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Love. Is it really all we need? As we move into Week 4 of advent this week, we settle in for a close look at this expansive topic. As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team brought you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community. Who do we have on the pod for this special week?  Well, who better to talk to us about love than CBC’s most recently engaged couple: Tameika Holly and Courtney Hodge (back from Episode 2!)?

In this episode, they join the FMW crew to discuss the wonders and trickiness that are inherent in love. We discuss what it means that we’re called to love God AND to love one another as we love ourselves. Along the way we explore how love grows, how we must sometimes love from afar, and how challenging it can be to really accept the love that’s offered to us. 

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. 

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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It’s pink candle week, ya’ll! As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team is bringing you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community.

Where do we go this week? To joy, of course! This year has been one where it’s been hard to keep hope, to cultivate peace, but has it been one short on joy? This week you’ll hear Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Marcia Call and Lenny Wrigley to talk through our relationship with joy. In this one you’ll get to hear us explore what brings us joy, how joy operates in our everyday lives, and the unexpected ways we’ve seen joy emerge.

Where do you see joy listeners? What have you done to cultivate it this year and when and where has it snuck up on you? We hope this episode - and the Taylor Swift name drop count within it - will bring you joy. Check it out - and learn how many times T-Swizzle gets mentioned during the joy-cast with Lenny!

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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We’re now in our second week of this season of anticipation. As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team is bringing you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community. 

Where do we go this week?  Yesterday marked the lighting of the Peace candle and so today we bring you the “Peace” episode. What a theme for us all to wrestle with this year, right listeners? 

This week you’ll hear Marty, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Jenelle Rosecrance and Athena Burkett to talk through each of their journeys with peace. In this one you’ll get to hear both Jenelle and Athena talk through their struggles with peace and also the ways they’ve learned to cultivate peace in their daily lives. We take space in this one to look at peace as both the promise God brought to earth through Jesus and we explore it as a personal, internal thing we seek as humans walking our journey together.

How do you relate to peace? What things bring you peace?  What ways do you seek peace today? What does your relationship with it look like this year in particular?  We’d love to hear from you and keep our peace conversation going throughout the week! Join us to chat about it on the CBC Facebook page!

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. 

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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Week 1 of Advent has arrived! How are you observing it this year, Faith Made Welcome listeners? Over the next four weeks the FMW team is observing it by way of deep dive conversations with CBC community members.

Yesterday marked the lighting of the Hope candle and so today we bring you the “Hope” episode. If you’re expecting a cheery conversation about all the things we’re hopeful Santa (or Jesus) might bring us this year...well, you might need a different podcast!

This week you’ll hear Robin, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Eric Spiegel (back from our Hocus Pocus episodes and still Cheri’s man friend!) and Casey Pick (church finance committee chair, musician, activist, and woman always ready to drop some KNOWLEDGE) for a frank conversation about how we approach hope; wrestle with hope; and try to keep hope while working for a better reality. Casey helps us to think about the role of anger and courage in hope, while Eric helps us remember why all hopeful souls need skeptics in their lives.

How do you relate to hope? What does your relationship with it look like this year in particular? We’d love to hear from you and keep our hope conversation going throughout the week! Join us to chat about it on the Commonwealth Baptist Church Facebook page thread!

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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This week on the podcast we take some more time to anticipate the season of anticipation! We build on last week’s history of Advent episode with this one wherein you’ll hear Marty and Robin sit down with Cheri and Paul to look at what the advent season means for the CBC pastors and their hopes for what it will bring in this most unprecedented year for the CBC community. 

In this one you’ll get to hear more about Marty and Robin’s own Advent experiences and hear more about CBC traditions around the season. Then we dig in with the big Advent themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. This episode isn’t about being grateful for how these show up in our lives, but instead we acknowledge how we wrestle with cultivating and losing each of these concepts. Are the Advent themes something you count on year after year? Or does this season help you to re-discover where these themes are within you? Can it help you see God in the world, here with us? How might we see these themes as confessions of the faith?

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. 

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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This week on the podcast we continue our fireside chat with Lonnie Rich! In this part of the conversation you’ll get to hear Lonnie, Cheri, and Paul take a closer look at the Advent season and its history. We look at early celebrations of Advent, how the tradition came to the Baptist church, and how it's celebrated within the CBC community.

Along with the pilgrimage through history and tradition associated with Advent, we get an opportunity to explore Lonnie’s overall approach to faith and Christianity. Listen in to learn: what brought Lonnie back to the church? We also consider why periods of preparation (Advent and Lent) are tied to both high holy holidays of the faith (Christmas and Easter). Is all this preparation really just advertising for Jesus? And finally, we ultimately fail to fully answer Paul’s burning question: what’s with the pink candle? You’ll have to tune in next week, as we chat with CBC pastors Robin and Marty to see if we’ll get an answer to that question from the real pros!

About Our Guest

Lonnie’s a long-time student of history. Once upon a time he was a history major. He’s long been a devoted reader of all things history, and just a few years ago he taught a multi-week class in the history of Christianity for CBC. He also long served as a deacon at Commonwealth Baptist, and Cheri likes to joke that he’s “the closer” for the church. Many, many current church members might recall they went to coffee with Lonnie not long before they decided to make this place their church home. He’s a true embodiment of faith made welcome!

