The ProGrace Podcast

Angela Weszely
  • 5.0 (5)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • SERIES
The ProGrace Podcast

If you don’t feel at home in either pro-life or pro-choice, explore new, nonpolitical ways to think about abortion. Instead of asking, “Should abortion be legal?” let’s ask, “How do we make this a human issue?” I invite trusted faith leaders to join me in discussing how Jesus put people first and how we can, too. Join us and discover how to look at the issue through a lens of empathy and avoid political rhetoric. 

  1. EPISODE 1

    Abortion Conversations Without Politics: Now is the time to reimagine how Christians respond to abortion.

    If you don't feel at home in either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, welcome to the ProGrace podcast. Angela Weszely, CEO and co-founder of ProGrace invites you into a conversation on how to rise above the political divide and develop a compassionate approach. She founded ProGrace to equip Christians with a new way to think, talk, and engage around abortion so we can create safe spaces for conversations. Let's model our approach after Jesus, not politics. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Google Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

    32 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Meeting at A Place of Empathy in Abortion Conversations

    Are you a person who wrestles with how conversations about abortion are happening (or not happening) in our churches? If so, listen as Angela unpacks how Christians can find common ground aside from political binary views and meet from a place of empathy based on her journey. If we believe that God loves the woman and the child equally, how can we focus on what we agree on, position the Church as the solution, and open safe spaces to meet people where they are? Resources: Barna Group:  Openness to Jesus Isn’t the Problem—the Church Is, May 17, 2023  ProGrace: Discussion Topic: Conversations with Christians, July 30, 2018

    32 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    Christy Vines: How to Move from Debate to Dialogue Through the Power of Stories

    What’s in a story? We all have one. Hearing a person’s story requires listening to understand and identify the connecting points. What if we stopped the back and forth in the abortion debate to emphatically listen to the other side?  In this episode, Angela sits down with Christy Vines, President and CEO of Ideos Institute, who introduces us to how she and her team use Empathic Intelligence (EmQ) to transform spaces of division. The results advance empathy, transform systems, and inspire solutions. As with the ProGrace approach to help Christians think, talk, and engage differently in unintended pregnancy and abortion conversations, Ideos Institute uses Jesus’ teaching model to help people navigate contentious topics to find common ground. Learn how you can retrain your brain to do a different job of moving from debate to dialogue by putting yourself in someone’s story.  For more on Ideos Institute, see the show notes below, including their groundbreaking documentary Dialogue Lab: America. LINKS: 1. Dialogue Lab: America | Documentary Film (2022): https://youtu.be/RJA7W3hQggEIdeos Institute official website: https://ideosinstitute.org/ 2. Narrative 4: https://narrative4.com/3. Barna study: https://www.barna.com/research/polarization-2015-2022/5. Christy LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/christyvines/

    42 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Simone Halpin: Visiting Barbieland – Is the Barbie Movie Political or a Story About Bridge Building?

    A nonpolitical discussion about the Barbie movie is important because it touches many people. It's sparking a cultural conversation about how women and men relate to each other, which must be healthy if we're going to have conversations that lead to empathy and understanding of divisive social issues like abortion that the Church is called to address.  Listen in as Angela and her special guest Simone Halpin, CEO of Naomi House, unpack their takeaways from the Barbie Movie and connect it to their personal stories. Using art and comedy, can the movie be one tool to help us deconstruct some teachings we have absorbed about gender inequality from culture and the Church and replace them with true Biblical principles?  As leaders of organizations that work for the social good, Simone and Angela discuss the importance of women and men in the Church coming together for nonpolitical conversations around gender issues that reflect God’s intention of partnership.Spoiler alert: If you plan to see the Barbie Movie, storylines, scenes, and themes are discussed. Click on the links below for the resources mentioned during the episode:https://www.naomishouse.org  Books: She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You've Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended  We encourage you to read and listen to the following for further resources. We appreciate how these two Christian leaders with different theological interpretations on women's roles agree on the Biblical imperative to prevent toxic gender narratives by following the example of Jesus.https://www.churchandculture.org/church-culture-podcasthttps://www.holypost.com/post/neither-barbie-nor-ken

    58 min

  5. EPISODE 4

    Rev. Dr. Darice Wright: Visiting Barbieland, part 2 - Grace: The Common Theme for Reconciliation

    Angela interviews Rev. Dr. Darice Wright, Associate Pastor of Life Church in suburban Chicago, for an eye-opening conversation on her work to help pastors disciple people in racial reconciliation - and how she discovered that extending grace is essential to healing. They discuss how we can apply grace to discussions on gender, the political divide, and how we, the Church, show up for those who experience unintended pregnancy and abortion. Together they go back to Barbieland to uncover themes art can reveal about this cultural moment and how we can catalyze God's way of doing and being in our world.

