A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

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This week we talk about the retirement of Dr. Fauci and the recent student loan news!

Question of the Week:
In the age of plastic surgery, weight loss surgery, instagram, and social media, how should we navigate issues of body image, especially as people of faith?

Special Guest:
Deborah Lee, Executive Director, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity & Minister with the United Church of Christ

Guest Question:
As Christians, how should we understand “power” and “security”? There is the human understanding of power through might, force, and domination, but aren’t we called to something different as people of faith? Additionally, how are we to recognize the power that the church currently holds while reconciling the historic ways that power has been used for good but also for bad?

Resource Roundup:
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
A Feminist Vision of Genuine Security and Creating a Culture of Life (from the International Women's Network Against Militarism)

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This week, we talk about the recent primary elections that ousted Liz Cheney and the new leadership of the USA Gymnastics org...and we talk about Alex Jones. All that and more on A Matter of Faith!

Question of the Week:
The Alex Jones trial highlights the responsibility that people have when they have an audience and a microphone. As members of the public, how do we navigate the tension between free speech and lies when it comes to news, media, and personalities?

Special Guest:
Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, Director, Advocacy Offices, PCUSA

Guest Question:
I feel like when we think about advocacy in the US regarding people of color, and especially the Black community, we only focus on the abolitionist movement and the Civil Rights movement. But I imagine there are many more ways the Black community has both contributed to and lead justice efforts in our country. What are some examples? How does this affect our understanding of current struggles for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement?

Resources:
Unbroken and Unbowed: A History of Black Protest in America
Office of Public Witness

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This week in the news, we talk about the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago and the LEGEND Serena Williams' next chapter!

Question of the Week:
Why do some people take church so seriously?

Special Guest:
Wayne Younger, Executive Director, Open Hand Ministries

Guest Question:
People talk about the wealth and income disparities faced by communities of color, and particularly Black and African American communities. The result is a lack of access to things like loans, financial literacy, stability and home ownership. What can churches and faith communities do to change this and empower these communities?

Resource Roundup:
Open Hand Ministries

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Invitada especial:
Rvda. Ruth Santana-Grace, co-moderador de la 225 Asamblea General de la PCUSA

Preguntas:
Desde tu perspectiva, ¿cuáles son los dos desafíos más grandes que debe enfrentar la denominación? ¿Qué trae esperanza a su corazón? En donde ves a Dios obrando. 
El pueblo presbiteriano hispano latine y el liderazgo pastoral ha enfrentado grandes desafíos en la última década y aun así su compromiso con Dios y su pueblo es firme- ¿cuál sería su mensaje? Puedes compartir sobre tu experiencia sobre la pasada asamblea y la participación de la comunidad latine.

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This week we talk about Beyoncé's new album and we talk about a lot of things happening in the sports world...

Question of the Week:
There is a parallel between Premiere League players choosing to not kneel before every game moving forward, but only on specific occasions, and the ways the faith community advocates for justice. Is it better/more effective to do advocacy all the time or in specific, target efforts? Does it matter if some people are clearly engaged in advocacy while others are not? Does the type of platform or following we have impact the type or regularity of the advocacy we pursue? New York Times: Premier League Players Will No Longer Take a Knee Before Every Game

Special Guest:
Hannah Chappell-Dick, Women's Cross Country and Assistant Track Coach, Brown University 
 
Guest Question:
How does faith inform your coaching with athletes at some of the highest levels of competition? Also, how do you walk the line between encouraging and pushing your athletes, while making sure they are being taken care of physically and mentally?

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This week, we talk about the rise in monkeypox cases around the world and encourage our listeners to work to de-stigmatize this disease, especially toward our queer siblings. All that and more on the podcast this week!

Question for the Week:
Why are pronouns important? mypronouns.org

Special Guest:
Rev. Dr. David Anderson Hooker, Founder & Principal Narrator, CounterStories Consulting, llc

Guest Question:
Does anyone have guidance on how a church or faith-based organization should overcome internal conflict or deal with change? What makes this process different or unique from how a business or for-profit organizations would handle change? Are there things that churches could learn from how other organizations manage change and conflict?

