Fabric Podcast: Recent Episodes
Fabric
Fabric is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and exists to gather influencers to be inspired and empowered to change the city where God has placed them.
What if you didn’t have to believe the “right” things to find your place? What if showing up as your full, complicated, in-progress self was more than okay, but actually encouraged? This episode explores how belonging— real, no-performance-necessary belonging— isn’t the reward for right belief, but the soil where relationships grow, and faith/ trust can take root.
Who makes “the church” what it is? Spoiler: it’s not just the staff, or the people with the mic. It’s all of us. This week, we’re reflecting on what we heard at the “What’s Up with Fabric?” conversation back in April, and naming the power of shared ownership in shaping church that doesn’t just exist for us, but because of us. What if church isn’t something you go to… but something we all create?
There’s a phrase the kids are using these days– to be “ten toes down” is to live and act with integrity, standing firm on what one believes. For over 18 years, Fabric has been experimenting with what it means to be church closer to the margins (read: in the ecotone!). Who’s in the sandbox with us, and what walls might we benefit from analyzing a bit further?
What might we find when we dig in the sandbox? In this episode, Ian McConnell welcomes artist, educator, and author Dave Scherer (AKA Agape*) back among us to share some reflection and frameworks for really getting in the sandbox and planting our toes in it. How do we acknowledge fear without letting it get in the driver’s seat?
When you hear the word “interfaith,” what stirs in you? We’re curious to learn more from Peter Digitale Anderson, Executive Director of Peace Catalyst about the gifts of “playing in the sandbox” with those of different perspectives and cultures.
Have you ever been repulsed by that sludgy, weedy zone between land and water? We’re going to dive into the ecological concept of “ecotones” to walk a bit closer to the edges of what may feel comfortable… it turns out, there’s some pretty rich soil in those borderlands.
The Mandalorian seems like a great way to explore how the walls created by traditionalism separate us from others, and even from ourselves. It turns out, “This” may not be the only way…
There’s so much talk of division these days, and so much justified fear present in our minds and bodies. It seems like when fear is present, walls are built. It’s as true in churchy spaces as it is in politics, cultures, neighborhoods, and families. What would it be like to recognize that we’re all still playing in the proverbial “sandbox?”
This past Sunday during our Easter gathering, those who were gathered in person wrote out our visions for a future toward justice and tangible love as a part of our celebration and acknowledgement of resurrection. If you listened in to the podcast from this past Sunday and wondered what Ian was referencing, this [long, dreamy] episode is for you!
Listen in as Ian McConnell and Melissa Lock read the many beautiful and varied signs created by this beautiful in-person community.
What does it mean for a person, an idea, or a movement to have life beyond a death? It’s inspiring to witness when scraps and threads are picked up and lived out in a way that inspires not just new life, but widespread transformation. What part of the Jesus movement feels worthy of picking up and risking relative comfort to make real in our communities? This may be a good moment for us to really ask ourselves this question…
It’s one thing to talk about the virtue of vulnerability and another entirely to live it out. In this episode, Ian McConnell helps us wrestle a bit with the same thing Jesus’ disciples did: that gentle, tangible love acted out through us is as subversive and impactful as anything. It turns out, what Jesus was teaching isn’t somebody else’s job.
What kind of hero do we really want— and what kind of reality are we hoping for? On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem not with dominance but through a subversive act that disrupts both empire and expectation. How does the thirst for power distort our freedom— and what does it mean that Jesus refuses to play the game? Ian McConnell gets right into it!
A 30+ year music industry veteran, Derek Webb has sold millions of albums while ruffling political & spiritual feathers alike as both a solo artist and a founding member of Texas-based folk/rock band Caedmon’s Call. He joined us to conclude our last episode of DEEPER.
There’s just something about Ellis Delaney. At once funny and wise, thoughtful and uninhibited, with a captivating voice that is matched by tender, sometimes funny, uplifting lyrics. If you looked up the definition of open-hearted in the dictionary, you just might find a photo of Ellis there. Their performances are transformational; leaving audiences feeling better, with softened edges & opened hearts.
Mayyadda is an artist on a mission, using her music as a powerful medium to transport listeners to new perspectives and guide them on a journey of personal and collective healing. She joined us live to weaves her own captivating tapestry of sounds that she fondly dubs, “BlackGirlMagic.”
It was a deep joy for many of us to welcome Peter Mayer to our live gathering in Minnesota. This episode includes an interview of Peter to get to know him a little and quickly go a little deeper. It also includes his song, "Holy Now."
What if you could separate yourself from the uncomfortable parts of life—the suffering of others, the weight of injustice—simply by choosing not to see them? Severance gives us a haunting glimpse into how privilege works, allowing some to live in comfort while others bear the cost. What does it mean to use our power not for avoidance, but for justice in our community?
How could we possibly host a conversation series on meaningful TV without talking about Ted Lasso?! We are so excited to welcome Andy Jolivette back to Fabric to talk about the only man who can turn a losing streak into a life lesson, a biscuit into a love language, and a mustache into a personality—Coach Ted Lasso!
Honesty isn’t about having the right answers so we can behave well, feel good, and get along all the time. The quirky characters in this episode from Young Sheldon give us an endearing and revealing glimpse of what happens when we try to manage the stuff we never asked for or wanted by working harder and being better; and of what emerges when we participate honestly instead.
We all like to think we’re good people—but what happens when we get real about our flaws, fears, and the ways we pretend? This conversation (inspired by The Good Place) explores why honesty about ourselves is so hard, how it can set us free, and why we need each other to grow.
Christmas gives us the beautiful opportunity to remember that divine love comes to look us in the eye. What could it mean that love is born, when so many are actively experiencing hurt?
“Joy to the world?!” How might our experiences of sorrow help inform our understanding of joy? What is the depth of joy beyond spiritual bypassing? Glad tidings of joy…but also metabolized sorrow and grief!
Peace…in a time like this? But conflict is everywhere. How can we possibly embrace peace in the presence of conflict? This episode helps us dream toward a potent peace, rather than phony one.
