With the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETF in January 2024, Catholic institutions now have the opportunity to make Bitcoin part of their investment portfolio. Mark Yusko is a highly respected and sought-after voice on Bitcoin. He is a devoted Catholic, and he spoke at the 2022 Catholic Crypto Conference. Mark answers many questions CEOs of Catholic institutions need to be asking, like, What is the value of Bitcoin? How does it bring truth? How does it align with the Church's values? What percentage of my portfolio should be in Bitcoin? Mark shares his personal journey in Bitcoin and discusses these questions in great detail during this interview. Whether you're a "Bitcoin bull" or a "newbie" to this space, this conversation sheds light on the Bitcoin adoption that is happening worldwide.

Mark W. Yusko is the Founder, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC. Prior to forming Morgan Creek in 2004, Mr. Yusko was President, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of UNC Management Company, the Endowment investment office for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from 1998 to 2004. Until 1998, Mr. Yusko was the Senior Investment Director for the University of Notre Dame Investment Office where he joined as the Assistant Investment Officer in October of 1993. Mr. Yusko is the President and Chairman of the Investment Committee of The Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Foundation at the University of Notre Dame, and President and Head of Investment Committee of the Morgan Creek Foundation.

https://youtu.be/9BgrdRMQttE

Recorded April 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Lisa Hough joins Jim Friend for an expansive conversation on a variety of Bitcoin topics, including social justice, national security, preserving energy that is unalterable, and Bitcoin's compliance with our values as Catholics. She begins by giving an overview of the case for Bitcoin and offers some advice on how Catholic institutions can understand Bitcoin's value and how it aligns with our faith. During the conversation, Lisa referred to the 2024 Bitcoin Policy Summitt, which took place in Washington, D.C., on April 9th, 2024. If you're interested in learning more about Bitcoin, please join us for this conversation. Lisa stated during the conversation that she's always happy to connect on LinkedIn and Twitter and help educate others about Bitcoin.

Lisa brings a background as a Commodities Trader and a unique perspective and expertise that drives the convergence of Energy and Bitcoin. Lisa's knowledge of Bitcoin mining has earned her the respect of fellow professionals in the field, and she was recently acknowledged as a leader in Bitcoin by FORBES. Energy companies, high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), wealth managers, family offices, universities, and industry symposiums frequently call on Lisa for guidance. They trust her insights and rely on her expertise when incorporating Bitcoin into their respective businesses.

Connect with Lisa on her website or find her on Twitter (X) or LinkedIn. We wish to thank Lisa for joining us on today's show and sharing her time and expertise!

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/jQiKcIaZWlQ

Recorded April 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Dave Baranowski rejoins Jim Friend for a conversation about working in parish Stewardship in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Dave discusses how parishes are working together to regionalize ministries and create more opportunities for all parishioners. As a result, parishes are becoming more creative, collaborative, and welcoming than ever before. Dave also talks about how he trains disciples (not volunteers) in parishes to use their gifts and shares some tips for supporting your pastor. We discuss all this and much more in this very informative conversation.

If you enjoyed this conversation with Dave, he also appeared on episode 23, episode 57, episode 75, and episode 76 of Advancing Our Church. Do you have a suggestion on a guest? Send Jim Friend an email or contact him on social media.

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/AUHKfaW-R5k

Recorded: March 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Fr. Allen Hoffa is on the Leadership team for Integrity Restored, a ministry to help restore the integrity of individuals, spouses, and families that have been affected by pornography and pornography addiction. In this episode, we learn more about how this ministry provides education, training, encouragement, and resources to break free from pornography, heal relationships, and assist parents in preventing and responding to pornography exposure, which is so devastating in the lives of our children. To learn more about this important ministry, please visit please visit https://integrityrestored.com/

Integrity Counseling Services: If you’re struggling with life’s challenges and need professional help to improve your mental health, please visit https://www.integritycounselingpa.com/

If you are struggling with this addiction or would like more information about Integrity Restored, you can reach Fr. Allen Hoffa at 610-207-3441 or [email protected]

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/jcRXJW4Yz8E

Recorded March 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Will Murley is a Financial Advisor who specializes in helping Catholics make a holistic financial plan, give to charitable organizations, and invest according to USCCB guidelines. Will shares his experience of being a missionary and how he used to raise money. He also shares how he helps Catholic families choose investments that align with the Church’s teachings and values. Learn some of the common obstacles that Will sees to financial planning for Catholic families and how to overcome them and how he counsels families in making decisions about their philanthropy. Will is originally from Central Florida. After college, Will was a Catholic missionary and worked in ministry for four years. As a husband and father, Will enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, and deepening his relationship with the Lord through his Catholic faith.

