Wesley Union: Recent Episodes
Studio Wesley
Wesley Union is a bi-weekly podcast from Studio Wesley that highlights the voices of different campus ministers and leaders in the United Methodist Church.
Episode Notes Rev. Haley Eccles, Pastor in Residence and Associate Director at Campus to City West in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on Ordinary Time.
Episode Notes Check out the first episode of Studio Sessions with Sara and Allison! Studio Sessions airs every Thursday at 8pm on Instagram Live via @studio.wesley's account. Come join in the discussion!
Episode Notes David Schmidt, Director at Atlantic Coast Wesley in Boca Raton, FL, shares his thoughts on Trinity Sunday.
References: Story of Nicodemus - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A1–21&version=CEB
Episode Notes Derrick Scott III, Executive Director at Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, FL, shares his thoughts on Aldersgate Day.
Episode Notes Rev. Dr. Latricia Scriven, Pastor at New Life UMC and Director of IMPACT @ FAMU Wesley Foundation in Tallahassee, FL, shares her thoughts on Pentecost.
Episode Notes Pastor Erwin Lopez, Director and Pastor at Wesley at UCF in Orlando, FL, shares his thoughts on Ascension Day.
Pastor Jess Williams, Executive Director/Pastor of United Wesley in Miami, Florida, shares his thoughts on the the word "creation" in the context of Genesis 1 and 2, and how that story is still relevant to us today. Pastor Jess unpacks some of the differences between Genesis 1 and 2, and invites us to consider "Who is God and who are we?" in light of the love of God that is illuminated in the Text.
Sara Taylor, Assistant Director of Communication and Studio Wesley at Campus to City Wesley Foundation in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on Colossians 1:15-20 in the context of repairing the distance we have created between ourselves and creation, specifically our care for it. Sara invites us to consider that just as we are called to care for and love one another, we are called to care for and love the earth and by caring for the earth, we are actually caring for our neighbor.
Derrick Scott III, Executive Director at Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, FL, shares his thoughts on Easter and the season of Eastertide.
Rev. Christy Holden, Pastor of Gulf Coast Wesley in Ft. Myers, FL, shares her thoughts on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, as well as Holy Week in general.
Bryant Manning, Campus Ministry Director at the FSU and TCC Wesley Foundation in Tallahassee, FL, shares his thoughts on the first half of Holy Week from Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday.
References:
She Is Risen - https://www.she-is-risen.net/
Derrick Scott III, Executive Director of Campus to City Wesley Foundation in Jacksonville, FL, shares his thoughts on 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 in the context of repairing our identities. Derrick invites us to be disturbed by the internal distance created when we identify more with our false self and our mistakes rather than our original goodness and belovedness as a child of God.
Brooke Lawrence, Assistant Director of Community for Campus to City Wesley Foundation in Jacksonville, Florida, draws on scripture from Mark 1:29-39 and insights from Henri Nouwen's Book "Life of the Beloved" to unpack our brokenness and our blessedness. Brooke invites us to consider how not acknowledging our pain and brokenness results in more harm being done to ourselves and others. She then shares how she believes placing our brokenness under a recognition of our blessedness allows us to combat anxiety and see how God might use us more clearly.
Rev. Haley Eccles, Associate Director at Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent.
Rev. Preston Davis, Minister to the University at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, shares his thoughts on calling in the context of John 15:12-17. Rev. Davis talks about the problem of having a calling rooted in a performance-based identity as opposed to a calling that is a way and how of being. Rev. Davis invites us all to consider how we can do things with great love in the world, rather than just achieve great things in the world, as well as how God might invite us to follow them in the midst of great joy and great fear.
Derrick Scott III, Executive Director of Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, Florida, shares his thoughts on the season of Epiphany.
Reverend Caitlin White, Pastor and Director of Stetson Wesley in DeLand, Florida, shares her thoughts on the season of Christmastide and the Christ Candle.
Reverend Emily Knight, Pastor at Riverside Park United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on the season of Advent and the Candle of Peace. References: Your Peace Will Make Us One by Audrey Assad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQWSfzY2mw Year of Jubilee Podcast: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/jubilee-radical-year-release/ -
Pastor Steve Painter, Pastor at San Marco Church and Spring Glen United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, FL, shares his thoughts on the season of Advent and the Candle of Joy.
Pastor Jess Williams, Pastor and Executive Director at United Wesley in Miami, FL, shares his thoughts on the season of Advent and the Candle of Faith.
Rev. Haley Eccles, Associate Director at Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on the season of Advent and the Candle of Hope.
Rev. David Fuquay, Co-Pastor of OcalaFirst United Methodist Church in Ocala, FL, shares his thoughts on the season of Advent and its significance in the liturgical calendar, as well as how young adults can find deeper meaning through celebrating it.
Rev. Haley Eccles, Associate Director at Campus to City Wesley in Jacksonville, FL, shares her thoughts on Matthew 15 and the Canaanite Woman or, as Rev. Haley calls her - the Lizzo of her day. Rev. Haley re-centers this story on the Canaanite Woman and the way she models struggle and self-agency in a way that women today can still relate to. Rev. Eccles uses this story to remind us that the love and grace and power of God transcends the boundaries we have erected between one another and that the Spirit invites us to work through and remove these boundaries that we and the systems we were born into have created so that God's love may be shown through the transformation of the world.
Rev. Dr. Vance C. Rains, Lead Pastor at the First United Methodist Church of Orlando, shares his thoughts on Exodus 1:8-14 and how, throughout history, we can see that fear leads to hatred and hatred leads to dehumanization. Rev. Dr. Rains invites us to recognize the sacred worth of every person and asks us if today - in an age of racial revolution - we will side with Pharaoh - those in power - or with Israel - those facing injustice.
Heather Pancoast, co-director at Gator Wesley in Gainesville, Florida, shares her thoughts on what it really means to love our enemies. Drawing on scripture from Matthew 5:43-48, a sermon by the Rev. Dr. MLK, and a Ted Talk called the 3 Lessons of Revolutionary Love, Heather unpacks the way forgiveness - loving and tending to the wounds of our enemies - impacts not only us, but those around us.
Pastor Chris Stephen, campus minister at The Harbor at USF in Tampa, Florida, shares his thoughts on the metaphorical "cups" we all have and how we should care for them. He draws on scripture from Matthew 23:25-26 to explain how our relationship with Jesus is meant to be transformational from the inside out and how that transformation impacts others.
Rev. Dr. Latricia Scriven, campus minister at FAMU Wesley and pastor at New Life Church in Tallahassee, Florida, shares her thoughts on the commodification and division of the "temples" in our lives. She draws on scripture from Mark 11 as she unpacks the importance of caring for others on not just an individual level, but communal and systemic levels as well.
Derrick Scott III, a campus minister from NE Florida who currently serves as the Executive Director of Campus to City Wesley Foundation, shares with us about what it means to embrace the Gospel. He draws on scripture from Romans and Matthew as he unpacks the importance of hope as related to the active nature of faith and the way that faith is deeply personal.