The BETWEEN Podcast

Welcome to the second season of The BETWEEN Podcast. This short episode features host Matt Mattson encouraging us all to not get sucked into the vortex, the mud pit, the rage machine. We are called to be peacemakers at a time like this. We are called to move our attention away from abstraction and into the up-close-and-personal.

If you're new to the podcast, we focus on the intersection of FAITH (your faith) and HUMAN CONNECTION. We are radically inclusive of all points of view. We are wildly curious and perpetually uncertain. We believe the space between us is the most sacred space on earth.

Learn more about BETWEEN (join our email list) at https://between.church/

Subscribe to our Substack at https://matthewmattson.substack.com/

Learn more about our host Matt Mattson at https://matthew-mattson.com/

In this special episode of The BETWEEN Podcast, host Matt Mattson gets baptized in a coffee shop.

Baptism is an incredibly important and meaningful ritual. But the host of this podcast (and the creator of BETWEEN), Matt Mattson, simply had never experienced baptism (he explains why in the intro). What better way to explore the sacredness of simple moments of human connection than to put a holy sacramental ritual right into the middle of a very sincere and meaningful conversation between friends.

Rev. Justin Spurlock, the Senior Pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church (and a former guest on The BETWEEN Podcast - check out this episode from season 1) graciously joined Matt to conduct this beautiful ritual right in the middle of a coffee shop conversation.

Enjoy the video or just listen in to the conversation. You're invited right into the middle of this beautiful faith moment.

Moments of transition in our lives and relationships can be really scary. They can be really sacred too.

This short episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features host Matt Mattson offering some thoughts on this season of transition, and the transitions in our lives. This episode also serves as the official conclusion of Season 1 of the show (don't worrry... we're already working on Season 2!)

As always, listen to our show wherever you listen to podcasts, or just visit our website: https://between.church/podcast

Thanks to everyone for their support with this first season of the show! We're so grateful for the sacred connections we share with you.

"Our world is hurting and broken. People are divided, disconnected, and lonely. It’s time for a fresh reimagining of what it means to be the Church in our day." -New Wine Collective Website

This episode features an amazing new author, Jenai Auman having a beautiful and sacred conversation with host, Matt Mattson. Her new book, Othered is for anyone who has felt left out or pushed out of the church, Othered is your invitation to find spiritual rest and belonging in a God who loves, restores, and blesses the outcast and the marginalized.

Jenai Auman draws on her experience growing up as a biracial kid in the American South as well as working within toxic ministry environments to reveal a hopeful, trauma-informed way forward. Her book illuminates how hurt and betrayal in the church are longstanding problems that God neither sanctions nor tolerates. It offers holistic responses to the grief, anger, and trauma that come with being ostracized or oppressed by the church. And it shows how God provides shelter and provision in the midst of the wilderness.

Learn More about Jenai: https://www.jenaiauman.com/about-jenai

Subscribe to Jenai's Substack newsletter: https://jenaiauman.substack.com/

MaryB Safrit is a NYC-based relationship coach, an author, the host of the Found Family podcast, and she also makes and sells some pretty fun and empowering clothing and merch. She’s also your friendly neighborhood bisexual, recovering people-pleaser, and current goblin obsessed with all things relationship-building, hospitality, spirituality, and culture. (We talk about those obsessions in this episode).

Learn all about MaryB at https://www.marybsafrit.com/

When Paul wrote about being "DEEP-SPIRITED FRIENDS," well, we aren't exactly sure what he meant. But he might have been hinting at our longing for the full colors of our soul to be seen. He might have been encouraging us to feel all of the humanness that the people around us are feeling. Alongside them. Even if only for a while.

This BONUS episode of The BETWEEN Podcast features host Matt Mattson sharing a story about a friend who helped him understand the technicolor potential that lies inside each of us. And the fine, fuzzy line between emotions and our spirit.

Our special guests on this episode of The BETWEEN Podcast are Ashlie Sanders and Emilie Call... and these two sisters are doing something really cool... Ashlie and Emilie are the hosts of a podcast called "That's Church." They're also both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In fact, Ashlie has a separate big social media presence... she goes by "The Nuanced Mormon."

Ashlie and Emilie's "That's Church" podcast features the two of them visiting and talking with people at different religious communities around Utah. They've visited with people all over their home state about traditions like Krishna Consciousness, Catholicism, several different flavors of Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism, Islam, and more.

Their mission is to build bridges between many diverse religious communities.

They're inspired by their grandparents' mixed-faith marriage. Grandma Maxine always said “there is good in all religions.” This example of love and mutual respect, inspires the hosts to reach beyond their LDS backgrounds and embrace different ideas, beliefs, and truths.

They explore how their friends and neighbors experience spirituality and define church for them.

Catherine McNiel is our guest and WOW, what a powerful and sacred conversation this is about fear and faith.

Catherine's newest book is titled, Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies. This book is an amazing mirror into which we all might look to see how much we might have been unknowingly discipled in fear instead of love.

Catherine is an author and speaker who lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband, where they care for their three kids and their enormous garden. Catherine has studied and taught Intercultural Studies and Theology, has an degree in Human Service Counseling, and is working on a Master of Divinity at North Park Theological Seminary.

She has a couple of other books that came out before Fearing Bravely.... those books are also about the intermingling of spirituality and our ordinary lives... One is titled, All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World.... and another is called Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline which was an ECPA New Author finalist.

Catherine is a sought after writer and speaker; her work has been featured by numerous magazines, websites, churches, and ministries.

Find all of Catherine's amazing contributions to the world, including her books, newsletter, and links to her social media at https://catherinemcniel.com/

This episode features Kristen Lavalley (author of "Even If He Doesn't") and host Matt Mattson diving deeply into the experiences of trauma and suffering that mark so much of our life path. Our guest has experienced so much -- a major faith crisis, witnessing a murder, the loss of a pregnancy, a traumatic birth experience with twins, and yet finds faith even when God doesn't show up in perfect ways.

Kristen LaValley is a gifted writer whose words provide a refreshing perspective on faith and spirituality. Her writing resonates with those who carry tensions in their faith, offering insights that intersect doubt and belief, hope and suffering, beauty and heartache, complexity and simplicity. With a deep love for the Christian faith and a willingness to explore its complexities, Kristen's writing offers nuanced conversations that challenge readers to think deeply and wrestle with important questions.

Kristen lives in Massachusetts with her husband Zach and
their five children - Jonah, Emery, Anna, Chloe and Lydia.