Topics Mentioned this Episode

While there are fewer direct references in this episode than we often have, listeners might enjoy reading further into key topics discussed in our recording:

• Lonnie notes that advent may have first been celebrated in Spain and Gaul as a preparation for baptism, evolved into an anticipation of the second coming, and then into a celebration of the coming of Jesus. These theories of its evolution are discussed further in this article from Christianity.com, which also provides a nice overview of the Advent tradition: What is Advent?
• We note that the celebration of advent became typical within the Baptist tradition only more recently. The Baptist Press article “Advent Rediscovered by Southern Baptists” discusses the impetus for this change in tradition.
• Lonnie notes that Constantine helped establish the tradition of Christmas being observed in December, which can be explored further in this
• Lonnie mentions his stance on propitiation (appeasing the gods) vs. soteriology (faith driven by salvation)
• We discuss the Hanging of the Greens, chrismons that don the chrismon trees of CBC, as well as traditions involving advent wreaths and advent calendars.

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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What’s better in mid-fall than some cozy storytelling around the fire? That’s what you’ll listen in on over the next two weeks of Faith Made Welcome. Settle in, grab a warm beverage, hear the gentle crackle of the fire pit (seriously!) and join podcast regulars Cheri and Paul as they chat church and religious history our special guest: Lonnie C. Rich!

As Lonnie says in this episode: “Things begin, occur, grow, exist, change, but it’s never in a vacuum.” Together we think about the history of religion, Christianity and the Baptist denomination.

This one ends with a cliffhanger, as next week we’ll answer Cheri’s final question posed here: what does Advent mean anyway? We’ll pick up there next week as we begin to look forward to the advent season.

About Our Guest

Lonnie’s a long-time student of history. Once upon a time he was a history major. He’s long been a devoted reader of all things history, and just a few years ago he taught a multi-week class in the history of Christianity for CBC. He also long served as a deacon at Commonwealth Baptist, and Cheri likes to joke that he’s “the closer” for the church. Many, many current church members might recall they went to coffee with Lonnie not long before they decided to make this place their church home. He’s a true embodiment of faith made welcome!

Topics Mentioned this Episode

There are a number of historical and theological concepts mentioned in this episode; here they are in the order they were mentioned:

• Holy Cross Abbey
• Trappist Monks
• Georgian Chant
• Pope Francis
• Zoroastrianism
• Mithraism
• Propitiation
• Polytheism
• Zeus
• Soteriological
• Mystery Religions
• Osiris and Iris
• Constantine
• Henothesism
• The 10 Commandments Film
• Martin Luther
• Maccabees
• Pharisees
• Sadducees
• Essenes
• Zealots
• Judas Iscariot
• John the Baptist
• Messiah
• David
• Bar Kokhba
• Apologists

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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This episode of Faith Made Welcome is the second of a two-part discussion leading us into Halloween! Last episode we chatted through our general impressions of Hocus Pocus, our experiences with trick-or-treating, and some basic history of Halloween.

Where does this one take us? Deeper into theology! Surprisingly enough: this one will take you from magic mushrooms to transubstantiation. How do we get from one to the other? Perhaps with a bit of hocus pocus! It turns out Hocus Pocus is fertile ground for some unexpected topics. With the film as our cornerstone we ask: how do we decide what’s dangerous to faith? what’s the relationship between belief and ritual? what’s the relationship between science and the supernatural? how does fear shape how we maintain and negotiate our faith?

While we don't answer these questions fully, we hope we give our listeners more than just a spooky narrative to contemplate on the dark evenings leading into Halloween this week. So, join Marty, Cheri, Paul, Kelley, Zak and Eric and see where Hocus Pocus takes them next!

Nerd Corner

In addition to the usual scripture and pop cultural references, here are some notes about some of the nerdier topics we mention in passing this episode related to science, literature, and language:

• Paul mentions the Aminita Muscaria, a psychedelic mushroom featured in the Smurfs; he also calls it the Christmas mushroom. Why? It is said to be the mushroom that helps Santa’s reindeer fly. Speaking of psychedelics, Paul also mentions Terence McKenna again, because of course he does.
• Zak asks which famous author noted that “any advanced society will look like magic to a lesser society.” This saying is a reference to Clarke’s Third Law (as in Arthur C. Clarke), but other authors, including Issac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) and Agatha Christie (The Hound of Death) have written similar things in their work.
• Kelley notes that the witch trials of Salem were brought back to the American consciousness in the 1950s by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which weaves is an allegory for McCarthyism set in the times of the Salem witch trials.
• Zak notes that there is a Hocus Pocus book as well. Indeed, there is a book that was based upon the 1993 film and adds a sequel (it has a tagline of “Witch, Please!”). Perhaps that will account for the plot of the promised film sequel? In the meantime, there is a Hocus Pocus reunion this Friday night!
• Cheri brings up the origin of the term “hocus pocus,” which John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury between 1691 and 1694, believed was: “[i]n all probability those common juggling words of hocus pocus are nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome in their trick of Transubstantiation” (Oxford English Dictionary); this led to a discussion of other mis-heard phrases including “open says me,” which Eric mentions, and which is a parody of “open, Sésame” or “Sésame ouvre-toi” from Antoine Galland's telling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" from his version of The Thousand and One Nights.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

As with last week’s episode, there are a few indirect Biblical references in this one. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss:

• Matthew 10:16
• 1 Peter 3:14-16
• Luke 12:48
• Exodus 32
• Genesis 18:22-33

Pop Culture Mentioned this Episode

There are a number of pop culture references in this episode, including a few repeats from last week; here they are in the order of appearance:

• Hocus Pocus (obviously)
• Green Day
• Dave Matthews Band
• CAKE
• Smurfs
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• The Baby-sitter’s Club (2020)
• Back to the Future
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Cursed
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Harry Potter
• The Witches

Theological Concepts

In this episode, Marty mentions Rev. William Barber’s notion of the moral center, which he talked about with The Guardian in 2018. It’s so important it’s worth quoting in full here: “There is no religious left and religious right. There is only a moral center. And the scripture is very clear about where you have to be to be in the moral center – you have to be on the side of the poor, the working, the sick, the immigrant.”

