The Liturgists Podcast

Purity culture represents the main narrative around sex education and relationships for many people. It taught us ideas about ourselves and about other people that we often feel like we can't leave behind. In today's episode, Hillary and Michael are joined by Linda Kay Klein as they discuss purity culture and pull apart a story we may tell ourselves: "I am impure."

Linda is the author of the book Pure, which covers the sexual purity movement in the evangelical church and the "purity industry" that formed along with it. Her interviews and stories outline the resulting anxiety, fear, and experiences that trap people in a cycle of shame. Sexual shame is not confined to evangelical culture and Linda's book serves as a powerful wake-up call about our society’s subjugation of women.

This episode does cover traumatic experiences. We want to offer a content warning as well as suggest some mental health resources for you to use. Speaking with a professional, licensed therapist is a way to work through trauma in a way that is safe and "become stronger at the broken places." You are not alone.

You can join us each Sunday to talk with other liturgists around the world and meet in small groups. We also talk online everyday. To find out how to join The Liturgists to be a part of that community, visit theliturgists.com and look for the "Join The Liturgists" button.

Resources:

https://www.breakfreetogether.org

https://aedpinstitute.org/find-an-aedp-institute-therapist/search/

https://directory.traumahealing.org

https://www.emdria.org/search/

https://lifespanintegration.com/directory/

https://www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org/directory.html

https://sstarnet.org/find-a-therapist/

Sometimes we leave one set of problems only to find ourselves in a new situation with the same problems. In this episode, Michael and Hillary speak with Emily Capshaw about her experience of leaving Christianity only to find some of the same problems in other belief systems. They talk candidly about how to avoid swapping one fundamentalism for another.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

In this episode, we share one of our private meditations that our patrons get access to each week. Lisa Gungor leads the meditation and it is called "You Are Safe"

We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

Racism is a widespread issue in all spheres of society. People participate in racism knowingly or unknowingly and with or without intention to do so. While racism may not involve physical abuse or violent behaviors, it can be manifested through people's attitudes as well as their actions. But can something be done about it? Yes, we must call out racism. Each one of us can actively embrace anti-racism and help combat racial prejudice and bigotry. 

Today on the podcast, Andre joins William Matthews to chat about anti-racism. In the conversation, Andre talks about his experience speaking out against racial injustice as well as share solutions to fighting racism. Andre Henry is a writer, speaker, musician, and activist with a deep passion for racial justice and social change.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

Michael Gungor and Science Mike talk about their experiences with church, God, science, scripture, theology, tradition, and more at the Los Angeles stop of the Tabs & Wafers Tour. The talk is an honest look at how some people experience Christianity and evangelicalism in the United States and how to find sincerity when it can be difficult to find a community.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

Lauren Evans and Lisa Gungor talk about creative flow and how people who create art, music, and other creative work can make what is right for them. Finding her authentic voice served as an important life quest, because Lauren’s early work required her to be a creative chameleon. Lauren also talks about her life growing up, her spiritual experiences, and how the typical separation of “secular” and “christian/religious” did not mean as much to her in her journey.

Lisa recounts how she had positive experiences within her church upbringing, but how she also found it difficult to write great music until she embraced what she is good at instead of following the typical path.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

In August of 2019, Michael Gungor, Science Mike, William Matthews, and Jamie Lee Finch embarked on a trip to the Arctic circle to experience some of the last untouched wilderness on the planet and hear from the Gwich'in people. The Gwich'in are Athabaskan-speaking Indigenous peoples who lives in the Arctic region of Alaska and Canada. Their sacred lands include areas within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

In September 2019, the Trump Administration said it would "seek to open up the entire coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, picking the most aggressive development option for an area long closed to drilling" to cite The Washington Post.  The violence and destruction caused by the removal of long standing protections by the United States is difficult to overstate. This episode is the story of our trip to that area, and what we learned from the people there.

We want to give a special shout out to The Wilderness Society for making this episode possible and to Dan Ritzman from Arctic Wild for his guidance in Alaska.

This episode is sponsored by our friends at the No Place Like Home podcast.  No Place Like Home is a podcast that gets to the heart of climate change.  Hosts Mary Anne Hitt and Anna Jane Joyner explore the biggest story of our time—climate change—from intimate, creative, and surprising angles.  Find and subscribe to No Place Like Home at noplacelikehomepodcast.com or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Some changes are normal and happen every day, while others are higher stakes and affect every area of our lives. Whether they took place in our childhood or occurred later in life, changes often make us feel scared or anxious because of the unknowns they bring with them.In this episode, William, Hillary, and Vishnu have a conversation about change, how we experience it, and how we can navigate change in our lives.

This episode was sponsored by BetterHelp. Get 10% off your first month of safe, private, affordable mental health counseling by visiting http://betterhelp.com/liturgists

This week we're talking about porn: what it is, how we feel about it, and what roles is plays in our culture. Joining us in the conversation are the following people: Hillary McBrideMichael GungorWilliam MatthewsMike McHargueKey WilliamsCaroline LeeJenny McHargueKevin Garcia This episode was sponsored by Betterhelp. Get 10% your first month of safe, private, affordable mental health counseling by visiting http://betterhelp.com/liturgists.

Pete Holmes returns for a conversation with Michael Gungor and Science Mike to discuss his latest book, Comedy Sex God. This episode was sponsored by Betterhelp. Get 10% your first month of safe, private, affordable mental health counseling by visiting http://betterhelp.com/liturgists.