In the Christian tradition, “Hope” is associated with Advent, the season leading up to Christmas. But what does hope mean for us in a season and era that has primed us to feel somewhat cynical? When fear is given space to be recognized in this season, we wonder what depth of hope might be realized…
The skill in care we are building can have a massive impact on the common good. As we close our current conversation of CareIQ, Ian McConnell encourages us to take the leap in the moment we have and to take these tools along with us and put them into practice!
Culturally, we’re growing in an awareness of the experience of trauma, and that it has a very real impact on people’s lives. What is trauma, and how might an awareness of how it functions help us boost our CareIQ as care givers and care receivers?
Learn more at FabricMpls.com/CareIQ!
What is our responsibility to our neighbors and community at large, particularly with such close proximity to fear and division? We can grow our CareIQ beautifully for moments of tension and “othering” like we’re in today.
It’s easy to find ourselves feeling stuck and alone, full of fear and doubt. Leaning into certain practices and relationships can help us take little steps towards health and healing. In this episode, Chris and Jenny Lillehei remind us that we are not alone and are deeply needed.
“Know thyself” is said to have been inscribed on the temple of Apollo in ancient Greece. You could say there’s some staying power to the concept. When it comes to caring for one another, the more self-awareness and self-compassion we bring, the more we may be effective in giving and receiving care. Ian McConnell shares some of his thoughts about knowing ourselves and caring for one another in this episode of the Fabric podcast. And, like any decent podcast, there’s juggling!
Providing care isn’t a sign of strength. Receiving care isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s all just a part of being human! We’re kicking off another round of CareIQ with an eye toward a tense election year. In this episode you’ll hear from both Ian McConnell and Heidi Esposito and they share a children’s book (with plenty of wisdom for adults) called, The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfeld.
Check out the author's site or Amazon to order your own copy, or click here to hear a reading of it
Check out the zine for the conversation and the bookmark mentioned in this episode
Our shared stories often offer the most impactful moments of learning. In this episode, we’re hosting a mini Fabric Story Slam to hear a couple stories about getting back on track; about our compasses and maps; about our North Stars! A special thanks to Tim Kennedy and Jessi Bergh for sharing!
Orienteering is all about moving in relation to where north is… you figure out where you wanna go, “put red in the shed,” and head in that direction! This feels like a pretty good strategy for decision making too– aligning our course in relationship to where our “North Stars” are. How might we use this concept?
Most of us are “off course” most of the time when it comes to aligning our best intentions with what we actually do. Instead of fighting it, what if we could learn to recognize and admit it with a little more ease, grace and regularity? What’s it like to have people to practice that kind of honesty, acceptance and re-orienting with over time? Turns out it’s pretty fun and empowering. And Fabric groups are made for it!
Happy 18th birthday, Fabric! It seems like more often than not, it’s our local connections – our families, friends, neighbors, etc. – who remind us of who we are, and who serve as a compass in our lives.
This episode kicks off the North Star conversation talking about “potential energy,” because it’s back-to-school time, and why wouldn’t we jump right into physics? Where do we feel the tension of potential, and how might we chart a course forward as we participate in life, deeply woven?
For a quick primer on potential vs. kinetic energy, see this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZZjM6Oiw8
Listen in for this past week's conversation with Ellis Delaney, live from the bandshell at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. We're grateful for our ongoing relationship with Ellis, and are grateful for their leadership these past few weeks.
Next week, join us at Field Elementary School (our "home" for the fall, winter, and spring) as we kick off the "North Star" series!
To support this ministry, or to learn more about Fabric, please visit http://www.fabricMPLS.com
What if there’s more than production? We react to any suggestion that we ourselves are commodities or tools of unfettered capitalistic growth. And yet, statistics show that people are increasingly seeing themselves as not even spiritual, but merely… existing. Let’s become captivated by the mystery around us once again!
You can learn more about Fabric on our website by clicking here (http://www.fabricmpls.com/) or on social media at @FabricMPLS.
Support our work of innovating and experimenting with what "Church" can be by visiting http://www.FabricMPLS.com/give/
You can learn more about Ellis Delaney, our end-of-summer artist-in-residence on their website (https://www.ellisdelaney.com/) or on Instagram at @EllisMusic. Go show them some love, will ya?
“Church” is not an easy word for many. What stirs in you when you think of that word? Fabric has a long-standing tradition and value of experimenting with what “church” can be for people, gathered together and digging in the dirt of the divine in a way that seeks unity, not uniformity. There’s a big difference!
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We're glad to be a kind of critically important safe landing zone for folks who have either experienced hurt in church spaces, or who have grown disinterested or disaffected by traditional church spaces. If you'd like to support the kind of community we're always working to build and experiment around, you can do so by visiting us online at http://www.fabricmpls.com/give
AC/DC’s road manager Barry Taylor once reportedly said, “God is the name of the blanket we throw over mystery to give it shape.” There are countless ways to understand or perceive the divine; let’s affirm this diversity, and wonder together about which metaphors and images are working for each of us!
Learn more about Fabric by clicking here!
We may not be a very good church, but it sure seems like we're providing something that people are finding value in. If you agree, and want to support this community financially, we'd certainly appreciate it! You can visit FabricMPLS.com/Give to learn how to become a sustainer!
Have doubts? Join the club! What would it be like to view doubt less as an obstacle in conversations around God and faith, but rather as a friend and companion? Let’s spend a bit of time wondering what it would be like to become friends with doubt!
There are some pretty unhelpful lenses we use to look at ourselves! Supernatural lenses to see God don’t help. “Life with God” or “spirituality” become achievements instead of natural ways of being. Humility isn't insecurity, submissiveness, niceness, or weakness. It’s a strong and grounded self-understanding that grows over a lifetime with practice, perspectives, and people. In this episode, Melissa Lock (with some help from Heidi Esposito) offers some delicious humble pie for us to chew on!