Disclaimer: Professionally, Will Murley is a Financial Advisor with Equitable Advisors, L.L.C., a broker-dealer and FINRA and S.I.P.C member firm. Will Murley is also an investment advisor representative with Equitable Advisors, L.L.C., an SEC-registered investment advisor, and an insurance agent with Equitable Network, L.L.C. It's important for Will Murley to point out that his talk here today is/was not intended and should not be relied upon as a solicitation, recommendation, or offer of any insurance, investment, or other financial product or service, nor should any part of my presentation here today be relied upon as any form of financial advice.

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/26CnOFHzopo

Recorded: February 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Deacon Ed Shoener returns to Advancing Our Church to talk about how the Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministry has grown over the past two years since we last met with Deacon Ed on AOC in Episode 110. Deacon Ed also speaks about his recent trip to the Vatican for the first Vatican-sponsored Catholic Mental Health Conference. The goal of Deacon Ed's organization is to accompany people who struggle with mental health challenges so that they know that God has not forgotten them and that God's Church is with them. Deacon Ed's vision is that this ministry will be common in parishes across the United States and the world.

The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers was born out of a need for education, resources, and servant laymen and women to respond to mental health crises. Deacon Ed will share that he was inspired to join with other dedicated people to establish the Association after his daughter Katie died by suicide in 2016 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.  The response to his daughter’s obituary made it clear to Deacon Shoener that there is a real need for the mental health ministry in the Church. Together with the ministry’s chaplain, Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego, Catholic MHM has guided parishes through the process of creating a mental health ministry to provide spiritual support for those struggling with mental health issues, for their families, and for the entire parish community.

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/KB9iO10y8rA

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Jim Friend is joined by Colleen Scariano, one of the founders of SoulCore, a movement born from the desire to nourish body and soul through prayer and core strengthening and functional movements. The story of SoulCore began with a devastating loss that led Colleen to a deeper devotion to the Blessed Mother and eventually to the conception of SoulCore. Jim and Colleen discuss the creation of SoulCore and the tremendous response they have received working with a variety of Catholic organizations and people of all ages. Learn more about how prayer, combined with movement can strengthen the mind, body and soul.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Changing Our World

Watch the full video presentation of this conversation

https://youtu.be/7VhChAQi-xs

February 21, 2024

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

This is not a headline that we're accustomed to seeing in Catholic Education; the "Diocese of Venice has grown Enrollment by 30%" in the past year. Fr. John Belmonte, S.J., Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Venice, has waiting lists at most of his schools, and now the diocese is planning for expansion. Fr. Jeff Putthoff, S.J. serves as a strategic consultant for the Diocese of Venice, and the two men have brought new innovation to Enrollment through technology, marketing, scholarships and meeting today's generation of parents where they are through texting. Learn how their marketing system works and how Florida's Tax Credit program plays a significant role through scholarships.

https://youtu.be/opqj4nVlzgk

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Gospel and Reflection.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

The report, Why Catholic Schools in Florida Are Growing: 5 Things to Know, aims to amplify the success of Florida’s Catholic schools and offer lessons for Catholic education everywhere. Lauren May and Ron Matus from Step Up for Students join Jim Friend on today's episode to discuss this remarkable data and why Catholic Schools throughout the state of Florida are growing enrollment and expanding their mission. With the recent expansion of universal choice in multiple states, the time couldn’t be more right for Catholic schools to flourish.

Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World

Watch the Video Presentation of the Episode

https://youtu.be/I-4UXkcakmo

Recorded September 2023

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

The back-to-school season was once filled with exciting anticipation as children embarked on a new learning adventure. However, in recent years, schools have become ground zero in an attempt to fundamentally transform America. Traditional academics, like reading, writing, and arithmetic, have been replaced with agenda-driven curricula to reform the values of our youth and less to provide them with the critical building blocks of a liberal education. California-based nonprofit organization Protect Our Kids (POK) is a coalition of parents, community leaders, attorneys, physicians, pastors, and teachers united in the belief that public schools today have co-opted education to advance ideological and political narratives. Join Katie McCarthy, Director of Marketing for Protect Our Kids, as she discusses a new document, "Back to School Questions Every Parent Should Know."

Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World

https://youtu.be/LojdtPkmx-Q

Recorded: September 2023

Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD

Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.

Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”

Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.