Simply Christian LIFE with Bishop Michael Hunn

Michael Buerkel Hunn
  • 4.9 (17)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

The Simply Christian LIFE podcast is for the spiritually curious - everyone seeking God or a deeper relationship with God. It’s about living simply, loving God, and loving our neighbors. It’s about deepening the roots and broadening the reach of our faith. It’s about spiritual practices like parenting, prayer, nonviolent communication, embracing diversity and permaculture gardening. Simply Christian LIFE is hosted by Michael Buerkel Hunn, who is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, which includes New Mexico and the far west part of Texas.

  1. Jun 13

    Big Bend :: Circuit Riding PriCircuit-Riding Priessthhood in Faod in Far West Texas West Texas Bend :: Circuit Riding PriCircuit-Riding Priessthhood in Faod in Far West Texas West Texas

    Circuit-Riding Priesthood in West Texas: Five Episcopal Communities in the Big Bend Traveling toward Marfa, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn follows Episcopal priest Mike Wallens as he describes serving a wide Big Bend circuit that grew from a part-time call at St. Paul’s in Marfa to weekly ministry across Marfa, Alpine, Fort Stockton, Terlingua, and Lajitas, with long drives between each. He explains adapting worship to local needs, including Roman Catholic devotions and culturally rooted celebrations in Terlingua, community outreach through Otra Vez, and a Saturday congregation at Lajitas where baptisms and a border festival begin with Eucharist in the Rio Grande. Wallens says the rhythm of travel is life-giving, offering time for prayer and renewal, and he outlines how each town’s distinct culture—art and racial history in Marfa, a college and tourist hub in Alpine, ranching and arts in Fort Stockton, and border communities near Big Bend—shapes his priesthood. 00:00 Life Giving Ministry 00:43 Meet The Circuit Priest 01:37 Three Town Sunday Route 04:15 Terlingua Traditions 07:51 Lajitas River Baptisms 08:30 Why This Works 13:08 Marfa Culture And History 17:03 Alpine College Town 19:59 Fort Stockton Community Arts 23:37 Terlingua Guadalupe Revival 27:05 Border Eucharist Fiesta 31:46 Adventure Ministry Wrap Up

    33 min

  2. Jun 6

    Conserving the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas

    Big Bend Borderlands Ministry: Water Conservation, Rancher Collaboration & Creation Care in Marfa Traveling between Alpine and Marfa, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of the Rio Grande rides with the Reverend Mike Wallens, who serves Borderlands Ministry and five Big Bend congregations, as they head to Mexico to meet the mayor of Ojinaga and visit two shelters the ministry has supported for years. They discuss environmental work in the Big Bend focused on drought and grasslands, including collaboration with Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute and interim head Billy Tarrant, who convenes water conservation efforts, encourages measuring ranch water levels to assess aquifers, and promotes land practices that slow runoff, reduce flooding, and recharge groundwater to sustain streams and bird migration habitat. Wallens also describes a Creation Care grant-funded tree-planting project in Marfa’s low-income housing, with trees provided and planted with help from an Apache group and maintained by church members and residents. 00:00 Road to Marfa 00:31 Bishop on the Borderlands 01:18 Water and Grasslands 02:28 Ranchers and Aquifers 03:14 Wildlife and Migration 04:13 Restoring Water Flow 05:19 Tree Planting in Marfa 06:25 Closing Reflections

    7 min

  3. May 23

    A Memorial Day Message, Border Wall Update, and Salute to Mary Jewell : Weekly Update

    Weekly Update: Memorial Day 2026, Border Wall at Mount Cristo Rey, and Honoring Mary Jewell Bishop Michael Hunn shares a weekly update for Memorial Day 2026, reflecting on Memorial Day’s origins and urging prayer for elected leaders to use military force responsibly and not squander the sacrifices of service members amid a current conflict with Iran. He then gives a borderland update, warning that federal plans to extend the border wall over Mount Cristo Rey near El Paso would damage a major Christian pilgrimage site, harm the environment, and disrupt the area’s cultural and visual landscape; he notes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces is organizing efforts to stop it and he is exploring Episcopal participation. Finally, he highlights BEST (Bishops’ Executive Secretaries Together) and shares a tribute video honoring Mary Jewell for 20 years of service, praising her guidance, institutional memory, pastoral support, and ministry with young people across the diocese. 00:00 Weekly Update Kickoff 00:48 Memorial Day Reflection 02:34 Praying for Leaders 04:40 Border Wall in Southern New Mexico outside El Paso TX 05:02 Why Mount Cristo Rey Matters 07:13 Call to Action 08:01 Introducing BEST 08:56 Honoring Mary Jewell 11:34 Gratitude and Blessing

    13 min

  4. May 2

    A Border Wall in the Big Bend? Why No One Wants a Wall in the Big Bend

    Why a Border Wall in Big Bend Could Harm Wildlife, Ranchers, and Tourism Traveling to Terlingua and Lajitas, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn speaks with Mike Wallens about proposed border wall expansion in the Big Bend near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Wallens argues a physical wall is unnecessary and impractical because the Rio Grande’s winding course would force construction inside the U.S., cutting ranchers and farmers off from water access, blocking wildlife movement, and potentially undermining tourism and river guiding by restricting access to the river and emergency routes. They discuss migrant rescues and deaths in the rugged canyons, and contend the wall offers little operational benefit in remote areas where response-time delays are meaningless. Instead, they point to existing technology—sensors, cameras, drones, and solar-powered rescue beacons—as the effective “wall,” noting broad local opposition that has united residents across political divides. 00:00 Road Trip Setup 01:24 Why a Wall Fails Here 02:37 Humanitarian Reality 03:51 Ranching Wildlife Tourism Costs 04:26 Community Unites Against It 05:42 Security Logic in Remote Terrain 07:57 Tech and Rescue Alternatives 09:15 CBP Agents and Final Verdict