Does God “belong” to the institution of religion? Are “God” and “church” the same thing with different shapes? In this episode, Ian McConnell (with some help from Heidi Esposito) helps us find some fresh ways to enter into this conversation.
Is God supernatural, or as close and natural as our own breath? In a time where many claims about God are being made to bolster many agendas, it seems like a good time to affirm the diversity of thought around what is often called, “God.”
To “cease and resist” is ultimately about liberation; about being ready for the world and our place in it, but not being held hostage by it. What would it be like to release the need to control, to know more and do more and be more than is healthy? We are made for so much more than what is controllable!
Rest can sometimes feel like we are putting burdens on others; if I rest, then someone else has to work harder. However, when done well, sabbath can be an invitation to create healthy communities that together find balance in the interplay of work and rest.
Life isn’t meant to just make us tired! It’s meant to make us happy. Deeply happy. The kind of happy we are told we can buy or achieve but that really only requires us to do one thing: stop. Are you ready to be surprised by the gratuitous goodness that is always growing in and around you?
Practicing sabbath cracks open the possibility of letting ourselves (and everything around us) go a bit wild… what would be possible if we experienced restoration?
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Does it feel like there’s too much going on to pause what you’re doing? What if stopping was one of the most effective ways to join the resistance? Together, let's get into the concept of "sabbath," reclaim it a bit, and let it pick away at "the way things are" as we move forward towards how things could be.
As we closed out our Unearthed conversation, we welcomed Joe Davis back to help facilitate a time of artistic reflection and processing; to notice what came up, metabolize it, and bless it.
What comes up for us as we look up at the current events in Gaza? In this episode, we welcome Jenny Sung, a pastor working through the ELCA’s Sumud ministry toward justice in Palestine and Israel to hear about how she shows up in her role with steadfastness in light of such despair and heartbreak.
Climate change trivia?! Yes please(?!) We've taken a live gathering and turned it into a fun podcast for you, even if it's perhaps not the most fun subject. Let us know what you think as we keep experimenting with what in-person gatherings look like and how to turn them into meaningful podcasts!
MN climate justice organizer Joshua Lewis (Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light) joins Ian McConnell to continue help us lift our heads up, this time toward the wondering if the climate crisis just too big, or if there are approachable ways for us to engage with courage and conviction.
We received a challenge from Jeff Thiemann: make one commitment toward being equipped and brave for challenging conversations. In this episode we're celebrating some "braggarts." To grow together, we've got to share these stories of what we're trying, so here it is. We're trying stuff!
Jeff Thiemann from Braver Angels’ “Reduce the Rancor” campaign spoke with Ian McConnell (with input from others at Fabric's live weekly gathering) about polarization during election seasons, and how we might be able to build capacity for both holding conviction and having difficult conversations.
Maybe you wouldn't expect Easter to be a time to talk about zombies, but then again, it sort of makes sense, right? Some stories surrounding Easter give us a beautiful (if not kind of scary) look into both death and life and reminds us that there’s more to living than not being dead!
We’re delving even deeper into our rootedness! How might identify the divine within, surrounding, and working through all things? That's the conversation Ian is kicking off in this episode!
It turns out there’s more to roots than just individual plant life! Aspen groves are an inspiring reminder of our interconnectedness to one another and to all of creation.
Root systems are endlessly fascinating! We’ll kick off this new series with a look at the relationship between connection and suffering, and use a couple tools at our disposal to take a closer look at our individual roots.
We had a week sharing stories playing Story Stitch as a community, so it seemed like a great moment to catch an inaugural "scraps" with the New Guy! Enjoy!
Some links from this episode:Green Card Voices: greencardvoices.org
Fabric Staff Contacts: fabricmpls.com/staffFabric Groups: fabricmpls.com/groups
Curiosity about newbies is only natural! With Ian McConnell (the New Guy) talking about curiosity as a default posture toward new people and experiences, we took the opportunity to pose questions to Ian in an open Q&R (question and response) session. Listen in and start getting to know Ian as he's getting to know Fabric!
“First days” are a rare thing indeed! We welcomed Ian McConnell and family to the Fabric community for their first Sunday with us and heard from Ian about who he is, what excites him and a little about what to expect from his "default posture."
Like our breath, help becomes scarce when we stop letting it flow freely in and out. Wouldn’t it be great if the healthy giving and receiving of help became as instinctive as breathing?
The kind of help that’s really helpful? It’s not fair! In this episode, Chris Lillehei helps us take a good look at how our tendencies to compare and keep score get in the way of giving and receiving the help that is so needed.
What if asking for help is the most honest and important thing you do every day? Right next to offering it? Jesus said “Ask and it will be given...” If it was no big deal, he wouldn’t have gone on about it and we wouldn’t have to talk about it. In this episode, Melissa Lock kicks off a conversation that helps us dig into what keeps the kind of help we really need from flowing more freely in our lives and world.
A stone with those ironic words carved into it has sat at the front of our gatherings for 17 years because being church isn’t about having the right beliefs or behaviors. It’s about the message that helps us be authentic to ourselves, each other, this world, and the 3rd Strand.
Do you think God is the sort of thing that makes up rules for us to follow? Bored or insecure enough to play games? This view of God that has crept into "church" is one of the big reasons Greg started Fabric to escape; helping us see the intrinsic unity we're part of.
One big piece of Greg’s pitching mound is his suspicion of answers. Responses however, well, Greg nearly always has something to say about anything. So this is a moment of him basically just fielding (or swinging at) your questions!
Santa is Christmas to Noelle Kringle and everyone at the North Pole. When her brother reluctantly inherits the hat, Noelle does everything in her power to make it fit. Join Melissa Lock as she helps us each learn from Noelle to find our "twinkle."
This 1994 Christmas classic isn’t only funny and heartwarming, it carries more of what Christmas is meant to bring than Santa could ever fit down a chimney!
We're each practicing all sorts of things all the time already. based on how intentional it is, you might call it a skill or a rut. "Spiritual" practices aren’t any harder than what you're doing already, but rather shape and use what you are doing already.
