Six Ways From Sunday

Tony Snow is a member of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation and grew up on Treaty No. 7 land at Morley, Alberta, where his father Dr. Rev. Chief John Snow Sr. attended the Morley Indian Residential School. Tony is a Day School Survivor who now works as the Indigenous Minister of the United Church of Canada’s Chinook Winds Region, and is part of the ministry team at Hillhurst United in Calgary. As a Traditional Knowledge Keeper, minister and consultant, Tony has worked for decades in public engagement and government relations, bringing awareness and healing to communities of faith and Indigenous peoples, as a continuation of his father’s work and his grandfather’s work.

For more information about events happening within the Chinook Winds region during National Indigenous History Month 2021, visit: https://chinookwindsregion.ca/indigenous-right-relations/

We are observing and celebrating some really important things this month. June is Pride Month and also National Indigenous History Month, and there is a lot of work to do (as a Church, as communities and as a county) to bring about the healing, reconciliation, inclusivity and equality that is needed. That hard work doesn't happen just at the systems level, in government buildings, church meetings or resolutions. This is the work of the heart and soul that we all need to lean into. It's the work of living out the love that we're called to be. As Robin said in his blog this week, "This is the love that creates, connects and enriches our lives."

Joyia has been on an inward journey the last several years, letting go of external expectations and back toward herself.  She's dedicating herself to the practice of being authentic, empowered, fulfilled and free, and is now helping others to do the same in their own lives.  In this conversation Joyia joins us from her home in the Yukon, sharing her personal insights, beliefs and some stories of transformation that have changed her life.  We talk about the divine within all living things and the potential for all of us to connect with that spiritual life force inside us.

As Joyia puts it, "I was born into the world with everything I need.  Everything.  Just coming back to myself and remembering to trust that there's a greater purpose that I'm living inside of that has brought me here.  Living from that place, the path will slowly open up in front of you."

"Ubuntu" is an African proverb that means "I am, because we are", and it's the driving force and organizational purpose of the not-for-profit organization Ubuntu - Mobilizing Central Alberta, cofounded by Dieulita Datus in Lacombe, Alberta. Dieulita, cofounder Sadia and their team, are committed to a deep sense of interconnectedness and mutuality that changes attitudes and behaviours. They work toward radical inclusivity in their community and believe that their efforts, through education, advocacy, and community building, have the power to address the prejudice at the root of our histories where it lives – in the hearts and minds of people.

In this conversation, Dieulita and Ben discuss the link between nature and spirituality, the impact of the demonization of African spirituality, the colonialism of Christianity, and her favourite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. Dieulita's story of coming to rural Alberta from the Bahamas, the culture shock she experienced, and the important work that she's doing here, will make you want to hug the next human you see and hopefully will also make you re-examine some of your own thoughts about inclusivity, diversity and love.

We're still in the tide of Easter, a season of grappling with what it means to come face to face with a living Jesus. I know, lately it's easy to look around and feel like it's more like we're still in the season of Good Friday. But no matter what's going on in the world, He is risen. But as Robin shared in our conversation today, "It's not just 'Jesus is alive in you', it's 'Jesus is alive in you... through all the hard work you need to do now, to bring love into the world." And ya, we sure do need that right now. Not just on Sunday mornings but in everything we do and have our being. From the way we greet a stranger to the way our feet kiss the earth. As Robin so beautifully puts it in this episode, "The physical aspect of Jesus is not just an expression of our humanity, it's also about our connectedness to the Earth, to all that is."

Thanks for taking some time to join this conversation today, we hope you enjoy it and that it finds you well.

My uncle, Brady Wilson, has been one of my role models in life and in my own spiritual journey for just about 40 years.  Today, we're exploring Brady's own human spirituality journey, and he shares a recent epiphany that he experienced which brought him closer to a sense of oneness with all humanity and creation, and to "the Jesus in his belly".  As Brady put it, "I am one 'with', and I am one 'in' God, and God is in me. This changes everything for me."  Brady also talks about how his faith impacts his work, what he discovered his life purpose, or, "Juice for the world" to be, and how living within the legacy of an over-achieving Mom who was a "giant of a human being" has shaped his sense of what it means to be enough, do enough, and be worthy.

Thanks for joining us in this powerful and very personal conversation, as we reflect back on Lent and we observe Good Friday today, and of course the story of new life and resurrection this Easter weekend.

Learn more about Brady's work with Juice Inc.

In March, 2020, we began an important and difficult journey. That journey has included isolation, loss, and a lot of reflection about what's really important. When we've allowed it to be, it's been a time filled with deeply meaningful soul work, relationship building, and some much needed self examination. And then the 40 day season of Lent, ended. Except it didn't, did it? We've kind of carried on "living in Lent" this entire time throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Each in our own way of course, and with our own story that no one else could possibly understand unless they've walked some miles in our shoes - and even then, it would really take some connection and effort in order to build a bridge toward understanding each other's journeys. And that right there, is actually sort of the whole point of Lent. Reflecting on our relationship with ourself, God, and each other, and then leaning in, being vulnerable, and doing the work.

David Hayward is the NakedPastor! After 30 years in the church, he left the ministry to pursue his passion for art. His work challenges the status quo, deconstructs dogma, and promotes critical thinking.

Remind you of anyone? It should, because David's art, his books, his blog, and his rabble rousing, norm defying, inclusive, safe and uplifting online community, are all a lot like the teachings of Jesus, and he's here to talk about all of it, from his own personal spiritual journey of deconstruction to his most popular cartoons and how he responds to hate on social media. Check out the NakedPastor's artwork, merchandise, courses, books, blog and more, at www.nakedpastor.com

What are the ways that love gets out into the world from within us? First, you have to find it, and that reconnecting with source - with the universe, with God - is where we remember we are loved and we ARE love. That is what the season of Lent is supposed to be about. Not in a way that has us "going through the motions" of religious tradition, but in a way that has us authentically diving into self examination and reflection. So how do we do that? How do we journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter on our own path in the wilderness? Let's talk about it. Thanks for joining us and listening.

Our community has recently been struck with numerous tragedies, and in the midst of a global health crisis that has caused enough loss, stress, isolation and pain on its own, we're left fumbling to find ways to grieve the deaths of loved ones. We may not be able to gather in person, but we can gather in spirit. We may not be able to hold large funerals in our churches and community halls, but we can hold space for one another's pain. There are so many things we cannot do right now, and yet there is so much that we can do.

Bill Harder works in the precious and precarious space of supporting people through loss, grieving and dying. The wisdom and insights that he shares in this conversation will likely change the way you perceive our collective relationship with death and dying as a culture, with your own grieving and loss experiences, and possibly even with your own mortality.

Two previous episodes of this podcast that also featured Bill Harder are:

Bill Harder - The Deep Soul Work of Grieving

Bill Harder - Sitting With Death