From the Heart of the City

Conversations About Faith, Justice, Hope & Radical Hospitality
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Hosted by Kevin George, Dean of Huron and Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown London, Ontario, each episode explores the stories, questions, and conversations that emerge from life at the corner of Queen and Richmond—where the church meets the city and the city shapes the church. Drawing on experiences from ministry, community life, current events, and everyday encounters, From the Heart of the City invites listeners into thoughtful conversations about what it means to live well together in a complex and often divided world. Some episodes feature authors, community leaders, and people with compelling stories to tell. Others are personal reflections on faith, culture, grief, joy, service, and the surprising ways God continues to show up in ordinary life. Whether discussing homelessness, spirituality, friendship, public life, or a day spent fishing on Lake Huron, the goal remains the same: to seek hope, practice justice, and extend radical hospitality. Join us at the crossroads. Faith. Justice. Hope. Radical Hospitality. deankevingeorge.substack.com

  1. Sep 30

    Christ is Still in the Rubble

    For this episode of From the Heart of the City, I had the privilege of speaking with Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian Munther Isaac. Munther is the pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ramallah and the author of Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible, and the Genocide in Gaza. His voice has become an important — and challenging — one for Christians around the world as he calls the Church to pay attention to the suffering of the Palestinian people and to ask difficult questions about faith, theology, power, justice, and our responsibility to one another. Our conversation is not an easy one. We speak about Gaza and the enormous human suffering of these past years. We talk about the Palestinian Christian community and what it means to follow Jesus from Holy Land today. We discuss the Bible, Christian Zionism, silence within parts of the Western Church, and Munther’s insistence that theology can never be separated from the lives of real people. And, of course, we talk about Christ in the rubble - an image that haunts. The Christian story does not begin with a God who observes human suffering safely from a distance. We proclaim a God who enters it — a God who takes flesh, who lives among the occupied and the vulnerable, who weeps, who suffers, and who bears wounds. So where do we look for Christ when the world seems to be coming apart? Munther Isaac asks us to look among those who are suffering. At a moment when conversations about Israel and Palestine so quickly become polarized, I believe we need to recover the discipline of listening — especially to voices that Christians in North America have too often heard about rather than heard from. For me, this conversation was an opportunity to listen to a Palestinian Christian brother speak from his own experience, his own theology, his own grief, and his own hope. I am grateful to Munther Isaac for his generosity, his courage, and his willingness to spend this time with me. 🎙️ Christ in the Rubble: A Conversation with Munther Isaac A challenging and deeply important conversation about Gaza, Palestine, the Church, justice, hope — and where Christ is to be found amid the rubble. I hope you’ll listen. From the Heart of the CityFaith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

  2. Sep 24

    What is Political Theology?

    What Does Faith Have to Do With Politics? My latest guest on From the Heart of the City is theologian Luke Bretherton, and our conversation begins with a question that feels particularly important right now: What is political theology — and why should ordinary Christians care about it? For many of us, the word politics immediately brings to mind elections, political parties, candidates, left and right, winners and losers. But Luke invites us to think much more deeply. Politics, at its heart, is about how we learn to live together. It is about power and responsibility. About neighbours and strangers. About who gets heard and who gets overlooked. About the common good. And about the kind of communities we are trying to build together. Which means Christian faith has always had something to say about politics — not because the Church should become an arm of a political party, but because following Jesus inevitably raises questions about how we share life with one another. Luke Bretherton is one of the most thoughtful voices working at the intersection of theology, politics and public life. In our conversation we explore what political theology actually is, why democracy requires more than simply casting a ballot, what it means to listen across real differences, and what role churches and other communities can play in rebuilding a common life. And underneath it all is a question I find myself returning to again and again here in the heart of the city: How do we live together well when we do not all agree? At a moment when our public life can feel increasingly polarized — when disagreement so easily becomes suspicion and neighbours can quickly become opponents — I found Luke’s perspective both challenging and deeply worthwhile. This isn’t a conversation about telling you what to think politically. It’s a conversation about how Christians might think faithfully about our shared life — and what it might mean to show up, listen, participate, disagree, organize, serve and seek the good of our neighbours. I hope you’ll join us. 🎙️ From the Heart of the CityFaith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    What is Political Theology?

