After a rollercoaster first season, I'm wrapping up with a BONUS EPISODE! 

Charlie (my husband!) took over the hosting responsibilities so I could share my own answers to the types of questions I've asked my guests! We discuss: 

*How we'd prefer to see into the future

*My long, weird road with a Catholicism, etc. type of faith

*What I've taken away from the first few episodes of For the Love of Pod

Benedictions: 

Charlie-Try to find ways to embrace Joy in these last weeks of 2020. 

Erin-Reach out to someone you care about and/or foster a new connection to stay social and yet socially distanced!

After a few whole days of no new podcast, here we are with a new episode! 

Today I'm joined by Jai Everette, a member of my seminary cohort at LPTS who is speaking to us from a Black Baptist tradition. 

Some things we talk about include: 

*Love for under-appreciated "leg days" at the gym

*The ways COVID has impacted Jai's church experience and personal spirituality

*The importance of acknowledging trauma and oppression in 2020 as we make spiritual connections. 

Benedictions:

Erin: Sit in that acknowledgement of times things are wrong on a societal level so you can figure out what comes next.

Jai: Take time to rest and take care of yourself in between these moments of action and acknowledgement 

My friend and coworker, Preston, joins me to talk about her faith journey as a Jehovah's Witness. 

Some things we cover include: 

*Justin Bieber vs. Harry Styles

*The power of finding your own personal resources to study your faith  (Preston uses an app to compare Bible translations and resources from the JW website)

*The difference in tradition when it comes to using or not using a personal name for God

Benedictions: 

Erin- If you're so led, enjoy TAKING A NAP! (Also check out @thenapministry on Instagram)

Preston- In addition to giving love and kindness, be open to RECEIVING love and kindness!!

Erin's friend John hops on the podcast to talk about Presbyterian life and meaningful theological ideas about sin! 

Sadly, the audio recording did a weird thing where I'm once again just a *smidge* ahead of John, so I do occasionally sound psychic/rude. As I am new at this, I can't figure out how to fix it, but I hope you stick with us anyway!!

Some things we discuss include: 

*The beautifying routine of Bergamasco Shepherds 

*A PASSIONATE deep-dive into an under-appreciated form of worship literature 

*A theological framework of sin that flips the tables a bit on the concept of self-denial. 

Benedictions: 

Erin: I wish that all my listeners stay HYDRATED! 

John: Find a way to be yourself without feeling like you have to justify everything (especially when it comes to theological lenses)

This time on For The Love of Pod I am joined by my friend Randi, who was raised Southern Baptist but converted to Judaism. 

Some of the things we cover include: 

*The beautiful path to Randi finding her faith tradition over many years

*The comparison between your average mikvah and the one Charlotte got to use on Sex and the City

*The Shema prayer, which Randi shares in the last part of the episode. 

And for anyone craving a bagel with lox, cream cheese, and red onion, we talk about a place at Logan Street Market in Louisville. After wrapping, I looked it up and it's called Cold Smoke Bagels! 

My friend and former roommate, Dr. Christine Olding, joins me on For the Love of Pod to talk about life outside of a specific religious structure! 

In this episode, we chat a little bit about: 

*How we'd feel if Bigfoot were real

*How existentialist philosophers made a major impact on Christine's life and worldview

*The responsibilities we have to impact "the here and now" during the pandemic

Also, Christine drops a single use of her nickname for me, which is "Schelps!"

I'm so thankful for her thoughtful perspective and hope you enjoy it, too! 

Benedictions: 

Erin- Take some time (even 5 minutes) away from your phone/the internet. We can only doomscroll for so long! 

Christine-Take some time to get in touch with yourself and what makes you you. 

My friend and fellow seminarian Sara Babcock graciously agreed to join me on my new podcast For the Love of Pod!! 

This podcast is designed as a way to chat about faith stuff with people in my life. And each week, my guest teaches me something new that they find meaningful on a spiritual level!

Tune in  to hear all the cool stuff Sara shares about how an idea from bartending culture relates to faith experiences!

OH, and we had a little tech difficulty at first, so if I sound psychic, I'm not...the audio was just a teensy bit out of sync. Ya live and ya learn, huh?

Sara's Recommendations:

1. The book Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber and the work of Rachel Held Evans

2. @rev.lizzie on Instagram and TikTok

3. More Light: an affirming PC (USA) organization

Our Benedictions:

Erin-Find some holiday media that will light up your life this season (Die Hard? Hallmark?)

Sara-Say no! Do the things that serve you in this busy season!