The Ugly Truth

New Year, Same Me

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025! CrossTalk is back for SEASON THREE and this season will be all about the joyful and merry, and the not-so-joyful and merry as we enter the holiday season. Karen Maree, David Stansbury, and Mark Stafford are back with us as we tackle our final topic for the season: the age-old tradition and mindset of New Year, New Me. This episode focuses on the importance of not feeling the need to change who you are to see change but instead focus on healthy habits we can build and how one can make it sustainable and not just a brief moment before it dies away as life’s busyness kicks in.

He is the Reason

Merry Christmas Eve! CrossTalk is back for SEASON THREE and this season will be all about the joyful and merry, and the not-so-joyful and merry as we enter the holiday season. Back with us is Karen Maree, as well as two new guests: David Stansbury, former Anglican minister and now lead pastor of New Wine Vineyard, and Mark Stafford, co-founder of CrossTalk Young Adult Ministries and face of our in-person gatherings. This episode focuses on the true aspect of Christmas and the Christmas season, and how as Christians we can still hold fast to the truth we know but love others and invite them into this time and space of community despite our differences.

The Ugly Truth

CrossTalk is back for SEASON THREE and this season will be all about the joyful and merry, and the not-so-joyful and merry as we enter the holiday season. Joined by Karen Maree and Kaya Nkumbesi our first episode aims at tackling harsh realities that some face come this time of year such as loneliness, higher levels of anxiety, and the financial burden that comes with the expectations that people feel they need to meet, and the consumer culture that gets tied to this holiday season.

Balancing Act

Joined by qualified social worker and Christian counsellor Karen Maree and Hannah McLean, teacher turned Christian counsellor, we explore topics seldom spoken about upfront in Christian communities and how to normalise these conversations. This final episode focuses on the where to from here. Join us one last time as we talk about the importance of sustainability and self-care while juggling how to find our place in the world, the expectations to leave a "mark", as well as some of the harsh realities that come with it such as burnout, anxiety and mental fatigue.

The Joys of Adulting

Joined by qualified social worker and Christian counsellor Karen Maree and Hannah McLean, teacher turned Christian counsellor, we explore topics seldom spoken about upfront in Christian communities and how to normalise these conversations. This episode focuses on the joys of adulting and the practical aspect we wish we had understood before entering adulthood while also learning the comforting fact that everyone is jut figuring it out as they go, and with a bit of help from those who have gone before us, adulting might not be as daunting as we feared.