Prepared to Drown: Deep Dives into an Expansive Faith

Episode 19 - Tainted Wellspring

Fear is having a moment, and it’s not subtle. When politics starts sorting people into “insiders” and “threats,” when belonging is defined by exclusion, and when discrimination shows up in the open, we have to find the courage to name what we’re seeing and decide how we’ll respond. At the table with me are Scott Payne, a labor communicator and political strategist, and Francis Boakye, executive director of Action Dignity. We dig into what’s shifting in Alberta and beyond: the rise of nationalist language, the return of old bigotries in new packaging, and the way people are pushed to blame each other instead of questioning the systems that profit from division. We talk about newcomers being scapegoated, the difference between patriotism and nationalism, and why Ubuntu “I am because we are” is more than a philosophy; it’s a survival truth. We also get personal about isolation, social media perfection, and the quiet ways “polite” bigotry and Christian nationalism can reshape churches and public life. Then we pivot to what actually helps: humility, authenticity, servant leadership, and small groups of people who refuse to hand fear the final word. If you’ve been wondering how to push back without writing people off, or how to rebuild a sense of agency when everything feels rigged, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find Prepared to Drown. What’s one small act of connection you can make this week? Check us out at www.preparedtodrown.com Continue the conversation over at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PreparedtoDrown

Episode 18 - Uncharted Bodies

Your body walks with you into every room, including church, including the gym, including the mirror moment you didn’t ask for. From a live recording in Calgary at McDougall United Church, we sit down for an honest, practical conversation about the stories we inherit about bodies and why so many of them leave people feeling ashamed, judged, or “not enough.” Bill Weaver is joined by Ricardo De Menezes, Rev. Vicky McPhee, Rev. Karen Medland, and Geoff Starling, founder of Every Body STRONGER, a Calgary fitness space built on inclusion and body diversity. Together we unpack Christian theology that pits body against soul, Catholic and Protestant guilt around “temptation,” and the modern fitness culture that sells perfection while quietly punishing anyone who can’t or won’t conform. We also name the real-world harm of anti-fat bias, queer body standards, social media metrics, and medical stigma that too often treats weight as a diagnosis instead of seeing a whole person. Then we pivot toward hope. What does discipline look like when it’s life-giving instead of punishing? How can language become a signal of safety? What would it take to build communities, in church and in fitness, where people can safely fail, learn, and still belong? We make space for disability, chronic illness, injury, accessibility, and the privilege differences that shape how bodies move through the world. If this conversation gives you a new way to relate to movement, faith, or your own body, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. Check us out at www.preparedtodrown.com Continue the conversation over at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PreparedtoDrown

Episode 17 - Drawn From The Headwaters

Headlines race ahead of facts, and the first loud version often becomes the truth we trust. We gather a panel to ask a bracing question: who gets to tell sacred and truth-bearing stories, and how do those stories shape who belongs, who is feared, and what we excuse? From a Monty Python hymn at a funeral to anime, Good Omens, and Lucifer, we trace how pop culture remixes Scripture, how satire reframes power, and why reinterpretation can feel liberating to some and threatening to others. Our guests—Rev. Dave Holmes, justice advocate Robin Padani, filmmaker Nick Johnson (Sunburnt Unicorn), and regular contributor Ricardo Di Menezes—dig into permission, appropriation, and consent. We talk about turning land acknowledgments into living commitments, survivor-led storytelling that moves courts and cabinets, and the difficult line between empathy and co‑opting. We name the markers of misuse: narratives that reduce, divide, dehumanize, or aggrandize the teller. We confront political myth-making, softened histories of slavery, and weaponized texts that trade complexity for control. Then we pivot to what sets people free. Nick shares the heart of Sunburnt Unicorn: you don’t need to be special to be worthy of love. Dave explores Scripture as a living conversation, where struggle can redeem and still leave a limp. Robin shows how agency and proximity transform “casework” into community power. Ricardo challenges anti‑fat bias and tokenism, calling for stories that honor the whole person. We close with a simple charge: tell the truth without turning it into a weapon; hold stories with open hands; choose belovedness over performance. If this conversation moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend who cares about narrative and justice, and leave a review with the one story you think the world needs to hear next. Check us out at www.preparedtodrown.com Continue the conversation over at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PreparedtoDrown

Episode 16 - Shifting Tides

Outrage is easy. Repair is hard. We open the new year by tackling the knotty space between public shaming and meaningful accountability, asking what real consequences and real repair require when harm is public, painful, and politically charged. With Reverend Tony Snow, we pull apart the difference between performative certainty and the slower work of listening, facts, restitution, and time away from power. We revisit MeToo-era church cases to show how institutions instinctively protect platforms while minimizing victims, then map what responsible action looks like: independent investigations, concrete restitution, clear boundaries, and leaders stepping back. We also face a thorny question many avoid—can we separate art from the artist? The answer depends on whether using the work continues harm. Some things belong in museums with context; others can be reinterpreted, or their proceeds redirected to survivors. Tony brings lived wisdom from Indigenous communities in the aftermath of unmarked graves at residential schools, calling us toward truth-telling without spectacle. He draws a crucial line between shame, which paralyzes, and guilt, which can propel repair. We explore why restorative practices require real community to work—and why social media pile-ons fail that test. The conversation widens to pandemic-era backlash: how outrage was aimed at nurses, clergy, and immigrant workers while corporations profited, and how misdirected anger shields power by fracturing coalitions. What emerges is a practical, hopeful path: reclaim nuance in a binary culture, practice grace that never erases consequences, center those harmed, and build durable, transparent relationships across faiths and movements. Real accountability costs us comfort, image, and sometimes power—but it returns something deeper: trust worth having. If this speaks to you, follow the show, share it with someone you trust, and leave a review so others can find conversations that choose repair over certainty. Check us out at www.preparedtodrown.com Continue the conversation over at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PreparedtoDrown

Episode 15 - The Long Thaw

A cold December night, a live audience in a church basement, and a question that won’t leave us alone: why do Christmas redemption stories still hit home when the world feels stuck? We open with the “villains” of our childhood—Scrooge, the Grinch, Frosty’s rival, the Abominable Snowman—and uncover what lingered: not just neat endings, but the stubborn truth that joy finds a way and community calls us back. From there we press deeper. Is redemption a flip of a switch or the long work of transformation? We wrestle with Dickens’ overnight arc, the pressure of perfect holidays, and how grief and absence reshape tradition. Our guests—an artist, a playwright-chaplain, and returning regulars—trace a path from performative change to lived formation: amends, accountability, and daily habits that restore us to each other. Along the way, we name the forces fighting against that work: algorithms that reward outrage, culture wars that distract from real needs, and the temptation to outsource care to systems while our neighborhoods grow quiet. What emerges is a simple, demanding practice: choose tables over threads. One coffee instead of ten comments. Real communities—churches, arts circles, running clubs—become places to be known, challenged, and carried. We connect classic Christmas scenes to present choices: Rudolph and Herbie finding belonging, the Grinch hearing singing in the square, Scrooge stepping back into the business of humanity. And we end by gathering signs of hope in a hard year—artists hungry for meaningful stories, families holding each other through illness, neighbors rediscovering steady volunteerism beyond December. If these themes resonate, join us. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who loves Dickens or dreads perfect Christmases, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then schedule one real conversation this week. Grace meets us in person, and change follows close behind. Check us out at www.preparedtodrown.com Continue the conversation over at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/PreparedtoDrown