Podcasts about sick pilgrim

Jessica Mesman is founder of the blog Sick Pilgrim and coauthor of Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship in Letters. Her essays have been published in US Catholic, Lit Hub, Elle, Vox, America, and Christianity Today. Jessica joins Elise to discuss writing as a form of accompaniment and how the experience of mourning shaped her, both as a Christian and as a writer. They talk about the Catholic practice of memento mori, the unique way horror movies can convey truth, and how to live a Christian life when you can’t let go of grief.   How place shapes you   The unique religiosity of New Orleans   Horror movies and haunting   A Christian look at grief   Memento mori   Why remembering the dead is a work of mercy   Wrestling with the darkness of the human experience as an Easter people   St. Therese of Lisieux   What makes a good friendship   Writing as accompaniment   Links: Jessica's website Laudato si The Blue Sapphire of the Mind: Notes for a Contemplative Ecology by Douglas Christie The Exorcist The Babadook Poltergeist Awakened by Death by Christiana Peterson

Allison M. Sullivan is a mom, wife, yoga teacher, author, podcaster, and spiritual companion. She is the author of Rock Paper Scissors: God's Mighty Power, Jesus's Covering Forgiveness, and the Snipping Refinement of the Holy Spirit. She is the host of the Sinner Saint Sister podcast. She and her family reside in Bryan, Texas, where she engages in ministry with college women. We first connected with Allison through the Sick Pilgrim writers' collective online, where we all grew admire her honesty, vulnerability, and faith. Allison and Cassidy made a pact to interview each other on their respective podcasts — so here the conversation begins! I have this evolving definition of what silence is... before, all silence meant to me was just an absence of noise, you know, just kind of this literal silence — but now, as I seek it out as a discipline, whether it's in an effort to know myself, or create, or get needed time as an introvert — it's more about a search — and that can happen within noise, of course, but it's a searching posture of my heart, that asks the question, "What do you have for me here?" so there's an asking and receiving, or a searching and a finding, of silence. — Allison M. Sullivan Allison shares her first discovery of silence (in the context of growing up with two "boisterous" parents) while encountering solitude in a swimming pool. She muses on the challenge of cultivating silence in the midst of a large family (routine and a prayer closet have been lifesavers), and silence has been integral to her experience as a Christian yoga instructor. Allison shares how she has experienced silence both as a safe space and as a shield for avoidance, and shares how a bizarre moment while getting a root canal inspired her to self-care — and to explore her vocation as a writer. She approaches silence in terms like lingering and sabbath — and laments how such ways of being in time are so absent in so much of our culture. I think it's important to distinguish when silence can become avoidance — whether that's avoiding a certain type of person, or that's avoiding a certain type of emotion, silence can be avoidance. — Allison M. Sullivan Some of the resources and authors mentioned in this episode: Allison M. Sullivan, Rock Paper Scissors: God's Mighty Power, Jesus's Covering Forgiveness, and the Snipping Refinement of the Holy Spirit Julia Cameron, The Right to Write Cassidy Hall and Patrick Shen, Notes on Silence Gregorian Chant, Lost in Meditation Allison M. Sullivan, The Sinner Saint Sister Podcast Thomas Merton, Day of a Stranger At the end of the podcast Carl speaks briefly about the trailer for Cassidy's forthcoming movie, Day of a Stranger. Here it is: https://youtu.be/pGbEGzy4P2M I think about the word "linger" — our culture doesn't allow for that, does it? We are constantly trying to achieve more, process more information, cross more things off the to-do list; but I think that linger is so connected to love. We cannot linger over that which we do not love, we cannot love that which we do not linger over. And when it comes to our bodies and maybe this is sensitive with women in particular, but I don't know that we love our bodies and so there's that desire to dissasociate. My desire with yoga and this full-bodied experience of life is to bring it all back into one being in a loving way, in a way that lingers and loves. — Allison M. Sullivan Episode 37: Silence, Yoga and Faith: A Conversation with Allison M. Sullivan Hosted by: Carl McColman With: Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson Guest: Allison M. Sullivan Date Recorded: September 24, 2018

