1 Soul Matters Podcast

St. Luke Community UMC Mental Health Ministry

Where Faith, Community, and Transformation Meet Fostering spiritual growth, emotional well-being, and authentic connection through candid conversations rooted in faith and mental health. 

  1. Sep 8

    I Got a Song: Spirituals, Music And Mental Wellness

    A song can carry a whole history without ever naming it directly and sometimes that is exactly why it heals. We sit down with Alfred Lynn Roberts, Cynthia Spann, and Dr. Beverly Chin from St. Luke Community United Methodist Church to explore the African American spiritual as a musical tradition built from faith, cultural memory, and the fight to stay human under inhuman conditions. Along the way, we unpack call and response, communal singing, and the way spirituals hold sorrow and hope in the same breath. Then we turn to a modern choral spiritual that embodies that legacy: “I Got a Song,” arranged by composer Colin Lett. We talk about what listeners should listen for, how contemporary harmony and gospel-like layering can make an old message feel immediate, and why strong performances go beyond “getting the notes right.” When singers believe the text and tell the story, the music stops being a museum piece and becomes a living voice. Finally, we connect spirituals to mental wellness and music therapy, including the benefits of singing for breath and oxygenation, the mental health impact of belonging to a choir, and how familiar music can unlock memory for people living with dementia. We also name an important boundary: music can be meaningful self-care, but a mental health crisis calls for professional support and real resources. If you find this conversation helpful, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What song has carried you through a hard season?

  2. Aug 31

    The Three A’s: Advocacy, Accountability & Availability

    A lot of families are doing their best and still feel stuck in the same cycle: a problem pops up at school, everyone gets stressed, and the conversation turns into either fixing everything for the student or coming down hard on them. We want something better, and we’ve got a simple framework you can actually use this week: the Three A’s of student support, Advocacy, Accountability, and Availability. We unpack what advocacy really looks like for parents, guardians, and caring adults, plus how to teach student self-advocacy without stepping in too fast. You’ll hear practical scripts students can say to a teacher, coach, or counselor, and you’ll get “voice first” questions that shift the dynamic from conflict to collaboration. If you care about student success, parent involvement, and healthy communication with teachers, this part is packed with usable language. Then we reframe accountability as responsibility, ownership, and growth, not punishment. We talk about separating behavior from identity so a young person can learn from a mistake without feeling condemned, and we share reflection questions that build empathy and repair. Finally, we tackle emotional availability in a busy, screen-filled world, including small routines like 10-minute check-ins, device-free dinner conversations, ride-to-school talks, and a weekly reset that supports middle school resilience and student mental health. We also name an important boundary: being available to friends does not mean becoming their therapist, and knowing when to bring in a trusted adult is a strength. If the Three A’s hit home, subscribe, share this with a parent or educator, and leave a review so more families can find practical support that helps students know they matter.

  3. Jul 23

    The Issue of Autonomy: Choosing Yourself Without Abandoning Others

    Being “the strong one” can look noble on the outside and feel crushing on the inside. We’re Dr. Janice Moore and Reverend Jermine Alberty, and we’re digging into autonomy, boundaries, and the quiet burnout that often comes with high-functioning codependency, especially for helpers, fixers, caregivers, leaders, and rescuers. When your worth gets tied to being needed, love can start to feel like a job you can’t quit, and your internal peace becomes the price. We draw inspiration from Terry Cole’s Too Much: A Guide to Breaking the Cycle of High Functioning Codependency and ask the hard questions: Do I feel guilty when I say no? Do I take responsibility for other people’s emotions? Do I struggle to name what I actually want? We also name an uncomfortable truth: helping can slide into control. Rescuing can communicate distrust, block someone else’s growth, and reduce our own anxiety more than it supports their well-being. From a faith and mental health perspective, we talk about service with boundaries and the freedom of remembering we are not anyone’s savior. Jesus already has that job. You’ll also get practical language you can use right away like “Let me think about that,” “Let me check my schedule,” and “I’ll get back to you,” plus a clear framework for identifying your needs, resisting the urge to rescue, and protecting relationships with healthy limits. If this resonates, subscribe to One Soul Matters, share it with someone who needs permission to put the cape down, and leave a review so more people can find conversations that support faith, healing, and purpose.

  4. Jun 30

    Why Men Don’t Talk—and Why It’s Killing Us.

    Silence can look like strength, but it can also be a warning sign. We sit with a painful reality: a lot of men have been trained to perform confidence on the outside while carrying fear, grief, shame, and exhaustion alone. That training doesn’t just shape individual lives; it spills into marriages, parenting, friendships, and the wider church community when “I’m fine” becomes a lifestyle instead of a moment. We’re joined by Dr. Terry Allen and PJ Dunn to unpack why men don’t talk and why it’s hurting us clinically, emotionally, and spiritually. We connect the dots between unprocessed stress and real health outcomes like anxiety, depression, sleep problems, high blood pressure, burnout, and substance dependency. We also name what often gets missed: men’s depression may show up as irritability, emotional numbness, overworking, isolation, and anger, and hidden anxiety can look like constant overthinking, perfectionism, and an inability to relax. Then we pivot to the way forward. We talk about learning honesty, finding safe community, and knowing when it’s time to reach out for professional counseling. We challenge the false choice between prayer and therapy, and we end with a simple charge: check on your silent soldiers, tell the truth, and guard your heart by tending to it. If this message hits close to home, subscribe, share it with someone you love, and leave a review so more people can find the support they need.

