Upon This Rock

Saint Thomas More (STM) Parish has a sister community relationship with San Andrés Itzapa, a rural parish in south-central Guatemala. STM Parishioners Phil Smith and Marla Byrne have visited frequently in recent decades, often leading groups on work retreats and pilgrimages of faith that support foreign friends. The STM group has escorted thousands of Kansas Citians, including over a thousand teenagers, to Central America to encounter brothers and sisters who struggle in ways that open their eyes and hearts.

Follow Father Don:
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Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
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Learn More About The Guatemala Project:
Saint Thomas More Parish
STM Guatemala Story

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Shanita McAfee Bryant speaks with Father Don and Mary Coppinger Orndoff about food waste, food rescue, and food redistribution in the Kansas City area. Shanita is a chef who empowers communities through nourishment. Her groups, The Prospect KC and Nourish KC Community Kitchen, address food insecurities, create culinary employment opportunities, improve nutrition education, and transform lives by connecting people and through economic development.  She shares her experiences in helping our city diminish hunger and wants to help various local nonprofit groups work together for the common good. Visit the websites to learn how you might help.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Learn More About Shanita McAfee Bryant:
Chef Shanita: https://shanitamcafeebryant.com 
Nourish KC: https://www.theprospectkc.org 

Father Greg Haskamp sits down with Father Don one year after their first podcast together to continue talking about the mysteries of the priesthood. Both are in their sixties and look back on a combined seventy years of service as priests in our diocese. They look at priest-characters of the past and the kinds of things that might happen in the church’s future. Both are lifelong learners and want to get better at their vocation while also hoping that the church will become more relevant to young people seeking deeper faith and meaning.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Learn More About Fr. Haskamp:
Father Greg Haskamp
Visitation Parish 

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. 

Mike Kopp rejoins Father Don for his annual October check-in. Mike talks about stages of life and faith, starting with his role as a son to remarkable parents, a brother to ten siblings, a classmate to countless peers and friends from Visitation to Rockhurst to Mizzou. 

From these growing up communities to current groups in his neighborhood, parish, clubs, and social circles, he emphasizes the importance of friendships. Though incredibly unique, Mike exemplifies the common man who has reached his grandparent stage of life with rejuvenated enthusiasm for living with renewed purpose.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Mary Coppinger Orndoff joins Father Don in the first of a two-part discussion about reaching out to those in need. She has volunteered at various nonprofit organizations throughout Kansas City, and through her experiences, discovered that these numerous entities can do more when we work in unison. 

Realizing that volunteerism has decreased in recent times, she is on a mission to help those willing to volunteer find a place that is life-giving for them and those who will benefit.  She makes regular trips to diverse businesses to receive products that they no longer stock. You will enjoy her ideas for eliminating waste in our city.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Learn More:
 Nourish KC      
The  Prospect KC  

Anne Bethune is a licensed clinical social worker who offers ketamine assisted psychotherapy. She explains some medical, psychological, legal, and religious parameters placed upon her work, as well as opportunities that patients are given to encounter spiritual experiences through psychedelic methods, according to religious doctrine. 

As a Catholic, she hopes that spirituality and psychotherapy will work hand in hand to help people find healthier and holier lives as psilocybin therapeutics become more common in our society.

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Learn More About Anne Bethune

Jessica McGannon, a member of Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, comes to the table to reflect upon faith formation in Kansas City, from Saint Peter and Saint Catherine schools to O’Hara High and later at St. Elizabeth and Saint Francis parishes. She reflects on people who influenced her and our call to influence others who follow us. 

Along with her husband, Paul, they landed at SFX and have found a place that welcomes all and brings the Gospel to life for those who want to put faith into action by serving those less fortunate.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Jerry Reardon joins Father Don to bat around some thoughts in our very challenging times, when many people turn their opponents into enemies. Christ reminds us that there is one enemy: it is the devil, it is evil, it is sin and death. Jesus overcame and continues to overcome the enemy for us and with us. 

They discuss earthly battles, from war, sports, debates, and ideological differences. Jerry reminds listeners that if we are centered in God, we will know how to navigate things that want to separate us; the Bible is our guide.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible

Lane Lucas joins Father Don to discuss the fallout from a recent blog and podcast that encouraged people to love in imitation of Christ when their instinct directs them toward hate in political exchanges. Rather than ceasing dialogue about controversial topics, they agree that the church needs to encourage discussion while discerning the will of God. 

And when conversation enters the realm of disagreement or debate, we should do our best not to shut down but employ problem-solving skills and invite wisdom from the Holy Spirit to lead us. Though it is difficult to disagree, we can all agree that God directs us toward love. Let that be our guiding light.

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Father Don and his sister Barbie Faranan continue their discussion, this time on how people can help one another through their own stories and struggles. They talk about those who have gifts to give, including wisdom and experience, as well as those who just need a little help from a friend or someone unknown to them who is willing to reach out and offer hope.  This leads to an invitation to join them for Mass and a Chiefs’ Watch Party Fundraiser on September 21 at the Farnan Spirituality Center; proceeds go to The Angel Fund, which directly assists families and individuals who can use a helping hand.

Learn more about the Angel Fund & the FSC Fall Celebration

Like this podcast? Please consider donating.
Your gift (in any amount) will help us continue this show, reach our mission, and lift the Farnan Spirituality Center into a future filled with hope, progress, and success. All contributions are secure and tax-deductible. 

Follow Father Don:
Website: farnanspiritualitycenter.com
Blog: fatherdonfarnan.com
St. Francis Xavier Parish 
#farnanspiritualitycenter
#fatherdonfarnan
#uponthisrockpodcast