Hey, speaking of the Rev. Marty Anderson, he drops some theological truth himself in this episode when he says: “Christianity is not for you, if you’re scared of the grey.”

If you want to dive deeper into the more high-church theological concepts we discuss in this one, here’s a list of those we mention:

• The Sinner’s Prayer
• Apologetics
• The Apostle’s Creed
• The Nicene Creed
• Transubstantiation
• The Eucharist

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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This episode of Faith Made Welcome is the first of a two-part discussion leading us into Halloween! What do we see when we bring together Hocus Pocus (that’s right, the 1993 Disney film!) with themes of faith and explorations of Christianity? Well, that’s what we aimed to find out with this pair of episodes!

Over the next two weeks you’ll hear Marty, Cheri, and Paul sit down and chat these topics out with three guests: Kelley Wool (back from Episode 3), and Zak Wool (Kelley’s “friend” - her word - and Hocus Pocus enthusiast), Eric Spiegel (Cheri’s “manfriend” - his word - and CBC Church Council Member).

In this episode, we set the stage for next week’s more in depth exploration of the themes of Hocus Pocus and a deep dive into the tensions and points of connection between Christianity and Halloween. Listen in to hear us discuss our general impressions of Hocus Pocus, experiences with trick-or-treating (and parallel events put on by faith communities of our past), and frame some basic history of the Halloween holiday.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

The banter in today’s episode features a lot of indirect references to scripture. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss:

• 2 Timothy 2:15
• 2 Samuel 11: 1-3
• Exodus 22:18
• Leviticus 19:31
• Leviticus 15:19-33
• Leviticus 11:9-12
• Leviticus 19:19
• Genesis 3:1-7
• Luke 1:26-38
• Matthew 18:3

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

There are a whole bunch of pop culture references in this episode; here they are in the order of appearance:

• Hocus Pocus (obviously)
• The Witches
• Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey
• Fright Night
• Jane the Virgin
• Cabin in the Woods
• Bruce Campbell
• Army of Darkness
• Evil Dead
• Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Star Wars
• The Simpsons
• Batman Meme: When your mom makes you wear coat.
• The Harry Potter Franchise
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
• Dungeons and Dragons
• Eerie Indiana
• Dave Franco
• Jay and Silent Bob
• The Smurfs

If you want to dive deeper into the historical concepts, rather than (or in addition to) the pop culture of this one, here are some of the holidays we discuss:

• All Hallo’s Eve
• All Saint’s Day
• Samhain

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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This episode of Faith Made Welcome wraps up our series on the intersections and relationship between faith and science. For today’s episode, we turn our attention to social science and creation care.

What does it mean to take care of the world we live in? What does this mean, specifically for a Christian community? What does it mean when we consider that we ourselves are part of creation and also require care? In this episode, Marty, Cheri and Paul join with CBC deacon Dr. Dan Edwards to discuss what it means to be good stewards to our planet, our community and even to ourselves.

We look forward to continuing this conversation with the members and friends of CBC and the Faith Made Welcome podcast!

About Our Guest Dr. Dan Edwards

Father. Son. Friend. Child Psychologist. Trivia Team hanger-on. Cyclist. CBC-er. (Recovering Evangelical). Fact Checker. OG Cheapskate Dad.

Famous Quotes: 'We'll just have ice water.' 'We can survive without cable.' 'There's lots more peanut butter in that jar, people' (digs it out of the trash... etc.).

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

Today’s episode features a lot of indirect references to scripture. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss:

• Genesis 1:26
• Exodus 16
• Deuteronomy 22: 9-10
• Mark 12:31
• Genesis 32: 22-32
• Philippians 4:6-7
• 1 Corinthians 15:31
• Luke 8:46
• Luke 6:12-13
• Genesis 2:1-3
• Acts 4:32
• Acts 5:1-11

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Dan mentions this popular mantra, which he claims is older than Cheri (and articles discussing its origin suggest he’s right)
• Henry David Thoreau - Dan references Thoreau’s famous recommendation for a life “frittered away with detail”, which is: “Simplify, simplify” (Chapter 2, Walden).
• Marie Kondo - Dan references Mondo, who wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, in relationship to the value of simplifying.
• David Gushee - Dan references a story from his Still Christian, wherein Gushee discusses his admiration for a professor who elects to live a simple life.
• Jay Adams - Dan references Adams as being someone who brought faith and psychology together but who saw sin as being a root of origin for struggles that are not relieved by prayer and pastoral care.
• Frank Minirth and Paul Meier - Dan notes that these two evolved the world of Christian psychology to consider more biological concepts, but still with limitations
• Nadia Bolz Weber - Dan jokes that she might best represent what a current blending of Christian thought and psychology look like.
• Shel Silverstein - Cheri references The Giving Tree and contemporary moves to suggest revision of this book that present the tree as someone with healthy boundaries
• Carpenters’ Shelter, ALIVE!, and Casa Chirilagua - Marty menthind these three Alexandria-based organizations that the CBC community supports.
• William MacAskill - Dan references his How to Do Good Better, which has him examining what it means to really make a difference

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Where possible the links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

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Today’s episode of Faith Made Welcome is another episode focused on the intersections and relationship between faith and science. For today’s episode, we draw the focus in quite specifically and look at public health, vaccination, religious liberty, and faith communities.

