Beloved Rising

Worship Outdoors

In this episode of Beloved Rising, Rachael and Mandy explore why Magdalene Community Church gathers beneath trees instead of ceilings, around campfires instead of stages, and what happens when worship is rooted once again in the living world. Far from being a quirky aesthetic choice, outdoor worship has become a deeply theological practice for MCC - reshaping the pace, posture, and participation of community life. Together they reflect on how creation changes the way we pray, why the natural world can feel safer and more spacious for many people, and what becomes possible when church steps outside its walls. From birdsong and Eucharist on tree stumps to muddy paths, distracted children, shifting weather, and the quiet holiness of shared presence, this conversation explores the beauty and challenge of worshipping in places that cannot be controlled or polished. This episode is for anyone longing for a more embodied, grounded, and connected expression of faith - for those who have felt hemmed in by traditional church spaces, and for anyone wondering whether God might still be speaking through wind in the trees and fire in the dusk. Take off your shoes. You’re standing on holy ground.

Prayer

In this episode of Beloved Rising, Rachael and Mandy dive into the vast and mysterious landscape of prayer. For many people, prayer has become tangled up with pressure, performance, or the quiet fear that we’re somehow getting it wrong. But what if prayer is far simpler - and far more spacious -than we’ve been taught? Together they share stories from their own lives: awkward beginnings, seasons of silence, surprising encounters with God, and the many ways prayer can take shape beyond words. Rooted in the rhythms of Magdalene Community Church, this conversation is an invitation into freedom. A reminder that prayer does not belong to experts or the especially spiritual, but to anyone willing to turn their attention toward God. This episode is for the curious, the weary, the doubtful, and anyone longing to rediscover prayer as something alive.

Adventures In New Monasticism

In this episode of Beloved Rising, Rachael and Mandy wonder out loud about a quieter revolution happening in small pockets of the church. Across the world, ordinary people are rediscovering ancient rhythms of prayer, shared life, hospitality, and simplicity - sometimes called new monasticism. But what does that look like in the messy reality of modern life, families, work, and community? What might it look like for MCC. Together they reflect on the lived experience of Magdalene Community Church members prior to joining MCC: the dreams, the experiments, the failures, and the surprising beauty of trying to live differently in a world that often pulls us in the opposite direction. This episode isn’t a blueprint or a set of answers. It’s an invitation into the wondering - offered for anyone who feels called beyond just the public services and gatherings we call "church" who may be dreaming similar dreams.

Sacred Bodies

In this episode of Beloved Rising, Rachael and Mandy explore what it might mean to take our bodies seriously again. For centuries, Christian spirituality has often treated the body with suspicion - something to control, ignore, or overcome. But what if our bodies are not a problem to solve, but sacred places where God is already at work? Drawing on scripture, lived experience, and the slow wisdom of embodied faith, they reflect on how Magdalene Community Church is learning to honour bodies as good, holy, and worthy of care. From rest and movement to disability, trauma, and dignity, this conversation gently challenges the idea that holiness lives only in our heads. This episode is for anyone who has felt disconnected from their body, pressured to perform spirituality, or curious about a faith that welcomes our whole selves.

Episode 1

In this debut episode of Beloved Rising, Rachael and Mandy gently dismantle the myth of the ‘normal’ brain and explore why church can feel so exhausting, confusing, or even unsafe for neurodivergent people. Drawing on their lived experience at Magdalene Community Church, they share how MCC has unexpectedly become a home for those on the edges, and why the accommodations that support neurodivergent folk often end up making church more spacious, humane, and life-giving for everyone. This conversation is for anyone who has struggled to belong, for leaders who want to do better but don’t know where to start, and for communities curious about what might be possible when we stop asking people to fit and start reshaping church itself.