Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church Summer Podcast Series

As the church and community continue to manage new ways of being and being together, BMPC formed a Regathering Taskforce to help us determine when and how we can return to church safely. In today’s episode, The Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick talks with Dr. Tom Willcox, a member of the Taskforce, about the work they are doing and his own experiences as a doctor in the midst of the pandemic. 

One of the hard parts of this pandemic for families all over the world has been how it interrupted schools and the ways that schools care for students and families. As we look ahead to the unknowns of the next few months we continue to wonder what school and care for families will look like this fall. In today’s episode Rebecca Kirkpatrick talks with long time BMPC member Tim Bickhart who is an elementary school principal and who was on the front line of supporting and caring for families and the community in the midst of the pandemic this Spring. 

As we all continue to miss worshiping with one another here on our church campus, the Sanctuary Choir has especially missed the close community they have created over many years of singing and leading the church in worship. On today’s very special episode we joined by four members of our choir - Sandi Stouffer, Bill Adelhelm. Gretchen Steck and Linda Gamble. Together they talk about what it has been like being a virtual choir during the pandemic, share their favorite memories of concerts and tours, and share their deep love for the church and the choir community. 

Practices surrounding the Sacrament of Baptism have shaped differing Christian traditions for centuries and even led to conflicts and schism among Christian believers. In today's episode, Rebecca Kirkpatrick is joined again by Dr. Joshua Yoder, as they chat about the tensions between their different faith traditions - Presbyterian and Mennonite - especially as they relate to the practices and history of baptism. They also together about what it means to live in the tensions between these traditions. 

The youth of our congregation have experienced the pandemic in their own ways as schools were closed and plans cancelled for the foreseeable future. Even in the midst of these changes, they have words of wisdom and hope for our community. Today’s episode features a conversation between Rebecca Kirkpatrick, Leigh DeVries, our Associate Pastor for Youth their Families and one of our newest Youth Elders - Katherine Hattersley. Katherine has been integral in launching our new youth column on the BMPC website, where our youth members share their insights and reflections on what it means to be the church in these days. You can read those articles here: https://www.bmpc.org/ministries/youth-and-families/youth-column

What is true partnership when it comes to Mission locally and around the world - genuine collaboration, friendship and shared values? Today's episode features a conversation with the Rev. Chris Holland, the pastor of New Spirit Community Presbyterian Church in South West Philadelphia and the Common Place. Chris shares  how the Common Place has responded to this unique moment to meet the needs of their surrounding community and talks about the meaning of mission partnerships. 

Today's episode features a conversation with longtime BMPC member Lynn Yeakel. Lynn is the Director of Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership and founder of the nationwide Vision 2020 Initiative, that in this 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage seeks to achieve women’s economic and social equality. You can find out more about this important work at women100.org and Vision2020Votes.org. 

Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love? This is just one of the nine questions that every Presbyterian Minister, Elder and Deacon answer when they are ordained and installed to service within the church. In today's episode, Rebecca Kirkpatrick and Frank Pottorff talk through all nine of these questions including the parts that they wrestled with in their own ordinations and how these questions shape our understanding of the church, leadership and accountability to God, the Gospel and one another. 

In this episode, the Rev. Brian Ballard is joined by Patricia Danzon, BMPC member and certified spiritual director, who regularly practices at our church’s Middleton Counseling Center.  Patricia shares a bit about her work as a spiritual director, her call to this form of ministry, and the ways her faith is sustaining her during the present pandemic. 

Biblical scholarship has so many levels of expertise and nuance that can be both fascinating and overwhelming. In today's episode, the Rev. Rebecca Kirkpatrick has a conversation with her husband, Dr. Joshua Yoder on some of the basics of biblical scholarship as they discuss the recent article on the scandal related to the new Museum of the Bible - A Biblical Mystery at Oxford, published in the Atlantic in June 2020.