Great to be back at The Wild Goose Festival recording live from the GooseCast Stage. Unfortunately, neither The Gentile nor The Ampersand of Reason could make it this year, but fortunately, two wonderful friends stepped up. Filling in for The Ampersand of Reason is Shannon Weston, Leadership Coach, Co-host of the Pub Theology podcast, and exponentially better half of Derrick Westin. And, filling in for The Gentile is our dear friend, host of the Gay with G-d podcast, author of the best-selling book, Gay with G-d, a person who is her brand, Midge Noble.

In this episode, together with The Jew, Shannon, and Midge address the question of “Does the Debate over G-d’s existence matter?” Needless to say, more questions were raised than answered. To skip the opening mishigas start listening at the 11:15 mark.

Live from The Wild Goose Festival 2023, it’s Episode 154! That’s right. We recorded this episode in front of a live audience at The Wild Goose Festival 2023. Joining us on the GooseCast stage was The Transvengelical to discuss how body image and sexuality have been used for centuries as the primary weapons of Western colonization and White Supremacy. To skip our opening mishigas start listening at the 9:50 mark.

We also honored the memory of our dear friend Phil Wyman, a.k.a. The Welsh Troubadour (give the link to the left a click, you will not regret it). We met Phil at our first Goose in 2016, and he has been a frequent guest and major influence on our theology and our philosophy. We love you, Phil!

Proving we are not afraid of any topic, in episode 153 we discuss Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying law passed this last spring. The Canadian MAID law outlines, “a process that allows someone who is found eligible to be able to receive assistance from a medical practitioner in ending their life.” To be eligible for medical assistance in dying, you must:

All was going fine as we discussed the language and application of the law, but then someone had to mention the theological implications of assisting someone in dying! That’s when things got interesting. To skip our opening mishigas start listening at the 20:30 minute mark.

What if we told you that “sin,” as most people conceive, is theological and not Biblical? What if we told you that you don’t have to take our word? Like, have you ever taken our word for anything! So, we invited The Transvagelical, MDiv., SWer., erotic philanthropist, and the stumbling block purity culture warned about. She helps us put the “sin” back in sindonology. Click here to give this episode a listen. To skip our opening Mishigas start listening at the 15:15 mark.

For this episode, we are joined by a spiritual director, artist-theologian, musician, part of the rebel alliance, and a traitor, Kristen Leigh Mitchell. A gifted artist and brilliant theologian (and graduate of 1 of the only 2 seminaries the Gentile acknowledges), Kristen guides us on a journey exploring the healing & spiritual power of music. To skip our opening mishigas, start listening at the 17:50 mark. Click HERE to give this episode a listen.

They said it was impossible, but we have been talking to the interwebs for 150 episodes! To celebrate, we take on the most pressing issue of our times: should Christians celebrate the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah?

You read that right. Apparently not satisfied with culturally appropriating Passover, some Christian churches are claiming that Rosh Hashanah was originally a Christian holiday celebrating the “real” birth date of Jesus. We cannot make this sh*t up! Seriously. To skip our opening mishigas, start listening at the 18:30 mark though there is a bit of mishigas after that mark. Click here to give the episode a listen.

Episode 149, a.k.a. our “Wild Goose Festival 2022 Episode,” finds Charles, Chris, and Helena discussing faith and mental health with our guest, the Rev. Thirza Sayers of Light for the Darkness. Light for the Darkness provides a safe place for those with mental health variances to explore where God is in the midst. The ministry seeks to build hope and foster Spirit-led connections among members, connecting members to mental health resources as necessary. They provide worshipful support groups that allow people to come with their faith, doubts, joy, and sadness, to be heard, and to connect with others who understand. Check out this video about this vital ministry. 

Thirza currently serves at Hillside Presbyterian (Missouri), leads Light for the Darkness, a mental health ministry and 1001 New Worshiping Community, and co-leads Our Selah, a 1001 New Worshiping Community for clergy. She is working on her Doctorate in Ministry (Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary), researching what hope looks like for people with mental health variances. She has lived with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder since 1992. In 2013 following a cluster of traumas, including the suicide of her niece and namesake, she developed disabling PTSD and severe social anxiety. She became catatonic and lost most of her memory, including her vocabulary, as a side effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). She began her journey out of darkness through a combination of daily prayer, yoga, gratitude and affirmations, weekly counseling and connections with friends, monthly psychiatry, and volunteerism with her therapy-certified dog. Slowly, she built strength and, in 2017, returned to work part-time. Now she is blessed to do ministry full-time.

Click HERE to give this episode a listen. To skip our opening mishigas, start listening at the 11:10 mark.

In episode 148, the intrepid trio, now podcasting from two countries, welcomes Mason Mennenga (he/him/his) an aspiring theologian, accomplished podcaster, YouTuber, and the Internet’s youth pastor. He received his Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary in 2020 and a Master of Arts in Theology at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 2022. He enjoys conversation over a drink, being a music snob, stand-up comedy, and long walks in the valley of the shadow of death, which is why he didn’t mind stopping by our podcast for a chat. He is the host of two podcasts, A People’s Theology and The BlackSheep Podcast. We talk about the evangelical-to-exvangelical-to-podcaster pipeline. To skip our opening mishigas start listening at the 22:14 mark. Click this link from our Podbean site to give this episode a listen.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the intrepid trio brings you episode 147 discusses three articles associated with mental health. First, the national mental health crisis plaguing colleges is stretching disability support offices, where more students are registering psychological disorders to receive classroom accommodations. Second, Staring at an image of yourself on Zoom has serious consequences for mental health – especially for women. Third, psychologists are starting to talk publicly about their own mental illnesses – and patients can benefit. The trio also does a mental health check-in with one another. To skip our opening mishigas start listening at the 16:38 mark. Know that you will miss some great non-context hashtags and cigar banter.

Episode 146 finds the intrepid trio welcoming Shannon Gonyou, a practicing attorney, author, and convert to Judaism. She shares about her faith journey featured in her upcoming book, Since Siani: A Convert’s Path to Judaism. (Be a mensch and click the link and preorder the book.)

A bit more on Shannon… Raised in a heavily Catholic suburb of Detroit, Michigan, Shannon grew up focusing on two things: how to do enough good deeds to get into heaven and how to stay pure enough to escape hell. In college, she followed many of her peers into an Evangelical church known for guitars, drums, religious-based shame, and the idea that without Jesus she was nothing. But when she encountered Judaism on that same campus, a spark ignited within her and refused to be put out. Judaism felt obvious, familiar. After a falling out with her biological mother and two miscarriages, she found the courage to send the most important email of her life: she asked the local Jews by Choice program to accept her as a student. Honest and unflinching, Shannon’s story of coming home to Judaism encourages everyone–Christian, atheist, Jewish, and anything in between–to search relentlessly for the place where they belong.

To skip our opening mishigas start at the 17:43 mark.