    1h 1m

  6. EPISODE 5

    Skye Jethani: Can We Be Honest? Creating an Environment of Safety in Our Churches

    Research shows that many people in our culture have positive personal experiences with individual Christians in their lives but a negative perception of Christian institutions and how they interact in the public square. How do we bridge that gap and show up differently on contentious issues like abortion, especially after the overturn of Roe v. Wade? In this episode, Angela welcomes her friend, noted author, speaker, former pastor, and host of the Holy Post Podcast, Skye Jethani. Listen as they discuss his book What if Jesus Was Serious About the Church and explain how the political abortion debate fuels the divide. How can church leaders change this perception to bring healing and unity to the body of Christ? How do we lay down the political idolatry, refocus our allegiance to our representation of Jesus, and mark our churches safe for much-needed dialogue? “Politics did not create the abortion problem in this country, and politics alone will not solve it.” - Skye Jethani

    49 min

  7. EPISODE 6

    Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders: The Urban Church as a Place of Healing and Impact

    “We’re in a time where people need healing, and the Church is the answer for that. Jesus is the answer, but [knowing] Jesus through the Church is critical. [If pastors only] knew how much people needed the Church—not the politics of the Church, not all of the theology of the Church, but just the Church in action.” Thoughts on Mission & Ministry FROM LEADERS IN URBAN CHURCHES & COMMUNITIES, Page 12 Pastors have a God-given opportunity to lead their church to impact communities for the common good. Listen as Angela welcomes Dr. Alvin Sanders, President and CEO of World Impact, an organization that trains and equips church leaders and workers to serve in urban areas. World Impact and the Barna Group released a study this month: Inside the Urban Church – How local congregations engage with and impact their communities (October 2023). With a representative sample across eight major US metros, this quantitative and qualitative study heard from a cross-section of pastors, community, civic leaders, and churched and unchurched participants. One of the many key findings of the study was that churched and unchurched respondents saw the church as a safe space to wrestle with and help figure out the moral issues of the day; thus, urban churches have a huge opportunity to convene discussions that bring understanding and healing through God’s truth. “The study also revealed that metro residents inside and outside the Church think Christian churches are well-positioned to address the problem of loneliness. This finding is notable for highlighting the top issue locals entrust to churches and as a sign of common ground in perceptions among the churched and unchurched.” (Page 22) Both these insights offer encouragement on how we can have new conversations on abortion in our churches and be perceived as safe to approach for help. In this episode, Angela and Dr. Sanders discuss their hope and mutual love for the Church to be as Christ designed, a place of grace and belonging to reflect the kingdom in a secularized world. How can the Church be ready to receive people with the love God intended? Links: World Impact: https://www.worldimpact.org/ DePaul University's website on Asset Based Community Developmenthttps://resources.depaul.edu/abcd-institute/Pages/default.aspx The study can be purchased here: https://shop.barna.com/collections/frontpage/products/inside-the-urban-church Also, here is a study we didn't mention but is very relevant:https://www.churchandculture.org/blog/2023/9/14/the-late-great-planet-church Books Mentioned: Uncommon Church – By Alvin Sanders (uncommonchurches.com) (https://uncommonchurches.com/) Bridging the Diversity Gap - buy on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Bridging-Diversity-Gap-Leading-Multi-Ethnic/dp/0898276780)

    41 min

  8. EPISODE 7

    Lisa Fields: How Theology Can Lead to Grace-filled Conversations Across Divides

    Guest: Lisa Fields, Founder and CEO Jude 3 Project Experiences, hurt, and trauma always filter how we receive information. So, if we ignore people's lived experiences, we miss the opportunity for connection that leads to transformation. In this episode, Angela sits with Lisa Fields, Founder and CEO of The Jude 3 Project, about the importance of having conversations around divisive issues like abortion and racial divides in the church. They discuss the need for Christians to model their approach after Jesus, not politics, and to listen to others' experiences with empathy and understanding. They also emphasize the importance of humility, recognizing our participation in the problem to foster compassion and reconciliation. Overall, the conversation highlights the need to receive the grace of God, to give grace to others, and how open dialogue to address these complex issues within the church is necessary to connect with the next generation. Links: Donations: Give Now at https://www.prograce.org/giveCourageous Conversations 2023 is available on demand https://www.courageousconvos.org/  AND Campaign https://andcampaign.org/ Book: Mere Apologetics by Alister McGrath

    47 min
See All (17)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

If you don’t feel at home in either pro-life or pro-choice, explore new, nonpolitical ways to think about abortion. Instead of asking, “Should abortion be legal?” let’s ask, “How do we make this a human issue?” I invite trusted faith leaders to join me in discussing how Jesus put people first and how we can, too. Join us and discover how to look at the issue through a lens of empathy and avoid political rhetoric. 

Information

  • Creator
    Angela Weszely
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2023
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 ProGrace.org
  • Show Website
    The ProGrace Podcast

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada