Faith Made Welcome Podcast

Faith Made Welcome

faithmadewelcome
Faith Made Welcome! A New Podcast brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church and This Most Unbelievable Life will launch in August 2020. This podcast will explore topics related to spiritual formation from the lens of a progressive baptist church’s faith community.
Chatting through Advent: A Love We Offer God, Others, and, ultimately, Ourselves
Love. Is it really all we need? As we move into Week 4 of advent this week, we settle in for a close look at this expansive topic. As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team brought you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community. Who do we have on the pod for this special week?  Well, who better to talk to us about love than CBC’s most recently engaged couple: Tameika Holly and Courtney Hodge (back from Episode 2!)? In this episode, they join the FMW crew to discuss the wonders and trickiness that are inherent in love. We discuss what it means that we’re called to love God AND to love one another as we love ourselves. Along the way we explore how love grows, how we must sometimes love from afar, and how challenging it can be to really accept the love that’s offered to us.  About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Dec 22, 2020
1 hr 2 min
Chatting through Advent: A Joy of Surprise, Resistance, and...Taylor Swift
It’s pink candle week, ya’ll! As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team is bringing you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community.  Where do we go this week?  To joy, of course! This year has been one where it’s been hard to keep hope, to cultivate peace, but has it been one short on joy?  This week you’ll hear Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Marcia Call and Lenny Wrigley to talk through our relationship with joy. In this one you’ll get to hear us explore what brings us joy, how joy operates in our everyday lives, and the unexpected ways we’ve seen joy emerge. Where do you see joy listeners? What have you done to cultivate it this year and when and where has it snuck up on you?  We hope this episode - and the Taylor Swift name drop count within it - will bring you joy.  Check it out - and learn how many times T-Swizzle gets mentioned during the joy-cast with Lenny! About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Dec 17, 2020
1 hr 13 min
Chatting through Advent: A Peace Sought, Cultivated, and Sometimes Found
We’re now in our second week of this season of anticipation. As you might know, for each week of advent, the FMW team is bringing you a deep-dive conversation featuring special guests from the CBC community.  Where do we go this week?  Yesterday marked the lighting of the Peace candle and so today we bring you the “Peace” episode. What a theme for us all to wrestle with this year, right listeners?  This week you’ll hear Marty, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Jenelle Rosecrance and Athena Burkett to talk through each of their journeys with peace. In this one you’ll get to hear both Jenelle and Athena talk through their struggles with peace and also the ways they’ve learned to cultivate peace in their daily lives. We take space in this one to look at peace as both the promise God brought to earth through Jesus and we explore it as a personal, internal thing we seek as humans walking our journey together. How do you relate to peace? What things bring you peace?  What ways do you seek peace today? What does your relationship with it look like this year in particular?  We’d love to hear from you and keep our peace conversation going throughout the week! Join us to chat about it on the CBC Facebook page! About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Dec 7, 2020
1 hr 3 min
Chatting through Advent: A Hope Tied to Courage, Anger, and Skepticism
Week 1 of Advent has arrived! How are you observing it this year, Faith Made Welcome listeners? Over the next four weeks the FMW team is observing it by way of deep dive conversations with CBC community members.  Yesterday marked the lighting of the Hope candle and so today we bring you the “Hope” episode. If you’re expecting a cheery conversation about all the things we’re hopeful Santa (or Jesus) might bring us this year...well, you might need a different podcast! This week you’ll hear Robin, Cheri and Paul sit down with church members Eric Spiegel (back from our Hocus Pocus episodes and still Cheri’s man friend!) and Casey Pick (church finance committee chair, musician, activist, and woman always ready to drop some KNOWLEDGE) for a frank conversation about how we approach hope; wrestle with hope; and try to keep hope while working for a better reality. Casey helps us to think about the role of anger and courage in hope, while Eric helps us remember why all hopeful souls need skeptics in their lives.  How do you relate to hope? What does your relationship with it look like this year in particular?  We’d love to hear from you and keep our hope conversation going throughout the week! Join us to chat about it on the Commonwealth Baptist Church Facebook page thread! About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Nov 30, 2020
58 min
Gearing up for Advent: Tradition, Now-and-Not-Yet, and Advent People