You may wonder if that is a true assertion or not, but that just proves the point. There is nothing so certain that you don’t wonder about it. People who don’t like your wondering call it doubt, but it’s all the same. It’s the crack in the walls of certainty, the possibility that there is more to whatever it is. The bigger the question the harder it is to make a formula work, and what could be bigger than your spirituality. Let’s face it, it’s hard not to wonder. I wonder why?
Knots come in handy. They hold things together and can give you something to hold on to. The 3 Strands of Self, Others, and God that we weave need to be held together and held on to as well. And without a knot experience once in a while, it’s easy to lose your grip or let the whole thing unravel. Life is full of great and oftentimes hard knot experiences that are signs of growth.
What to do in the face of a climate crisis? Does what you do matter? Are you doing enough? Who do you blame? You might feel it, but you’re not powerless.
A lot has to change for us to find our place and help our world regain its health. One of the greatest needs to get there is to raise our kids to know their place so they make better choices than previous generations. Brenda Cassellius, Exec Dir of Fresh Energy (fresh-energy.org) and previously Sup’t of Boston Public Schools, and MN Sec of Education will share from her experience what she sees as hope and action areas for all of us, but especially our children.
Two realities to face: our world is limited, and it is a whole; everything connected. Those are keys to how we can find our place within this planet we share with everything else. While change is daunting, it’s exactly what we are made for.
Diversity and inclusion goes beyond visible human experience While we may try to be considerate of others, we may miss the “invisible” differences of others.
Other resources:
Morgan Harper Nichols
Kids Books:
A Day with No Words
Too Much!
Mighty Mara
Come over to My House
Bravery Grows
Fraser Sensory Kit
Justin Ley, founder and CEO of Reema Health, has made a life out of following his doubts; spiritually, personally, and professionally. While doubt has long been labeled a defect, what if doubt was a way in to possibility?
It doesn’t take a hero to make a dent in a persistent problem. Just ask Cathy Heying who noticed how peoples' worlds could start unraveling with car trouble. She wasn’t a mechanic, or an entrepreneur, but she dared ask, “What if it was me?”
Architect and researcher Gabrielle Clowdus couldn’t ignore this “What If” when it came to homelessness. She joins Melissa Lock to help us explore how we can be more deeply woven with those experiencing homelessness via Settled (the organization which Gabrielle cofounded) and through some simple transformations of our own minds.
Sunday Paper | Settled.org
Truly, the only reason our species is still on this planet is that people have time and time again asked, "What if?" and then found a way to make it possible.
How do you share the things that you care about? It's probably true of several things in your life, but Fabric is too special and important to keep a secret. To keep it for ourselves is to undo what we are about! But how do others find their way among us?
According to more and more experts there is something that could dramatically increase personal and collective wellbeing on almost every front: a life woven deeply instead of going it alone. Do you dare to go beyond you alone?
As Fabric goes through a transition, and as you head into your summer, enjoying but not getting stuck in our comfort zones is important to keeping the main thing the main thing!
Livestream of the slackline fun
Ever get tired? Yep. Ever felt like letting up a little? Sure... And then did you ever sense that this was a time that mattered and despite feeling worn out and in need of a break it was time to dig in and keep going? The Fabric kids have been talking about going beyond for the last five weeks and helped our live gathering gain some perspective about going beyond in kindness, trust, and thankfulness!
While what gets shared of the Bible often seems to limit, the eyes of the Bible seem to be on the horizon, or even beyond it. The real danger is often less approaching the seemingly impossible than living within our limits!
FABRIC WEBSITE | EPISODE NOTES
The Bible certainly plays into the patriarchy of its era, but it also upended it. And if Jesus was a gauge for what threads in the fabric of our world really make a difference, then we can assume there is great power where others miss it. What are we overlooking today? Around us and within us.
FABRIC WEBSITE | EPISODE NOTES
This “dangerous” book provides some possibilities that are pretty counter-cultural; challenging what it means to be human and how to be a human alongside others. So, what does “being blessed” mean? Is it about securing the space around you, or could it be about creating more space for you and for those around you?
FABRIC WEBSITE | EPISODE NOTES
We aren’t the first generation to face threatening winds or to respond with desperation, denial, and despair. From cover to cover, the Bible reveals a powerful Spirit. What spirit do we inherit from those ancestors? Could it be just the kind of dangerous we need right now?
FABRIC WEBSITE | EPISODE NOTES
It’s easy to want to be a hero or to want one to rescue us. The Bible plays along with so many other cultures in creating heroes, but you might be surprised when you look deeper at some of those “heroes” and how they give us a picture of what always has shaped us into the people of love, justice, and hope that God imagines.
Fabric Website | Episode Notes
The Bible is hard to understand and apply to our world today. And face it, it has been used to control and hurt. But that's not the only kind of danger it poses. If we recognize its distance from us in time, language, and culture and approach it with humility, wonder, and openness, it can rock our status quo and usher in healing and growth that can only come from the 3-stranded place it embodies. Here Greg Meyer shares some tools that can help the Bible be that better kind of dangerous.
Somehow we have developed a love affair with light and mistaken it for life. Easter is about life -- full, undying, hope-filled life and it isn't always found in the light. Life begins in the dark where seeds and cells grow, where mysteries unfold. And it continues in the beauty and wonder of night skies, shadowy forests, and deep inside us. Night and day. Dark and light. Unseen and seen.
Among all the things prayer is, one of them is a way of being. If prayer is being part of, or connected to ‘All That Is’ then it really should be a mode of existence not just something you do sometimes, regularly, or often. What can ‘pray without ceasing’ that the Bible talks about look like in your real, everyday, earthbound life? It may be a horizon none of us will ever reach, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth walking toward.
It might feel safer to be all philosophical about prayer, but what about when it comes to the practical side and talking about or deciding if, what, or how to teach kids in your life to pray? In this episode, Fabric Master of Fun Heidi Esposito joins Greg Meyer to get practical about teaching kids to pray.