In this episode of the podcast, Cheri, Marty, and Paul are joined by special guest Dr. Heidi Lawrence. Heidi’s research into the history and narratives associated with vaccination choice takes center stage in this episode. Join us as we look at how faith and religious liberty might shape how individuals approach vaccination. Together we ask whether vaccination is an individual choice, a community responsibility, or a complex issue that sits at the nexus between the individual and the community. We look at how common themes from our podcast, fear and doubt, surface in discussions about vaccination. And, while there’s no Bible drill in this one, Heidi does throw out an important question for us all to consider: what role does conversation about health play in a community of faith? We look forward to beginning and continuing this conversation with the members and friends of CBC and the Faith Made Welcome podcast!

About Our Guest Heidi Lawrence

Heidi Y. Lawrence is an Associate Professor of English at George Mason University. As a medical humanist, her research focuses on language use and controversies involving medicine and science. In her book Vaccine Rhetorics (Ohio State University Press, 2020), she uses qualitative methods to study the beliefs and arguments that different groups (including physicians, parents, and young adults) use to describe their positions both for and against vaccination. Her other work studies problems of importance to public health (including sexual assault) to provide better understanding of how arguments work to constrain as well as open up new possibilities for policy response.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

Today’s episode features a lot of indirect references to scripture. Here’s where you can look to read further on the Biblical references we make:

• Mark 10: 17-31 - We return to the Rich Man story discussed in Episode 3.
• Luke 20:20-26 - The ole’ render unto Caesar topic comes up.
• Romans 13:1-7 - We mention Paul’s reminders to follow the law of governing society.
• Matthew 22:39 - We note that there are a few places in this fine collection wherein we’re called to love one another.

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Cheri references Mutagen Ooze as being the substance she thinks of when she sees vaccines portrayed with glowing liquid.

• • H. P. Lovecraft’s Re-Animator - Following Cheri’s TMNT reference, Paul describes promotional materials for this film that portrayed Dr. Herbert West wielding a glowing green syringe

• HBO’s John Adams - Paul references this show as an account of early inoculation practices.

• Edward Jenner - Both Paul and Heidi make reference Jenner and the development of the smallpox vaccine

• Jacobson v Massachusetts - Heidi references this case as one that set precedent for how issues of personal liberty and constitutional law intersect.

• Tuskegee Experiment - Heidi references this case, as did Graham Walker in Episode 6, as a reminder of instances wherein the public learned that government agencies were not being truthful in matters of health treatment

• Pandemrix Issues in Sweden - Heidi discusses issues regarding the H1N1 vaccine in Sweden that caused narcolepsy in patients with specific genetic markers.

• Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccination - Cheri and Paul note that this year’s flu vaccination is quadrivalent and Cheri’s excited that she now knows what that means!

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

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Today’s episode of Faith Made Welcome is something of a bonus episode! If you’ve been listening to this podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia for the last four weeks, you know that we’ve been digging into a conversation about science and faith with Dr. Graham Walker of McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia.

In this episode of the podcast, Cheri, Marty, Paul and Robin take some time to debrief from that rich discussion. Recorded immediately after our wrap up with Graham, the Faith Made Welcome Crew tucked in for a conversation that largely turned toward an exploration of doubt. It’s driven by a lot of questions: What is the nature of doubt? What do our doubts ask of us? What’s the difference between doubt and curiosity? How do we make space for doubt in a faith community? We walk together through a dialogue about skepticism, fear, and consequences that come with faith and doubt. Join us as we wrestle with how knowledge and questions go together and explore the beauty that’s possible when we dare to change our minds!

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

• John 20: 19-29
• Matthew 19: 16-30

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• Dan Quayle: Robin references the potato debacle
• Robin Williams: Robin notes that Graham Walker is to theology what Robin Williams was to comedy.
• Roman Empire: Paul makes a reference to the Roman Empire as a good example of what happens when we try to hold a society to uniform belief.
• Buy-in bias: Paul
• Rachel Held Evans: Robin references her journey with doubt, which she’s written about in Searching for Sunday,
• Nicole Nordeman: Robin reference’s her song “Dear Me” song, which both her and Cheri love.
• Paul Heilker: Cheri references the dedication at the opening of his book The Essay, which highlights the importance being allowed to change one’s mind.
• Paul Fitzgerald’s Blog - Cheri asks Paul to say more about an experience with a student changing her mind, which he blogged about in “Further Thoughts on Apocalypse Beans!”
• John Kerry - Paul mentions him as an example of someone penalized for changing their mind.

• Leaving Church - Barbara Brown Taylor - Cheri Made Robin talk about this book. Robin also summaries here new book. Title not remembered.

• James Fowler: We discuss again Fowler’s six stages of faith, which are discussed in his book by the same name: Stages of Faith; Mother Teresa and Jimmy Carter are held up as possible Level Sixes.

• Gallop Strength Finder: We joke that there isn’t a test to determine your faith stage like there is one to determine your strengths (although everyone on today’s podcast has done the Strengths assessment BUT PAUL).