Allison M. Sullivan is a mom, wife, yoga teacher, author, podcaster, and spiritual companion. She is the author of Rock Paper Scissors: God's Mighty Power, Jesus's Covering Forgiveness, and the Snipping Refinement of the Holy Spirit. She is the host of the Sinner Saint Sister podcast. She and her family reside in Bryan, Texas, where she engages in ministry with college women. We first connected with Allison through the Sick Pilgrim writers' collective online, where we all grew admire her honesty, vulnerability, and faith. Allison and Cassidy made a pact to interview each other on their respective podcasts — so here the conversation begins! I have this evolving definition of what silence is... before, all silence meant to me was just an absence of noise, you know, just kind of this literal silence — but now, as I seek it out as a discipline, whether it's in an effort to know myself, or create, or get needed time as an introvert — it's more about a search — and that can happen within noise, of course, but it's a searching posture of my heart, that asks the question, "What do you have for me here?" so there's an asking and receiving, or a searching and a finding, of silence. — Allison M. Sullivan Allison shares her first discovery of silence (in the context of growing up with two "boisterous" parents) while encountering solitude in a swimming pool. She muses on the challenge of cultivating silence in the midst of a large family (routine and a prayer closet have been lifesavers), and silence has been integral to her experience as a Christian yoga instructor. Allison shares how she has experienced silence both as a safe space and as a shield for avoidance, and shares how a bizarre moment while getting a root canal inspired her to self-care — and to explore her vocation as a writer. She approaches silence in terms like lingering and sabbath — and laments how such ways of being in time are so absent in so much of our culture. I think it's important to distinguish when silence can become avoidance — whether that's avoiding a certain type of person, or that's avoiding a certain type of emotion, silence can be avoidance. — Allison M. Sullivan Some of the resources and authors mentioned in this episode: Allison M. Sullivan, Rock Paper Scissors: God's Mighty Power, Jesus's Covering Forgiveness, and the Snipping Refinement of the Holy Spirit Julia Cameron, The Right to Write Cassidy Hall and Patrick Shen, Notes on Silence Gregorian Chant, Lost in Meditation Allison M. Sullivan, The Sinner Saint Sister Podcast Thomas Merton, Day of a Stranger At the end of the podcast Carl speaks briefly about the trailer for Cassidy's forthcoming movie, Day of a Stranger. Here it is: https://youtu.be/pGbEGzy4P2M I think about the word "linger" — our culture doesn't allow for that, does it? We are constantly trying to achieve more, process more information, cross more things off the to-do list; but I think that linger is so connected to love. We cannot linger over that which we do not love, we cannot love that which we do not linger over. And when it comes to our bodies and maybe this is sensitive with women in particular, but I don't know that we love our bodies and so there's that desire to dissasociate. My desire with yoga and this full-bodied experience of life is to bring it all back into one being in a loving way, in a way that lingers and loves. — Allison M. Sullivan Episode 37: Silence, Yoga and Faith: A Conversation with Allison M. Sullivan Hosted by: Carl McColman With: Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson Guest: Allison M. Sullivan Date Recorded: September 24, 2018

