The Living Church Podcast

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]

What do bluegrass, bourbon, and Bible have in common? How about a group of Hillbilly Thomists? Today, we share an episode from the Signal Award-winning podcast, No Small Endeavor. Produced by PRX and Great Feeling Studios, No Small Endeavor explores what it means to live a good life. In this episode, you’ll hear from the Hillbilly Thomists, the Billboard-charting bluegrass band made up entirely of Catholic Dominican Friars. They talk about their theology and vocation, as well as how they manage life on the road as priests who have taken a vow of poverty. Plus, they give live performances of some of their finest songs. When they are not contemplating, studying, and preaching, the Hillbilly Thomists are writing songs. They've released four albums including Hillbilly Thomists, Living for the Other Side, Holy Ghost Power, and Marigold. Marigold spent 3 weeks on the Billboard bluegrass charts, debuting at #2. The friars also have a Christmas album in the works. Proceeds from album sales, donations, and merchandise sales allow the friars to continue to produce and perform music, while providing ongoing support to the formation of friars at the Dominican House of Studies [https://dhspriory.org/] in Washington, D.C. Thanks to No Small Endeavor for sharing this episode with us. For other episodes like this one, follow No Small Endeavor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast app. Learn more about the Hillbilly Thomists [https://www.hillbillythomists.com/] Learn more about No Small Endeavor [https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/] Attend a Living Church conference [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]

What can Christians on the right and left continue to learn about the experience and discipleship of trans people and those with gender incongruence?Today we'll be looking into some of the tough questions of transgender anthropology and pastoral care. But instead of debating directly over the questions (Should we use preferred pronouns? What is just legislation? How do we talk to kids? To affirm, or not to affirm?), we concentrate on how to care for people. Our two guests today, while not in substantial theological disagreement about trans topics, bring to their different experiences, approaches, and relationships lots of much-needed nuance, and some timely new questions, to a conversation grounded in traditional Christian theology. Can we question aspects of trans-anthropology as needed, or question current rhetoric or practices, but in the cause of charity, honesty, and human flourishing rather than against it? How do the right and left get caught in echo chambers here? How do we affirm the flawed gifts of the human body, while engaging its most painful experiences? How can we learn better to love and trust people? Our guests today are Dr. Abigail Favale and Pieter Valk.  Abby is a writer and professor in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. She has an academic background in gender studies and feminist literary criticism, and now writes and teaches on topics related to women and gender from a Catholic perspective. Her latest book is The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory [https://ignatius.com/the-genesis-of-gender-ggp/].  Pieter is a sought-after author and speaker on discernment, vocational singleness, and LGBT+ topics. Pieter is also the Founder and Director ofEquip [https://equipyourcommunity.org/], the leading coaching and training solution for theologically-traditional churches aspiring to be places where LGBT+ people thrive according to God's wisdom. He is also a teacher and diaconate explorer in the Anglican Church in North America. Pieter's Christianity Today article with stats from the Us Versus Us report [https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/12/a-better-trans-conversation-united-states-v-skrmetti-supreme-court/] Abby's website [https://abigailfavale.wixsite.com/home] Pieter's website [https://www.pieterlvalk.com/] Register for a Living Church conference [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]

Today is a conversation between a pastor and a farmer. What might working the land, protecting local economies, and nurturing Christian communities have in common? We'll be speaking with Mary Berry, executive director of the Berry Center, and daughter of poet, farmer, and essayist Wendell Berry. My fellow interviewer today is the Rev. Clint Wilson, rector of St. Francis in the Fields, Harrods Creek, KY, not far from the Berry Center.  We talk about joy of hard work, and hard work that is good work. Growing up with Wendell Berry as a dad. Faith and farming. Decisions to live with or against a given landscape. What is home? How do you make a home and dedicate yourself to it? The thick fabric of a place, and how work might be interwoven with neighbors, family, and seasons. What does it mean to actually "Love your neighbor as yourself"? We'll also touch on special challenges the suburbs pose to meaningful life together. Mary Berry, Executive Director of The Berry Center, grew up at Lanes Landing Farm in Henry County, KY. She has farmed for a living in Henry County, and started The Berry Center in 2011 to continue the agricultural work of John Berry, Sr. and his sons, author Wendell Berry and former Kentucky state senator, the late John M. Berry, Jr. The Berry Center focuses on issues confronting small farming families in Kentucky and around the country. Hear Mary speak at the Living Church conference [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tending-the-vineyard-tickets-1113047046679?aff=oddtdtcreator] Learn more about the Berry Center or Home Place Meat [https://Berrycenter.org] Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]

With the death of Pope Francis, today's bonus episode is a reflection on his ministry, particularly as it relates to Christian unity. Fr. Matthew Olver and Amber Noel chat with Fr. Martin Browne, who serves at the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian unity. Martin shares his first impressions of the pope and what it was like working for him. We discuss the pope's choices and charisms, his passion for shared leadership with other Christians, his inability and refusal to fit into a political box, and the fruit this has borne in personal relationships and the global scene, as well as some of the hype, frustration, and bewilderment in the wake of Francis' leadership style and its very public preference for the poor.  We'll also chat a bit about the movie, Conclave, and what it might get right and wrong about how the new pope will be selected. The Rev. Martin Browne, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. He currently lives at the Primatial Abbey of Sant' Anselmo in Rome, and serves as an official in the Western Section of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. In the Dicastery he is the desk officer for relations with the Anglican Communion and the World Methodist Council. He is also responsible, in collaboration with the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, for the preparation of the prayers and reflections for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. He serves as the Catholic Co-Secretary of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commision for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM). A brief note on when we recorded this: it was just after the pope's death and before his funeral. So take any details or speculations about the funeral proceedings with a grain of salt. TLC Podcast: Dispatch from Rome [https://livingchurch.org/podcasts/dispatch-from-rome-speciale-da-roma/] Article: "Pope Francis and the Power of the Symbolic" [https://livingchurch.org/covenant/pope-francis-and-the-power-of-the-symbolic/] Give to support this podcast [https://sub.livingchurch.org/sub/?f=donate&p=LCM] Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands [https://redcircle.com/brands]