The Living Church Podcast The Living Church

Ever run out of preaching material for a major feast day? May today's episode inspire you.
It's funny how the gospel unveils and then veils itself to us in seasons of our ministry and preaching. There are so many times when there's more than we can capture. And then other times it feels lilke the well runs dry on the same passage we've come to for years. But this "dryness" may just be an invitation to dig in a new direction or to a new depth.
Today we've got a fascinating dispatch from the Rev. Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, a Lutheran pastor in Tokyo who got tired of trying to find something new to preach about the Transfiguration. Sarah trusted the abundance of God's word to not return void, and kept digging, and that digging turned into a whole book about what she found: Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration.
Turns out, the Transfiguration is the center point of the Gospel of Mark. Turns out, St. Paul is very interested in the Transfiguration, and the Transfiguration is very interested in Jewish pilgrimage festivals and the end times. And the Gospel of John might keep the Transfiguration on the DL for a very good reason. 
Today we'll learn why we've got two of these feasts a year, where apples and grapes come in, and a little about ancient laundering practices — all just in time, maybe, to give you some inspiration for you own festal sermon.
Sarah is Associate Pastor at Tokyo Lutheran Church and the Founder of Thornbush Press. She has written, edited, and contributed to numerous books of both theology and fiction and has published hundreds of articles. She hosts the podcasts Queen of the Sciences, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories, and The Disentanglement Podcast, and writes the e-newsletter Theology & a Recipe. 
They may not be "whiter than a fuller could bleach them," but get ready for some brilliant insights nevertheless. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Today we've got live music in the studio, reminding us of God's faithfulness in conflict and pain, and why beauty, the arts, and artists are so vital to and for the Church. 
Singer-songwriters Leila Way and Ryan Flanigan join us from Resurrection South Austin to play some new tunes for us and talk about the intersections of music with church life, family life, and life with God.
Between sets we'll chat about the stories behind the songs, and about what art might teach ministry, especially about inviting others into the pain and the gift of faith in Christ.
Leila Way is a songwriter in Austin, Texas, writing and recording songs for the Church. She likes to set Scripture and heartfelt prayers to music.
Ryan Flanigan serves as music director at Resurrection Church South Austin and as theological artist-in-residence at Baylor University. Ryan is also the founder of Liturgical Folk, which seeks to create beautiful and believable sacred music for the Church and the world. 
Leila's songs are from her new album, You Don't Carry It Alone, and Ryan's are from his new collaboration with musician Jon Guerra, Three Gifts.
Set list: 
"You Don't Carry It Alone" - Leila "Walking On" - Leila "Faith" - Ryan "Hope" - Ryan "Prayer for Unity" - Leila "Be Still My Soul" - Ryan and Leila 
We hope you enjoy the conversation, and the music. 
Special thanks to Michael Way and Resurrection South Austin for their technical assistance on this episode.
Read Ryan's interview with Leila.
Visit Leila's website.
Visit Ryan's website.
Join us at the God at 'I' Level photography exhibit.

Listen to our first Conversation Across Difference, Episode 102. 
Join us at the God at 'I' Level photography exhibit. 
Progressive and conservative: do ever the twain meet? What are safe spaces across current divides on topics that matter? And, when we do talk across divides, how do we get below the surface?
Today's Conversation Across Difference is about a hot topic in the Episcopal Church, and nearly every church right now: human sexuality and marriage. How do we engage a topic in which each side believes this isn't just about difference of opinion, but, as one of our guests points out today, also about sin. 
Can say what we really believe and stay at the same table? If we don't condone one another's beliefs, even about self, love, or family life, can we still love and respect one another? If so, what are the difficulties? And what unexpected discoveries might be made if we keep talking?
The Episcopal Church has a Communion Across Difference Task Force that talks about these things, prays together, and takes action to preserve safe spaces for these diagloues within the church. Two guests join us today, both priests in the Episcopal Church, members of the task force, and friends. The Rev. Dr. Jordan Hylden is our guest who affirms Christian marriage as the union of male and female, and the Rev. Kelli Joyce is our guest who affirms Christian marriage regardless of gender. They join us today to describe their work together.
Wherever you're coming from, I hope this episode helps you to have more fruitful, honest relationships with others with whom you disagree. 
The Rev. Kelli Joyce is a priest of the Diocese of Arizona, currently living and ministering in the Diocese of Tennessee. She is a candidate for the Ph.D. in Theological Studies at Vanderbilt University.
The Rev. Dr. Jordan Hylden is vice rector at Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lafayette, Louisiana. Jordan has served churches in South Carolina and Texas, and also as canon theologian and vocations director for the Diocese of Dallas.
Our executive director, Matthew Olver, also joined us as co-host.
We hope you enjoy the conversation.
Listen to our first Conversation Across Difference, Episode 102. 
Join us at the God at 'I' Level photography exhibit. 