What is the relationship between silence, creativity, fear, doubt, death, and missing voices — especially in terms of art and literature? To explore this provocative question, we turned to our mutual friend — and one of the most gifted and articulate writers of our time — Jessica Mesman Griffith. It’s very difficult for me to be in any kind of silence.. I love being out in nature and not having the iPod. When I take my long walks every day, I don’t take my iPod, I don’t listen to music, I don’t have earbuds, but the sounds of nature are not the sounds of my own body. It’s the sounds of my own body I think that terrify me. — Jessica Mesman Griffith Jessica Mesman Griffith is an award-winning essayist and memoirist who honestly and fearlessly explores the intersections between religion (especially Catholicism), art and creativity, mental health, and social justice.  She is the founder of the Sick Pilgrim blog (www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim), described as "a space for the spiritually sick, and their fellow travelers, to rest a while." Her books include Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters (co-authored with Amy Andrews), A Book of Grace Filled Days: 2016, and Daily Inspiration for Women (co-authored with Ginny Kubitz Moyer, Vinita Hampton Wright, and Margaret Silf). Jessica's authenticity is revealed from the first minutes of our conversation, when she discusses how silence seemed unsettling to her as a child. Musing on the relationship between silence and the fear of death, or the link between happiness and conviviality, and even the anxiety that comes from the noises of her own body, she muses on how she has discovered different "types" of silence (the silence of nature seems different from the silence in a suburban home). Good writing is having an ear… Having an ear for how something sounds on the page, for the rhythm of language… The best writers have an ear for where something falls flat or doesn’t sound true. — Jessica Mesman Griffith The conversation goes on to explore the questions of the relationship between silence and creativity, privilege, and the body. Invoking poetry, horror movies, music, narrative nonfiction, we look at silence from many angles, acknowledging that the human experience of silence is messy and multivalent — pretty much like the human experience in general. Some of the resources and authors we mention in this episode: Jessica Mesman Griffith & Amy Andrews, Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters Jessica Mesman Griffith, A Book of Grace Filled Days: 2016 Jessica Mesman Griffith et al., Daily Inspiration for Women Thomas Merton, Love and Living William Friedkin (dir.), The Exorcist Wes Craven (dir.), The Serpent and the  Rainbow Tobe Hooper (dir.), Poltergeist Tillie Olsen, Silences Barbara Holmes, Joy Unspeakable Natalie Diaz, When My Brother Was an Aztec Tyehimba Jess, Olio Rosalie Morales Kearns, Kingdom of Women Rosalie Morales Kearns, Virgins & Tricksters George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo Flannery O'Connor, Spiritual Writings Walker Percy, Signposts in a Strange Land Thomas Merton, Essential Writings Vinny Flynn, Seven Secrets of the Eucharist John Cage, Silence: Lectures and Writings Vincent Katz (ed.), Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art John Krasinski (dir.), A Quiet Place Neil Young, Harvest Moon Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol Yoko Ono, Grapefruit Carlo Rovelli, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time I think we’re certain that it [silence] means death and then we’re terrified that that’s what death is – that that’s all death is, the silent darkness. So in Christianity we revolt against that by making it as loud and hideously ugly apparently as we can, at all times… This is our ultimate fear–that there’s nothing. — Jessica Mesman Griffith Goofing around in New York City.

