And Also With You: Recent Episodes
Myers Park Presbyterian Church
Produced by the youth of Myers Park Pres โ We acknowledge that we are called to respond to God and each other. In fact, we do it every Sunday as we pass the peace of Christ. We strive to receive that peace with openness and reciprocate that peace with others.
And Also With You is a space to take notice of God in the midst of our crazy lives. A God that is inviting us to engage and actively participate in bringing about the Kingdom. Peace be with you.
7th graders Emmie Rayburn and Liz Corsig sit down with Julia Noel and Liz Corsig to discuss the significance of music in our faith journeys. We discuss what made Emmie and Julia fall in love with music at a young age, what its like to be part of the Celebrate band, and what music teaches all of us about God. Listen in to learn more!
MPPC Youth Hampton and Clara sit down with Liz and Erin to discuss an important tool on our faith journeys: discernment. We know that God is active in all the joyous, grievous, and mundane moments of our lives, but how can we actually slow down long enough to NOTICE God's presence? And how can we pay attention to the way that God calls us to live here and now? Turns out it all has a lot to do with community! Listen in to find out more and let us know: How is God calling YOU to show up in the world?
Ella Matchett (MPPC youth) and Bailey Wise (youth advisor) sit down with Liz to share memories from their time walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain. What does the Camino teach us about God's active presence in the world? What are Ella and Bailey's intentions as they prepare to walk the Camino again in a few months? Listen in to find out!
In this episode, 7th graders Hampton Bundy and Sloan Jordan sit down with Executive Pastor Millie Snyder and Resident Pastor Joseph Jumper to learn all about our two sacraments: Communion & Baptism. What makes something a "sacrament"? In what ways do sacraments nourish us on our faith journey? Can anyone take communion? Should we get baptized more than once? And maybe Hampton will FINALLY get her big question answered: why don't we get dunked in a tub during baptism? Listen in to find out. Peace be with you!
Tune in to listen to JP Hoce, William Livingston, and Sarah Good discuss one of the most transformational experiences in many of our faith journeys: Montreat Youth Conference! What is it that makes Montreat so foundational to our faith? How do we continue to bring practices that we learned at Montreat back home and incorporate them into our daily lives? And lastly, what EXACTLY does it mean to leave your cool at the gate? Listen in now to find out. Peace be with you!
Welcome to Lightning Round!!! In this episode, Liz sits down with youth Avery Peacock, Margaret Hinshaw, Caitlyn Anderson, Reece Efird, Sadie Griffin, and Carson Greenway to share our favorite stories from our time visiting our partners in Remedios, Cuba last summer. Thanks for listening!
7th graders Hampton Bundy and Clara Efird sit down with Liz and Allison to discuss one of our favorite parts of our faith journey: YOUTH GROUP! Listen in to find out more about the intentional, sacred practices that we live out each week on Sunday nights and consider how these practices shape our journey of faith. Peace be with you!
On this episode, Harper Ayres, Levi Kemp, Mike McCoy and Liz Corsig sit down together to discuss one of our favorite MPPC Youth trips: the Sailing Pilgrimage! Listen in to hear about what a week of contemplative prayer, meditation, and leaning into discomfort teaches us about God. Peace be with you!
On this episode, Lambeth Gibson and Henry Yingling sit down with Senior Pastor Joe Clifford to discuss his summer 2023 sabbatical! Every seven years, each member of our clergy is given three months off to step away, recharge, and participate in God's gift of sabbath. Listen in to hear Joe's thoughts about how his faith and ministry have been shaped by this gift. Peace be with you!
On this episode, JP Hoce and Cooper Lamm sit down with Senior Pastor Joe Clifford to discuss generosity as a faith practice. What does it look like to practice generosity? How does generosity allow us to participate in the work God is already doing in the world? And why is it SO hard for humans to choose to practice generosity? Dive into this topic with us and as always, peace be with you!
Today, Christopher Beaman and Phae Smith sit down with MPPC Associate Pastor for Children and Their Families, Lisa Hickman, to discuss a daunting topic: SCRIPTURE. What is the role of scripture in our faith? How are we supposed to interpret it, and where do we even begin? We know that scripture is the word of God, but what do we do with all the messiness? Jump into this complex topic with us, knowing that God is with us in this sacred space! To quote theologian Fredrick Buechner, โIf you look at a window, you see flyspecks, dust, the crack where Juniorโs Frisbee hit it. If you look through a window, you see the world beyond. Something like this is the difference between those who see the Bible as a holy bore and those who see it as the Word of God, which speaks out of the depths of an almost unimaginable past into the depths of ourselves.โ
On this episode, MPPC Youth Mia Dover, SK Williamson, and Christopher Beaman sit down with Worship Arts Director Mark Kemp to discuss all things MUSIC and its significance in worship. Listen in now to learn more about how music contributes to communal worship and allows us to grow deeper in our relationship with God and one another!
On this episode, Covington Cooke and Cooper Lamm sit down with Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families, Michelle Thomas-Bush to discuss the science behind faith practices. How do faith practices alter our brains? What can we learn from these scientific studies? How can faith practices allow us to live into the fullness that God calls us to? Listen in to find out!
