The Inception Of Wonder: Recent Episodes
Erik Freiburger
This is a podcast that explores the stories of places & people as they encounter wonder & awe in life & community. The hope is that together we might overcome perceived personal & relational barriers & challenges by turning them into meeting places for transformation & growth.
It has been way too long since I’ve been on the airwaves & in the podsphere! I’m finally able to get the second part of Dr. Jenn Rombeek Burnet’s & my conversation from a few months ago out to you!
Friends, I must tell you that thee last few months have been extremely hard for me. Please have a listen to this episode as I share why & what to expect in the coming months.
I met Jenn a little over a year ago during a cross Canada Zoom gathering of Christian leaders who were taking part in the New Leaf Network’s monthly Learning Centre. Since that time, Always smiling & with an infectious laugh, she brings a real down to earth joy to our gatherings. She also reveals some truly ingenious truths as to what it means to build & become a community.
A few weeks ago she shared with us 3 P’s & an S to which hold her community in rhythm. They are:
Today’s episode is a short devotion where Erik share’s a blog post he wrote from 2011 titled ‘Am I Religious? Spiritual? Maybe... Both?’ (Seen Here). Share it, comment, & let it sit in your imagination while asking the same question… Are you religious? Spiritual? Or maybe… both?
Benga’s Grassy Mountain Coal Project has confronted my wife and I with great challenges in our lives. We were forced out of our property on the southern slopes Grassy Mountain four years ago, shortly after we discovered that Benga had included our property as part of the mine pit proper in their proposal to mine coal. This was done without our permission or knowledge. We have now reestablished on the Eastern slopes of the Livingston Range. As your constituent, I am writing to declare my profound dissatisfaction with your government’s decision to remove previous protections that restricted open pit coal mining in these crown of the continent areas, including the sensitive headwaters of the watershed. Tens of thousands of Albertans downstream depend on this water.
oday I am excited to have my friends Ron & Monelle Fraser on the podcast! I’ve known them for about 20 years now since I started my theology studies back at Alberta Bible College in 2001. Ron was the President of Alberta Bible College at that time & would teach several of the courses I would take over the next four years. I always deeply appreciated his heart for God, the incredible wisdom & knowledge he would share, & his always being available to sit down after class with me & talk that little bit more about theology & the bottomless well of never ending questions that I seemed to always to have.
They both have since retired now & live in southern Alberta on a horse farm in the shadows of the Crowsnest Pass. Bonnie & I had the opportunity to visit them out there a few years ago & as they both share in our conversation today, this is a great place to be in during a pandemic & having to to be in isolation. To give you a bit of a picture, the photo I used for this episode’s show notes & resources on theinceptionofwonder.com is shot on their property looking east at the mountain slopes footsteps from there back porch.
It is Easter… Resurrection Sunday & for some of us that means the rituals of Easter Bunny cards, chocolate filled colourful baskets, & the traditional Easter egg hunt with Grandpa & Grandma watching either in person or via Zoom. While for others it means an early morning rise to dress & prepare before going to or watching on screen the Sunday morning church service followed by the preparations of Easter Sunday dinner & the giving of thanks for Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. Of course, there could always be a mix of all those rituals & traditions together, too.
For me, I arose early in bed & started the day by reading the resurrection accounts in each of the four gospels. It is intriguing to see the distinct differences in how even the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection remember the events perhaps in different perspectives.
Today’s conversation is a Special Easter episode. Jason Tripp has joined the show again as Erik & him share insights into the Martin Scorsese film ‘Silence’. It begins with a short reflection into Holy Saturday & a short prayer followed by Jason’s & Erik’s dialogue.
May this bring some inspiration to you as you look to Resurrection Sunday tomorrow.
“The sign of the cross has become an image of fear for many Jews who remember how often it has been associated with their persecution and suffering. There are Jewish and Christian thinkers who maintain that the only real solution to this problem is a root-and-branch excision of atonement theology from Christianity itself. James Carroll puts it in typically unequivocal terms: "The cross must be reimagined, and deemphasized, as a Christian symbol." Belief in the atonement stands indicted for linking Christian salvation with demonization of Jews.”
