Faith Unfiltered

When we imagine peace, we might use a visual: calm waters, or a snowy pasture. And during Advent, we talk a lot about finding peace. But the peace that surpasses understanding isn’t a vista, and peace isn’t the same thing as “calm,” and peace often comes after sprinklings of love, and joy, hard work and second chances. In this week’s Faith Unfiltered, The Advent Editions, we talk with three people about the peace that they find in their lives.

The word Hope becomes supercharged during December anticipating everything from Jesus’ birth, Black Friday deals, children’s gift wishes, to a desire for lighter traffic, less holiday music, shorter lines and longer patience. But for many, hope is elusive, and merry and bright wishes fail to lighten spirits.  In this special Advent podcast, stories from a Vietnam veteran and of recently-evicted families in Charlotte offer a way of getting hope by giving hope.  

Holiday entertainment can be long on emotion and short on theology. One exception is The Birth, a play based on the writings of theologian and author Frederick Buechner. In this week's episode, we talk with Nathan Rouse, who launched the production 14 years ago in Charlotte. Nathan talks about how The Birth gives expression to his faith with its fresh perspective on the birth of Jesus as seen through the eyes of the innkeeper, a Wise Man and a shepherd.

Vietnam Veteran, Richard Lee and Nurse Sherry Olson return to discuss the healing that has come from conversation with other veterans who know and understand his story. He and Sherry give a word of hope for those who are struggling.

In 1968, Richard Lee Anthony was drafted into the Army. His career took him to Vietnam, where he spent a year as an Infantry Combat Medic. Like many servicemen and women, healing the moral and emotional injury of war has taken years. Through monthly luncheons organized by First Presbyterian Church parish nurse Sherry Olson, Richard has begun to open up and find peace and hope in the community of other veterans. In recognition of Veteran’s Day, host Garrell Keesler speaks with Richard and Sherry in this week’s episode of Faith Unfiltered.

In the second part of our interview with the Reverend Dr. Rodney Sadler, he talks about three core principles found in scripture that hold the key to our ability to come together across what divides us and transform our society.

How and why did African Americans find liberation in the Christian bible, a text that was once twisted and misused to condemn them to bondage? And how has this misinterpretation of biblical text been perpetuated to this day as a mode of social control? In this week’s episode of Faith Unfiltered: Seeking God in the 21st Century, the Reverend Dr. Rodney Sadler, a professor at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte who earned his Ph.D. from Duke University, explores this history and the ways we are all called as the church to manifest God’s vision for the world.

In every faith tradition, food plays a part that is larger than mere sustenance. Preparing a meal is an act of love, and serving it can be a time of remembrance. In this week’s Faith Unfiltered, host Dartinia Hull talks to Charlotteans who consider the link between food and faith, and who see that the way to humanity’s heart is definitely through the stomach—Nick Kepp, former chef at First Presbyterian Church and currently executive chef at Charlotte’s Community Matters Café; WFAE’s Amy Rogers; food writer Kathleen Purvis; and Keke Turner, one of the current chefs at First Presbyterian Church. 

Taiwo Jaiyeoba has a passion for transforming people and places, a passion that grew out of his childhood in Nigeria, where he came to understand how transportation and community changed people's lives. With more than 20 years of leading planning and transportation initiatives nationally and internationally, Jaiyeoba is now the Assistant City Manager for Charlotte, with responsibility for leading the city’s Planning, Design and Development department. In this episode of Faith Unfiltered, Jaiyeoba will talk about a vision for the future of Charlotte that will impact connectivity, equity and the livability of Charlotte through the year 2040. Listen as he talks about how his vision and his passion are informed by his faith and his role as father to seven daughters. You can learn more about his vision for Charlotte when he speaks on Sunday, November 3, at First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. His music playlist is also available.

This week’s episode of Faith Unfiltered: Seeking God in the 21st Century, is an interview with Tim Funk, former award-winning Faith and Values reporter for The Charlotte Observer. Tim, who has also covered state and national politics, talks about the history of the relationship between religion and politics in the U.S.; North Carolina’s First Family of faith, the Grahams; and a 50-year-old Motown classic that Tim believes speaks just as clearly to today’s political climate as it did when it was first released.