  5. May 26

    Beyond Birth: Maternal Health, Mental Health, and the Power of Support

    A smiling pregnancy can still be full of fear, and a “healthy” birth can still be followed by a mental health crash. We sit down with Pastor Jamie Bruning and Pastor Todd Bruning for an honest, personal conversation about maternal mental health, postpartum depression, and what support actually looks like when the house gets quiet and the days blur together from exhaustion. Jamie shares what it was like to carry deep anxiety while loving pregnancy, then hit a wall after their son arrived early: feeding challenges, severe sleep deprivation, and a loneliness that made even basic meals feel overwhelming. We talk about why postpartum depression often goes unreported, how guilt and self-blame keep parents silent, and why “bounce back” culture harms mothers and families. Then the story widens into parenting a child with special needs and navigating an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Todd and Jamie explain what helped them stay connected as partners, why a safe space matters more than unsolicited advice, and how therapies such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, applied behavior analysis, and food therapy became practical bridges for communication. We also get specific about community care: respite, rest, listening without fixing, and consistently checking on caregivers. If you know a new parent, a caregiver, or a family in your faith community who is carrying more than they admit, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share it with someone who may need it, and leave a review with the one kind of support you wish more people offered.

  6. Mar 23

    Women’s History Month Conversation: Faith, Leadership, Purpose, and Words of Wisdom

    Leadership isn’t a title you receive. It’s a path you practice, often years before you can name it. For our Women’s History Month conversation, we sit down with four remarkable women whose work spans higher education, family life education, ministry and chaplaincy, and music education. Together, we trace the moments that shaped their sense of calling and the mentors who helped them keep going when the road got complicated. We talk about what it means to lead when you’re “the first” and there are no models to copy. You’ll hear honest stories about navigating patriarchal expectations in church spaces, pushing through academic gatekeeping during the tenure process, and learning how to offer your gifts even when they don’t match what others expect leadership to look like. Along the way, we keep coming back to faith, purpose, and the everyday disciplines that build confidence: showing up, serving, learning in public, and staying open to course corrections. If you’re wrestling with your own next step, you’ll also hear practical advice for young women: leave the nest, try the thing, build a circle of people who encourage you, and trust that growth happens in the doing. We wrap with a lightning round on influential books and the women who inspired each guest, plus a reminder that the true measure of leadership is the lives we impact. Subscribe to 1 Soul Matters, share this with a friend who needs a nudge forward, and leave a review with the mentor who made a difference in your life.

  7. Feb 18

    One Hundred Years Of Black History

    A century after Negro History Week, we revisit why the project began as a corrective and why it still protects our minds and communities today. With historian and storyteller Donald Payton, we trace a clear arc: Reconstruction’s fragile gains, the textbook erasures that shrank national memory, and the coalition of churches, abolitionists, and early colleges that opened doors when the state would not. Along the way, we explore how media—from black newspapers to early film—preserved truth, spread migration routes, and too often sold damaging caricatures that still echo in public perception. We get specific about the psychology of erasure: what happens when innovators design the filament, the interface, or the skyline and someone else collects the credit. Payton names the minority stress that follows, the anger and exhaustion of doing everything right and being written out anyway. We contrast Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois to show how strategy debates shaped education and class mobility, then examine the “illusion of inclusion” that followed integration—when school names, curricula, and civic rituals softened history rather than integrating the full truth. This conversation is practical at heart. We talk about defending libraries under pressure, funding neighborhood bookstores, building family reading lists that start before 1619, and teaching media literacy that explains both the Chicago Defender’s quiet power and Hollywood’s loud distortions. The throughline is mental health: knowledge of self stabilizes identity, expands the horizon of possibility, and restores dignity across generations. If Black History Month is a doorway, the work is what we carry through it—policies, habits, and stories that honor the whole. Listen, share with a friend who loves real history, and help us pass the truth forward. If this resonates, subscribe, rate, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

  8. 12/08/2025

    Hope And Healing For The Holidays, Part 2

    We explore real ways to find hope when the holidays hurt, weaving faith practices with counseling, planning, and gentle rituals that honor grief. We also share how supporters can show up with presence, not platitudes, and why boundaries are a gift. • defining grief as mental, physical and spiritual • distinguishing hope from happiness • using scripture, prayer and Good Grief by Westberg • practicing affirmations and journaling • creating holiday plans and saying no • honoring loved ones with simple rituals • using music to name and move emotion • seeking counseling and medical care when needed • showing up for others with listening and presence • sharing resources without rushing someone’s process If this episode spoke to you, please share it with someone who might need to hear this message

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About

Where Faith, Community, and Transformation Meet Fostering spiritual growth, emotional well-being, and authentic connection through candid conversations rooted in faith and mental health. 

Information

  • Creator
    St. Luke Community UMC Mental Health Ministry
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 1 Soul Matters Podcast
  • Show Website
    1 Soul Matters Podcast