• Nadia Bolz Weber - Marty tells a story once told by Weber about talking with someone who doesn’t believe, to which Weber replied “I wish I could pull that off!”
• Graham Walker - Marty tells us that Graham always instilled in his students the importance of always continuing to read.
• Peter Enns: Cheri mentioned his book Sin of Certainty, which she read as part of Marty’s Sunday School class at CBC; that book rocked her world. Paul is also a regular listener of Enns’ podcast The Bible For Normal People.

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Yes, there are a lot of Wikipedia links above. Both Cheri and Paul endorse it as a perfectly reasonable starting place for opening spaces for deeper learning.

As always, when possible, books mentioned link to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

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With today’s episode we continue the second series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

If you listened to our last two episodes you know that that this multi-part episode features an in-depth discussion about the intersections and relationship between faith and science. As with our prior episodes, this one features Faith Made Welcome regulars Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul (if he wasn’t a regular before, he is now!) and Dr. Graham Walker, Marty and Robin’s Theology professor from seminary!

In this episode of the podcast, Paul pivots the conversation toward the creation vs evolution debate. Together Graham and the Faith Made Welcome Crew discuss the narratives regarding creation and human evolution, and explore the points of tension that arrive as communities of faith and communities of science attempt to reconcile what we know (and don’t!) about our beginnings.

Throughout this portion of the conversation, Graham makes reference to a diagram that helps him to organize different schools of thought related to perspectives on creation and evolution; if you’re a visual person, you may wish to download and review it as you listen! He has also kindly offered a more detailed handout and accompanying PowerPoint presentation for those who might want to dig in deeper!

About Dr. Graham Walker

Graham is a professor at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He describes himself as someone who has been working with “the interface between science and theology for a long time.” He’s worked with Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a program through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that focuses on facilitating dialogue between scientific and religious communities.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

• Galatians 4:4
• Genesis 1 and 2
• Genesis 3

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• ichthys (ἰχθύς): Graham begins his discussion of this debate with reference to this Christian symbol and the means in which debates about creationism often play out on bumper stickers that make different arguments involving the ichthys fish.
• Scopes Monkey Trial: Graham discusses the role this trial played in the overall discussion of creationism vs evolution in American education, making reference to major players like Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan
• Flat Earth Society: As Graham walks through different interpretations of creation, he begins with discussion of flat Earthers, who he says take a literal Old Testament model for their understanding of the planet.
• Ptolemy: Graham references a ptolemaic approach to understanding creation, which is built upon Ptolemy’s geocentric model that argues that the Earth is the center of the universe.
• Young Earth Creationists: Graham notes that these folks believe that the earth is between 6 to 14 thousand years old, based largely upon the genealogy presented within the scripture.
• Biblical Archaeologists: Paul and Graham make reference to this school of research, which uses archaeological method at sites references within the scriptures.
• Old Earth Creationists: Graham notes that these folks emphasize that the scriptures are meant to be a parable that demonstrate that God created, but allow space for science to explain the nature of that literal creation.
• Sola scriptura: Graham references this theological perspective which places sole authority in the scripture, which are understood to be infallible by believers in this tradition.
• Gap Creationists: Graham explains that these folks look for time gaps within the scripture, such as between that which they argue may have occurred between the two creation stories within Genesis.
• Day-Age Creationists: Graham notes that this tradition frames the understanding of a day within the creation story to be more expansive than our notion of the 24 hour period.
• Progressive Creationism: Graham notes that Bernard Ramm is a key theologian from this tradition who used the concept of fiats to explain the orderly process through which God created all things found in evolutionary history.

• Evolutionary Creationism and Theistic Evolution: Graham explains that both of these schools of thought argue that God uses evolution; he says to them “that’s just how the creator creates.”

• Edward Wilson: Graham makes another reference Wilson’s exchanges with his former pastor, which is a reference to the opening of The Creation.

• Materialistic Evolution: Graham argues that this belief - that the observable is all there is - does take a kind of faith commitment of its own. He notes that folks like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are making a statement of faith through their position as materialists.

• Gordon Kaufman: Graham notes that theologians who have studied a lot of science, like Kaufman, would argue that God is within the act of creation itself.

• Brian McLaren: Robin mentions McClaren’s writing as a good starting place for folks who want to continue work to explore the intersections of faith and science because McLaren references science and creation care in his work. McLaren also explores challenging questions; his book Faith After Doubt is a good example of this excellent writing.
• Mike McHargue: Robin also recommends McHargue’s work and his podcast, Ask Science Mike, in particular, which explores the bridges between faith and science.
• Lonnie Rich: Marty gives a shout-out to the wisdom of this beloved church member (who we’re hoping will join us on the podcast soon!)
• Terence McKenna: Paul references McKenna’s belief that ideas should be able to stand up to scrutiny.
• Douglas Kelly: Graham notes that Kelly has emphasized the importance of listening to others as a kind of spiritual practice.
• John Bunyon: Graham says that Bunyon described our faith journey as a pilgrimage.
• Rachel Held Evans: Robin references her book Searching for Sunday, which traces Held Evans journey away from and back to faith.

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Yes, there are a lot of Wikipedia links above. Both Cheri and Paul endorse it as a perfectly reasonable starting place for opening spaces for deeper learning.

