Everyday Liturgist with Marcus Halley

Marcus George Halley
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Joy and Jesus meet... and online, no less. Hosted by Marcus Halley (me), an Episcopal priest and college chaplain, Everyday Liturgist is a space for authentic and open-hearted reflections, conversations, and questions about how Christian faith meets our real, everyday lives and transforms the ordinary into the holy. marcushalley.substack.com

  1. Jun 3

    Karen Keen on Soul-Freedom, the Bible, and Authenticity in the Spiritual Life

    We're talking about "Soul Freedom" in this episode where I interview writer, scholar, and contemplative Karen Keen. We discuss scripture as a tool formation (rather than as a rule book), cultivating a contemplative practice is a busy world, and engaging a faith that involves our whole selves. What I most appreciate about this episode is that Karen gives us permission to be unfinished, to embrace a faith that is still in process, and to trust that God will for us is exactly what we need (and want). Chapters: Introduction 00:00 - 04:26 Meet Karen Keen 04:26 - 09:38 The Bible Beyond Prooftexting 09:38 - 13:25 The Bible As Life-giving Word of God 13:25 - 19:51 Conscience and Contemplation 19:51 - 33:15 Christlike Acceptance in the Church 33:15 - 38:23 Karen's Book Recommendation and Gratitude 38:23 - 48:02 Reflection, Gratitude, and Closing 48:02 - 59:07 Resources Referenced and Recommended: By Karen Keen Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships The Bible and Sexuality Discussed During the Episode Brown Church by Robert Chao Romero Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport About Our Guest Karen Keen is a theologian, spiritual director, and author whose work focuses on biblical interpretation, spiritual formation, theology, and Christian ethics. She is the author of several books, including Scripture, Ethics, and the Possibility of Same-Sex Relationships and The Bible and Sexuality. Her writing is known for combining rigorous scholarship, pastoral sensitivity, and a deep commitment to Christian discipleship. Learn more about Karen on her website: https://karenkeen.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    59 min

  2. May 12

    The Ballot and the Gospel

    The Ballot and the Gospel While renewing his driver’s license online, Marcus Halley lingers over a question about updating voter registration which sparks his exploration of Christian faith, voting rights, and how to live faithfully without surrendering the gospel to partisan identity. Drawing on his religious upbringing, family stories, and political formation in college, he argues that voting rights are primarily about human dignity. The Church's work in our time is to form disciples marked by courage, humility, compassion, and justice. In a moment shaped by January 6, weakened Voting Rights Act protections, and eroding democratic norms, he urges moral witness rooted in love rather than fear. 00:00 DMV Question Sparks Pause 02:25 Roots in Black Struggle 06:33 The Bible Is Political 12:03 Why Voting Rights Matter 19:55 Returning to the DMV Question 21:57 Gratitude and Farewell This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    23 min

  3. Apr 27

    Cameron Nations on Discernment, Vocation, and Becoming Human

    Cameron Nations on Discernment, Vocation, and Becoming Human In this episode of Everyday Liturgist, Marcus Halley interview Cameron Nation, Canon for Vocations and Community Engagement in the Diocese of Alabama. Together they draw the wisdom of Rowan Williams, Marcus's experience of public discernment in the Western Massachusetts bishop election, and Cameron's experience cultivating leaders in Alabama to reflect on the church as a prayerful community of mutual discernment and grace-filled giftedness. They discuss discernment as ongoing, communal, and transformative, not mere decision-making, and critique consumer approaches to ministry. The episode closes by reframing vocation as learning “to be” and reflect God’s love and joy rather than chasing happiness, inviting the question: “Who would you have me be?”00:00 Introduction 03:15 Meet Cameron Nations 04:40 Interview with Cameron Nations 08:00 Discernment is about clarity not ordination 17:40 What Discernment Means 21:39 Discernment and Discipleship 28:14 Universal Christian Vocation 35:48 Young Adults Seek Meaning 42:36 Gratitude and Closing 45:23 Reflection 53:00 Closing Gratitude and Blessing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    54 min

