As a chaplain, our guest John Betz has seen it all, from "What the Hell are you doing here?" to gifts of moonshine, the spectrum of humanity's brokenness challenged him to get reacquainted with his own brokenness.

John has worked as a Chaplain in Pediatrics, Hospice, the Army, and now is the Executive Directory for Spiritual Health in the Wellstar Health System in Atlanta, Georgia. He has an infectious laugh and encourages us by sharing that what people really need when they are in crisis is NOT the SUPERHERO, but just a Ministry of Presence. 

Links to some of the stories we talked about:

The Four Chaplains who went down with the Dorchester: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Chaplains

The French Rabbi: https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/08/exactly-100-years-ago-beautiful-war.html

Pete Holmes Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1THhz0RARjXO8sHZOOdppz

During a semester in Washington DC 18 years ago, Katie, Allie, and Lesa were pranking their neighbors and studying Political Science and had no idea the journey that God would take them on.  

Check out Episode 7 for Lesa's whole story, because this episode celebrates the amazing Body of Christ that served Lesa and her family during the devastating Krabbe diagnosis of their daughter Tori, and particularly Allie's ability to ship breastmilk across the country for Tori when Lesa's milk supply could not come in.  

This episode includes a wonderful encouragement to hold the grief and joy of our lives together, something that is so hard to do in our lives. 

Trinity Walls joins us to talk about something that a lot of people do NOT love -- SPIDERS!

From a young age, Trinity was naming the spiders she found around the house, and by 12 she wanted a pet Tarantula! Trinity shares her love story of spiders and what they have taught her about the value of leaning in and taking a closer look and celebrating diversity!

Trinity does several outreach programs for children in Berkeley, CA where they talk about the common misconceptions surrounding spiders and get to engage with and ask questions about the spiders that Trinity brings along with her! 

Places connect us to each other, to ourselves, to the past, and to the literal earth. We would be remiss if we did not include love stories of place in our topics this Season! 

This week we are including a short story reading of Robin Wall Kimmerer's "Epiphany in the Beans" that reminds us that the Earth loves us back, and a conversation with former Guest (Check out Episode 3 of this Season) Anne Steinert about her love of cities, and the continuity of human experience throughout time. 

You can buy "Braiding Sweetgrass" here: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781571313560

Lesa shares the story of her daughter Tori, who was diagnosed with Krabbe - a rare disease that attacks the white matter of the brain - when she was 5 months old. Through endless appointments, Lesa and her family decided to make a bucket list for Tori and celebrate their daughter's life. In the midst of terrible sadness, they chose joy, they chose love. 

After entrusting Tori back to God when she was almost 20 months old, Lesa became an advocate and lobbyist for newborn screening for rare diseases like Krabbe, because if Tori had been screened for Krabbe when she was a newborn there could have been medical interventions that helped manage her symptoms.

 If you are curious about her work or want to hear more of her story, check out these links: 

Lesa's book about Tori's life, titled "Even So, Joy: Our Journey Heartbreak, Hope, and Triumph: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/even-so-joy-lesa-brackbill/1127913296

Lesa's Blog: https://thebrackbills.com/

Many articles about Tori's Story and the Brackbill Family after Tori's death: 

https://local21news.com/news/local/family-completing-bucket-list-for-19-month-old-with-krabbe-leukodystrophy

https://people.com/human-interest/brennan-brackbill-skin-twin-sons-death-toddler/

We are thrilled that our "sound guy" David has brought his dear friend Anne Packevicz to the Rectory this week. 

They met 14 years ago in Beijing, and David was immediately incorporated into the Packevicz family who were working as English teachers. Through throwing impromptu musicals, connecting over their shared faith, and lots of joy their friendship solidified to the point where David calls Anne his "American mom." 

And, as with most true friendships and families, the road they walked together was not always easy. Anne's husband Mike died 4 years ago and their grief journey has brought them closer, even over the many miles between them. 

Bobbie and Jules join us to talk about their exceptional love story! They are friends turned roommates and have dedicated years to doing life together, and being vulnerable. So when Bobbie adopted her great-nephew, Jules came along for the ride as Aunt Jules.

Together they share how Bobbie's son Drew came into their lives, their love and appreciation for each other, the role their faith has played in the trajectory of their lives, and their dreams for the future.

Connect with them here at their blog:

https://2ladiesandalad.com/

Joseph joins us from SUNY Korea, Incheon Campus to talk about his experience of God's love through his journey growing up in rural South Korea, traveling to the US for his PhD, losing his mother at a young age, and working with students.  

You will love Joseph's wonderful illustrations of his relationship with God, and how that impacts his capacity to generously love his family, neighbors, students, and fuels his dreams for a reunified Korea.