Prayers and Ponderings

The Heartland Conference
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The Heartland Conference Podcast of the United Church of Christ. heartlanducc.org

  1. JAN 25

    Prayer: God's Dream for Good – An Epiphany Prayer

    Prayers and Ponderings

    5 min

  2. 09/16/2025

    Together: A Conversation with Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins and Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott

    In this episode, Conference Ministers the Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins (Heartland Conference) and the Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott (Indiana-Kentucky Conference), explore their work together as conference ministers in the United Church of Christ.

    47 min

  3. 07/07/2025

    Ponderings: Interim Ministry, An Interview with the Rev. Jeffrey A. Nelson

    The Rev. Jeff Nelson is the Minister for Ministerial Calls and Transitions for the United Church of Christ: Having served as a pastor in Northeast Ohio for 15 years – most recently at Grace UCC, Uniontown – the Rev. Jeff Nelson focuses on resources and support for pastors and other authorized ministers, including the denomination’s online portal for ministerial profiles. He said he is intrigued by the challenge of finding ways to support ministers who are making transitions. Jeff’s latest book, The Unintentional Interim: Ministry in Times of Transition, released in April 2025. He has written other books on spirituality, prayer, and pop culture, as well as a novel. His writing has also appeared at the Shalem Institute blog, The Englewood Review of Books, the Christian Century blog, and The High Calling, among other online places. You can learn more about him at https://jeffreyanelson.com/

    45 min

  4. 05/09/2025

    Ponderings: An Interview about Neurodiversity with the Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund

    An Interview about Neurodiversity with the Rev. Dr. Sarah Lund. In this interview we discuss Rev. Lund's new book: Blessed Minds: Breaking the Silence about Neurodiversity.  Neurodiversity is only now being widely understood for the unique ways it affects how we interact in all kinds--even church. Learn how to honor and celebrate neurodiversity, creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and understood. This book is your guide to fostering a church that truly reflects the love and acceptance of Christ. . Blessed Minds: Breaking the Silence about Neurodiversity is a profound exploration of how the church can embrace and honor neurodiversity. Affecting up to 20 percent of Americans, neurodiversity includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and several other conditions. Through personal stories, historical context, and theological insights, beloved author Sarah Griffith Lund unpacks the concepts of neurodiversity, mental health, and disability. This book challenges the stigma surrounding neurodivergent individuals and offers practical steps for creating inclusive and supportive faith communities. With themes of vulnerability, compassion, and justice, Blessed Minds is a call to recognize the divine nature of all minds and to foster a church environment where every individual is valued and celebrated. More about Sarah: Sarah Griffith Lund loves to partner with others to share hope and healing. She is an ordained minister and has served as pastor to churches in Brooklyn, NY, Minneapolis, MN, and New Smyrna Beach, FL. Rev. Dr. Lund served as Regional Minister in the Florida Conference of the United Church of Christ and as a Vice President for Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN. She holds degrees from Trinity University (BA), Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv), Rutgers University (MSW), and McCormick Theological Seminary (DMin). Rev. Dr. Lund received the Dell Award for Mental Health Education at the 30th General Synod of the UCC. She currently serves as Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice on the national staff of the UCC and as senior pastor of First Congregational UCC of Indianapolis, IN. Rev. Dr. Lund is the author of several books and blogs at www.sarahgriffithlund.com.

    41 min

  5. 04/07/2025

    Prayer: Places of Rest, a Lenten Prayer with Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins

    Places of Rest, A Lenten Prayer: Holy One,  Help me pause just enough To notice Your invitation To step off my harried path And accept Your invitation To the rest that truly resets.  Let the seat You offer Be the reminder I need To trust Your promise To lighten every weariness With Your renewing pause.  Yes, grant me grace To turn aside and notice  Your outstretched mercy seat Already waiting for me To discover Your holy gift Of rest that renews my body And restores my soul.  Grant me courage To give up my plans Just enough to receive  The gift You offer With outstretched invitations Revealed at every turn.  Let this seat of grace Position my body and soul To noticed anew your creation Often overlooked in my rush To tend my anxious worry.  Yes, by this of Your invitation Made known in Christ Grant me grace to trust Your necessary call to rest And through it receive The joy You yearn to offer. -DMLH, March 2025

    4 min

  6. 02/15/2025

    To Be Seen: A Conversation with Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins, Rev. Dr. Chad Abbott, and Rev. Cassidy Hall

    Prayers and Ponderings

    37 min

  7. 01/14/2025

    Yes, Love, Thank You: An interview with the Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins

    With the release of his new book, Yes, Love, Thank You: Meditative Prayers and Pictures to Blossom Your Heart, the Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins and the Rev. Cassidy Hall sit down to talk about prayer, spiritual practices, and new entryways into our interactions with the Divine. Often this Presence gets covered over by hurry, worry, or fear. But life doesn't have to be this way. Another way is possible. The meditative prayer/poems and photographs in this collection are offered as portals to help you discover this Presence already meeting and holding you right where you are. Such titles as "Beginning Again," "Desert Joy," "Unhinged," "Spirit Fruit," and many more invite you to encounter this Holy Presence discovered in every season of life. They are grouped into three sections: Yes, Love, and Thank You. Each section offers reminders of Love's affirmation, desire, and call. They are an invitation to slow down and linger into an awareness of the Love that holds all of life, including your own. Photographs are also provided as an alternative opening to this always-present Presence. Remembering what St. Francis once shared about nature being God's first Bible, each prayer is accompanied by a photograph often captured from nature. The pictures intersect with the words of the prayers but may be used in their own right as invitations into the soul's beckoning silence. A holy blessing awaits your discovery and deepening so that your heart and life may blossom and radiate more love and beauty into the world. Yes, Love, Thank you! Click here to purchase.

    35 min

  8. 11/05/2024

    Prayer: Election Time, with the Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins

    Election Time - A PrayerHoly God,  Form us with loving resolve  To bear Your light and hope  Into a season fraught  With fear and despair.   Form our thoughts  With Your alive Word of Love  Able to fashion new creations  Out of every crushing chaos.   Mold our hearts   Into vessels of grace  Sorely needed in every time  But especially needed  In this present moment.   Fashion our words   With a grace that celebrates  And builds up the beloved other  Forming space for thriving  Of body, mind and spirit. Strengthen our resistance  To everything within and around  That dares to diminish   Your vision of a world made new  Where everyone joyfully thrives. Transform the world   Again and again and again  With Your Holy Christ-love,  And break down every division,  Giving space for new beginnings  In answer to every death  Daring to claim the final word.   Raise in us Your resurrection,  Always offered as Holy gift  Calling us forward in love  For the good of the other  Planting your just peace  Throughout the whole creation.   Yes, bless us for this   High and Holy calling  Revealed with Your   Spirit-born Christ-light  Able to dispel every night  Of our misguided making.   And may Your deep love form us,   Heart, mind, body, and soul  Into a resolution of grace  Able to heal the world. -DMLH, November 2024

    5 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The Heartland Conference Podcast of the United Church of Christ. heartlanducc.org

Information

  • Creator
    The Heartland Conference
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022
  • Show Website
    Prayers and Ponderings