Pod Have Mercy John Stephens/Matt Russell

This week we are joined by Rev. Gregg Taylor and Rev. Melissa Maher at the Texas Annual Conference! We get an update from Rev. Taylor on his church in Minneapolis and we hear about how Rev. Maher has transitioned into a new and exciting role within the United Methodist Church.

Today we get a quick update from John's travels to Scotland. We talk about how many of the churches in Scotland have been converted to pubs, restaurants and art galleries. We discuss how Chapelwood's digital media reach makes uncommon connections near and far and much more!

This week we drop in on a group therapy session that is hosted by Logos, a group therapy resource started by Robert Hilliker. We discuss how Robert Hilliker first began his group therapy practice and some of the concepts that he finds foundational.

For more information visit: https://logosgroups.com

This week we talk about the devastating weather event that occurred in Houston and how we are responding to those in crisis. For more information on how you can receive help or donate to the relief efforts visit Chapelwood.org/storm.

Ibraim Nascimento is an international, Afro-Brazilian artist from the historic city of Cachoeira, Bahia. He has exhibited his work throughout Brazil and the United States, from California to Texas.

Iconoclast, an organization associated with Chapelwood, recently commissioned Ibraim to create the cover art for an annual book of poetry that they publish. The book will be released at the They Say student poetry performance on Thursday, May 16th, at The Museum of Fine Arts. For more information on this event, visit https://www.iconoclastartists.org



Today, we discuss how Ibraim came to America, his inspiration for his art, and how he became involved with Chapelwood and Iconoclast. To find more information about Ibraim, visit his website at https://www.ibraimnascimento.com/about.

Ibraim, in partnership with friend of the podcast, Rev. DeAndre Johnson, has recently published a book of prayers and artwork called Yes and Amen: A Prayer Collection, which can be purchased on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Yes-Amen-Collection-DeAndre-Johnson/dp/B0CLHQ9J2Z/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14QG70DBLKNNE&keywords=yes%20and%20amen%20deandre%20johnson&qid=1701383817&sprefix=yes%20and%20amen%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1

Today we are joined by Rev. DeAndre Johnson and Pastor Lindsay Kirkpatrick to discuss some changes that are taking place in The United Methodist Church. John Stephens served as a delegate to the United Methodist Church’s General Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The two-week long process uses the first week to divide into 14 different legislative committees connected to every part of the Book of Discipline, UMC church law and polity. Over 1,100 petitions were submitted and worked on in the legislative committees. The delegates of General Conference are from around the world - USA, Philippines, Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. In the legislative committees, the groups of 40-80 members discuss and debate every petition. Once that work is done, all their actions come to the main body of almost 800 members in week two for all of us to either approve the work they've done, reject it, or amend it.  



Today we discuss all of UMC news and much more!