That was a quote from Mark Heim’s book ‘Saved From Sacrifice’ that I shared this past week & it started a firestorm in group discussion. Is the cross a relevant symbol for Christian faith today? What really matters about the cross in human atonement & salvation?
It doesn’t take very long for any rational human being to look at our world & realize something is really really wrong. “Human beings [themselves alone], are by nature ravenous creatures; a famished craving haunts every one of us. We were created for utter happiness, joy, and life. But ever since we lost Eden, we have never known a day of total fullness; we are never filled in any lasting way. People are like cut flowers—we appear to be well, but we are severed from the vine. We are desperate, lustful creatures. We look to a marriage (or the hope of marriage), a child, our work, food, sex, alcohol, adventure, the next dinner out, the new car—anything to touch the ache inside us. We are ravenous beings.” Or at least, that is how the author John Eldridge has described us.
But this is not just a human issue or struggle with sin in & of itself. This is a universal condition that has affected everything in & outside of creation. Perhaps not a common reflection but, I find myself contemplating the entrance of Lucifer into creation in the form…
There is a common understanding amidst those who study biblical texts that a four part narrative reveals itself within the flow of the story — Creation, the Fall, Redemption/Atonement, & the Eschaton. James Olthuis suggests that it is not so much a linear path way to the telling of the Devine story, but rather a spiral of converging forces revealing the never ending rhythms to, “God’s suffering love [as] the energizing surge of the cosmos, not in distance from, but as the cosmos’s intimate, indwelling, generative and regenerative dynamic.” In essence, the story of all that exists & its relationship with the Devine is never ending while the four themes play out in, around, & with one another.
These ideas were already playing out in my head when I joined Rabbi Mark Glickman & father Adrien Martens in a conversation about the Fall. Mark Glickman dropped a bombshell upon me with how the Jewish community viewed the Fall & it sparked the idea to explore together the Jewish & Christian perspectives of these four themes.
There is something truly powerful about story telling. It’s not just an art form for entertainment; it actually seems to tap into the very soul of what it means for us to be human. We are all not only just listeners to the stories we share; we actually participate, create, & are story tellers ourselves!
So why are stories so important? What really matters about sharing this art form?
Let me offer a few thoughts to ponder…
This is Part 2 to Ron Buschman’s & my conversation. We dive deeper into the theme of wonder in marriage while looking at interfaith relationships, the role of purpose in our relationships, & afterwards, we get to share some stories from our own marriage relationships.
Stay tuned after the discussion I have with Ron as I try out a new segment called ‘What Really Matters’. This is perhaps an opportunity for me to “rant” for a bit on what has been on my mind following the conversation, but also a chance to share reflective material that I think might really matter in the scheme of things.
I met Ron & his wife, Teresa, a few years ago while attending the Toastmasters group at First Alliance Church. As I envisioned the podcast episodes for this Valentine’s Day weekend, I knew that Ron would be a great well of wisdom into the wonder we can find in marriage & relationships. After many years of them both leading the Couples ministry at First Alliance, I knew their experiences would be rich in this theme & filled with great insights.
Today’s conversation delves into how Ron & Teresa were drawn into the desire to not only grow in their own marriage but serve to strengthen the marriage & relationships of others. We explore…
This is part two of my conversation with Jared Siebert as we dive deeper into the New Leaf Network & how it has grown since the COVID pandemic started. We also touch on the theme of “Home” which New Leaf’s Learning Centre explored this past January followed by the future vision for the Network as the world is reborn in newness.
Jesus once said, “Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.”
Jared is such a man that has lived his life recklessly, giving compassionately & offering brotherly love to all those in creative form.
This is the second part to a conversation between Erik Freiburger, Debra Faulk, & Fayaz Tilly discussing Calgary’s Interfaith Community & the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week. This episode explores the awards the city has received globally as an interfaith community, a journey to Jordan for the UN’s official presenting of Calgary’s award for 1st Prize in the UN’s World Interfaith Harmony Week acknowledgments, & the plans for 2021’s events in the World Interfaith Harmony collaborations.
This is the first part of a conversation with Debra Faulk & Fayaz Tilly about the Calgary Interfaith Council & the annual UN World Interfaith Harmony Week. Together we talk about the history of the interfaith movement in the city & the past UN World Interfaith Harmony Week’s celebrated here. Along with hearing about some inspirational events, we share some heart lifting & humorous stories.