What's the proper scope of Christian politics?
Should Christians be politically active, and if so, how? Is the political sphere and its options a place of anxiety and ceaseless activity that should be avoided? Is it a place of possibility to "bring heaven to earth"? Does it have value as a place of failure and limitation? And what do politics have to do with loving neighbors, worshipping God, or writing letters to our children? 

Much -- perhaps. And maybe most effectively in the spheres that are smallest, least ambitious, and closest to home. 

Today we talk with the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner about his new book, Mortal Goods: Reimagining Christian Political Duty. We'll discuss how our daily, imperfect lives and the mortal goods that make them up can help us define and limit the scope of Christian political vision and action. If our hope does not rest in this world, how are we then freed to take care in this world, and take care of this world, with sobriety, joy, and thankfulness? 

Ephraim is professor emeritus of historical theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto. His range of ministerial experience includes ministry and teaching in Burundi, Haiti, inner-city Cleveland, Connecticut, and Colorado. He's the author of several books including Mortal Goods, which we discuss today, A Time to Keep, A Brutal Unity, and The End of the Church. He is married to the Rev. Annette Brownlee and they are the parents of Hannah and Isaac.

Hold that NPR newsfeed for just a minute. We're going to step back to ancient Israel to remember what exactly God asks of human beings. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

Register for The Human Pilgrimage conference. 

Episcopalians have a love-hate relationship with evangelism. Everyone is welcome into an Episcopal church, but how do they get there? Is it true that "everyone who should be an Episcopalian, is"? Isn't evangelism what other Christians do who have lots of enthusiasm but less natural restraint and good taste? Is there an Episcopal, or even an Anglican, way to be an evangelist? 
According to the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, you bet. There is very much a way for Episcopalians to be active evangelists. It's not about being selling vacuum cleaners, and it's not about building it and they will come. You don't even have to leave your Episcopal hat behind. But you may need to be willing to lay aside some preconceptions.

Today we'll pop in on a conversation with Canon Stephanie, who is basically the current evangelist in residence and evagelism teacher for the whole Episcopal Church. We talk about how she came to the Episcopal Church, and how she came to have the heart she does for wanderers and seekers, and how discovering Jesus in every step of every person's spiritual journey is part and parcel of the Anglican way. 

Stephanie serves as Canon to Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry and spearheads Episcopal efforts around evangelism, racial reconciliation and creation care. Her newest books are The Church Cracked Open: Disruption, Decline and New Hope for Beloved Community and an updated 15th anniversary edition Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and the Spirit of Transformation. She has served as Chaplain to the Episcopal House of Bishops, taught mission and evangelism at General Theological Seminary, and served as a canon in the Diocese of Long Island. We'll talk about more of her story in the episode today and include a link in the show notes to learn more about her recent work.

Now shod those feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, tie the laces tight. But stay loose. Today we're going to drop the E Word, then pick it up and run with it. We hope you enjoy the conversation.

See more of Canon Stephanie's recent work.
Register for The Human Pilgrimage conference.

Learn more about the Human Pilgrimage conference.
Learn more about Steve Prince's work.
Learn more about Jessica Hooten Wilson's work.
A disgruntled white southern intellectual named Walter lives on his family's farm. They all think his fancy learning makes him good for nothing. On top of that, Walter thinks he's dying. Walter decides to pretend, through a penpal relationship with a social justice activist, that he is Black. A story unfolds from the deceit. This is a Flannery O'Connor story that you have probably never read, and we'll discuss it today on the podcast.

Unlike Flannery's other works, a conversion and baptism come early in this story, and the rest of the book, which was never finished, was intended to ask, "What next?" Instead of the one fell swoop of the Holy Ghost readers are used to, what does the radical work of grace look like over time?

Fragments of the unfinished novel have just been released, along with context-setting essays and commentary, by literary scholar and writer, Jessica Hooten Wilson. The book is called Why Do the Heathen Rage?, and it is further illuminated with powerful artwork by artist Steve Prince.

The story fragments are fascinating, but the gloss Steve and Jessica provide help us unpack what's going on with Flannery. Sorry megafan, but she was not a saint. And in this broken text, we actually watch her come up against her limits as a white southerner of her times and as a writer. What was she doing? What, maybe, was God doing? And what can we learn from her today? 

We discuss O'Connor's work, intersections with Malcolm X and James Baldwin, what stories do to harm or heal, and what art and artistic collaborations make possible. 

Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University. She is the author or editor of several books, including Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage? A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress, Reading for the Love of God, and two award-winning books of literary scholarship: The Scandal of Holiness, and Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Steve A. Prince is a mixed media artist, master printmaker, lecturer, educator, and art evangelist with his MFA in Printmaking and Sculpture from Michigan State University. He is the Director of Engagement and Distinguished Artist in Residence at the Muscarelle Museum at William and Mary. A native of New Orleans, he currently resides in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Now pour yourself a big ol' glass of sweet tea and hold on to your rocking chair. This exploration of Flannery O'Connor won't be what you're used to. We hope you enjoy the conversation.