This week on the podcast we take some more time to anticipate the season of anticipation! We build on last week’s history of Advent episode with this one wherein you’ll hear Marty and Robin sit down with Cheri and Paul to look at what the advent season means for the CBC pastors and their hopes for what it will bring in this most unprecedented year for the CBC community.  In this one you’ll get to hear more about Marty and Robin’s own Advent experiences and hear more about CBC traditions around the season. Then we dig in with the big Advent themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. This episode isn’t about being grateful for how these show up in our lives, but instead we acknowledge how we wrestle with cultivating and losing each of these concepts. Are the Advent themes something you count on year after year? Or does this season help you to re-discover where these themes are within you? Can it help you see God in the world, here with us? How might we see these themes as confessions of the faith? About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected] Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Nov 23, 2020
1 hr 5 min
Knowing What Came Before: Fireside Chats with LCR,  Part 2 - Advent
This week on the podcast we continue our fireside chat with Lonnie Rich! In this part of the conversation you’ll get to hear Lonnie, Cheri, and Paul take a closer look at the Advent season and its history. We look at early celebrations of Advent, how the tradition came to the Baptist church, and how it's celebrated within the CBC community.    Along with the pilgrimage through history and tradition associated with Advent, we get an opportunity to explore Lonnie’s overall approach to faith and Christianity. Listen in to learn: what brought Lonnie back to the church? We also consider why periods of preparation (Advent and Lent) are tied to both high holy holidays of the faith (Christmas and Easter). Is all this preparation really just advertising for Jesus? And finally, we ultimately fail to fully answer Paul’s burning question: what’s with the pink candle? You’ll have to tune in next week, as we chat with CBC pastors Robin and Marty to see if we’ll get an answer to that question from the real pros!   About Our Guest Lonnie’s a long-time student of history. Once upon a time he was a history major. He’s long been a devoted reader of all things history, and just a few years ago he taught a multi-week class in the history of Christianity for CBC.  He also long served as a deacon at Commonwealth Baptist, and Cheri likes to joke that he’s “the closer” for the church. Many, many current church members might recall they went to coffee with Lonnie not long before they decided to make this place their church home. He’s a true embodiment of faith made welcome!    Topics Mentioned this Episode While there are fewer direct references in this episode than we often have, listeners might enjoy reading further into key topics discussed in our recording: Lonnie notes that advent may have first been celebrated in Spain and Gaul as a preparation for baptism, evolved into an anticipation of the second coming, and then into a celebration of the coming of Jesus. These theories of its evolution are discussed further in this article from Christianity.com, which also provides a nice overview of the Advent tradition: What is Advent? We note that the celebration of advent became typical within the Baptist tradition only more recently. The Baptist Press article “Advent Rediscovered by Southern Baptists” discusses the impetus for this change in tradition. Lonnie notes that Constantine helped establish the tradition of Christmas being observed in December, which can be explored further in this  Lonnie mentions his stance on propitiation (appeasing the gods) vs. soteriology (faith driven by salvation) We discuss the Hanging of the Greens, chrismons that don the chrismon trees of CBC, as well as traditions involving advent wreaths and advent calendars. About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.    Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Nov 16, 2020
50 min
Knowing What Came Before: Fireside Chats with LCR,  Part 1
What’s better in mid-fall than some cozy storytelling around the fire? That’s what you’ll listen in on over the next two weeks of Faith Made Welcome. Settle in, grab a warm beverage, hear the gentle crackle of the fire pit (seriously!) and join podcast regulars Cheri and Paul as they chat church and religious history our special guest: Lonnie C. Rich!   As Lonnie says in this episode: “Things begin, occur, grow, exist, change, but it’s never in a vacuum.”  Together we think about the history of religion, Christianity and the Baptist denomination.  This one ends with a cliffhanger, as next week we’ll answer Cheri’s final question posed here: what does Advent mean anyway?  We’ll pick up there next week as we begin to look forward to the advent season.  About Our Guest Lonnie’s a long-time student of history. Once upon a time he was a history major. He’s long been a devoted reader of all things history, and just a few years ago he taught a multi-week class in the history of Christianity for CBC.  He also long served as a deacon at Commonwealth Baptist, and Cheri likes to joke that he’s “the closer” for the church. Many, many current church members might recall they went to coffee with Lonnie not long before they decided to make this place their church home. He’s a true embodiment of faith made welcome!  Topics Mentioned this Episode There are a number of historical and theological concepts mentioned in this episode; here they are in the order they were mentioned: Holy Cross Abbey Trappist Monks Georgian Chant Pope Francis Zoroastrianism Mithraism Propitiation  Polytheism Zeus Soteriological Mystery Religions Osiris and Iris Constantine  Henothesism  The 10 Commandments Film Martin Luther Maccabees  Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Zealots  Judas Iscariot John the Baptist Messiah  David Bar Kokhba  Apologists About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Nov 9, 2020