  3. Sep 15

    Episode 12 - The Cost of Ambition: A Conversation with Miroslav Volf

    What happens when wanting to do well becomes needing to do better than someone else? Today I had the opportunity to engage in a very meaningful conversation with a man, whose writing has sustained me over these last couple of decades of ministry. Theologian and author Miroslav Volf, is the founder and director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and one of the most significant theological voices of our time. I have most of his books on my shelf. His most recent book is about ambition. Ambition is complicated. I think most of us want to do something worthwhile with our lives. We all want to use our gifts well. We all want our work to matter. There is nothing particularly troubling about that. But what happens when the measure of a good life becomes comparison? When doing well is no longer enough unless we are doing better than someone else? That is the question at the heart of my conversation this week with professor Volf. His new book, The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse, asks us to examine something deeply embedded in our culture—and, if we are willing to admit it, deeply embedded in many of us. We talk about what Volf calls the “worry of comparison”: that almost irresistible temptation to look sideways at someone else and measure our lives against theirs. We always seem to be measuring ourselves against someone else’s metric. Just think of how social media alone drives us to seek likes and shares. We are a culture driven in many ways to be hopelessly competitive. In this episode, Professor Volf and I discuss about a different possibility: What if excellence does not require superiority? What if another person’s success doesn’t diminish mine? What if our gifts really are gifts? What if being beloved in our own right is enough? One of the biblical questions at the heart of our conversation comes from Paul: “What do you have that you did not receive?” It is a deceptively simple question. If what I have has ultimately been received—my abilities, opportunities, relationships, even life itself—then perhaps achievement begins to look less like something that establishes my worth and more like something for which I can be grateful. And being grateful, perhaps I can respond in gratitude with grace toward others. Our conversation ranges from Kierkegaard to Paul, from Cain and Abel, to Milton, to Jesus, and into the life of the Church itself. We talk about ambition in ministry, our tendency to count and compare, and what it might mean to pursue excellence without needing someone else to come second. And underneath it all is an even deeper question: If I truly believe that my worth is received rather than achieved, what might I finally be free to become? How might I truly flourish? This was a rich and thoughtful conversation with Miroslav Volf, and I’m delighted to share it with you. From the Heart of the CityFaith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    Episode 12 - The Cost of Ambition: A Conversation with Miroslav Volf

  4. Sep 15 ·  Bonus

    BONUS EPISODE - Ward 13 Councillor David Ferreira

    What kind of downtown do we want London to become? That question is personal for me, because, every day at St. Paul’s Cathedral, I see the very best of downtown London — extraordinary people, businesses, arts and culture, new neighbours, beautiful spaces and a community with enormous potential. I also see the challenges up close: homelessness, addiction, poverty, concerns about safety, struggling businesses and people wondering what the future of our downtown will look like. My guest on this episode of From the Heart of the City is Ward 13 Councillor David Ferreira, who is seeking re-election this fall. And I want to be transparent: I support David and am pleased to endorse his re-election. But this isn’t simply a campaign conversation. We talk honestly about homelessness and human dignity, downtown businesses, housing, Bus Rapid Transit, bike lanes and what makes a city truly livable. We talk about what has worked — and what hasn’t. And I ask David a question I think every elected official should have to wrestle with: Are you willing to make the right decision even when it might cost you your seat? Leadership isn’t simply about getting elected. It’s about what you’re prepared to do once people entrust you with the responsibility. I think David gets that. So this is a conversation about downtown London, but ultimately it’s about something bigger: What kind of city do we want to be — and who do we want to become together? Enjoy this BONUS episode of From the Heart of the City. Faith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Sep 9