Today, youth Mental Health Advocates Cooper Lamm and Violet Thomas-Bush sit down with Liz Corsig and Mike McCoy to discuss self-compassion as a faith practice. How can we show compassion for ourselves and others and what does God have to say about it? Listen in to find out, and don't forget to join us for the self-compassion exercise at the end of the episode!
On this episode, JP Hoce and Christopher Beaman sit down with CROSS Missions Director Erika Funk to discuss service as a faith practice. Why are Christians called to do service? What is "white savior complex" and how do we make sure we are practicing service in an empowering way? Listen to this episode to find out!
On this episode, MPPC Youth Annabel Lamm and Cooper Lamm sit down with Senior Pastor Joe Clifford to discuss one of our most cherished faith practices: PILGRIMAGE. Annabel and Cooper walked the Camino de Santiago with the youth in June 2022, and a few months later, Joe walked the Camino with an adult group from the church! Listen to us share stories, laughs, and memories of this transformational experience and consider the ways that you can incorporate pilgrimage into your daily life. Buen Camino!
In this episode, JP Hoce and Holden Gore are joined by Resident Pastor Nick Carson to discuss reading scripture as a faith practice. Why do we read the Bible? Why do we read it alongside other people and not just by ourselves? And what are we supposed to do when the Bible makes no sense to us???? Join us as we dive into these questions and more! Peace be with you!
Brother/Sister Team Reece and Clara Efird sit down with Michelle to kick off Season 3 of our podcast: Faith Practices!!! We have already learned so much about faith practices this year and we can't wait to dive in. Thanks for joining us and peace be with you!
JP Hoce and Christopher Beaman are joined by MPPC Executive Pastor Millie Snyder to chat about predestination! There are a lot of misconceptions about this doctrine, and many people outside the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) tend to believe that we talk and think about it WAY more than we actually do. In the end, predestination is a reminder that God loves us and that nothing we do can make God love us any more or any less. God has set us free to live faithful lives in response to this grace. That is the good news! Thanks for listening, and peace be with you.
In this episode, JP Hoce and Christopher Beaman sit down with Rev. Dr. Joe Clifford, Senior Pastor at Myers Park Presbyterian Church, to talk about ATONEMENT!!! Joe breaks down several of the theories of atonement to help us understand reconciliation, recognizing that these are all human attempts to explain something that is beyond our human understanding. We are so grateful to Joe for taking the time to wrestle with this complicated topic alongside us. Peace be with you!
In today's episode, Jane Porter Hoce and Christopher Beaman sit down with MPPC Associate Pastor John Magnuson to ask: why do some people say that our faith should be private? How are we supposed to talk about our faith with other people? Listen now to find out! Peace be with you!
In this episode, Charlie and Levi sit down with Resident Pastor Joseph Jumper to ask: Why exactly do we need the church? Can't we just worship God by ourselves? Listen now to learn more about our call to be the Body of Christ in the world. Peace be with you!
In this episode, Lambeth and Charlie are joined by Reverend Michelle Thomas-Bush, Associate Pastor for Youth and their Families to discuss prayer! Why exactly do we pray? Listen in to find out!
This episode was recorded one day before 19 children were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Charlie and Lambeth meet with Lisa Hickman and John Magnuson to ask the question that has been on all of our minds: Why does God let bad things happen? In our broken world, we don't know why bad things happen. But we do know that we worship a loving God who keeps on showing up in the midst of tragedy, heartbreak, and loss. And as John says "God says to us 'I'm coming into this mess with you. That's how much I love you.'" God transforms, God renews, and God loves. God keeps showing up. Grace and Peace to our faith family today and always. "This blessing will not fix you, will not mend you, will not give you false comfort; it will not talk to you about one door opening when another one closes. It will simply sit itself beside you among the shards and gently turn your face toward the direction from which the light will come, gathering itself about you as the world begins again." -Kate Bowler
Welcome to the first episode of our new series: Questions of Faith. Today, we meet with Resident Pastor Nick Carson to finally get an answer to the question we've all been wondering: How EXACTLY do we get into heaven? Turns out the answer is a little different from what we expected. And it has a lot to do with grace. As Nick says "God is a lot more about grace than God is about retribution or punishment or anger." And what exactly is grace??? Listen in to find out!
A match made in heaven: Word on the Street + Ava's Advice.
Fenley and Ava chat with the youth of Myers Park Pres about how to express love to our faith family, reclaiming Valentine's Day as a free expression of loving generosity.
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Kate Hinshaw and McCall Canady chat with MTB about how to carve out time for faith practices amid everything else going on. Maybe it's as easy setting an intention for the day ahead while you brush your teeth or taking a moment to be present while in the shower. Maybe it's reading a quick, daily devotion on your ride to school. Easy, tangible practices for the new year.
So come at us, 2019.