Live survey results:
Praying with or for others can feel hollow, intimidating, forced or worse. It can also be deeply healing and connective. As a chaplain, Chris Lillehei prays with people for a living and still wonders, what do we expect when we pray together?
Does the practice of prayer bring satisfaction? Or maybe people who are more content tend to pray? Mike Rusert and Greg Meyer have found important, evolving places for prayer in their lives and share some of their ‘why’ and give you a chance to try it yourself. Prayer takes us deep into our lives and world. And that takes practice.
Science, history, polls, and our own experience seem to say it is a basic human instinct to pray. Why is that? Can prayer be more than another way to try to control (or escape) our reality?
Think you are immune from the traps of money that motivate destructive choices every day in our society? Think again! There are ways to get out of “the trap” but you won’t stumble into them without intention!
You definitely know this familiar word but you probably don’t like it being brought up. At least when it comes to your money. It wants to mess with you and your money, feels like it creates all kinds of problems, but it may be just what you need to solve them and answer the question of “How much is enough?”
You may know exactly what you are doing with your money, but do you know exactly what your money is doing with you? You may be surprised what your money is (and isn’t) all about!
You might say it’s your money. You earned it, it belongs to you, and you get to decide what to do with it. Maybe, just maybe, we need to step back from starting this money conversation with ourselves in the center of the financial universe, and see where things really begin. It might just change everything!
This is the final episode of our 2023 look at Care IQ, talking about building an environment where we can support each other in the "toolbox moments" that we run into. You'll hear the voices of Melissa Lock, Greg Meyer, Katy Lesiak, and Brother Timothy Frantzich.
Like any tool, CareIQ tools take practice to use them well, or even at all. And sometimes it helps to get a lesson from a pro. In this episode, Melissa Lock calls on CareIQ pro, Jen Markworth to give us an extra boost in our CareIQ.
A burnt-out bulb or drippy faucet is one thing, but a serious wiring issue or a burst water pipe needs some different tools! Relationships have toolbox situations too. What tools are in your toolbox? And do you know how to use them? Jessi Bergh, MSW, joined Greg Meyer and with some help from moderator Katy Lesiak for this episode.
It’s hard enough in the best of times to "love one another" and not all times are the best of times. So what do you do when faced with the unresolvable, complex, over-your-head situations in your life or in the lives of those you love? There are no easy answers or tricks, but there is what we call CareIQ and you can raise yours!
Find more resources at FabricMpls.com
Relationships are at the center of our lives; the joy and the hurt. When you look at your relationships, what do you most deeply want this Christmas
There are some big things that would never fit under a tree but feel like the kind of things Christmas is meant to give. That, “Peace on earth and goodwill to all” stuff, right? We might love the idea of flipping a switch on white supremacy, patriarchy, transphobia, etc. but what if it’s a process and we’re invited into it?
What do you REALLY want for Christmas? Something you could feel, see, touch, have, or use that could be a difference-maker? Tangible needs and longings can be hard to even admit to yourself, let alone making requests of others, but it’s actually part of weaving life deeply.
Sometimes we need to focus. We need to simplify, but do we need things to be simplistic? Part of being in community requires us to see the complexity, and hopefully, find a sweet simplicity not in ignoring it, but honoring and engaging that complexity.
Creating a sense of unity through like-mindedness is pretty easy and nice. And it is a great way to build a world full of walls, mistrust, and misunderstanding. You will always have preferences, but some of them aren’t as helpful as others.
It’s great to find the gadgets, life hacks, paradigms, and people that make life a little easier, but there are places like relationships and personal growth that seem to require the long way sometimes.
Go to our Current Conversations page for more resources!
It can feel comfortable to “close a door” with our preferences. It's one way you can try to control things, but didn’t each of us get here through an open door in the first place?
OUTLINE | GROUP GUIDE
Most of us are looking for a good deal, but how do you know it is? Checking the purpose your preference serves will shed light on whether it is the deal it seems.
OUTLINE
We get to welcome Greg and Kris Meyer back after their time of sabbatical. Hear a couple brief stories from them as they share their own “peopley-ness!”
A good story connects us with truths that help us find home wherever we are. In this episode you'll hear two such stories from Maia Dalager and Kaarin Kratz who both found themselves far from home - and unprepared.
Losing yourself in someone else’s generously shared story is a wonderful way to find yourself. This week, Stephen Taylor and Bjorn Westgard offer up stories of questioned decisions. Did I do the right thing? You might know the feeling.
This episode features stories Laureen Harbert and Eloise Carlson kicking off our focus on sharing stories!
Of course when we start talking about the deepest themes of life, it can feel abstract, like it's somewhere, "out there." Being Fabric, though, means being local. Putting out roots from that deepest self and your deepest connections. Listen as Chris Lillehei helps us explore what's right here!
Melissa Lock gets a little more into Anna's story as an artist after our regular podcast, The Art of Togethering: That Beat!
Local artist, teacher, and dear friend of Fabric, Brother Timothy Frantzich helps us gaze into the fruitful challenges of trusting who we are as individuals and a community as we look at what the word organic might mean in the context of Fabric!
The word fresh could easily feel like the opposite of the word church. Still, chasing fads is not what Fabric is about. In this episode, Melissa Lock wonders at what it might be to be a safe, grounding community that’s fresh enough to keep us curious and inspired.
Melissa Lock asks Lindsay Walz for a little more about her own journey with art and the "togethering" power of it in her life.
Tap duo Anna Esposito and Drew Geck insist that tap dancing has always been a conversation. As they join in our conversation about the art of togethering, this mini podcast pokes at the ways art can get us “talking” in some surprising ways!
EPISODE PAGE
Resilience and beauty can come from some places we would never choose to go. For Lindsay Walz, the collapsing 35W bridge she was driving on in 2007 helped her explore the art and practice of bravely togethering through hard things.
EPISODE PAGE
After a Fabric-sponsored open mic at the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair in lieu of a normal gathering, Melissa Lock asks Chris Tripolino some questions about the art of togethering.