49 min
Digging in With Hocus Pocus:  Faith, Spookiness, and Halloween:  Part 2
This episode of Faith Made Welcome is the second of a two-part discussion leading us into Halloween! Last episode we chatted through our general impressions of Hocus Pocus, our experiences with trick-or-treating, and some basic history of Halloween.   Where does this one take us?  Deeper into theology! Surprisingly enough: this one will take you from magic mushrooms to transubstantiation. How do we get from one to the other?  Perhaps with a bit of hocus pocus! It turns out Hocus Pocus is fertile ground for some unexpected topics. With the film as our cornerstone we ask: how do we decide what’s dangerous to faith?  what’s the relationship between belief and ritual?  what’s the relationship between science and the supernatural? how does fear shape how we maintain and negotiate our faith?  While we don't answer these questions fully, we hope we give our listeners more than just a spooky narrative to contemplate on the dark evenings leading into Halloween this week. So, join Marty, Cheri, Paul, Kelley, Zak and Eric and see where Hocus Pocus takes them next! Nerd Corner In addition to the usual scripture and pop cultural references, here are some notes about some of the nerdier topics we mention in passing this episode related to science, literature, and language: Paul mentions the Aminita Muscaria, a psychedelic mushroom featured in the Smurfs; he also calls it the Christmas mushroom. Why? It is said  to be the mushroom that helps Santa’s reindeer fly. Speaking of psychedelics, Paul also mentions Terence McKenna  again, because of course he does. Zak asks which famous author noted that “any advanced society will look like magic to a lesser society.” This saying is a reference to Clarke’s Third Law (as in Arthur C. Clarke), but other authors, including Issac Asimov (Foundation and Empire) and Agatha Christie (The Hound of Death) have written similar things in their work. Kelley notes that the witch trials of Salem were brought back to the American consciousness in the 1950s by Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which weaves is an allegory for McCarthyism set in the times of the Salem witch trials. Zak notes that there is a Hocus Pocus book as well. Indeed, there is a book that was based upon the 1993 film and adds a sequel (it has a tagline of “Witch, Please!”).  Perhaps that will account for the plot of the promised film sequel? In the meantime, there is a Hocus Pocus reunion this Friday night! Cheri brings up the origin of the term “hocus pocus,” which John Tillotson, Archbishop of Canterbury between 1691 and 1694, believed was: “[i]n all probability those common juggling words of hocus pocus are nothing else but a corruption of hoc est corpus, by way of ridiculous imitation of the priests of the Church of Rome in their trick of Transubstantiation” (Oxford English Dictionary); this led to a discussion of other mis-heard phrases including “open says me,” which Eric mentions, and which is a parody of “open, Sésame” or “Sésame ouvre-toi” from Antoine Galland's telling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" from his version of The Thousand and One Nights. Scripture Mentioned this Episode As with last week’s episode, there are a few indirect Biblical references in this one. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss: Matthew 10:16 1 Peter 3:14-16 Luke 12:48 Exodus 32 Genesis 18:22-33 Pop Culture Mentioned this Episode There are a number of pop culture references in this episode, including a few repeats from last week; here they are in the order of appearance: Hocus Pocus (obviously) Green Day Dave Matthews Band CAKE  Smurfs  He-Man and the Masters of the Universe The Baby-sitter’s Club (2020) Back to the Future Monty Python and the Holy Grail Cursed Dungeons and Dragons Harry Potter The Witches  Theological Concepts In this episode, Marty mentions Rev. William Barber’s notion of the moral center, which he talked about with The Guardian in 2018. It’s so important it’s worth quoting in full here:  “There is no reli
Oct 26, 2020
50 min
Digging in With Hocus Pocus:  Faith, Spookiness, and Halloween:  Part 1