As always, when possible, books mentioned link to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

With today’s episode we continue the second series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

If you listened to Episode 5, you know that we’re digging into a multi-part, in-depth discussion about the intersections between faith and science. As with Episode 5, this one features Faith Made Welcome regulars Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul and Dr. Graham Walker, Marty and Robin’s Theology professor from seminary!

In this episode of the podcast, Graham kicks us off with an important call to action: “if you want to avoid moving God slowly out of the face of modern humanity, then you have to be able to use methodological materialism to say ‘okay, I’m going to go research the world that God has created and I’m going to ask the questions that are there.’” Join us as we explore how faith and science frame and navigate narratives, and perhaps most interestingly: how both faith and science can be used to support destructive human narratives.

About Dr. Graham Walker

Graham is a professor at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He describes himself as someone who has been working with “the interface between science and theology for a long time.” He’s worked with Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a program through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that focuses on facilitating dialogue between scientific and religious communities.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

• Mark 15:39

• Colossians 1:5

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• Tikkun olam: Graham discusses this concept from Judaism, which means “to mend the world”
• Oak Ridge Projects: Graham notes the dangers of scientific advancement, including this project which led to the first instance wherein a nuclear weapon was dropped on a human society.
• Josef Mengele: Graham makes reference to the death camps of the Haulcaust as another example of science used against the good of humanity
• Tuskegee Experiment: this experiment is the third example Graham provides of means in which science has been used to support terrible narratives.
• Contact (Film): Paul and Graham both refer back to this film, which we discussed in Episode 5.
• Che Guevara: Cheri references Guevara’s work on guerrilla warfare
• Cheri Spiegel: Well, Cheri kind of references her own work on narrative and guerrilla rhetoric by discussing the line between a guerrilla vs. a terrorist; she has written this subject about on the This Most Unbelievable Life blog.
• Augustine: Graham references his critique of the Manichaean interpretation of the world and the way it framed a dualist argument.
• Peter Berger: Graham discusses further Bergers’ stance on pluralism, which is further discussed in this article “The Good of Religious Pluralism”
• Jaroslav Pelikan: Graham references his book Jesus Through the Centuries
• Hans Kung: Graham references Kung’s writing along with Pelikan as a second example of a theologian who has explored the place and divinity of Christ in Christian tradition.
• Fossil Record: Paul makes reference to the fossil record and debating theories about the origins of humanity.
• Daina Butler Bass: Robin refers to her book Grounded and how World War II initiated the church decline that we see happening so rapidly today.
• Umberto Eco: Graham reference’s his Name of the Rose
• James Ediwn Loder: Graham references his concept of eikonic eclipse, which Loder wrote about it The Transforming Moment.
• James Fowler: Robin references Fowler’s six stages of faith, which are discussed in his book by the same name: Stages of Faith
• Elizabeth Johnson: Graham reference’s Johnson’s Quest for Living God, which frames how we use metaphor to map religious experience
• Edward Wilson: Graham makes another reference to his coming home experience in the opening of The Creation.
• Religious New Service: Robin reference’s Katelyn Beaty’s article on RNS called “QAnon: The Alternative Religion That’s Coming to Your Church”
• Leon Festinger: Graham mentions his When Prophecy Fails during his discussion of cognitive dissonance

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

The links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

Today we kick off the second series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

For the next month and half, our podcast will feature discussions about the intersections and relationship between faith and science. Today’s episode is the first of a multi-part discussion between Faith Made Welcome regulars Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul (if he wasn’t a regular before, he is now!) and Dr. Graham Walker, Marty and Robin’s Theology professor from seminary!

In this episode of the podcast, you’ll hear the Faith Made Welcome Team wrestle with humanity’s interest in the big questions: “where do we come from?” and “what is our purpose?”

About Dr. Graham Walker

Graham is a professor at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He describes himself as someone who has been working with “the interface between science and theology for a long time.” He’s worked with Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a program through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that focuses on facilitating dialogue between scientific and religious communities.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

• Psalm 93:1
• Hebrews 13:8
• Revelation 21:5

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

• Pew Research: Robin references studies that examine the cause for folks leaving the church today, which commonly cite “science” as being a leading reason for a move away from religion.
• Elie Wiesel: Graham references the opening quote from Wiesel’s famous book, Gates of the Forest
• Stephen Hawking: Graham notes the kinds of research questions that guided Hawking's research on the beginnings of the universe.
• Edward Wilson: Graham makes a reference to the concept of consilience, which Wilson wrote about his book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge; additionally he references his books On Human Nature and The Creation.
• Ian Barbour: Graham refers to Barbour’s models of faith and identity-making statements, which are discussed in his book When Science Meets Religion
• David E. Shi: Graham references Shi as being one among many researchers today working on the importance of narrative in the story of humanity. Shi is the author of the best-selling textbook America: a Narrative History
• Contact (Film): Graham discusses the way this film does an excellent job depicting the possible relationships between science and religion.
• Ptolemy: Graham references Ptolemy’s geocentric model
• ISS Detector: Graham references apps like these which can alert users for when the International Space Station is visible to us.
• Human Interference Task Force: Graham discusses this fascinating project wherein folks collaborated to figure out how to pass on information (particularly warnings) from generation to generation.
• Peter Berger: Graham discusses Bergers’ stance on pluralism, which is further discussed in this article “The Good of Religious Pluralism”
• David Hume: Graham attributes Berger’s treatment of doubt as coming from Hume’s work.
• John Polkinghorne and Frances Collins: Graham mentions both of these folks as examples of people who are both scientists and believers.
• Tikkun olam: Graham discusses this concept from Judaism, which means “to mend the world”

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

The links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

With this episode, we wrap up the first series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia. If you’ve been listening since Episode 1, you know that throughout the month of August we recorded podcasts offering an opportunity for folks in our faith community to further discuss topics from a special sermon series at our church.