EPISODE PAGE
Danger Boat Productions founders Tane Danger and Brandon Boat joined Fabric for a morning of fun, challenge, and insight using improv. Afterward, Melissa Lock interviewed them.
EPISODE PAGE
Melissa Lock has a conversation with artist Joe Davis about his backstory as an artist and how we can all see the art within us and at our disposal.
Minneapolis-based artist, speaker, poet and author Joe Davis is shaping culture across the country one shared experience of honesty and joy at a time.
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Technology helps us connect broadly, but attention to how we’re being present is needed to deepen those connections. Listen as Melissa Lock helps us consider how intentionally “being there” makes all the difference.
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We use the language of M&Ms to remind us about nurturing a “mission” beyond our community (like we talked about last week), and as Greg Meyer shares in this episode, a “ministry” within Fabric. Maybe weird words, but considering our unique contribution to a community that serves us and others is what keeps us all healthy!
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You are shaped to make a contribution. For a long time, we've talked about m&m-- how your unique contributions make togethering work through your mission in the world and your ministry within our community. These aren't things Fabric is trying to put onto you, but parts of your truest self that are likely the most life-giving parts of your existence!
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The wisdom of, “Love your neighbor” in the Bible was nestled between the calls to love God and, foundationally, yourself. Could it be that being with yourself might unlock what “Togethering” could be?
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Hearing each other's experiences with hope is something that makes hope grow within us. In this episode, Greg Meyer and Melissa Lock meander some delightful stories of hope from some Fabric folks.
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Even with a plan, hope doesn’t give you enough to hold on to sometimes. Can hope thrive even while its goal is out of reach?
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Hope isn’t a plan. But hope can have a plan! If hope is a choice, it’s designed for the current problem, not limited by it. In this episode, Greg Meyer digs deep into an unlikely story of hope from the Bible, the story of Abraham and the near sacrifice of his son.
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In this episode, Melissa lock helps us see that hope is a mode we can practice.
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We all need hope, but that doesn’t mean ignoring reality! Together we can be honest about our discouragement, challenges, even our despair, and can find a place for hope.
EPISODE PAGE
Easter is less about some “way back when” or some other place that it is about what is happening here and now. Our lives, our communities, and all we are a part of.
It’s time to get personal with this AKA God stuff! How do you think of the divine? What do you call it? How do you interact with it? Join Greg Meyer and Brother Timothy to wander through some wonderings of your own!
EPISODE PAGE | Brother Timothy’s Website
In this Fabric Scraps episode, Melissa Lock, Greg Meyer, and Chris Tripolino talk briefly about some important roles people play in our lives and the potential impact on how we keep reimagining our God Boxes!
Everybody’s got a “God Box.” It’s necessary, even if unsatisfactory. Wonder a little about yours and how you might even communicate that wonder AKA God.
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Lots of loud voices offer certainty about who or what God is. Maybe it will surprise you, but as we claim a bigger vision of “God,” we might find that it’s more…Biblical.
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Words are powerful, imperfect vessels of the meaning of our lives. Listen as poet Michael Kleber-Diggs joins Greg Meyer and they wonder at Why Words Matter.
EPISODE PAGE | Michael’s Website
Did you strike out to make the world better? Is it? Or is there something better than a better world? A bunch of Fabric young people have been doing something with their Seed Projects that might help to give us a clue!
EPISODE PAGE
Being understood, conveying information, even convincing are important, but when they are goals of our better communication we will end up frustrated at best. In this episode, Melissa Lock helps us look at communication that is Better Than Better.
EPISODE PAGE | TED Talk
What’s Better Than Better Conflict? In this episode, Greg Meyer helps us imagine it and see what it might take to get there!
EPISODE PAGE | High Conflict by Amanda Ripley
*Upon further reflection, the word "Nazi" written into the opening skit is not a word we will choose to use so casually in the future. Thank you.
Self-improvement is bigger than ever. The pandemic has given people permission to live in pajamas, and the time to focus on being better, stronger, healthier. What’s bad about that? Except… all the comparison. Better than what and who? And is that really how life is supposed to work? Should you, can you be better and better every day? Or is there something better than better? EPISODE PAGE
Sharing warmth is likely undervalued in our society until you’re needing some of that sense of care and connection. So we continually choose it to be at the core of who we are as Fabric and we hope you feel the love!
If You’re Here by Chris Tripolino
EPISODE PAGE
You take yourself (and maybe some other stuff) too seriously! Whimsify-ing is at the core of Fabric. Maybe you could use a little too!
EPISODE PAGE
Taking My Time by Chris Tripolino
Kelly Corrigan Wonders Podcast
Thinking big is at the core for Fabric. How do you see it playing out in our community? How do you play it out in your life? In this episode, Greg Meyer speaks with Justin Ley of Reema Health and Karl Ulfers of Duos about what thinking big looks like in their work.
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Reimagine was written by Chris Tripolino and performed with Matt Herzog
TED Talk mentioned in this episode: Shabana Basij-Rasikh
The only thing we can really be certain about is that there is very little certainty in the world. Braving uncertainty is one of the things at the core of who Fabric is.
Sure Not Sure was written by Laura Lou & Chris Tripolino and they were joined in the live performance by Willie Harbert, Kjell Nafstad, Darren Selberg, and Dan Miller.
The TED Talk referenced by Isaac Lidsky can be found HERE.
And Cara E Yar Khan's TED talk is HERE.
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What is beneath your choices and actions? For Fabric, we’ve identified 5 values at our core and this episode kicks off the conversation with Greg Meyer being joined by Erin McGillivray, Dan Miller, and Martha Tofteland. You’ll also hear Dipankar Mukherjee of Pangea World Theater reading No Man Is an Island by John Donne. All music was written by Chris Tripolino and his song Awe & Wonder was performed by Matt Herzog, Justin Ley, Darren Selberg, and Chris Tripolino.
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As Fabric pivots (once again) to a period of virtual gatherings because of the wild spread of the Omicron variant, Melissa Lock, Greg Meyer, and Chris Tripolino reflect on the moment and value of being nimble in the face of challenges.