Welcome back to Part #2 of the Calgary Interfaith Council’s Open House exploration into First Nations Indigenous Spirituality. I am Erik Freiburger, your host, & a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down with Rev. Tony Snow as he shared some amazing insights into First Nations spirituality. With so much to cover, I thought it best to divide it between two parts. This being the second half of our conversation!
I do want to give thanks to the ancestors & people of the Treaty #7 Nations as we are on their lands & share in their rich narrative & presence in southern Alberta. It is through their generations of passing down their culture & beliefs that enables us to learn about Indigenous spirituality & build the conversation Tony Snow & I have here in this episode. So, thank you.
Welcome to today’s Inception of Wonder! It is also the 143rd Anniversary to the treaty signing of Treaty 7 lands. So to start, I’d like to acknowledge & give thanks to the Ancestors, Elders, & People of the Treaty 7 Nations as we live together in this incredible land. Your rich history & spirit are an inspiration as we journey together with our creator.
Prior to the pandemic shutdown you may recall we were journeying through a series brought to us by the Calgary Interfaith Council called the Open House Series. We were visiting a number of local worship centres & conversing with representatives of their community. Today we start that journey again while I converse with Rev. Tony Snow of the First Nations & Canadian United Church about Indigenous Spirituality. We met a year ago at an interfaith event & I am always inspired by his deep spirituality & connection with his people.
Welcome to today’s episode of The Inception Of Wonder Podcast. I’m Erik Freiburger.
Over the past month I’ve had several conversations into Racism & Prejudice here in Canada. This past week I had the opportunity to sit with Pam Rocker & talk about the LGBTQ2S+ community & their struggles with prejudice & the right to be recognized as equals here in our country. It was not intentional, but ironically our conversation happened to take place on the Monday of the August long weekend where it would be reported that three separate incidents of prejudice hate crimes took place against the LGBTQ2S+ community here in the Calgary area. This seemed to strengthen the very reality that we need to take these conversations very seriously & recognize the need for social justice & transformation within our society today while recognizing the rights for equality & dignity to all marginalized people.
Today we are continuing our journey into looking at Racism In Canada as I sit down with Michelle Robinson of Native Calgarian Podcast & talk about the First Nations.
Michelle & I met a little over a year ago as we joined a local movement here in Calgary called the I-CARE Taskforce. This organization exists to promote positive interfaith relations, eradicate religious stereotypes & prejudices, & enhance the contribution of faith communities to the well-being of our city. You can read more about them by Clicking Here.
I met Jonathan Wilson Hartgrove about 5 years ago in Durham, North Carolina, with a small group of other students from Rochester University. He spoke about how everything in society is directed under a known or unknown racial element. In truth, I really wasn’t sure I agreed with him at the time, as it seemed to place so much weight on a pendulum swing towards the guilt of a racialized society. It became that much more difficult & uncomfortable for me when he turned & asked what the racial presence was like here in Canada.
Attempting to answer, I stumbled to say that I really didn’t see racism here in Canada like I do down in the States. Perhaps there was a comparison with the Indigenous & First Nations people but, Black racial prejudice just didn’t seem to be as overt to me. Looking back, I can now say I was speaking from a place of privilege & while I may not have acknowledged the hight of racial oppression here in Canada, it was very real & exercising itself greatly through a numb & blind Canadian society.
Completely off script today friends, as I share from my heart some of the reflections, emotions, & ways God has been moving & speaking inside me. I do also read some of Brené Brown’s book ‘Braving the Wilderness’ which if you have been following my social feeds, you will have known.
I have included a letter & statement below from the I-CARE Taskforce of Calgary & I encourage you to send it to your local MP’S, MLA’s, & Premier. It is time to Act Justly & Take Action! Over the weeks ahead I will be praying for you in our crazy world.
Hello Friends & Listeners of The Inception of Wonder.
This is Erik Freiburger & today we are closing out our conversations of Life In Isolation as James Paton & I sit down to talk about the church. Particularly our church, the First Alliance of Calgary Alberta.
