The Living Church Podcast

Before there were Protestants, there were Moravians. In 1415, a Roman Catholic priest named Jan Hus was burned at the stake in Prague for promoting a vernacular liturgy, clergy marriage, and the elimination of indulgences. If he had been born just a few decades later, he might have found a friend in Martin Luther. But instead we know him as the forerunner of a pre-Protestant reforming movement that became the Moravian Church. Moravians have a unique and robust culture, a fascinating history, and were some of the first and strongest voices for Christian unity, before the ecumenical movement even began. Who are the Moravians? What are they about? Why do they love Anglicans, and what can we learn from each other? Today’s episode is part of our Full Communion Partner series. You can find our other Full Communion Partner episodes here: https://livingchurch.org/podcasts/reformation-politics-and-friendship-with-matthew-riegel/ [https://livingchurch.org/podcasts/reformation-politics-and-friendship-with-matthew-riegel/] https://livingchurch.org/podcasts/old-church-new-callings-with-magnus-persson/ [https://livingchurch.org/podcasts/old-church-new-callings-with-magnus-persson/] Our first guest is the Rev. Derek French, pastor of Nazareth Moravian Church in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and co-chair of the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee. And our second guest is the Rt. Rev. M. Blair Couch, bishop in the Moravian Church. She is also on the Lutheran-Anglican-Moravian Coordinating Committe in Canada and the Moravian-Episcopal Coordinating Committee in the U.S. Now pour yourself a German beer. We’re going to hang out with some Christians who from persecuted European beginings quickly found their place among the peacemakers. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Attend a Living Church event [https://livingchurch.org/events] Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]

Most Christians won't be part of a monastic community. But that doesn't mean they're not influenced by one. How do those who have taken the habit live their vocations from the monastery into the world around them? And what about the rest of us? What can we learn, whether lay or ordained, from the disciplines and wisdom of monastics?  Today we’ll hear from three Anglicans whose vocations have been shaped by Benedictine monasticism in different ways. We'll learn about the 6th-century Rule of St. Benedict and how it continues to discipline and nurture Christian life in the 21st century.  Our first guest is Sister Greta Ronningen. Sr. Greta is a co-founder of Community of Divine Love, an Episcopal monastery in the Benedictine tradition located in San Gabriel, California. She is also an Episcopal priest, prison chaplain, retreat leader, and writer, and the author of Free on the Inside: Finding God Behind Bars. Our second guest is the Rev. Canon Bryan Biba. Bryan is assistant rector at Christ Church Anglican in Savannah, Georgia, and canon for leadership for the Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America. He is also an oblate of the Order of St. Benedict at St. John’s Abbey, a Roman Catholic monastery in Collegeville, Minnesota. Our third guest is Annie Hodges. Annie is a supply chain manager by day and an Episcopal podcaster by night. With her sister Kate Greer, she hosts The Average Episcopalian [https://averageepiscopalian.libsyn.com/] podcast, tackling the mystery of faith with reason and humor through the lens of the church they love. Whether you’re into wimples, cinctures, and Birkenstocks, or following Jesus without the telltale garments, here’s to holy habits of all kinds. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Attend a Living Church event [https://livingchurch.org/events] Book Bryan mentioned: Benedictine Daily Prayer [https://litpress.org/Products/3702/Benedictine-Daily-Prayer?srsltid=AfmBOoopQAgL6gLwNzrf39hX7jV53GFXiPORDUTcadXvBgy5EAKOZ0Hv] Book Annie mentioned: St. Benedict's Toolbox [https://www.churchpublishing.org/stbenedictstoolbox] Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]

How can church leaders pursue justice with discernment and theological depth? Pastors often find themselves in a frustrating place when it comes to pursuing justice in their parishes and communities. There's often a divide or at least a tension between two groups: those who do not want to overthink or "overtheologize" it until the moment to act is past; and those who feel wary of action without substantial, theological, and contextual discernment pieces to help. With respect to all the practical concerns here, this is a false divide. Hopefully, today's conversation might help us start to find a way across. We'll talk about leadership, Christian freedom, and political will; challenging presuppositions about authority and building and empowering community bit by bit; various angles and ways of being strategic; and a bit about Catholic social teaching that might help Anglican and Episcopal leaders get "unstuck" from fixed religious and politcal categories to discern more holistic paths of faithful action. Our guests are The Rev. Canon Natalie Arendse and Dr. Elisabeth Kincaid.  Natalie is currently chaplain to Whitsunday Anglican School in Mackay, Queensland, Australia. She is honorary Canon in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and former head of St. John's Leadership Academy in Cape Town, a formation program for lay and ordained leaders.  Elisabeth is director of Baylor University's Institute for Faith and Learning and Associate Professor of Ethics, Faith and Culture at George W. Truett Seminary. She's also author of the new book, Law from Below: How the Thought of Francisco Suárez, SJ, Can Renew Contemporary Legal Engagements [https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Law-from-Below]. Now grab your thinking caps and your work boots as we discover a bit more about how prayer and politics, bible studies and social justice, can (and do) go together. Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Register for a Living Church Conference [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/awe-and-presence-tickets-1357417595569?aff=oddtdtcreator] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]

There's a powerful group of women who you may not know are in your church. They handle your prayer requests. They support your priest. They may help with Sunday school, coffee hour, or missions. And they are an inspiring example of the understated power of simple service. These women are the Daughters of the King.  The Order of the Daughters of the King is a vowed order for women who are communicants of Episcopal Churches or churches in the historic episcopate. They currently include women around the world in the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic traditions. Daughters take vows to obey the two Rules of The Order: the Rule of Prayer and the Rule of Service. They aid local clergy and parishes in prayer and evangelism, and do it while wearing a simple silver cross, the cross of The Order.  Our guest today is Dr. Grace Sears, past president and archivist of the Order of the Daughters of the King, and past editor of its magazine, The Royal Cross. She is also past vice president of the board of The Living Church Foundation. We'll talk today about being taken by surprise by a calling, learning leadership, navigating controversial times, and what happens when the Holy Spirit falls in a business meeting. What can we take from a group of women who simply vow to pray and serve together, no matter their own season of life, or what's going on the life of the church or the world? Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Join us at the Awe and Presence worship and arts conference [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/awe-and-presence-tickets-1357417595569?aff=oddtdtcreator] Learn more about the Good Shepherds conference [https://cptconference.com/]  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]

What do pilgrimage, tiny bridges, and time machines have to do with Christian unity? Today we'll be looking at the ministry of the Anglican Centre in Rome, a hub of ecumenical meeting, dialogue, and fellowship in the Eternal City. The Anglican Centre was founded in 1966, during the watershed of ecumenical engagement that followed the Second Vatican Council. It hosts lectures, exhibitions, special courses, and other public events that foster deeper understanding between Anglicans and Roman Catholics. It also works closely with the Catholic lay community St. Egidio, in projects that serve the poor and disadvantaged in Rome.  We'll be hearing from its new Director, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Ball. Our conversation will cover his own journey into ecumenical ministry, the Anglican Centre's mission today, and what his own calling might bring to the Centre. We also talk about the importance of pilgrimage and imagine Christianity 100 years from now. Bishop Anthony is also Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the Holy See. He's served in many capacities, including as a diplomat, as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Heads of the Orthodox Churches in Syria and Lebanon, as Rowan Williams's chaplain, as Bishop of North Africa, as canon steward of Westminster Abbey and as Archdeacon of Westminster. Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]