The Mystic Cave

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The sign of ashes may be about our repentance. But dirt, or 'humus,' is the sign of our humanity, which is sometimes born of humiliation. 

Credits:
Music Credit: "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2021

Links:
Web Site: https://www.brianepearson.ca
Face Book Group: "The Mystic Cave"
Email: [email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

A new young minister who likes to eat, an old farming community that likes to feed. What could go wrong? 

Credits:
Music Credit: "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2021

Links:
Web Site: https://www.brianepearson.ca
Face Book Group: "The Mystic Cave"
Email: [email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

John Pentland talks about how Christian belief has changed: from a distant to a present God; from Jesus the answer to Jesus the question; and from a church set apart to a church engaged in the world, even online. It's a hopeful vision that leaves no one out, and promises exciting new discoveries for those willing to travel the Unknown Path.

Contacts:
www.hillhurstunited.com
[email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

John Pentland invites us to imagine a church, not for dyed-in-the-wool believers, but for never-been-to-church seekers. All are welcome. Hillhurst United Church, where John's been the minister for over sixteen years, has seen its congregation grow, not only in its pews but also online. Its burgeoning membership now includes people from around the world, many of whom have never even set foot in the building. And its appeal? It asks the right questions. 

Contacts:
www.hillhurstunited.com
[email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

Many think of religion as a matter of the heart--loving God, loving your neighbour as yourself. But wars have been fought over the words we use to describe that love, and the ideas behind those words. For Christianity in particular, the words matter. Derwyn Costinak is an Anglican priest whose beliefs were formed growing up in the Pentecostal Church. The evolution of his beliefs from those evangelical roots has brought him to a place of openness to the mysterious ways of God, and to the limits of our certainty. Now, he's trying to hold it all together--a faith that encompasses the full range of Christian belief, and that even extends outward to those outside of the church. It's a stretch. 

Derwyn can be reached through his church's web site: www.anglicangoodshepherd.ca. 

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

Many think of religion as a matter of the heart--loving God, loving your neighbour as yourself. But wars have been fought over the words we use to describe that love, and the ideas behind those words. For Christianity in particular, the words matter. Derwyn Costinak is an Anglican priest whose beliefs were formed growing up in the Pentecostal Church. The evolution of his beliefs from those evangelical roots has brought him to a place of openness to the mysterious ways of God, and to the limits of our certainty. Now, he's trying to hold it all together--a faith that encompasses the full range of Christian belief, and that even extends outward to those outside of the church. It's a stretch.

Derwyn can be reached through his church's web site: www.anglicangoodshepherd.ca. 

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

Having shared with us her spiritual journey, from the inclusion and support of her early years in the church to the hurt and frustration that led her to leave her ministry as an Anglican priest, Tara now joins me to consider the needs of the seeker--on the other side of church land. And what do we discover? It's all about community. Not about biblical authority and clergy role-playing and the need to have all the answers. But simply seekers supporting seekers along the Unknown Path. 

Tara can be reached through her professional web site: www.TRLConsulting.ca.  

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

Tara's journey looks a lot like my own: a church-going childhood, a sense of call, an ordained ministry; then hurt and disillusionment, leading her to leave the church, but with her faith intact, even if it expresses itself differently now. In this, the first part of our conversation, Tara tells us her story. In the second, we'll unpack it.

You can contact Tara directly through her web site at: www.TRLConsulting.ca

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

In this episode, the first of the interview sessions, I talk with the author of Lost Rites: Leaving Church Land. That would be ... me. I just want to say, talking to oneself is highly underrated. Your personality begins to disintegrate as different parts step forward for their moment on the stage. But that's not the point. The point is that this is a look behind the writing of the memoir that has been the centrepiece of this podcast for the past almost four months. Why did I write it? What does it mean that I've left the church? What are my plans now? And when are we going to hear a voice other than mine? All important questions as we transition to The Mystic Cave: the Interviews.

Credits:
Music Credit: "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2021
Photo Credit: Chad Dudley

Links:
Web Site: https://www.brianepearson.ca
Face Book Group: "The Mystic Cave"
Email: [email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026

Click here to send me a text message (include your contact info if you want a reply).

All the church's failings began with faithfulness. Someone was trying to do the right thing. But then they clung to that thing, afraid of having to make difficult decisions, or to have faith, ever again. So the scriptures, the creeds, the sacraments, the ordered ministries--they all hardened into stone, like the mighty cathedrals they inspired, and ceased to have life or breath. I choose life. And miraculously, I have found that life still flows ... on the other side of church land.

Credits:
2nd Interlude: babbling_brook by electronixtech / License: Attribution Non-Commercial
Music Credit: "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2021
Photo Credit: Chad Dudley

Links:
Web Site: https://www.brianepearson.ca
Face Book Group: "The Mystic Cave"
Email: [email protected]

Personal Links
My web site (where you can sign up for my blog): https://www.brianepearson.ca
My email address: [email protected]

Series Music Credit
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, performed by Colin James, from the album, Limelight, 2005; licensed under SOCAN 2026