I should tell you that our time together took place a few weeks ago & were before the murder of George Floyd & the resent events over the past several days. For those of you that follow my social media, you know the emotional & personal outrage I have been sharing towards these events & it is my hope to express more of those thoughts in detail, along with a vision for future episodes, here on the podcast early in the the next week.
Purely a fun episode exploring our list of our Top 5 Movies centring on a theme of isolation. I am joined with Jon Coutts we ask three questions for the series ‘Life In Isolation: Top 5 Movies’...
How does isolation affect the characters & world/storyline in the film?
What are the ways reconciliation, renewal, & resurrection are experienced in the film?
What might God be revealing through the story of the film about our world today?
Enjoy our nerding out on these exceptional films while creating your own lists to watch over the coming weeks! You can also find my other movie critiques here: https://letterboxd.com/ErikFreiburger/.
Hello Inception of Wonder Listeners! Today we are in for a treat as my good friend Preston Pouteaux takes us into a world of creativity. I promise, you will never look at boredom the same again & isolation will become an experience of freedom that you never knew you had.
Before we go there though, I want to just encourage you to share this episode with those you know who may be struggling creatively to see beauty & goodness in our world today. After my talk with Preston, I know I felt overwhelming encouragement to in a sense, put my apron on & engage in the gardening of my soul right where I am… here… in my home. And with the amazing tools God has already placed around me. Hopefully by sharing this conversation you & your friends might also discover the wonder of creativity in isolation.
Thanks for listening to today’s episode on The Inception Of Wonder Podcast. I hope it sparked some great wonders in you life & understanding of community. Hopefully as we find ourselves in isolation, it brings hope & a vision for tomorrows promises.
It was really awesome being able to sit down with my long time friend & community building inspiration, Evan Spencer, this past week. Together we covered a lot of territory in Life In Isolation while reflecting on Community & the many themes & relationships that are part of it.
Welcome, Friends!
I’m Erik Freiburger & we are going to dive right into an amazing hour of storytelling & exploration in scriptures of isolation. I truly enjoyed this time with my Rochester bro & college mate, Pannell, as well as his fellow cohost Tom Bigboy. They both now host a podcast on culture, politics, faith, & everything in-between called ‘The Distillery’. You can find a link in this episode’s posted notes on theinceptionofwonder.com as well as checkout their show on iTunes.
Please leave a rating for The Inception Of Wonder Podcast wherever you may be listening from & I’d love to read any comments you might like to share, too!
With that, here we go with Life In Isolation Part 2!
How are you all doing? I suppose this isolation is causing you to be a little stir crazy? I know I’m getting a little stir crazy while seeing this amazing sunny weather outside my window!
I’m Erik Freiburger & you are listening to The Inception of Wonder Podcast. Today we are starting a series looking at Life In Isolation. We will look at themes like Scripture, Health, Movies, Creativity, Church, & Community. But first, to start us off, we will listen to a conversation I had with my old classmate & friend, Daunavan Buyer, as we explore Spirituality.
Hey friends,
This is Erik Freiburger here on The Inception of Wonder Podcast. Welcome to today’s episode. I’m here in the isolated oasis of my home after a few weeks of anxiety as I settle into the new world we all have been seeing around us. It has also not been helpful that for the past two weeks I have been dealing with a sore throat & cough, which with the threat of Covid-19’s viral symptoms on my mind, has me on edge towards my own physical health & well being. There is still a small remanence of something there in my throat but, I’m trying to think positive that it is slowly passing & of course, I am deeply thankful for the prayers & check-ins my family & friends have been making on Bonnie & I over the past several days.
Anyways, I’ve been wanting to try something different for a while & it seems like today’s episode is a good time to seize the moment. In the weeks ahead I am hoping to line up some conversations over Zoom to share with you on the podcast, but today I wanted to just have some time to read to you Richard Beck’s conclusion in his book ‘Stranger God’ & share some reflections of my own as to how the relationship of kindness & love might speak to our isolated world today.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matt. 7:7-8)
In a world of pandemic & isolation it is easy to become overwhelmed with the emotions of fear, panic, & loneliness. What will become of my loved ones? Where will my family find food & the necessities of life? Will I recover from the loss of health, income, work, or the markets?
