laura added that as a pilgrim, you also create space for prayer. The on-site pilgrimage leader, Canon Iyad Qumri, a lay canon of the Cathedral in Jerusalem, creates special opportunities for prayer, connected with specific events described in the Scriptures. They talked about the itineraryand about preparations (practical and spiritual). Once the group is finalized, the pilgrims will gather several times in the upcoming months to get to know one another better and study and prepare together. The pilgrimage will include visits to parishes, Episcopal institutions, and opportunities to meet Anglican/Episcopal leaders there. Harrison and Laura each shared what it was about the Holy Land that drew them back: being where Jesus lived topped the list. Both talked about how their earlier pilgrimages had changed their prayer lives, making them richer. The pilgrimage group, which will be shepherded by a licensed, experienced guide, will see the places and hear about the people connected with Jesus’ time; they will also see and experience life there now. Laura talked about how it was important “to be praying for all the people that live there, and working with people to explore a hope-filled future.” We ended with reminders about where to find more information including a video, and get a registration form, available here: https://www.episcopalct.org/holyland2019/ They’re looking for a commitment and a deposit by December 14, 2018.

Dom Fay and Sue Wilton are joined by The Very Rev’d Professor Andrew McGowan to explore some of the ancient history of religion and the way ideas about sacrifice pervade the religious imagination. What was the place of sacrifice within ancient religious tradition and what do Christians mean when they talk about Jesus as the sacrificial lamb? This conversation explores the misunderstandings around the nature and history of sacrifice and how a richer understanding can lead to a more compassionate and liberating experience of Christian faith and eucharistic worship. Andrew McGowan is the Dean of Berkeley Divinity School within Yale in New Haven, Connecticut.

In honor of Mother’s Day, which is coming up on May 13 this year, we have four moms with us and all  of them are priests who are serving at different Episcopal churches in Connecticut.   We wanted to know, how do they combine being a woman priest and being a mom? It’s easy to say you’re going to have good, strong boundaries between the personal and the professional, but it’s harder to actually do that. And then there’s the matter of judgment: Potentially the whole congregation where they’re serving might feel entitled to judge their child-rearing ability, and their child or children, by what they see or don’t see on Sunday mornings when mom is at work.     Then we had a side question: Do they want everyone to call them, “Mother” ? (which is listed in the current online version of “Rules of Address” from the Church Pension Group, although they do recommend asking for preferences ... ) Or just their children?    There are special challenges and blessings of their unique role.   Today’s guests include:    The Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell is rector of St. Monica’s Church in Hartford. She is originally from the Midwest, received her M.Div from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and was ordained deacon in 2003 and priest in 2004. Her son Thaeyer Charles is 7 and is in the second grade.   The Rev. Rebekah Hatch is rector of St. Alban’s Church in Simsbury. She is a native or Georgia, received her M.Div from Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained in 2004. Her daughter Ruth is 12 and in the sixth grade, and her son Elias is 8 and in the second grade.    The Rev. Stacey Kohl is curate at St. Mark’s, Mystic. She received an MA from Bethany and an MA from Yale Divinity School and was ordained in 2017. Her son Henry James is three months old, and he was with us today (you’ll hear him on the podcast).   The Rev. Charlotte LaForest, assistant rector of St. John’s, Essex. She was raised in Florida, received her M.Div from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, and was ordained in 2015. She has a son, August, who is 4, and 8-month-old twins Rowan and Evelyn. Charlotte also writes a blog (when she has time) called Gather Up the Crumbs: A Life in Sacrament and Sippy Cups (gatherupthecrumbs.wordpress.com    One of the first topics we discussed was whether their child-raising was more public, part of the life of the parish, or private, and separated. There was no clear preference: Some children were fully integrated in the parish, and Sunday services, while others weren’t - and there were different reasons. “Church is always going to be a complicated place,” one said.   A mom who’d recently been pregnant talked about how people in the congregation felt it was ok for them to make comments about her changing shape and status. It’s an issue for most all women clergy, regardless of whether or not they’re a mom. And just being pregnant in parish ministry is physically challenging!    A mom with older children talked about setting up a network of women from the parish who could step in and help out when there was a pastoral emergency that needed her presence.    Sometimes the moms feel guilty for the time they have to spend with the congregation. Tracy talked about the tugs that happen between needs of her own family and those of the family of God that she shepherds.    As far as a title - no one preferred “Mother” as a title for themselves. “Rev” got a thumbs up and yes, they know it’s not a grammatically correct usage.     And the children? These “preacher’s kids” range from enjoying church and wanting to be ordained themselves to rejecting it all (at the moment, at least). Regardless of what direction their children are leaning, all of the moms agreed that having children has taught them more about God’s unconditional love and their ability to see God in more moments of life. 

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Diocese of Arizona Phoenix, AZ The Rev. Tommy J. Dillon II is Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Bainbridge Island, Washington. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tommy honors and values his conservative Anglo-Catholic Episcopal roots, but has moved well beyond them in ministry, theology, and liturgical style. He has a passion for helping faithful church people discover how to take ministry and spirit beyond the church walls, and embrace new ways of being the church in a changing world. In Tommy’s world, there is no such thing as the “outcast and the stranger.” His work with newly-released prisoners, people suffering mental illness and homelessness, and Hurricane Katrina survivors, gives him a fearless compassion for human need. During his nine years as Rector of St. Aidan’s, San Francisco, parish foodbank and elder ministries flourished, and Tommy was dubbed ‘'the Vicar of the Castro District' for his work with the LGBTQ community. Tommy Dillon serves on the board of the Wild Goose Festival, and is newly-elected to the General Theological Seminary Board of Trustees. He graduated Louisiana State University, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, and General Theological Seminary, where he specialized in Anglican Liturgy. Collaborating to create eclectic liturgy feeds his soul. Good food, good friends, and road trips with his Whippet pal Josh reveal the Holy in the everyday world.