The Pastor and the Poet

Episode 3 - Exploring Grief with Kalina Carlson

Today we’ll discuss grief and its practical implications. What is it, why do we experience it, and what can (and shouldn’t) be done about it? We are joined today by Kalina Carlson, a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary(!), an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church, and founder of Liel (pronounced Lee-El), a company that provides practical grief resources that seek to help people bring their grief to God. "Taking Care" by Callista Buchen: https://www.thrushpoetryjournal.com/may-2019-callista-buchen.html Link to Kalina's Liel Grief Boxes: https://www.etsy.com/shop/lielgriefboxes/?etsrc=sdt

Episode 2 - Creativity and the Divine with C.T. Salazar

Welcome to The Pastor and the Poet. I am your host, Reverend BJ Chain, an ordained minister in the PC(USA). I am joined by my co-host Thomas Richardson, educator and published author. Here we will use our varied and shared knowledge to discuss broader theological themes and topics. We are usually joined by a guest, as we are today, who will provide deeper insight into the episode’s topic. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion to follow! In this episode, we’re looking for a creative spark. Where do writers, painters, and musicians get their inspiration? What do biblical texts and our theological traditions teach us about creativity? We’ll be talking to Mississippi poet CT Salazar about these very ideas. C.T. Salazar is a Latinx poet and librarian from Mississippi, and the author of Headless John the Baptist Hitchhiking (Acre Books 2022), which was named a 2023 finalist for the Theodore Roethke Memorial Award. He’s also the author of three previous chapbooks. And yes, you do need all of them. His poems have most recently appeared in Poetry Northwest, Gulf Coast, Denver Quarterly Review, Cincinnati Review, West Branch, Hopkins Review, and elsewhere. CT lives in the Mississippi Delta, where he’s a Research Methods Librarian. Y’all, we’re so lucky CT could squeeze us into our schedule.  Special thanks to Alex Pieschel for giving us permission to use his song "Warning" off his 2017 album "Songs for Strangers" And special thanks to Hillary Richardson for the outro!

Ep. 1 - Theodicy with Dr. James Bowley

Welcome to The Pastor and the Poet. I am your host, Reverend BJ Chain, an ordained minister in the PC(USA). I am joined by my co-host Thomas Richardson, educator and published author. Here we will use our varied and shared knowledge to discuss broader theological themes and topics. We will usually be joined by a guest, as we are today, who will provide deeper insight into the episode’s topic. Thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion to follow! In this episode, we’re asking the questions many religious people have asked in their heads or hearts but maybe have been tentative to ask out loud: Why do bad things happen to people, and what does God have to do with it? To help us sort out how people have been kicking this idea around for millennia, we’re joined today by Dr. James Bowley. James Bowley (in his words!) is a strange person who lived awhile in Nebraska with his parents when he was a stupid little kid, then moved to a lot of places like Israel and Virginia and Cincinnati and eventually to the promised land of MS and teaches at Millsaps where he gets to meet cool smart ppl like Thomas.  He’s put some words out into the universe that someone thought should be written down for evidence down the road and published them.

The Pastor and the Poet Introduction!

Thank you all for listening! Special thanks to Alex Pieschel for giving us permission to use his song "Warning" off his 2017 album "Songs for Strangers" And special thanks to Hillary Richardson for the outro!