    10 min

  5. Apr 4

    Here Be Dragons 3 : Living Faithfully When God is Silent

    Here Be Dragons (Meditation 3): Trusting God in Silence and Darkness Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of the Rio Grande offers the third meditation in “Here Be Dragons: three meditations on the apophatic Way,” reflecting on Jesus’ raw prayer in Gethsemane and the apophatic experience of Holy Week where praise turns to abandonment and silence. He argues Christian leadership keeps tending earthly responsibilities while remaining open to God’s will, practicing costly trust rather than resignation. Hunn critiques the urge to fill hospital rooms and church meetings with easy answers, insisting darkness and silence are not empty but the soil of resurrection that strips away false images of God tied to success or influence. He urges shared resources across a wealthy church and describes cyclists navigating dark tunnels by lightly touching shoulders, a metaphor for staying connected in risky ministry, reaching out, listening, and trusting God is quietly at work. 00:00 Welcome and Series Intro 00:37 Gethsemane and Surrender 02:07 Silence and Trust 03:42 Tomb Silence and Resurrection 05:20 Ministry Beyond the Map 06:53 God Is Good All the Time 07:55 Sharing Resources in the Church 08:48 Peloton Through Dark Tunnels 10:19 Leadership in Apophatic Times 12:53 Keep Searching and Closing Silence

    14 min

  6. Mar 28

    Here Be Dragons 2 : When God Says NO.

    Here Be Dragons (Meditation 2): When God Says No—The Apophatic Way and the Church’s Stripping Away Bishop Michael Hun of the Diocese of the Rio Grande reflects on the Episcopal Church’s shift from mid-20th-century cultural confidence and institutional influence to a present season of decline, financial strain, and uncertainty, describing it as an apophatic “stripping away” in which familiar supports, plans, and programs fail and God seems to say “no.” He argues this is not a verdict of worthlessness but a clarification of vocation: willingness to follow Jesus without the future, security, or success once imagined, focusing instead on the people, place, and work actually given. Drawing cautious historical “rhymes” from the German church under Nazism and the Roman Catholic Church in Chile under Pinochet, he warns against trading the gospel for respectability, silence, or political co-option, and calls the church to speak publicly about bodies, violence, and justice while discerning how to proclaim gospel truth so people across a polarized spectrum can hear it. For more on Dietrich Bonhoeffer : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc... For more on Chile and the Church see: William T Cavenaugh's book, Torture and Eucharist : Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ. 00:00 Welcome and Series Setup 00:38 The Church We Remember 04:13 Facing Decline and Uncertainty 06:36 When God Says No 08:07 Vocation in the Wilderness 10:25 Germany and Bonhoeffer 15:24 Chile and the Churchs Voice 16:48 Gospel Not Partisan Politics 20:05 Incarnation and Public Witness 21:14 Choosing Faithfulness and Silence

    25 min

  7. Mar 14

    Here Be Dragons 1 : This Is Not God

    Here Be Dragons: Lent Meditation 1 — This Is Not God (The Apophatic Way) Bishop Michael Hunn of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande introduces the first of three Lenten meditations, “Here Be Dragons,” exploring the apophatic way of faith beyond the “map” of confident religious language. He contrasts cataphatic theology, which makes positive statements about God, with apophatic practice, which clarifies what God is not and leads into silence, darkness, and mystery when words fail. Using images of stars, road signs, and medieval maps, he explains that God-language points rather than contains. Lent is presented as an apophatic season of stripping away comforts through fasting, self-denial, and simplification so attention can rest on God alone, with the Book of Job as a key biblical example. He closes with the church’s invitation to a holy Lent and shared silence. For a good introduction to apophatic theology throughout Christian history check out : The Darkness of God: Negativity in Christian Mysticism by Denys Turner. 00:00 Welcome and Series Setup 00:39 Here Be Dragons Metaphor 01:43 Cataphatic God Talk 03:19 Signs and Star Pointers 06:09 Words Prepare Encounter 07:31 Entering the Apophatic Way 08:59 Lent as Stripping Away 10:42 Job at the Edge 13:40 On Not Fasting for Attention 14:31 Invitation to Silence

    20 min

  8. Mar 14

    Here Be Dragons: Three Meditations on the Apophatic Way

    Here Be Dragons: Lenten Meditations on the Silence and Darkness of God Bishop Michael Hunn introduces a series of three meditations titled "Here Be Dragons," focusing on Lent, the silence and darkness of God, and wilderness times, and exploring the APHA tradition of theology as a way of speaking about God when there is little to say. The meditations are designed as an audible experience available on both podcast and YouTube, with simple visuals, and listeners are invited to settle in with coffee or tea, perhaps light a candle, and pray along. The speaker offers gratitude to the seminarians and faculty of the Seminary of Sewanee, University of the South, who invited the meditations and first prayed them together on Ash Wednesday 2026, and also to the clergy of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, with the hope that the meditations will be edifying and support a holy Lent. 00:00 Lenten Meditation Series 00:13 Here Be Dragons Theme 00:26 How to Listen and Pray 00:54 Gratitude and Dedication 01:22 Closing Blessing for Lent

    2 min
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About

The Simply Christian LIFE podcast is for the spiritually curious - everyone seeking God or a deeper relationship with God. It’s about living simply, loving God, and loving our neighbors. It’s about deepening the roots and broadening the reach of our faith. It’s about spiritual practices like parenting, prayer, nonviolent communication, embracing diversity and permaculture gardening. Simply Christian LIFE is hosted by Michael Buerkel Hunn, who is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, which includes New Mexico and the far west part of Texas.

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