EPISODE PAGE | CARE IQ
What if one of the most important lessons of love is learned in realizing how it doesn’t depend on us being deserving? A deep love reverberating in the universe simply is! Pause with Kris & Greg Meyer to reflect on the undeserved nature of that love!
Episode Page
Isn’t it interesting that the unstoppable nature of love comes in fragile forms? In conversation with Greg & Kris Meyer, the vulnerable, risky nature of deep love is what this episode explores.
Episode Page
The “what” and the “how” of God are deep mysteries, but the universe that continues to reveal a little of that “third strand” we talk about seems to say that we are loved. As the word, “why?” arises in response to beauty we encounter, perhaps an answer is, “because I love you.”
Episode Page
Ihotu Ali and Erin Tripolino are skilled and passionate healers in the Twin Cities. They shared a story about helping to create ceremony together, expanding our imagination about how traditions around the holidays and beyond can be healing and satisfying!
Ihotu Ali is a doula and Maya Abdominal massage therapist, and doctoral student in chiropractic medicine. She is the granddaughter of a traditional Nigerian Chief and Polish-Irish farmers, and is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Public Health, and conducted maternal health research with the United Nations. Ihotu spent a decade studying Afro-indigenous and global cultural practices for childbirth, ancestral and womb healing, now alongside medical training in chiropractic care and the neuroscience of spirituality and meditation. As a co-founder of the Minnesota Healing Justice Network, Ihotu was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine and now directs the Oshun Center for Intercultural Healing. You are warmly invited to join her classes or follow her work at IhotuAli.com, Patreon, and on social media.
Erin Tripolino Serving families during their journey through pregnancy, birth and early postpartum is one of Erin’s deepest joys and honors. Learn more about her and her work at ErinTripolino.com
Dipankar Mukherjee and Meena Natarajan have long been reimagining theatre, especially through Pangea World Theater, and in this episode, they help spark each of us to reimagine and help create a more deeply woven world.
See more of the activities they led on our Facebook Page
Ihotu Ali has been reimagining healing that we all need. All of who we are, but also ALL of us; the collective. Her focus on cultural and intercultural healing has been so inspiring to us. Go to IhotuAli.com to learn more.
References:
Ihotu shared this song in the live gathering to reflect our our people: "Stand Up" - Performed by Cynthia Erivo. Powerful. https://youtu.be/sn19xvfoXvk
"Sweetgrass, Not Tear Gas" poem from Women's Press This Was 2020 Anthology of Minnesotans writing on the pandemic and uprising (poem can also be found here) African roots of inoculation from smallpox (Washington Post, 2020) Susto & Soul Loss On white body trauma and ancestry - My Grandmother's Hands Spiritual Herbalism The Healing Wisdom of Africa For circle practice around conflict (this could be helpful around the holidays and with family conflicts!)
Poet Michael Kleber-Diggs speaks with Greg Meyer and shares how he has used poetry to reimagine the world he grew up in, the world he lives in now and, perhaps the world we could live in together. Michael’s new book is called Worldly Things.
Amara Solomon Kamara, contributing author to Green Card Voices' graphic novel, Our Stories Carried Us Here shares his story and helps us learn to know, value, and tell our own stories to reimagine our world..
Learn more about Story Stitch - Green Card Voices
Check out Fabric’s October Book Club to order the discounted book
Stirrings often challenge how we’re investing our life. It can feel unsettling to even wonder about how we’re spending our time, our efforts, our jobs, our hopes. That’s why we’re doing it together!
Outline
Stirrings will sometimes seem to keep making noise until we wake up. Often they do it through (and about) the relationships we have, so we’re talking about it!
Outline
We often miss (or ignore) the rumblings of change echoing deep within us. Stirrings signal a coming change and together we can learn to listen for them.
Link: Outline
Should God make sense to us? Or perhaps be so far outside our natural order that anything God does is an interruption to how the world normally works? This episode dives in to that vast gray area between--an important place for us to be as Fabric.
(Rebroadcast from a live gathering in Minneapolis, MN in January of 2020)
There's a transformation that's happening within the worlds of spirituality and religion. It's like a (long-overdue) skin we're shedding. Whether you feel pain, numb, excitement, curiosity, fear or something else, this conversation (rebroadcast from before we entered the pandemic) points to who we are as Fabric. As we celebrate 15 years as a community, it seemed like a great place to return!
Fabric welcomes back Melissa Melnick Gonzalez who was an intern with us for two years before she began her own community, Tapestry, which she and her husband, Josué Gonzalez, lead in South Minneapolis.
This episode contains excerpts from our shared gathering with Spirit Garage, another community in the Twin Cities. We were so happy to share the Minnehaha Falls bandstand with them. And, much as it's true in other relationships, it can be complicated! Listen as Holly Johnson, pastor with Spirit Garage helps us wonder and engage that complexity.
See the whole livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI6fVUAbA4s
Think losing is the hardest part of the game? Well, have you tried saying sorry? In this final episode of The Game of Life, Greg Meyer helps us examine the process of coming to terms with our mistakes and making amends.
OUTLINE
If play is essential, why is it so hard (at least for grownups) to create space for it? Heidi Esposito and Maia Dalager lean on the wisdom of children to help us explore the wonder of play.
OUTLINE
In this episode, Melissa Lock and Chris Tripolino talk about how to actually make the “right” move in the Game of Life. Are “DAD moves” and sailboats Enough to make you curious?
OUTLINE
When it comes to the Game of Life, “winning” looks much different than we might expect. Greg Meyer helps us look at what it really means to “take the lead” when we’re playing the rich, full Game of Life.
OUTLINE
Are you stuck in the game of life? Stuck in roles, relationships, your view of yourself or situations? Straddling the chasm between what is and what could be is often what we need to get unstuck! Then our reality checks and our deepest ideals might both be able to play in the game of life!
This week's Sunday Paper Outline.
