On this episode, our guest is Peter Schuurman, who's back for his second appearance on the podcast. Peter has co-authored a new book, called Blessed Are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada. We discuss a few people's personal stories of faith deconstruction, the major factors that give rise to it, the influence of the United States on spirituality in Canada, the role of Indigenous people and Indigenous spirituality, and what reconciliation with those who have deconstructed their faith might look like for the church in the 21st century.

Further Resources and Links:

Blessed Are the Undone, the book: https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/blessedundone

Connect with us:

Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca

By email: [email protected]

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten

We welcomed a new interim pastor recently. Andrew Hyde is the Ecumenical Campus Ministry Pastor at the University of Guelph, and he’ll balance his time between that role and this role at Two Rivers. We interviewed Andrew and his wife, Andrea, at a church gathering, and we decided to record the event live and release it as a podcast here. This was our opportunity to welcome both Andrea and Andrew into our community, to get to know them a little better, and to hear more about their outlook on Two Rivers Church and what being a church looks like in the 21st century.

Connect with us:

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca

- By email: [email protected]

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten

On this episode, our guest is Wendy Vanderwal Martin. She is the Director of Development with the Henri Nouwen Society, and author of Generous Spaciousness, a book about the church's engagement with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Christians. We discussed the church’s fraught relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, including deeper questions it raises about the authority of scripture, how we respond to ideas that challenge our faith, and how we live together in a faith community that welcomes diverse perspectives.

Further Resources and Links:

• Check out the process to become an affirming church (not limited to United Churches): https://affirmunited.ause.ca/why-become-an-affirming-ministry/

• Sign up today for free daily meditations from spiritual master, Henri Nouwen: http://www.henrinouwen.org

Connect with us:

• Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca

• By email: [email protected]

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten

On this episode, our guest is Ainsley Chapman. She is the Executive Director of Evangel Hall Mission, an organization that supports individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness in downtown Toronto. In addition to running the Mission’s daily programming and supportive housing services, Ainsley connects with churches to explore ways that their buildings could be redeveloped to include supportive housing and social spaces. We met with Ainsley at the Mission to hear more about how she’s helping churches rediscover their historic role serving people’s social and housing needs in addition to their spiritual needs.

Further Resources and Links:

- EHM Resources for Churches considering Housing: https://www.evangelhall.ca/how-we-help/build/

- Church Building Resources from the Presbyterian Church of Canada - https://presbyterian.ca/pcbc/church-building-resources/

- Gone for Good (the book Ainsley mentioned): https://www.amazon.ca/Gone-Good-Negotiating-Property-Transition/dp/0802883249/ref=asc_df_0802883249/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=706745562934&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1120981425341891513&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9047851&hvtargid=pla-2191707544021&psc=1&mcid=c8b049b92505316a9c964b04cfcda55f&gad_source=1

Connect with us:

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca

- By email: [email protected]

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten

This is part two of our conversation with John Borthwick, the Director of Lifelong Learning at Knox College and the Director of the Ministry Forum, an online platform that supports and empowers church leaders. In part one, we discussed his exploration into how social media and virtual spaces can help foster and create new kinds of church communities. Now in part two, we look at how the Ministry Forum is supporting church leaders, where the new leaders are coming from, and how we can challenge our definition of what church is in the 21st century. 

Further Resources and Links:  

- The Ministry Forum: https://ministryforum.ca/ 

Connect with us:  

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca 

- By email: [email protected] 

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten 

This is a two-part series with our guest, John Borthwick. He is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Knox College and the Director of the Ministry Forum, an online platform that supports and empowers church leaders. On this episode, part one, we discuss John’s vision for new kinds of church communities, including his exploration into how social media and virtual spaces can help foster and create them. 

Further Resources and Links:  

- The Ministry Forum: https://ministryforum.ca/ 

Connect with us:  

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca 

- By email: [email protected] 

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten 

On this episode, our guest is Cathy Stewart. She is the interim minister at Knox Presbyterian Church in Guelph and author of the book, A Goodness I Cannot Explain. Cathy describes her encounter with a difficult medical diagnosis and how she faced the unknown without fear by practicing discernment. We discuss how the three-step process of discernment can apply to any life decision, including those that many churches and congregations need to make in the face of an unknown future. 

Further Resources and Links:  

Dark Nights and White Knuckles by Elizabeth Koenig: https://faithandleadership.com/dark-nights-and-white-knuckles 

Discerning Decisions by Melanie Ave: https://faithandleadership.com/discerning-decisions 

Pursuing God’s Will Together by Ruth Haley Barton: https://pursuinggodswilltogether.com/ 

Sleeping with Bread by Dennis Linn: https://www.linnministries.org/books 

Prayer of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/prayer-of-theilhard-de-chardin/ 

A Goodness I Cannot Explain by Cathy Stewart: https://www.logos.com/product/171676/a-goodness-i-cannot-explain-a-medical-spiritual-memoir 

Connect with us:  

Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca 

By email: [email protected] 

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten 

This is part two of a conversation with our pastor, Glen Soderholm, about church as a community of spiritual practices. In part one we discussed how practices help Christians sustain their beliefs. Now in part two, we look at our specific spiritual practices here at Two Rivers. 

Links and Resources for this episode:  

- Two Rivers practices: https://www.tworiverschurch.ca/who-we-are-2 

Connect with us:  

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca  

- By email: [email protected]   

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten 

On this episode, our guest is Glen Soderholm. He’s our pastor here at Two Rivers Church, and was the first guest on the podcast when we started two years ago. He’s returned to talk about an uncommon way of thinking about church as a community of spiritual practices. In this episode, we discuss the relationship between practices and beliefs, how to think about our beliefs in a post-Christendom age, and how maintaining our spiritual practices can support us when our beliefs fall short. In part two, we will talk about how Two Rivers Church applies these concepts to our spiritual practices. 

Links and Resources for this episode: 

- What Is the Church? by David Fitch:  https://www.commonword.ca/ResourceView/82/23114 

Connect with us: 

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca 

- By email: [email protected] 

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten 

*Note: Our apologies for the sound quality on this episode, but some background noise made its way into the audio that we could not remove.

On this episode, our guest is Kevin Coghill. He’s a pastor at Royal City Mission in downtown Guelph, a church devoted to making the invisible visible, including things that are uncomfortable to see. We discuss their extensive volunteer program that provides meals and support to the unhoused, the impact this has on the city, and what it looks like when a church keeps its doors open seven days a week.

Links and Resources for this episode:

- Website for Royal City Mission: https://www.royalcitymission.ca/

Connect with us:

- Our website: www.tworiverschurch.ca

- By email: [email protected]

Produced by Peter Szabo and Ian Van Harten