Sacred Ordinary Days with Jenn Giles Kemper

Rev. James Martin, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, best-selling author, and editor-at-large of America magazine. Father Jim, as he graciously lets us call him, joins Jenn Giles Kemper to explore why he believes prayer is, well, for everyone. In this warm and welcoming episode, Father Jim and Jenn discuss Ignatian spirituality, the power of imagination in our prayers, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and how contemplation and action go hand-in-hand. Father Jim also shares how, in his words, “God is making us more loving in prayer.”

Experienced spiritual director and award-winning author Dr. Barbara Peacock joins Jenn to share the compelling, beautiful ways in which African American women and men throughout history have approached soul care, prayer, and spiritual direction. Dr. Peacock also gives a glimpse into how a great cloud of witnesses has shaped her vocation and personal to ministry. Dr. Peacock and Jenn discuss the power of sabbath in our walk toward wholeness, the necessity of lament in our lives, and the gift of reflecting on our personal spiritual autobiographies.

World-renowned artist Makoto Fujimura, author of “Art + Faith: A Theology of Making,” draws from his deep well of reflections on creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making” in this poetic, inviting conversation with Jenn Giles Kemper. Experienced in the Japanese art of Kintsugi (mending broken ceramic with lacquer and gold to create something new) Makoto (Mako) talks with Jenn about what he’s learned about the very nature of our Maker God through this process of being “not only restored, but made new.”

What becomes of the brokenhearted? In this final week of communal prayer, Kayla Craig guides us as we pray for broken hearts. She offers a brief devotion, a time of guided prayer and scripture erading, and ends with some prompts for your reflection this week.

What is hope to you? In this fifth week of intentional prayer, we’re praying for hope. Liturgist and podcast producer Kayla Craig reads a communal liturgist for us to pray this week, along with scripture and prompts for your reflection.

Naming our fears doesn’t make us weak—it makes us brave. Join us as we pray for the fears that so easily entangle us. How do we discern when our fear is our God-given intuition, protecting us? And how do we discern when it’s a lie taking root in our hearts, wrapping around us like a weed to prevent us from walking the path of love God intends for us? In this fourth week of Sacred Ordinary Days communal prayer, Kayla Craig reads a meditation, a prayer, and some scripture to help you on your journey of becoming more wholly human, more fully faithful.

In this third week of communal prayer, we’re praying for restoration and renewal over our weary bodies, minds, and souls. Liturgist and podcast producer Kayla Craig reads a communal liturgy for us to pray this week, along with resources, scripture, and prayer prompts for your reflection.

Join us in our second week of prayer as we pray for the lonely. What has loneliness looked like in your life? Maybe you’ve felt misunderstood and all alone as you reflect on the church tradition you grew up in. Maybe you’ve felt politically lonely. Emotionally misunderstood. Spiritually isolated. Professionally adrift. Loneliness takes many forms, but at its core, it’s one of the most universal human experiences. (Ironic, isn’t it, that we so easily believe no one else could possibly understand?)

Sacred Ordinary Days producer and liturgist Kayla Craig reads a small meditation, some scripture, a prayer from a Celtic prayer book, and a new prayer she has written for our community of kindreds.

For the next six weeks, we’re inviting you into an intentional time of prayer with a series of bonus episodes. Sacred Ordinary Days liturgist and podcast producer Kayla Craig hops behind the mic with a special invitation for our community of kindreds, reads a prayer for the overwhelmed, and shares some Scripture, too.

We’re still working on podcast interviews, but we believe this time of prayer together is so important that for the next six weeks, you’ll find audio versions of the prayers on our podcast to ensure these messages are accessible, even if the only way you can pray is with a little gentle guided listening when the news-cycle feels overwhelming.

Listen to the unedited conversation between Tsh Oxenreider and Jenn Giles Kemper, available now! On Thursdays following a newly-released interview episode, we’re releasing the long-form conversation. We hope it feels like you are sitting in a chair at the table with us. As we were producing our latest episode, On Journeying: Travel, Traditions, and Turning to the Psalms with Tsh Oxenreider, we realized something: There’s SO much that falls on the cutting room floor. As you’ll hear in this conversation with Tsh, she and Jenn both dove much deeper into Tsh’s cross-cultural living experiences, her work as a guide on Literary London trips, and her discernment process as she has walked unexpected paths in her vocation.