Do you ever struggle to believe that things can get better - in the world or in yourself? What's the difference between optimism and hope? What have you seen this year that quietly restored your faith in humanity?Welcome to our third episode of our newest mini-series, "Advent After Dark." This time of Advent and Christmas is filled with hustle and bustle and joy and cheer, and yet for some it's a time where they find it hard to have hope in the world, in themselves, or in others. However, perhaps hope isn't pretending everything is fine. Instead, it's believing that God still shows up - even when we're not sure we believe anymore.Join Pastor Tom, Pastor Patrick, and Katie as we ponder the questions above. Grab a hot beverage (or a cold one), sit right where you are, and take a moment to pause with us while we prepare our hearts for this season.Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/joy-to-the-worldLicense code: SQWEJK4KM9QBZC43

What makes the "most wonderful time of the year" sometimes feel like the hardest? How can churches or communities hold space for sadness and joy? What does comfort look like when nothing fixes the pain?Welcome to the second episode of our newest mini-series, "Advent After Dark." In just a couple of short weeks, Christmas will be here, and with that might come several emotions. For some, those emotions might be excitement and joy, and for others they might be sadness and grief. Wherever you are in those emotions, especially if you are grieving, know that you are not alone. Advent doesn't deny the darkness - it names it, and then lights a candle anyway.Join Pastor Tom, Pastor Patrick, and Katie as we ponder the questions above. Grab a hot beverage (or a cold one), sit right where you are, and take a moment to pause with us while we prepare our hearts for this season.Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/joy-to-the-worldLicense code: SQWEJK4KM9QBZC43

What is the last time you actually waited for something - without filling the space? How does the rush of December steal the heart of Advent? What's one small practice that helps you pause or breathe in the middle of chaos?Welcome to our newest mini-series, "Advent After Dark." Advent is here, and while this time of year might feel busy and overwhelming as we prepare for time spent with family, the birth of Jesus, and trying to complete everything we have to do, we invite you to take a moment and pause. Maybe the most faithful thing we can do this Advent is to stop pretending we can do it all - and instead, make space for God to meet us in the quiet.Join Pastor Tom, Pastor Patrick, and Katie as we ponder the questions above. Grab a hot beverage (or a cold one), sit right where you are, and take a moment to pause with us while we prepare our hearts for this season.Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/joy-to-the-worldLicense code: SQWEJK4KM9QBZC43

Join Tom, Heather, and Katie while they talk about the final theme for the 2024 Youth Gathering, Vacation Bible School, and our Lenten Round Robin series: Created to be Disciples. The idea of being a disciple can be so simple, and yet bet so difficult at the same time. For young children it can be as simple as being a good neighbor to your friends and peers. And for adults it becomes trickier as we often ponder how we can be a good disciple in the midst of working, maybe having a family to care for, or whatever call we are facing. We appreciate you joining us as we work through what it means to be created to be authentic, brave, free, disruptive disciples. We can't wait to continue this podcast with our next series! We'll talk to you all soon!

The fourth theme of the 2024 Youth Gathering/VBS/Trinity's lenten series is Created to be DISRUPTIVE!! Church has typically been a place of tradition and uniform and at times catering to specific groups. But what if we didn't do that? What if church became a place truly for everyone? There are so many ways for us to be disruptive in our faith and Pastor Tom, Heather, and Katie barely touch the surface of ways that we can be disruptive. As always, you can let us know your thoughts by emailing Katie at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Thank you so much for listening, and we will talk to you all soon!

On this episode of "What's the Point?" Podcast, Tom, Heather, and Katie talk about what it means to be free as a Christian. We quoted some Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and tried to make sense of this rather difficult idea to grasp - especially knowing that many of us are so used to hearing the word "Free" when it comes to talking about the United States of America. How do the meanings differ? What do you think we are missing in our conversation? As always you can tell us what you think by emailing Katie at [email protected] Thanks so much for listening!

God has created us to be authentically ourselves which can be one of the hardest things to do. How can we do a better job at that while also respecting the setting we're in (job, family structure, social media presence, etc.) and the boundaries we set in place? Join Tom, Heather, and Katie as we unpack the possibilities of this 2024 Youth Gathering daily theme. As always, we thank you so much for listening to us! If you have any thoughts on this episode or any of them that we've recorded, you can email Katie at [email protected]. We'll talk to you all next week!

Continuing with our Lenten series "Created To Be," Pastor Tom, Heather, and Katie are back to talk about what it means to be created to be brave. While we might have some weird irrational fears (Katie, we are looking at you!) we are all capable of being brave in more ways than we might think: saying "Yes!" to all of the weird ways God might be calling you, by challenging yourself by trying things you aren't sure are going to work, or by taking on a new challenge - whatever that might be. We would love to hear from you and all of the ways that you have taken the step to be brave! You can email us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

WELCOME BACK!! We took a short break over January to come back from Christmas, but we are back! In this episode, Heather talks about her experience at the 2024 ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza (aka "the E"), and we also take time to introduce the theme for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, "Created To Be," which is also what we will use for our Lenten Round Robin series and for Vacation Bible School this summer. Join us over the next few weeks as we talk about how we are Created To Be: Brave, Authentic, Free, Disruptive, and Disciples. As always you can contact us by emailing Katie O'Connell at [email protected]. P.s. We left a little glimpse of what it's like before we record, and really what it's like between recording episodes.

Welcome back to What's the Point? podcast, and welcome to our final part to A VERY BONHOEFFER CHRISTMAS!! In this episode, Tom, Heather, and Katie talk about a couple more of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings from his time in prison and how we, even in time of grief or struggle, we can find hope in our greatest gift - Jesus. We are looking for series ideas for 2024!! If you have an idea of what you'd like for us to talk about, let us know by emailing Katie at [email protected] Thank you so much for listening!