That series, titled “What The World Needs Now,” invited guest activist preachers to give us their take on this theme. Today’s episode, which you can watch on our YouTube Channel, features Nichola Torbett, who argues that what the world needs now is a longing for life or, as she puts it, using the German word sehnsucht, or deep wistful longing.

In this episode of the podcast, pastors Robin and Marty Anderson are joined by both members of the This Most Unbelievable Life duo: Faith Made Welcome regular, Cheri Spiegel, and Faith Made Welcome’s sound engineer, Paul Fitzgerald. In this episode we take a look at what it looks like to truly long for life. We consider how abundant life and the longing of our hearts is necessarily tied to community, and we explore ways that the American Dream, American exceptionalism, and other transactional systems might keep us from living life fully alive.

About Nichola Torbett

Nichola Torbett describes herself as a spiritual seeker, recovering addict, gospel preacher, podcaster, writer, resistance fomenter, dog-walker, nonviolent direct action trainer and abolitionist. She co-founded the Seminary on the Streets, a training academy for love warriors and Second Acts, a liturgical direct action affinity group. She is the co-editor of Respiscence: A Lenten Devotional for Dismantling White Supremacy, and she contributes to The Word in Resistance, a podcast from SURJ-Faith.

About Our Guest, Paul Fitzgerald

Dr. Paul Fitzgerald is a professor of Biology at Northern Virginia Community College, and is a 20+ year student, and teacher, of mindfulness and Vipassana meditation. A mid-westerner at heart and a dedicated spiritual seeker for life, he is a co-founder, along with Dr. Cheri Spiegel, of This Most Unbelievable Life, and a co-host of the associated podcast, This Most Unbelievable Podcast.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

If you’re looking to dig deeper, here are the scriptures mentioned this episode:

• Mark 10: 17-31
• Matthew 19: 16-30
• Acts 5: 1-12

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

• Mia Birdsong: We reference her appearance on Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow’s podcast Call Your Girlfriend as well as her book How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community
• Joseph Campbell: We discuss his concept of the Hero’s Journey
• Gungor: We mention Gungor’s “One Wild Life,” which references the Mary Oliver poem below
• Mary Oliver: We quote her poem “The Summer Day”
• Richard Rohr: We reference his devotional Wondrous Encounters: Scriptures for Lent
• Star Wars: We mention Star Wars, and we think you might not need a link to know about.
• They Might be Giants: Naturally, because Paul is a Paleontology PhD we reference their song “I Am a Paleontologist”

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Where possible the links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

Here we go with week 3 of the Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

This episode is the third installment in our “What The World Needs Now” series. This four-week “study” of sorts features discussions and reflection sparked from a special activist sermon series CBC and several other congregations are taking part in this month. Each week in August, an activist preacher is giving us their take on the theme.

Today’s episode is based upon a sermon of this series, which you can watch on our Youtube Channel, preached by Rev. Melissa McQueen-Simmons, who is ordained in the United Church of Christ, and serves as the Faith Director for Many Voices: A Black Church Movement for Gay and Transgender Justice. Rev. McQueen-Simmons argues that today, what the world needs is radical love.

In this episode of the podcast, Kelley Wool, a hugely talented member of the CBC choir, joins Pastor Robin Anderson and Cheri Spiegel discuss this excellent sermon, and chat about Song of Songs, radical love, and the effects of purity culture.

About Rev. Melissa McQueen-Simmons

Rev. Melissa N. McQueen-Simmons is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and a first-generation college graduate. She is a mother to a charismatic toddler, Camdyn McQueen-Simmons, and the spouse to the beautiful and graceful Vondalyn McQueen-Simmons. She is a sister, an aunt, a friend, and Iraqi-Veteran. Melissa was born into Generation X, the demographic cohort between Baby Boomers and Millennials. She earned her Master of Divinity (M.Div.) with an emphasis in Pastoral Care at Howard University.

Rev. McQueen-Simmons coordinates panel discussions relevant to social justice issues regarding the LGBT community and the Black Church. She conducts necessary research on the Black church, community, and ongoing sources regarding biblical scholarship and sexuality. She also assists with helping pastors and religious leaders address social and theological opposition in the Black community towards LGBT equality. She helps institutions create radically inclusive faith spaces.

About Our Guest, Kelley Wool

Kelley Wool (she/her) is a proud member of CBC and enjoys singing for Sunday services. She is passionate about theology, LGBTQ and anti-racist activism, and all things nerdy (seriously, she has a Lord of the Rings tattoo). Kelley writes about the intersection of faith and sexuality in her blog "Queerly Christian." Kelley lives in Alexandria with her husband Zak, as well as a rescue dog, cat, and bearded dragon.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

We skipped the Bible drill reference this week, but if you’re looking to dig deeper, here are the scriptures mentioned this episode:

• Song of Songs 8: 6-7 (but, just go ahead and read the whole book)
• Proverbs 31
• Genesis 1

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

• Tara Brach: We mention her book Radical Compassion.
• Austin Channing Brown: We mentioned her concept of the “shadow of hope” again (also discussed more in Episode 1), which is featured in her book I’m Still Here and also excerpted in the On Being article “Standing in the Shadow of Hope.”
• René Clausen: We reference the song "Set Me As a Seal,” which Kelley once had the opportunity to perform.
• Enneagram: All three of us (two Fours and a One) love thinking about ourselves and personal growth through the lens of the enneagram!
• Jamie Lee Finch: We chat about Episode #111: Your Body is A Person”of Garcia’s podcast “A Tiny Revolution” wherein Finch is a guest
• Kevin Miguel Garcia
• Rev. McQueen-Simmons: In addition to her sermon, we reference her article “Traumatic beginnings in the Black Pentecostal Church: My journey to healing”
• Metta Meditation: We discuss the principles of loving-kindness meditation practice
• Phyllis Trible: We reference her book God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality.