Soon the knocks at the door Jesus spoke of become louder as our seeking for hope, comfort, & love becomes that much more real. We open ourselves in prayer, in asking the divine to be present, intimate, & real in our midst.
Welcome to The Inception of Wonder Podcast! I’m Erik Freiburger.
First, I want to give a word of thanks to The Calgary Interfaith Council & the I-CARE Taskforce who together are partnering with The Inception Of Wonder in hosting five Open Houses of Worship. We are visiting local worship centres across Calgary including St. Stephen’s Protomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Calgary Hindu Society, the Calgary Buddhist Temple, the Al-Madinah Islamic Assembly, & the Temple B’nia Tikvah Jewish community. Together we can build bridges of greater understanding, combat prejudice & hatred, & foster a deeper sense of wonder to the divine story in our city.
Raksh is an amazing soul & it was truly wonderful to be able to sit with him for awhile & spend some time getting to know one another. I could really sense the deep pride he has for his family, his culture, & the way he’s been able to serve & grow in Canadian society & the business community. His faith is one that sees the best in all people & holds a deep love for the betterment of all humanity.
Welcome to the Inception of Wonder Podcast! I’m Erik Freiburger & today we are visiting the Calgary Hindu Society.
I want to give a word of thanks to The Calgary Interfaith Council & the I-CARE Taskforce who together are partnering with me in hosting five Open Houses of Worship. We are visiting local worship centres across Calgary including St. Stephen’s Protomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Calgary Hindu Society, the Calgary Buddhist Temple, the Al-Madinah Islamic Assembly, & the Temple B’nia Tikvah Jewish community. Together we can build bridges of greater understanding, combat prejudice & hatred, & foster a deeper sense of wonder to the divine story in our city.
Welcome to The Inception of Wonder Podcast! This is part 2 in a series of podcasts partnering with The Calgary Interfaith Council & the I-CARE Taskforce as we visit Five Open House’s of Worship across the city of Calgary. Last episode we visited St. Stephen’s Protomartyr Ukrainian Catholic Church where Father Greg shared some of the history & traditions for his faith community. And now in a second part, we explore a deeper relational conversation as he & I sit together & talk about his personal connections with his spirituality.
In future episodes we will also visit the Hindu Society of Calgary, the Calgary Buddhist Temple, the Al-Madinah Islamic Assembly, & the Temple B’nia Tikvah Jewish community.
I once said, "The prophetic mind sees what the world calls an uncrossable barrier as a relational meeting place for the inception of wonder & awe." It was after reflecting upon a picture that showed a lake that had divided two community’s had frozen over & as a result, created a mystical place of joy & wonder where neighbours could skate together, play hockey, & allow couples to dance upon the frozen surfaces that once seemed impossible to access.
Similarly, the I-CARE Taskforce in hosting the Open House’s of Worship over the next five months & hope to share a vision of building bridges for understanding sacred spaces & discovering neighbourly relationships. It is a vision that reveals the incredible ways we can find connections with those we often consider different than ourselves.
Last November I ventured into a snow storm while looking forward to Jason Welle’s & Fayaz Tilly’s conversation around Saint Francis’s audience with the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kāmil. I should give thanks here to The Calgary Interfaith Council for hosting this amazing event! So while it has taken some time to edit & be able to share this episode, it seems so timely with what is going on in the world!
“What does it mean to be subject to my brother & sister?” This was one of the questions that framed my thoughts while listening to Welle’s & Tilly’s dialogue. Perhaps part of that answer is entrenched in the way Friar Jason Welle unpacks the three points he makes about halfway through the episode - that our practice of being subject to the other is caught up in a rhythm of dialogue, friendship, & brotherhood.
Talking with Sonya from the FCJ Centre was a complete blast of a time. She truly is down to earth & yet I felt we both were deeply connected to the presence of God together. As I finish our series looking at Hospitality, it seemed so fitting to talk with Sonya as a Spiritual Director about receiving & engaging with God in our spirituality & daily practices. She gave some amazing insights while we laughed at the oddities of God’s ways & explored our personal encounters & experiences with him. I am sure you will find this space & time revealing God’s hospitality for you in your listening!