What is the relationship between silence, creativity, fear, doubt, death, and missing voices — especially in terms of art and literature? To explore this provocative question, we turned to our mutual friend — and one of the most gifted and articulate writers of our time — Jessica Mesman Griffith. It’s very difficult for me to be in any kind of silence.. I love being out in nature and not having the iPod. When I take my long walks every day, I don’t take my iPod, I don’t listen to music, I don’t have earbuds, but the sounds of nature are not the sounds of my own body. It’s the sounds of my own body I think that terrify me. — Jessica Mesman Griffith Jessica Mesman Griffith is an award-winning essayist and memoirist who honestly and fearlessly explores the intersections between religion (especially Catholicism), art and creativity, mental health, and social justice.  She is the founder of the Sick Pilgrim blog (www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim), described as "a space for the spiritually sick, and their fellow travelers, to rest a while." Her books include Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters (co-authored with Amy Andrews), A Book of Grace Filled Days: 2016, and Daily Inspiration for Women (co-authored with Ginny Kubitz Moyer, Vinita Hampton Wright, and Margaret Silf). Jessica's authenticity is revealed from the first minutes of our conversation, when she discusses how silence seemed unsettling to her as a child. Musing on the relationship between silence and the fear of death, or the link between happiness and conviviality, and even the anxiety that comes from the noises of her own body, she muses on how she has discovered different "types" of silence (the silence of nature seems different from the silence in a suburban home). Good writing is having an ear… Having an ear for how something sounds on the page, for the rhythm of language… The best writers have an ear for where something falls flat or doesn’t sound true. — Jessica Mesman Griffith The conversation goes on to explore the questions of the relationship between silence and creativity, privilege, and the body. Invoking poetry, horror movies, music, narrative nonfiction, we look at silence from many angles, acknowledging that the human experience of silence is messy and multivalent — pretty much like the human experience in general. Some of the resources and authors we mention in this episode: Jessica Mesman Griffith & Amy Andrews, Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters Jessica Mesman Griffith, A Book of Grace Filled Days: 2016 Jessica Mesman Griffith et al., Daily Inspiration for Women Thomas Merton, Love and Living William Friedkin (dir.), The Exorcist Wes Craven (dir.), The Serpent and the  Rainbow Tobe Hooper (dir.), Poltergeist Tillie Olsen, Silences Barbara Holmes, Joy Unspeakable Natalie Diaz, When My Brother Was an Aztec Tyehimba Jess, Olio Rosalie Morales Kearns, Kingdom of Women Rosalie Morales Kearns, Virgins & Tricksters George Saunders, Lincoln in the Bardo Flannery O'Connor, Spiritual Writings Walker Percy, Signposts in a Strange Land Thomas Merton, Essential Writings Vinny Flynn, Seven Secrets of the Eucharist John Cage, Silence: Lectures and Writings Vincent Katz (ed.), Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art John Krasinski (dir.), A Quiet Place Neil Young, Harvest Moon Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol Yoko Ono, Grapefruit Carlo Rovelli, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time I think we’re certain that it [silence] means death and then we’re terrified that that’s what de...

At the event "On the Frontiers of an Inner Life: Kathleen W. Tarr presents Thomas Merton's 1968 Journey to Alaska", author Kathleen W. Tarr discusses her newly released book, We Are All Poets Here (VP&D House). Part memoir, part biography, with Thomas Merton as the spiritual guide, the quest to seek an interior life amidst a chaotic, confused, fragmented world is explored. Trappist Thomas Merton (1915-1968) lived as a sequestered monastic for 27 years. However, he wrote over fifty books and hundreds of poems and articles on topics ranging from monastic spirituality to civil rights, nonviolence, and the nuclear arms race. Today, his 1948 autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, continues to influence millions of people all over the world. After his surprise sojourn to Alaska in 1968, Thomas Merton traveled to Thailand where he met his accidental and shocking death by electrocution. Author Kathleen WitkowskaTarr was born and raised in Pittsburgh. She came to Alaska in 1978 and lived in Yakutat, Sitka, and the Kenai Peninsula, and was Program Coordinator for UAA's MFA Graduate Creative Writing Program. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Pittsburgh and has writings published in several anthologies and in Creative Nonfiction, the Sewanee Review, Alaska Airlines Magazine, the Anchorage Daily News, TriQuarterly, Sick Pilgrim, and Cirque. In 2016, she was named a William Shannon Fellow by the International Thomas Merton Society. Currently, she sits on the board of the Alaska Humanities Forum. All UAA Campus Bookstore events are free and

In this episode of the Misfit Faith podcast I focus upon what it means to be a spiritual vagabond and outsider. I chat with Sick Pilgrim founder Jessica Griffith about the community of misfit artists she is a part of, and then take a question from a listener about spiritual abuse. And finally, our "Jason Needs a Minute" segment laments how politicized everything has become in Trump's America. 