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Where possible the links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

Welcome to the second episode of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

This episode is the second installment in our “What The World Needs Now” series. This four-week “study” of sorts features discussions and reflection sparked from a special activist sermon series CBC and several other congregations are taking part in this month. Each week in August, an activist preacher is giving us their take on the theme.

Today’s episode is based upon a sermon of this series, which you can watch on our Youtube Channel, preached by Sandhya Jha, who is ordained in the Disciples of Christ Church, and who describes herself on her website as “comfortable in the pulpit, on the picket line or hanging out with friends and friends-to-be over a good cup of tea and a good story.”

In this episode of the podcast, CBC Pastors Robin and Marty Anderson are joined by CBC’s Coordinator of Religious Education, Courtney Hodge, and CBC deacon and general podcast enthusiast Cheri Spiegel grabbed their own cups of tea and settled in for a conversation about covenants, contracts, and the Christian community.

About Sandhya Jha

Sandhya Jha is the founder/director of the Oakland Peace Center, a collective of 40 organizations that creates access, equity and dignity for all in the Oakland/Bay area. She has also authored several books including Pre-Post Racial America: Spiritual Stories from the Front Lines, Transforming Communities: How People Like You are Healing Their Neighborhoods, and Liberating Love: 365 Love Notes from God.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

In case you’re prepping for your own Bible drills (Marty got the blue ribbon this week), here are the scriptures mentioned this episode.

• Psalm 103: 15-18
• Acts 10
• Matthew 22:37

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

• Octavia Butler We mention Octavia Butler’s novel Dawn, which presents the idea that humanity suffers from an inherently incompatible pairing of characteristics: we are both hierarchical and intelligent.
• CBC’s Church Covenant: We talk through some of the details of our church’s own covenant statement.
• Depeche Mode: We accidentally (but maybe on purpose) make reference to “Personal Jesus”
• Ava DuVernay: We mention her documentary, 13th (2016), which Jha also cites. This important film looks at the intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in our country.
• Grey’s Anatomy: We reference this show as an example about how a certain kind of contract (the prenup) can play out. If you’re worried about a spoiler, the episode in question is like four years old, catch up!
• Malcolm Guite: We mention Guite’s concept of Covenanted Discomfort from the Work of the People video by the same name.
• Lisa Sharon Harper and Jen Hatmaker: We indirectly reference their Facebook Live conversation about “White Women’s Toxic Tears”
• Father Richard Rohr: We reference one of his posts on the Center for Action and Contemplation website, called “Jesus’ Social Program.”

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

Where possible the links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

View Details

Thanks for checking out the first episode of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

For the next four weeks, our podcast will feature discussions and reflection sparked from a special activist sermon series CBC and several other congregations are taking part in this month. Each week in August, an activist preacher is giving us their take on “What the World Needs Now…”

The first sermon of this series, which you can watch on our Youtube Channel, featured Judge Wendell Griffen, an Arkansas Circuit Judge and Pastor of New Millennium Church, an Alliance of Baptists congregation in Little Rock. In his sermon, Judge Griffen proclaimed that what the world needs now is "Prophetic Hope for a Desperate World.”

In this episode of the podcast, CBC Pastors Robin and Marty Anderson join podcast enthusiast Cheri Spiegel for a conversation about hope: prophetic hope, defiant hope, and shadows of hope. Listen in for a discussion about faith and stick around to hear who wins the Bible Drill: Robin or Marty!

About Judge Griffen

Judge Griffen is an incredible man who brings his action together with his preaching. For example, on Good Friday 2017, he protested capital punishment outside of the Arkansas Governor's mansion. As you might guess, he has since been banned from hearing death penalty cases. Judge Griffen is also the author of The Fierce Urgency of Prophetic Hope.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

In case you’re prepping for your own Bible drills, here are the scriptures mentioned this episode.

• Ezekiel 2:1-7
• Matthew 10:16e
• Romans 8:24-25

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

• Nadia Bolz-Weber: We discuss her concept of “a defiant hope” from The Work of the People
• Austin Channing Brown: We discuss her concept of the “shadow of hope” which is featured in her book I’m Still Here and also excerpted in the On Being article “Standing in the Shadow of Hope.” We also referenced an interview that Channing Brown held with Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, in which they discussed the difference between optimism and hope. The interview is part of Channing Brown’s ACB Academy, which can be found on her website.
• Andre Henry: We mention both his shirt design “It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way” and the podcast Hope and Hard Pills which he co-hosts with Alicia T Crosby.
• Barbara Brown Taylor: We discuss her notion of the solar faith versus lunar spirituality from Learning to Walk in the Dark.

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at faithmadewelcome@gmail.com.

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

The links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!