This is also going to be the last podcast for the year! I might release something special for you closer to Christmas but, The Inception of Wonder will not be back until early January 2020. The New Year has some exciting plans & as a bit of a foretaste I’d like to tell you about a joint effort I’ve been doing with the I-Care Task Force here in Calgary.
This is the second part to our three part series looking at Hospitality. Today I’m talking with my good friend Derrick Mitchell about Embracing The Other as he offers some profounds insights from his experiences & relationships in The Calgary Mustard Seed.
At the end of our discussion I share a poem from Richard Blanco which I heard shortly following Derrick’s & my conversation. It reconnected me to many of the themes he & I discussed while inspiring me to the power of interdependence & the embrace of the other!
Later this month we will finish this series on Hospitality looking at Receiving God. Sonya, a Spiritual Coach from the FCJ Centre here in Calgary, will be my guest as we talk about receiving the presence of God in our life & the ways he incarnates in our presence.
Sitting with Mike Rose in the living room of my house several weeks ago was truly a great time of lifting my spirits. I found his openness to share about his journey & discovery of God’s love for him & the community he is a part of truly giving hope to my own search & desire to experience God’s love in my life.
Rich in southern Alberta history, Mike shares a story from the heart & soul of the community of Taber, Alberta. This small town in my home province has had many ups & downs over the past several decades but, with people like Mike & others, it is still saturated in God’s love & presence. Listen as we talk about church life, struggles with loss, holding hope in God’s love, the likeness of Jesus, & self care through the holistic practices of present mindfulness.
I’m back after a bit of an extra week as I have been battling a infection. Thank you listeners for your incredible patience as I know I promised this episode to be out last weekend.
Lots has been happening the past few days too as Brian McLaren was here in Calgary sharing some awesome insights as to Rewilding the architecture of the church, moving from being an indoor religion to an outdoor religion. As well as speaking to some of the challenges there are to leaving or staying a Christian. I will be writing on this experience & reviewing ‘The Great Spiritual Migration’ in the coming weeks on my blog. But if you would like to learn more… CLICK HERE.
So today I am speaking with Karen Wilk of Neighbourhood Life in Edmonton Alberta. She & I have a long history going back with Forge Canada & my House Church years. We are talking about the third & final part in our series looking at McLaren’s book ‘The Great Spiritual Migration’… Mission: The Missio Dei & How Do I Fit In?
We’re going to get right into the conversation with Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee of St. Lawerence Anglican Parish & The Calgary Wisdom Centre in just a moment. This is the second part in looking at the themes of Brian McLaren’s book ‘The Great Spiritual Migration’.
Today I’m talking with Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee about:
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Theology & understanding who God is.
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Interfaith relations & looking at scripture as holy texts.
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The nurturing character of God & how that reflects in our culture.
There is an overload of themes McLaren covers in this part of his book & we didn’t get to converse about them all. But our talk is a brief taste into the nature & nurturing sides of God’s character & I hope it peaks your imagination to look further into these topics.
For weeks I have been looking forward to when I would get to sit down with Kelvin Block & explore the first of this three part series looking at Brian McLaren’s book ‘The Great Spiritual Migration’ - Beliefs: Where Do They Come From & How Do We Live With Them’. I hope our conversation speaks of some phenomenal insights for you to glean from as you migrate through life’s landscapes & relationships!
As always, my great hope is to hear from you my listeners! What questions do you have? How has this & other conversations on the podcast intrigued you? Who might you like to hear from or what themes of wonder need to be explored further?
Welcome Welcome my wonderful listeners!
I am really excited about getting to my conversation with Rabbi Shaul Osadchey today so, lets keep this brief!
The Inception Of Wonder has some really exciting events coming up… which it will be joining & you can learn about them by subscribing to the email list. So if you have not yet subscribed, please head over to the website & join the email list!
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It's our first ever AWE-some Round Table Discussion!! Thanks for joining us as Dan, Jordan, Evan, Reg, & I (Erik) explore how Wonder Incarnates into the world. Our collective thoughts take us into a range of different areas such as spirituality, mysticism, God, & religion. I hope our discussion bring a slips of wonder to your imagination!
Hey Wonderful Listeners!!