This episode of Faith Made Welcome is the first of a two-part discussion leading us into Halloween! What do we see when we bring together Hocus Pocus (that’s right, the 1993 Disney film!) with themes of faith and explorations of Christianity?  Well, that’s what we aimed to find out with this pair of episodes! Over the next two weeks you’ll hear Marty, Cheri, and Paul sit down and chat these topics out with three guests: Kelley Wool (back from Episode 3), and Zak Wool (Kelley’s “friend” - her word - and Hocus Pocus enthusiast), Eric Spiegel (Cheri’s “manfriend” - his word - and CBC Church Council Member).   In this episode, we set the stage for next week’s more in depth exploration of the themes of Hocus Pocus and a deep dive into the tensions and points of connection between Christianity and Halloween. Listen in to hear us discuss our general impressions of Hocus Pocus, experiences with trick-or-treating (and parallel events put on by faith communities of our past), and frame some basic history of the Halloween holiday.   Scripture Mentioned this Episode The banter in today’s episode features a lot of indirect references to scripture. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss: 2 Timothy 2:15 2 Samuel 11: 1-3  Exodus 22:18 Leviticus 19:31 Leviticus 15:19-33 Leviticus 11:9-12 Leviticus 19:19 Genesis 3:1-7 Luke 1:26-38 Matthew 18:3 Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode There are a whole bunch of pop culture references in this episode; here they are in the order of appearance: Hocus Pocus (obviously) The Witches Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey Fright Night Jane the Virgin Cabin in the Woods Bruce Campbell Army of Darkness Evil Dead Rocky Horror Picture Show Star Wars  The Simpsons Batman Meme: When your mom makes you wear coat.  The Harry Potter Franchise Dark Places by Gillian Flynn Dungeons and Dragons Eerie Indiana  Dave Franco Jay and Silent Bob The Smurfs  If you want to dive deeper into the historical concepts, rather than (or in addition to) the pop culture of this one, here are some of the holidays we discuss: All Hallo’s Eve All Saint’s Day Samhain About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.  Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected]. Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.
Oct 19, 2020
58 min
Caring for Creation: Stewardship of Planet, Community and Self
This episode of Faith Made Welcome wraps up our series on the intersections and relationship between faith and science. For today’s episode, we turn our attention to social science and creation care.    What does it mean to take care of the world we live in?  What does this mean, specifically for a Christian community? What does it mean when we consider that we ourselves are part of creation and also require care? In this episode, Marty, Cheri and Paul join with CBC deacon Dr. Dan Edwards to discuss what it means to be good stewards to our planet, our community and even to ourselves.   We look forward to continuing this conversation with the members and friends of CBC and the Faith Made Welcome podcast!     About Our Guest Dr. Dan Edwards Father. Son. Friend. Child Psychologist. Trivia Team hanger-on. Cyclist. CBC-er. (Recovering Evangelical). Fact Checker. OG Cheapskate Dad.   Famous Quotes: 'We'll just have ice water.' 'We can survive without cable.' 'There's lots more peanut butter in that jar, people' (*digs it out of the trash*... etc.).   Scripture Mentioned this Episode Today’s episode features a lot of indirect references to scripture. Here’s where you can read more about the passages we discuss: Genesis 1:26 Exodus 16 Deuteronomy 22: 9-10 Mark 12:31 Genesis 32: 22-32 Philippians 4:6-7 1 Corinthians 15:31 Luke 8:46 Luke 6:12-13 Genesis 2:1-3 Acts 4:32 Acts 5:1-11   Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Dan mentions this popular mantra, which he claims is older than Cheri (and articles discussing its origin suggest he’s right) Henry David Thoreau - Dan references Thoreau’s famous recommendation for a life “frittered away with detail”, which is: “Simplify, simplify” (Chapter 2, Walden). Marie Kondo - Dan references Mondo, who wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, in relationship to the value of simplifying. David Gushee  - Dan references a story from his Still Christian, wherein Gushee discusses his admiration for a professor who elects to live a simple life. Jay Adams - Dan references Adams as being someone who brought faith and psychology together but who saw sin as being a root of origin for struggles that are not relieved by prayer and pastoral care.  Frank Minirth and Paul Meier - Dan notes that these two evolved the world of Christian psychology to consider more biological concepts, but still with limitations Nadia Bolz Weber - Dan jokes that she might best represent what a current blending of Christian thought and psychology look like.  Shel Silverstein - Cheri references The Giving Tree and contemporary moves to suggest revision of this book that present the tree as someone with healthy boundaries Carpenters’ Shelter, ALIVE!, and  Casa Chirilagua - Marty menthind these three Alexandria-based organizations that the CBC community supports.  William MacAskill - Dan references his How to Do Good Better, which has him examining what it means to really make a difference    About This Podcast This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.    Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team?  You can reach us at [email protected].   Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.   A Note on the Links in these Shownotes Where possible the links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!
Oct 12, 2020
1 hr 7 min
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