It's Your Call

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A podcast from the Office of Vocation of the United Church of Canada. Ever wondered about a call to ministry? Or wanted to hear the stories of those who have answered a call? Then join us here and learn more about how you might answer a call from God to ministry in the United Church of Canada

2023-03-07

S.2.E.5. John Egger

It's Your Call podcast talks with John Egger, who has recently returned from Korea, where he served as an ecumenical Co-Worker in Mission with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK). John is a lay person who considered ordained ministry in the United Church while starting his career, but instead discovered a call that was perhaps more "precarious," yet just as valid as a call to ordained ministry. As a Co-Worker in Mission serving in Korea — a region with a long history of missionaries from both the United Church and the Presbyterian Church — some of John's work with the Korean church involved reworking traditional missionary relationships and mindsets. John was excited about the opportunity to do something new in "mission," just as we are learning new ways to do church in a rapidly changing context. John's service with the PROK was multi-faceted, yet soon he discovered his primary call was to be present, connect with people, and build relationships. These were valued roles in the PROK, a church deeply committed to ecumenicism, human rights, and justice. John is back in Canada now, sharing what he has learned in Korea, and continuing to be called to build connections and relationship between Christians in Korea and Canada, and beyond. The work of mission, says John, can be found all around us. It's Your Call is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada, hosted by Karen Medland and Andrew Richardson. It is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple, and other podcast distributors.

31 min
2023-01-06

S.2. E.3 : Janet Gear

"It's Your Call" podcast chats with Janet Gear, a theological educator and ordained minister in The United Church of Canada. She speaks about her call to ministry, which first began as an activist in ecumenical social justice. Janet Gear sees call as more than just a call to ministry — instead, it is the lived response of all of us to the question, "What does it mean to side with life?" Call, says Janet, is "a holy beckoning into the fullness of one's life." Janet Gear is the author of "Undivided Love: Navigating Landscapes of Living Faith," which offers a guide for leaders working with people in congregations to discover their own calls across a banquet of lived faith: evangelical, ecclesial, missional, ecumenical, and spiritual. Available from the United Church Bookstore, UCRDstore.ca. "It's Your Call" is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada. It is hosted by Karen Medland and Andrew Richardson.

35 min
2022-12-02

S.2.E.4: Moderator Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne

“It's Your Call” interviews Carmen Lansdowne for the second time — this time as the Right Rev. Carmen Lansdowne, Moderator of The United Church of Canada! This time around, the Moderator discusses her unique call to become leader of The United Church of Canada. Personal challenges took her off the path of her calling for a while, but as those were resolved, Carmen returned to the threads of her call that weave together the things she loves with her natural aptitudes for leadership, travel, ecumenical conversations, and more. Find out how Carmen has been living out her call since beginning as Moderator in August 2022, and what she is looking forward to as her term as Moderator continues in next three years — including anti-racism work, combatting climate change, nurturing a new generation of leaders, and more. “It's Your Call” is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada. It is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple, and other podcast distributors.

56 min
2022-11-08

S.2. E.2: Rev. Jim Short

Season Two of It's Your Call podcast begins with a conversation with Jim Short, a retired clergy person who has an extensive and interesting career in ministry, including years as a chaplain with the Reserves and the Fire Department. Jim grew up in a committed church family, and liked to say he was "United Church in my mother's womb." Yet, his exposure to ministers during the 1970s, when some of the cracks that were starting to appear in the assumed "glamour" of the role, convinced him that that wasn't what he wanted to do. But then a mystical experience changed his mind and opened him to hearing God's call to ministry. He has re-examined this call numerous times through the years to make sure it was still legitimate, and a cloud of witnesses have surrounded and supported him through this life-long discernment and all the challenges that come with ministry. Jim also discusses the difficulties of the transition to retirement, and the opportunities this presents to consider a needed role for elders in The United Church of Canada. It's Your Call is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada. It is available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple, and other podcast distributors.