I want to thank all of you for listening to The Inception Of Wonder Podcast! I know I’m no great radio personality on the airwaves but, I love sharing with you some of the awesome conversations I find while exploring & discovering places, experiences, & people of wonder & awe.
There’s been a bit of excitement & activity while looking to the future in blogging & podcasting here & I thought I’d take a few minutes to just share them with you through the podcast. So if you have a few minutes, enjoy the stories & I will be back in September with brand new conversations that will discover amazing places of awe!
Growing up in Canada, I have to admit, history was not high on my list of importance. Yet as I grow older, I find the stories of Canadian history fascinating!
It was at a Jewish & Christian Interfaith event that I first met Ron Semenoff. He was a presenter & speaker for sharing the history of the migration of the Doukhobors as they fled Russia to come to Canada in the late 1800’s & early 1900’s. Being a phenomenal story teller, I was completely immersed…
It was in a blog post that Colin Toffelmire had written that he & I began talking about how we engage holy texts & the scriptures of the bible. While deeply appreciating the emphasis on reading holy texts as a practice of spiritual discipline, I couldn’t help but reflect on if this is strictly the only way we can encounter the voice of God. Particularly, must we be conscious or well read in the whole text of the bible to receive revelations from the divine?
In an article by LifeWay Research, they report that just…
I don’t think I will ever forget the story my undergrad theology professor, Gary Lepine, told our class about Leonardo Da Vinci’s Sistine Chapel painting. While articulating the outer images of Adam & God upon the chapel ceiling, Da Vinci would go over several drafts & sketches of the central focus of his work - the outstretched hand’s of Adam’s human epitome & the Divine providence of God’s reach. Unsure of how to position each character’s hand, the majority of the sketches would show Adam straining to reach out, while God would only…
It is said that somewhere between 6,000 & 10,000 Christian churches are closing every year. There is no escaping the truth that the institutional church is declining… rapidly, & many are asking, “What does it mean to be a Christian today?”
Last November I had the opportunity to join a group of others in the House of Jacob Synagogue where my friend Rev. Ray Matheson & Rabbi Yisroel Millar debated the question, ‘Is There A Future For Judaism & Christianity in Canada?’ The two of them presented some great arguments both for & against institutional survival. Whether you choose one polarity over the other, we are all going to have to answer how humanity’s spirituality will be practiced in future; institutionally or otherwise.
“Now I lay me down to sleep…” I think they are the words of prayer my mother first taught me as a young child. Poetic, rich in theology, & yet so simple that even today I can still recite them from memory. Since the dawn of sentient life on earth, humanity has reached out in the desire of communion with the divine. Prayer is the contemplative awakening to our being in relationship to that which is beyond us; a wonder that not only can reveal purpose & meaning but bring the comfort of knowing we are known & significant to the one we pray with.
Yesterday I gathered with a small few at the University of Calgary to hear a First Nations Elder, a Christian professor from Ambrose University, & a practicing Muslim. We came to hear the conversation between the three of them around the question, “Why do we pray?” The amazing dialogue that formed revealed a fantastic stream of thought that inspires me to explore further questions around the practices of prayer.
It is hard to live in this world today & not know that we are in a state of calamity. Whether it is civil unrest, political polarities, war, immigration, hunger, homelessness, disease, environmental disasters, or the combination of them; our world is in crises! (Just take a look HERE at the UN’s Refugee statistics!)
So what are we suppose to do about it? What priority do they have & how are we to know which issues to first address? And, with polarizing words like dominion & stewardship, what roll does religion & spirituality have?
Let me start by apologizing for the poor audio in this podcast. I spent a great deal of time attempting to enhance it but, this was the best I could get it. My hope is in future CIC Conversations I might be able to set the mic up closer to the speakers table so that it picks them up much better.
A few months back, there was a small gathering of people from multiple traditions of faith, that came together to explore & share their understandings of salvation; particularly through the traditions of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, & Christianity.
I have truly been excited to publish this podcast after talking with Derrick & Britney a few weeks ago! We met downtown in the newly constructed building of the Seeds step up program. While the 1st & 2nd floors are for administration & education spaces, the remaining several floors are dedicated to small apartments and social spaces where residents can meet & grow in community.