We often don’t think of it this way, but we are part of nature. The natural development of our world often doesn’t get our attention, which is exactly why it’s important for us to notice and wonder at nature itself. Greg Meyer and Heidi Esposito recorded this episode live at Minnehaha Falls Regional Park.
One of the most wonderful things in the world are those people who have been present for you. Whether family members, friends, health workers, or some anonymous person who helped make a change that has impacted your life for the better. That's called 'showing up.' Poet, artist, song writer, activist and longtime Fabric friend, Joe Davis, joined us at Minnehaha Falls to help us celebrate those people and wonder at the possibility of showing up ourselves.
Want to connect with other resources for this and other Fabric podcasts? Click HERE.
It's Independence Day and freedom seems to be obvious thing to lift up as our wonder this week, but freedom is complicated. Our choices are different and they are the building blocks of our freedom. Join Greg Meyer and Heidi Esposito from the Fabric staff as they walk you through just what the wonder of choosing is.
Want to connect with other resources for this and other Fabric podcasts? Click HERE.
Families come in all shapes and sizes. Some created by birth, some by choice. They demand our time, attention, and love, and, if we let them, they can open us to all kinds of wonders
EPISODE PAGE
Featuring Chris Lillehei
This is a rebroadcast of an episode of the Fabric podcast, but don't let that fool you. It's just as current as ever. We still need this message from Joe Davis as he helps us nurture our creativity, wonder, and imagination. Connect with Joe at Joedavispoetry.com or see him live with Fabric at Minnehaha Falls Park on July 11, 2021.
If laughter isn’t so wonderful, how come you like it so much? Take a look at laughter in this episode where Melissa Lock laughs along with folks at Minnehaha Falls. We could all use a little laughter!
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The 7 Wonders of the ancient world are hardly the only wonders of this world. It’s no surprise that the first thing we’re wondering at this summer is being together. Many of us celebrated it together at Minnehaha Falls but for all of us, it’s worth wondering at as we figure out being together once again.
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For many of us, it’s time to choose some New Grooves; grooves that have a deep stability and engage change. This is what we practice as Fabric.
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It can be hard to find your groove. Many of us have created some ruts during the pandemic and all of us could use a moment of transition to listen and remember to groove. Here’s to the new grooves we’re creating together.
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How can you hold to a sense of enough as you look at the world, as you look in the mirror? You won’t always feel like there’s enough, but can you grow in your skill at geting back to that peace and acceptance?
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Success is a good thing. But how much is enough? If you get some, will you quit? Or if you got that much, why not a little more? In this episode, Greg Meyer and some Fabric folks chew on what “enough” success might really look like.
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You are enough. But, really? Does it feel like it? It can be so easy to turn away from the journey to measure it! Greg Meyer digs right in (along with some other Fabric folks). Spoiler: you really ARE enough!
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Oh, the sweetness of comfort...but chasing “enough” comfort can be problematic. Join Greg Meyer as he speaks with Nick Theisen and they consider what enough comfort might look like.
EPISODE PAGE | theembersway.com
What is enough money for you? More? Join Greg Meyer and Grace Pomroy - a local money expert - on understanding the question that is more important than an amount.
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We sort of know we need to find enough, but it’s elusive and our quest for it can often lead to guilt and shame instead of peace. The question of “enough” creeps into every corner of life, so let’s talk about it!
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RIDDLE:
What does one love more than life,
Fear more than death or mortal strife?
What do the poor have, the rich require,
and all contented souls desire?
What does the miser spend, and the spendthrift save,
And all people carry to the grave?
Easter has come after a year of being weighed down and sealed up by some pretty heavy stuff. In this special episode Greg Meyer helps us get out from behind the boulder Sisyphus eternally pushed up the mountain in the ancient Greek myth. And also from behind the stone that sealed Jesus' life off from us. Maybe life without those stones is what you want. EPISODE PAGE
You can see the video of this event at https://youtu.be/Z-tOz-wzdmQ?t=302
Background music is from Sofia: An Aramaic setting of the Beatitudes of Jesus. No. 1,3,4,5&8. Thanks to Dean Magraw, Carin Vagle, and Timothy Frantzich. Visit www.BrotherTimothy.net
Interested in the children's book mentioned? Mark Pett's book, This is My Book!, by Knopf Books.
Learn more about Fabric Minneapolis, a community in Minneapolis and online at www.FabricMPLS.com.
Soul. Space. Can you feel it? Room enough for that deep, true YOU? As Easter comes around again, the stories of Jesus can help us wonder about what it looks like to create that expansive room for everyone!
Find more resources at our EPISODE PAGE
You can’t find Living Room on your own. Neither can anyone else. Welcoming all parts of ourselves and making room for other people is an important challenge to meet!
EPISODE PAGE
Face it. We basically always have access to ideas, products, videos, people...and everyone has access to you! There’s a sense that we’re always on. We need Living Room.
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It’s tragically ironic that the Judaeo-Christian wisdom of how to be part of our planet was twisted in a way that encourages us to be apart from the natural world. Still the generosity of that world is inviting us to find our place once again.
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We’ve tragically lost habitat and biodiversity on our planet as we’ve gained population, lifestyle expectation, and lifespan. Much as we may want to deny it, their loss is ours. This is “our place” all of ours, after all.
EPISODE PAGE | DOLPHIN VIDEO
“Our place,” (this planet) has been offering warnings for some time. Today it's simply an ultimatum. Collectively meet the challenge, be the solution and thrive!
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Earth. This planet is “our place” and it’s time to find our place in it; not exploiting it, but caring for it. We are inescapably connected to it and dependent on it.
EPISODE PAGE | A Life on Our Planet
In the final episode of our No Strangers conversation, Melissa Lock wonders at the depths of joy and how it can be present even in our hardest moments.
Links: EPISODE PAGE | Valarie Kaur | OnBeing
Josh Binstead and Dave Dickinson interview John Mark Comer at Session 1 of Fabric City Conference 2018.
Interview with cultural commentator Mark Sayers; from Session 1 of Fabric City Conference 2018.