39 min
2022-10-12

S.2.E.1. Aaron Billard : Unvirtuous Abbey

In this episode, It's Your Call podcast speaks with Aaron Billard about his call to ministry in The United Church of Canada. Aaron is the minister at St. John's United Church in Monkton, New Brunswick and is also well-known for his online ministry through Unvirtuous Abbey on Facebook and Twitter. Aaron speaks about his attraction to serving the church at an early age, and some of the challenges he has faced in day-to-day ministry. Through it all, he has found both colleagues and church members who have encouraged him along the way when things got rough. The COVID pandemic revealed that it isn't just the "why," but also the "how" leaders do ministry now in today's post-Christendom world. One way how Aaron has pursued ministry even before the pandemic is through Unvirtuous Abbey (@UnvirtuousAbbey), a very popular online ministry offering a humourous and sometimes sarcastic take about the life of faith and the church that can help ministers and all of us view faith from a refreshing new perspective. It's Your Call is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada, focusing on call to ministry. It is available on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other podcast distributors.

37 min
2022-07-29

S.1.E.11. Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

It's Your Call podcast speaks with Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean. Catherine is a theological pastor in The United Church of Canada, currently serving at St. Paul's United Church in Edmonton. Originally from the Maritimes, Catherine grew up in the church, so the concept of serving in ministry was always there. Even with several family members in ministry, it was her local congregation that sensed a call in Catherine's life and encouraged her to pursue it. She saw the church as a place where her gifts could be used, and her interests in theology and religious history could be explored. Catherine's ministry has a strong emphasis on academics, writing, and speaking; yet she honours the importance of balancing the disciplines of theology and doctrine with mysticism and spiritual experience in the church. Each path compliments the other. Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean is the author, with John H. Young, of "Preaching the Big Questions: Doctrine Isn’t Dust," (United Church Publishing House).

37 min
2022-06-21

S.1.E.10. Andrew Hyde.

It's Your Call chats with Andrew Hyde, an ecumenical chaplain at Guelph University. Andrew is the first United Church Designated Lay Minister (DLM) to be interviewed on the program. Andrew is a United Church preacher's kid and grew up in the church. As a 10 year old, the 1988 United Church decision to open ordained ministry to all, regardless of sexual orientation, was a formative event in his own call and showed him just how complex and challenging ministry could be. While taking time to choose between becoming a minister like his father, or becoming a teacher like his mother, Andrew took a job as a youth minister, and he's still involved in young adult and campus ministry today. Andrew says, people are always called to where there is a need, and in his case, that was ministry with young adults, which is a specific niche that is both undeserved and a challenge because many young adults are seeking a spiritual home, but not active in congregational life. This generation of young adults has a strong desire for authenticity, Andrew has found, and this is both a gift and a challenge to the church, as it compels us all to live out our faith everyday, everywhere, not just on Sundays in church. Responding to this challenge has the potential to help us rethink ministry as we know it and embrace change by meeting people where they are at. Andrew Hyde is the author of My Daily Discoverment: 40 Days of Vocational Discernment with Young Adults, available from UCRDstore.ca.

44 min
2022-05-31

S.1.E.9. Megan Jones

On this episode of "It's Your Call," hosts Karen Medland and Andrew Richardson have a conversation with "Padre" Megan Jones, a Canadian Forces chaplain based in Cold Lake, AB. Being called to serve as a chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces is very different from what most people think of when they are discerning a call to ministry. Captain Megan Jones shares how she received her call to ministry while she already a member of the Armed Forces, and describes the unique way a military chaplain walks with people of many different faith backgrounds during their service in Canada and overseas. Megan tells about her experience as a woman serving as a spiritual leader in diverse ecumenical and interfaith contexts, and how that offers distinctive and, perhaps unexpected, opportunities for ministry. Military chaplains, she shares, get to walk with people during their most sacred and life-changing moments just as others in ministry, but aren't exempt from the regime of the marching or push-ups required of those they serve either! We invite you to listen in on their conversation. It's Your Call is a podcast from the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada.

35 min

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5 Ratings

Creator

It's Your Call
Years Active

2021 - 2023
Episodes

17
Rating

Clean
Show Website

It's Your Call

It's Your Call

S.2.E.5. John Egger

S.2. E.3 : Janet Gear

S.2.E.4: Moderator Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne

S.2. E.2: Rev. Jim Short

S.2.E.1. Aaron Billard : Unvirtuous Abbey

S.1.E.11. Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

S.1.E.10. Andrew Hyde.

S.1.E.9. Megan Jones

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It's Your Call

Episodes

S.2.E.5. John Egger

S.2. E.3 : Janet Gear

S.2.E.4: Moderator Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne

S.2. E.2: Rev. Jim Short

S.2.E.1. Aaron Billard : Unvirtuous Abbey

S.1.E.11. Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

S.1.E.10. Andrew Hyde.

S.1.E.9. Megan Jones

Ratings & Reviews

About

Information