Over the past 15 years I have been involved…
Rohadi Nagassar & I go back several years in our friendship & it was a great privilege to be able to sit with him & spend some time exploring some of his new adventures in Cypher Church as well as converse around a number of his thoughts on racism following his blog series on Rohadi.com.
It seems as though racism & prejudice issues have become such a prevalent conversation these days, particularly relating to the violence taking place in the US & the political climates surrounding immigration & the Trump Presidency. While our conversation does not hit on all these issues, it begins to open some of the basic first steps in understanding racism in our society today.
Sitting in the central cafe space at First Alliance Church, Tim Schultz and I chatted about his growing up years as a missionary kid & his vision for The Mosaic Network. Passionate about reaching out to those who find themselves engaged in kingdom work but often outside of the norms of the Christian traditional church, Tim shared how he hoped Mosaic might become a meeting place for the two sides to come together & learn from one another.
It was in 2007 that Bonnie & I began our house church journey. Doing much of it on our own, we were so excited when we joined The Edge as a network of house churches that were spread across Calgary.
Since then, I have been inspired by many of these experiences and opportunities to journey with the many leaders in this movement. Wanting to simply be like Jesus - loving God, loving people, and making disciples - we witnessed as the Spirit shaped us and interwove us with people who now cross all of Canada.
I hope some of the stories we share in this podcast might bring a sense of inspiration and wonder to you by possibly discovering a space for sanctuary in your own home. When we are willing to leave the mandates of institution behind us, venturing out to the edges of our imaginations, we just might discover a place for wonder & awe outside of the four walls of church and in the living presence of our daily walk with those around us!
Please visit, subscribe, and leave a comment on our iTunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-inception-of-wonder/id1309835420?mt=2
Resources:
The Edge Network: http://theedgehc.com
The Edge HC Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcWoRLVyLUeZ2AV_ljO7AKQ
Christmas is really one of my favourite times of year! Truth is, I've struggled over the whole commercialization of it, especially the last decade but, it remains a very magical time where I focus on the blessing of family, friends, and the spirit of sharing stories of wonder over great food and drinks.
This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity for Laureen Gunther to join my wife and I in the living room of our home and share about her latest co-authored publication called Christmas With Hot Apple Cider. She is a prolific author as she writes in numerous community newsletters and a huge advocate for the incredible artistic town of Rosebud Alberta.
While not wanting to "spill all the cider" we share in the podcast, we cover a range of topics including her connection with this community called Hot Apple Cider, her story of a Christmas blessing, diverse traditions of Christmas celebrations, the meaning of Christmas and how immigration reflects the magic of the incarnation, and the richness of family during the Christmas season.
I hope you enjoy this episode of The Inception Of Wonder Podcast and please feel free to visit us on iTunes while subscribing to future publications. I would also welcome you to rate the podcast while leaving a comment on your thoughts to the show.
Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with my good friend Preston Pouteaux. He is a husband to his wife Kelly, father to two little girls, pastor at Lake Ridge Community Church, and an amazing artist both in painting and his writing. And of course, he is a bee keeper and gardener of all things beautiful.
I first met Preston about 5 or 6 years ago in a Forge Canada gathering here in Calgary. Along with his completely entertaining...
I've know Evan for over the past three years and his story is one of inspiration and great faith. Leading a number of others from the Bow Valley Christian Church in NW Calgary, they made the intentional and brave move to build and begin living in mission amidst the Mahogany community on the outskirts of SE Calgary.
Since being there he has become deeply involved with the volunteer community of their neighbourhood and given great time to developing some amazing relationships with his neighbours and other community leaders in the city. Without hesitation, I can say that Evan Spencer is a vital leader in his neighbourhood...
"Music takes you to a space where it can pull back the veil between reality and the eternal while only giving you a glimpse for the briefest of moments.”
A few weeks ago I got to sit in my den with my good friend and musical artist, Verne Luchinski. We shared some great laughs as he spoke of growing up in Saskatchewan Canada and the many influences he's had over the years. It was my first...
This first episode opens with a brief preview of coming shows and then explores some of the life experiences and stories of the creator and host to the podcast, Erik Freiburger.
Future podcasts will have notes, thoughts, links, and resources relating to the conversation. Please feel free to leave a comment and join...