    Episode 11 - How Western Christianity Got it All Wrong

    There are books that offer a gentle invitation to reconsider a few things. And then there are books called How Western Christianity Got It Wrong. In this episode of From the Heart of the City, I sit down with theologian, author, activist and wisdom keeper Randy Woodley to talk about his provocative new book, How Western Christianity Got It Wrong: Replacing the God of Fear with a Spirituality of Healing. Randy asks us to confront a difficult question: How did a movement centered on Jesus—who taught love of neighbour and enemy, challenged domination, welcomed the outsider, and proclaimed good news to the poor—become so entangled with empire, colonization, violence, exclusion and the exploitation of creation? Our conversation explores the influence of Western ways of thinking on Christianity, our understandings of sin and salvation, theologies of fear and punishment, and what Indigenous wisdom might teach Christians about relationship, creation and healing. But for me, the conversation also became personal. At one point I found myself asking Randy a question that has been sitting with me for some time: Why should I still care about the Church? I am still here. I am still a priest. I still preach the Gospel and celebrate the Eucharist. And despite all of the Church’s failures, I still care deeply about it. So if Western Christianity has wandered this far from the Way of Jesus, what is left here worth loving—or redeeming? Randy doesn’t offer easy answers. He invites us into something deeper: to distinguish between defending Christianity as we have inherited it and actually following the Way of Jesus. It is a challenging conversation that ultimately it is about healing and hope. I hope you’ll listen. From the Heart of the CityFaith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    Episode 11 - How Western Christianity Got it All Wrong

  6. Sep 8 ·  Bonus

    Book Launch Special - Robert P Jones -- Backslide

    Today is publication day for Robert P. Jones’ new book, Backslide — and I am delighted to mark its release with a special edition of From the Heart of the City. Robert P. Jones — Robbie, as you’ll hear me call him in our conversation — is one of the most important voices examining the intersection of religion, race, culture, and politics in the United States. His previous books, including White Too Long and The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, have challenged readers to reckon honestly with stories Christianity has sometimes preferred not to tell about itself. Backslide continues that work. And the title itself is provocative. For many of us who grew up in the Church, “backsliding” was religious language. It described someone who had wandered away from the faith — someone who had fallen backwards spiritually. But Jones turns the word around and asks us to consider a different possibility: What if the backsliding we should be worried about is happening within Christianity itself? What happens when Christian faith becomes entangled with nostalgia, nationalism, racial hierarchy, and the pursuit of political power? What happens when preserving a particular version of the past becomes more important than following Jesus into the future? And how do we tell the truth about our history without surrendering hope for what the Church might yet become? Those are some of the questions at the heart of this conversation. One of the things I appreciate about Robbie’s work is that he refuses the easy comfort of pretending our present moment appeared from nowhere. The tensions we see around Christianity and politics have histories. The stories we tell about race have histories. Even the stories churches tell about themselves have histories. If we are going to imagine something different, we first have to be willing to look honestly at how we arrived here. That makes this an uncomfortable conversation at times. I think it also makes it a hopeful one. Because Christianity need not be captive to fear, nostalgia, or power. There remains another way — the way of Jesus, whose life continually draws us away from domination and toward neighbour, stranger, mercy, justice, truth, and love. So on the day Backslide makes its way into the world, I’m grateful to Robert P. Jones for joining me for this special conversation. I hope you’ll listen. And then, perhaps, pick up the book. 🎙️ BOOK LAUNCH SPECIALRobert P. Jones — BackslideFrom the Heart of the City Faith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    Book Launch Special - Robert P Jones -- Backslide