Episode #16 of Rewrite Radio features a conversation between five memoirists about the appeal of memoir, its relationship to the practice of sharing testimonies of faith, and how both have created room for women's voices in religious spaces. Titled "Memoir as Feminist Testimony," this panel featured Amy Julia Becker, Jessica Mesman Griffith, Alison Hodgson, Katherine Willis Pershey, and Rachel Marie Stone. Amy Julia Becker writes and speaks about family, faith, disability, and culture. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, Why I am Both Spiritual and Religious, What Every Woman Needs to Know about Prenatal Testing. She has also authored and A Good and Perfect Gift, a spiritual memoir on battling the culture of perfection while raising a child with Down syndrome, and a parenting memoir called Small Talk: Learning From My Children About What Matters Most. You can learn more about her work at amyjuliabecker.com. Jessica Mesman Griffith is a widely published essayist and the co-author with Amy Andrews of the memoir Love & Salt: A Spiritual Friendship in Letters, winner of the 2014 Christopher Award. She has also authored Strange Journey and Grace Filled Days and co-authored Daily Inspiration for Women, and has a forthcoming memoir on her childhood called Eden Isles. A cultural columnist for US Catholic Magazine, she also runs a blog called Sick Pilgrim for Christians struggling with spiritual darkness, and helps organize the Trying to Say God literary festival. You can learn more about her work at jessicamesman.com. Alison Hodgson, author of The Pug List: A Ridiculous Dog, a Family Who Lost Everything and How They All Found Their Way Home, is a Moth StorySLAM chaption and a regular contributor to Houzz.com. Her writing has been featured on Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics, Religion News Service, Forbes.com, and published with Baker Publishing Group and Zondervan. She is a co-founder of Breathe Christian Writers Conference and a member of Ink: A Creative Collective. Find out more about Alison and her work at alisonhodgson.net. Katherine Willis Pershey is an Associate Minister of First Congregational Church in Western Springs, Illinois and the author of Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family and a recently released book called Very Married: Field Notes on Love and Fidelity. She has written essays, devotionals, and commentaries for several publications and anthologies and regularly contributes to The Christian Century and the TheArtofSimple.net. Learn more about her work at katherinewillispershey.com. Rachel Marie Stone is the author of Eat With Joy: Redeeming God’s Gift of Food, winner of the Christianity Today Christian Living book award. She has also authored The Unexpected Way, and worked extensively on More-With-Less, the classic Mennonite cookbook. She is a regular contributor to Her.meneutics, Christianity Today, Sojourners, Books & Culture, The Huffington Post, The Christian Century, the Suffolk Times, PRISM, The Progressive Christian, Creation Care Magazine, and Flourish Magazine. You can find Rachel on Twitter at @rachel_m_stone, and learn more about her work at rachelmariestone.com.

Jessica Griffith and Jonathan Ryan are pilgrims. Sick pilgrims, to be exact. And they are on a mission to remind us all that we are pilgrims here on earth. A major part of their mission is to equip and rally together what they call servant artists, artists who draw back the veil of the Mystery through their work, which they perform in the service of the world. Jessica and Jonathan join me around the table today to talk about Sick Pilgrim, Catholic Weird, Mystery and sacrament, October and ghost stories, and, of course, servant artists. This show in particular brought me great joy. I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to hang out with Jessica and Jonathan, and I hope we can do it again soon. [Hint. Hint.] Full show notes available at CatholicFoodie.com.

This week we invite special guest Jessica Messman Griffith, cofounder of Sick Pilgrim(http://www.patheos.com/blogs/sickpilgrim) and author of Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship in Shared Letters, to the studio to talk trauma, horror movies and The Babadook. Can we ever escape our trauma? Can we leave behind the memories that haunt us? Can we protect the ones we love most from the ghosts that follow us? This week we explore what The Babadook has to do with the lectionary week of Year C, Ordinary 14, July 3rd. Jessica leads us in a penetrating discussion about how Jennifer Kent's movie, The Babadook, prepares us to better understand our grief and our pastoral ministry. So dim the lights, hide beneath your blanket and prepare to meet your ghosts, it's time for Technicolor Jesus. Intro: 20th Century Fox Fail - www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNrKAzHsp0g Outro: Danzig, "Mother"