Zach Cline and Associate Pastor Michelle Thomas-Bush talk about the Christmas season, and surprise, it isn't over! Turns out, the twelve days of Christmas (you know, five golden rings a partridge in a pear tree?) begins on Christmas Day and runs through Epiphany.
Holy Days of the Church is a series which looks at the seasons of the church and why we do what we do when we do it.
Music in this episode is by Cameron Moore, Coordinator of Contemporary Worship and Arts at Myers Park Pres.
Zach Cline and Executive Pastor Millie Snyder on what Advent is, what makes it different than Christmas, and when we get to sing "Joy to the World."
Holy Days of the Church is a series which looks at the seasons of the church and why we do what we do when we do it.
Music in this episode is by Cameron Moore, Coordinator of Contemporary Worship and Arts.
Fenley and Ava tackle faith practices and how they help orient our lives toward God. Julie Hester talks about keeping a gratitude journal and Patty makes a pumpkin.
Because fall.
Music in this episode is by bensound.com
Many of us struggle with anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. On this special Ava's Advice episode, we try to break stigma against all-too-common mental health issues facing youth every day. Learn what some Myers Park Pres youth do to create support networks or blow off steam.
Remember, you're never alone. If you're struggling, don't hesitate to call the national suicide prevention lifeline @ 800-273-8255.
Hosts McCall and Kate kick off a new season of the MPPC Youth with a live show. They get MTB (that's Rev. Michelle Thomas-Bush) to explain how to load up your Cookout tray of faith with some new practices that will stretch you.
Ava's back with Ava's Advice, and we've also got a new Word on the Street segment with McCall and Kate.
No word on when we get to go to Cookout.
Spencer Wellons and Bennett Pittroff sit down with Rev. Michelle Thomas-Bush and CROSS Interns Bailey, Preston and Keaira to discuss college and what advice they'd give to new freshman.
Lucy and Finley ask our VBS kids about what they think it takes to be an "adult"...whatever that is!
Busting out the podcast with our friends and partners in Ahuachapan, El Salvador!
Knox Long finds great leadership advice from our Habitat for Humanity partners, McCall Canady and Kate Hinshaw ask about the local women's coop, and Camden Thomas-Bush interviews Taylor Yarborough and Daniel (the lead Habitat mason) about their new friendship.
Convivimos en paz por un mundo mejor!
During the recent mission trip to Chicago, Ava had a chance to sit down with Rev. Shannon Kershner, the pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church, about their motto of being "A Light in the City" and what that means.
Learn more about our youth's experiences in Chicago at the link below. Follow the youth @MPPCYouth on Instagram for updates from Chicago and future mission trips.
What's it mean to be a Presbyterian these days? Should we care? Does it matter?
Bennett and Spencer sit down with summer interns Nick and Joseph to chat about their absurd levels of Presbyterianism. Stick around for "Word on the Street" asking folks why they love being #Presbytastic.
Guess who's back? Ava's back.
We hear scripture every weekend, so why even bother to read the Bible? Ava asks Pastors Joe Clifford, Nicole Newton, and Deborah Conner about why the Bible is still a good read in our day and age.
Our youth are challenging one another to learn four scripture verses over the summer! Learn more at the link below and follow @MPPCYouth on Instagram for Scripture Challenge ideas and updates.
Fenley Hamilton recently traveled with the youth group to our partner church in Remedios, Cuba. She sat down with her friend Ernesto, a member of the church, and Jesรบs (no, not that Jesรบs) for a quick chat about what leading a life of faith looks like in Cuba.
Waking up early on Spring Break, Zach Cline has some questions for Executive Pastor Millie Snyder about Holy Week and why it's such a big deal for Christians.
This bonus episode features Ava's Advice on how High Schoolers are expressing their Christ-like love for one another on Valentine's Day and every day.
With Valentine's Day around the corner, Spencer, Bennett, and Michelle talk about ways we can develop and sustain close relationships, cultivate mutual caretaking, and maybe giving Spencer a bundle of carrots as a Valentine.
Stick around for Ava's Advice, this time on how to incorporate faith into our daily lives. Thanks to Lauren Long for providing the intro!
Bronwyn's been keeping a gratitude journal, Spencer loves a good chilled glass of water, Bennett wants to fully consider what goes into our meals, and Michelle is super into sugar snap peas.
Stick around for word of the street from Lucy Georgius and Fenley Hamilton. Thanks to William Shaw for providing the intro!
Zach, Patty and James discuss some of their favorite mission trips and what they love most about serving others.
Stick around for this week's Ava's Advice segment on how we can be light to others.
Bennett, Spencer, and Josh discuss their recent trip to Cuba, non-romantic love, and Desposito. Check out a video of their trip here: https://youtu.be/Hk57saqtoQU
Stick around for this week's Ava's Advice segment on the importance of serving others in our daily lives and on mission trips.
Recently, the youth of Myers Park Pres went to see Wonder, a movie about a young boy born with a facial difference who enters fifth grade at a new school.
Spencer and Michelle discuss bullying, old school Natalie Merchant songs, and crying during movies.
Stick around for Ava's Advice, a segment on how we can practice kindness in our daily lives.