Resource Roundup:
Contact David: [email protected]m
www.mypronouns.org

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This week we are sending out prayers to our siblings experiencing massive heat waves due to climate change and we are giving a little update on Elon Musk and Twitter!

Question for the Week:
A lot of high school students are preparing to begin their college journey at this time of year during the summer. What was your college application and decision-making process like? Did faith play any role?

Special Guest:
Dr. Carolyn Chen, Sociologist, Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies; University of California, Berkeley

Guest Question:
Across many Christian denominations, we hear about declining church membership and that fewer people are attending church. But we don’t always talk about the how the role that faith and religion plays in our lives might have changed in relation to the role that work plays in our lives. How have you seen these roles change? What do you think it means for the future of faith communities?

Resource Roundup:
Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley
New York Times Guest Essay: When Your Job Fills In for Your Faith, That’s a Problem
Carolyn Chen's Website

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This week we take some time to catch up because we haven't seen each other in a while! The News was packed this week but we had to talk about Sandra Douglass Morgan becoming the first Black woman to be the president of an NFL team...and we had to talk about those SPACE PICTURES Y'ALL!

Question for the Week:
What are your thoughts about sex outside of marriage? I'm hesitant to ask anyone in my church about it because, well, no one really talks about it. But we all also know it's a thing and that it happens.

Special Guest:
Margaret Mwale, Associate for Community Development and Constituent Relations, Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People

Guest Question:
What does the term “self-development” mean in relation to community empowerment? How does one help another person achieve “self-development” without being intrusive or telling them what they should do to improve their lives?

Resource Roundup:
A summary of the 225th General Assembly Actions

Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People

Register for the Presbyterian Committee on Self Development of People Dialogue and Listening Forum on Poverty & Disabilities with the Church and Community Leaders (July 20 at 2pm ET)

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This week we (kinda) theme the episode around July the 4th! And we talk about the surprise hearing from the January 6th Committee and how that impacts our faith. All that and more on this week's episode!

Question for the week:
What does it mean to celebrate independence?

Special Guest:
Sarah Hedgecock, PhD Candidate in Religion at Columbia University

Guest Question:
As progressive Christians, we often describe ourselves, our perspectives, and our actions in contrast to evangelical Christianity. But evangelical Christianity also changes and adapts to the times and trends, albeit sometimes in different ways from progressive Christianity. How are we to understand evangelical Christian identity today? And are there any implications for progressive Christians? | Ahmed, Sara. “A Phenomenology of Whiteness.” Feminist Theory 8, no. 2 (August 1, 2007): 149–68.

Bielo, James S. Words upon the Word: An Ethnography of Evangelical Group Bible Study. New York: New York University Press, 2009.

Bjork-James, Sophie. The Divine Institution: The Politics of White Evangelicalism’s Focus on the Family. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2021.

Bowler, Kate. The Preacher’s Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019.

Dochuk, Darren. From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011.

Hendershot, Heather. Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.

Keller, Timothy. “Can Evangelicalism Survive Donald Trump and Roy Moore?” The New Yorker, December 19, 2017.

Kerby, Lauren R. Saving History: How White Evangelicals Tour the Nation’s Capital and Redeem a Christian America. Where Religion Lives. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2020.

Silliman, Daniel. “An Evangelical Is Anyone Who Likes Billy Graham: Defining Evangelicalism with Carl Henry and Networks of Trust.” Church History 90, no. 3 (September 2021): 621–43.

Vaca, Daniel. Evangelicals Incorporated: Books and the Business of Religion in America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2019.

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Rosa y Edwin dan la bienvenida al Rev. Dr. Sergio Ulloa para hablar sobre masculinidad saludable.

Invitado especial:
Rev. Dr. Sergio Ulloa, Fue rector de la Comunidad Teológica de México,Co fundador y docente del Instituto de Fe y Psicología

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