  4. Apr 16

    I Give Up

    In this episode, Marcus Halley responds to a graduating student’s spiritual anxiety by asserting that surrender is the door to the spiritual life. Marcus shares that we all have a common experience of deep hunger: for meaning, connection, and love. He then contrasts trying to control God through formulas and practices with learning to surrender to God by cultivating practices of silence and listening. Drawing on Howard Thurman’s “A Seed Upon the Wind,” Marcus describes surrender as a long inner struggle that leads to a new life oriented toward God’s purposes. He suggests practices like community, contemplative prayer, spiritual direction, and gratitude as ways of embodying spiritual surrender. Leslie Odom, Jr.'s "I Surrender": https://youtu.be/V26iETMaj8E?si=NlH99PdhdAlq5hw4 00:00 Introduction 01:55 How do I develop a spiritual life? 05:58 Howard Thurman’s “Seed Upon The Wind” 11:22 Tilling the Soil of Spiritual Possibility 12:11 Gratitude and Final Blessings This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    14 min

  5. Apr 9

    Easter is more than Brunch

    In this episode of Everyday Liturgist, Marcus Halley shares an Easter Sunday sermon from Trinity College Chapel. Marcus frames human beings as God’s image-bearers called into partnership with God against the rebellious forces bent toward injustice and death. He argues that Jesus’ resurrection is not a return to normal life but the first sign of God’s new creation where domination ends and justice reigns. Christians respond faithfully by daily choosing to follow Christ in acts of love, humility, generosity, and justice, resisting systems that dehumanize. 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Sermon: Easter and the Christian Life 14:34 Reflection 20:59 Gratitude Practice and Final Blessing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    22 min

  6. Mar 25

    The Resurrection and the Life

    In this episode, Marcus Halley shares a sermon he gave on March 22, 2026 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Oxford, Connecticut. Using John’s story of the Raising of Lazarus, he explores how to face real grief while holding the church’s theology of life, echoing the Book of Common Prayer: “life is changed, not ended.” He distinguishes Lazarus’s temporary return to mortal life from Jesus’ resurrection, which ends death’s dominion, and urges Christians to live as if life leads through death by choosing love, prayer, generosity, and hope over prejudice, cynicism, and greed. 00:00 Introduction 03:28 Sermon: I am the Resurrection and the Life 14:52 Reflection 20:24 Closing Gratitude and Final Thoughts Dean Andrew McGowan's Substack, "Andrew's Version": https://abmcg.substack.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    22 min
  7. Walking in the Darkness

    Mar 16

    Walking in the Darkness

    Walking in the Darkness Marcus Halley shares a Lent sermon from St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church (New Haven) on Jesus as “the light of the world” in John’s Gospel. He links the woman at the well (Photini) and the man born blind to the idea that true sight is spiritual insight. He argues that darkness is not the absence of God, drawing on Barbara Brown Taylor’s contrast between unrealistic “full solar” spirituality and a “lunar” spirituality that accepts seasons of doubt, fear, and uncertainty while trusting God remains present. Against war, political violence, and other heavy recent news, Halley says the light that shines in darkness helps us name suffering, perceive God at work, and join that work through prayer, and acts of solidarity and compassion, remembering we are never alone. 00:00 Introduction 01:26 Sermon: Walking in the Darkness 14:33 Reflection 18:31 Closing Gratitude and Final Blessing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    20 min

  8. Feb 25

    Where Are the Young People? with Allen Wakabayashi

    Where Are the Young People? with Allen Wakabayashi In this episode, Marcus introduces an extended Everyday Liturgist conversation with Allen Wakabayashi, chaplain at the Episcopal Church at Princeton, prompted by Allen’s Living Church article “Where Are the Young People?” Both reflect on what students teach them with their diverse backgrounds, deep questions, a hunger for meaning, and the need for a non-performative community where it’s safe to be broken, ask hard questions, and mature beyond Sunday-school faith. The episode closes with Allen’s gratitude for continuing to “walk with Jesus” amid chaos and frustration, and Marcus’s reflection that faith must be allowed to evolve through loss, death, and resurrection, asking whether the church can create a container for transformation, reengage tradition with integrity, and live a vibrant faith that changes people from the inside out. 00:00 Introduction 05:08 Conversation with Allen Wakabayashi 45:40 Take-aways, Learnings, and Challenges 50:17 Closing Gratitude and Blessing "Where are the young people?" in the Living Church: https://livingchurch.org/commentary/where-are-the-young-people/ Meet Fr. Allen, Chaplain at the Episcopal Church at Princeton: https://www.ecpton.org/clergy-staff This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marcushalley.substack.com

    51 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Joy and Jesus meet... and online, no less. Hosted by Marcus Halley (me), an Episcopal priest and college chaplain, Everyday Liturgist is a space for authentic and open-hearted reflections, conversations, and questions about how Christian faith meets our real, everyday lives and transforms the ordinary into the holy. marcushalley.substack.com

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