  7. Sep 2

    When the Pastor Needs Grace: Lillian Daniel on Defrocked

    What happens when the pastor is the one who needs grace? We talk a lot in the church about forgiveness. We preach grace. We proclaim second chances. We tell stories of redemption and resurrection. But what happens when someone really messes up? And what happens when that someone is the pastor? On this episode of From the Heart of the City, I’m joined by the Rev. Lillian Daniel for a remarkably candid conversation about her new book, Defrocked: Good News from a Bad Pastor for a Better Church. Lillian doesn’t tell a story in which she was simply misunderstood or falsely accused. She writes openly about crossing a pastoral boundary, the consequences that followed, being removed from ministry, and finding herself on the other side of the church’s disciplinary process. But Defrocked is about much more than what happened. It’s about what comes next. What does genuine accountability look like without becoming dehumanizing? Can we take seriously the harm people cause while still believing they are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done? What does repentance actually require? Is restoration possible? What does genuine accountability look like? Most importantly: Do we actually believe the things we say about grace when grace becomes difficult? One of the images that runs through Lillian’s book is the ditch in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. Sometimes we’re in the ditch because someone pushed us there. Sometimes life put us there. And sometimes we’re there because we jumped in with our own two feet. The question is whether anyone will stop to help. Our conversation moves from Lillian’s own experience of failure and accountability to larger questions about clergy discipline, institutional processes, forgiveness, restoration, vocation, and the kind of church we might become if we stopped pretending that some people are beyond grace. There is something deeply hopeful in that. Ultimately Defrocked isn’t simply a book about a ‘bad pastor.’ It’s a book about whether we can become a better church. 🎙️ From the Heart of the CityFaith. Justice. Community. Radical Hospitality. Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    When the Pastor Needs Grace: Lillian Daniel on Defrocked

  8. Aug 25

    Episode 9 - Faith on Campus

    What are young adults really asking of the Church? This week on From the Heart of the City, I’m joined by the Rev’d Matthew Martin, Chaplain at Huron University, for a conversation about faith, learning, belonging — and what it means to accompany young adults at one of the most formative times in their lives. We often hear that younger generations are walking away from religion. But does that mean they’ve stopped asking spiritual questions? Or are they asking different questions — about identity, purpose, loneliness, justice, relationships, vocation, and what makes a life meaningful — and looking for answers in places the Church hasn’t always been willing to go? Matt spends his ministry right in the middle of those questions. We talk about what university chaplaincy actually looks like today; how a Christian priest ministers within a diverse and pluralistic community; the pressures facing today’s students; and why presence and listening can sometimes matter far more than having the right answer. We also turn the question back on the Church. Instead of continually asking, “Where are the young people?” perhaps we need to ask: Where are we? Are we present where people are actually living, questioning, struggling and searching? Are we listening before we speak? And are we creating communities where people know they belong before they have everything figured out? It’s a conversation about university chaplaincy, but ultimately it’s about something much larger: how we accompany one another as we discover who we are, what we believe, and what kind of life is worth living. From the Heart of the City — Episode 9Guest: The Rev’d Matthew MartinChaplain, Huron University Get full access to Kevin George at deankevingeorge.substack.com/subscribe

    Episode 9 - Faith on Campus
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About

Hosted by Kevin George, Dean of Huron and Rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in downtown London, Ontario, each episode explores the stories, questions, and conversations that emerge from life at the corner of Queen and Richmond—where the church meets the city and the city shapes the church. Drawing on experiences from ministry, community life, current events, and everyday encounters, From the Heart of the City invites listeners into thoughtful conversations about what it means to live well together in a complex and often divided world. Some episodes feature authors, community leaders, and people with compelling stories to tell. Others are personal reflections on faith, culture, grief, joy, service, and the surprising ways God continues to show up in ordinary life. Whether discussing homelessness, spirituality, friendship, public life, or a day spent fishing on Lake Huron, the goal remains the same: to seek hope, practice justice, and extend radical hospitality. Join us at the crossroads. Faith. Justice. Hope. Radical Hospitality. deankevingeorge.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Conversations About Faith, Justice, Hope & Radical Hospitality
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Kevin George
  • Show Website
    From the Heart of the City

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