Carrie Newcomer: Finding the Sacred in the Commonplace

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0:01: Intro

1:47: Introduction to interview with Carrie Newcomer

2:36: Newcomer on "being midwestern"; a "true and authentic voice"; midwesterners as "polite firebrands" (e.g. Wendell Berry, Scott Russell Sanders, Parker Palmer)

5:50: Newcomer on being a songwriter

8:17: Newcomer on the "really good questions" of life

9:30: Newcomer on becoming a Quaker; "my best words come out of the silence"

11:20: Clip of Newcomer's song "Geodes"

11:53: Newcomer on response to "Geodes"; geodes as a metaphor for paying attention to miracles

14:04: Clip of Newcomer's song "Where You Been"

14:35: Newcomer on life being less rich when we miss the miracles in life

15:24: Newcomer on writers getting to "live twice"

16:15: Newcomer on album "Regulars and Refugees"

16:45: Newcomer on the blur of the sacred and secular; "I get a chance to offend everyone"

18:17: Newcomer on playing in different venues

19:15: Newcomer on following "as the way opens"; on not putting  the sacred in a box

21:30: Clip of Newcomer's song "Map of Shadows"

21:58: Newcomer on liminal spaces

24:01: Clip of Newcomer song "Two Toasts"

24:53: Newcomer on working with Parker Palmer & Scott Russell Sanders

26:56: Newcomer on activism

31:52: Clip of Newcomer song "Leaves Don't Drop (They Just Let Go)"

31:25: Newcomer on the reality of change

34:2o: Clip of Newcomer song "Clean Edge of Change"; stepping into the unknown

36:31: Introduction to Brian Ellison's reflection on Gerard Manley Hopkin's poem "God's Grandeur"

37:08: Ellison reads "God's Grandeur"

38:24: Ellison reflects on "God's Grandeur"

41:24:  Outro, Promo of next week's show with Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, pastor of Mission Bay Community Church and "2.0 Candidate" for Moderator of Presbyterian Church (USA).

Centering Prayer and Prayer Shawls: Connecting with God

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0:01: Intro

2:27: Introduction to interview with Rev. Rob Carr; origin and method of Centering Prayer; Contemplative Outreach

4:21: Rob Carr on the "first half of his spiritual life"; taught to question and explore; Christian faith was an intellectual exercise

7:35: Rob Carr on "the seed of the mystical"; out of the "head" and toward the "heart"; exposed to Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Frederick Buechner, Kathleen Norris, Gerry May, Desert Fathers, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton

9:58:  Rob Carr on his transformative "prayer dream" of following Jesus in first century Palestine; 

15:10: Rob Carr on Mary of Bethany sitting at Jesus' feet; offering presence and openness to Jesus

17:22: "There is nothing more crucial than holding Jesus' gaze"

18:30: Rob Carr on the effects of Centering Prayer on his life; "God has quieted me"; anger is a choice not a reaction; expanded sense of interior freedom and spaciousness

21:18: Rob Carr on the Fruit of the Spirit; Fruit of the Spirit as "capacity"

22:40: Rob Carr answers the charge that Centering Prayer is selfish; the risk of burn out

26:10: Rob Carr on the posture of John the Baptist; "I must decrease, he must increase"

27:17: Rob Carr on the mystery of the "new creation"

28:05: Introduction to interview with Janet Bristow of The Prayer Shawl Ministry

28:35: Janet Bristow on the definition of a prayer shawl

29:18: Janet Bristow on the practice and theology of making a prayer shawl

30:35: Janet Bristow on the grassroots development of The Prayer Shawl Ministry; graduated from The Women's Leadership Institute with Miriam Therese Winter

33:33: Janet Bristow on an "embodied spirituality"; everything is circular and relational

34:50: Janet Bristow on a comparison with traditional "masculine" spirituality; "As a woman you know there's something else, too"

36:17: Janet Bristow on blessing a shawl

37:37: Janet Bristow on the need to center one's self

39:05: Janet Bristow on the similarity of experiences on the part of the shawl recipient; a sign that God is with us; he practice as a sacrament

42:28: Janet Bristow on the way her understanding of prayer has changed, The Prayer Shawl Ministry has enhanced my understanding of prayer

43:49: Janet Bristow on the contrast of shawl making and Centering Prayer, its good to keep a journal

45:39: An "open letter" to the "Confessing Church Movement" from the Rev. James McLeod

56:52: Outro; promo for next week's show with progressive Quaker singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer and her new CD, The Geography of Light

(image: "Prayer Tree" by alistairas)

Eric Elnes: Discovering a New Christianity

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0:01: Intro

2:22: The history of the phoenix; quote about the phoenix by Clement of Rome; introduction of the Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes

4:40: Who is Eric Elnes?

6:20: Eric Elnes on the origin of, and process of writing, "The Phoenix Affirmations"

9:45: Arriving at "version 3.8", not a definitive list

11:45: The structure of the document

12:10: An overview of "Christian Love of God"

12:40: Eric Elnes on the interfaith affirmation; speaking as Christians to the Christian community; "we need ot own our problems"

14:25: Eric Elnes on the need for vibrant artful worship

17:10: An overview of "Christian Love of Neighbor"

18:05: Eric Elnes on social justice and God's identification of the poor, outcast, and oppressed

20:15: An overview of "Christian Love of Self"

21:00: Eric Elnes on the progressive need to "love one's self"

23:17: Rev. Brian Ellison reflects on part one of Elnes interview

28:35: Eric Elnes on the origin of Asphalt Jesus: Finding a New Christian Faith Along the Highways of America and his 2500 mile walk

32:30: Eric Elnes on the new Christian, grassroots faith he found on his walk

33:33: Eric Elnes on the characteristics of an inclusive, compassionate, progressive faith that was "category defying"

34:37: Eric Elnes on the three energies of Christian Faith

35:00: Eric Elnes on "Anger" (Good Friday) energy - "Someone killed my Jesus!"

36:12: Eric Elnes on "Angst" (Holy Saturday) energy - "What happened to my Jesus?"

38:04: Eric Elnes on "Awe and Wonder" (Easter Sunday) energy - "God is up to something!"

39:55: Eric Elnes on reaching out without walking a pilgrimage; recalling Hereford, TX;

42:50:  DVD of The Asphalt Gospel

45:42: Rev. Brian Ellison reflects on part two of Elnes interview

51:24: Outro

Politics Needs Religion: Faithful Engagement in the Public Square

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0:01: Intro

2:34: Introduction to interview with Dr. Brenden Sweetman, author of Why Politics Needs Religion: The Place of Religious Arguments in the Public Square

4:34: Dr. Sweetman discusses two different reasons why politics needs religion

7:11: Dr. Sweetman describes why he wrote his book

8:25: Sweetman on the difference between religious affiliation and religiosity

10:04: Sweetman on Pew Forum poll regarding a candidates religious preferences and their favorability

11:53: Sweetman on the marks of a worldview; how we invoke our worldview; secularism is itself a worldview

14:00: Sweetman on political candidates appealing to a large number of worldviews

15:42: Sweetman on Barna study indicating "born again" believers will vote for Democratic

17:26: Sweetman on the role of religion in the 2008 election cycle

19:57: Introduction to interview with the Rev. Brian Ellison

20:42: Ellison describes his Sunday School class on religion and politics

23:30: Ellison describes the discussion of the way religion is used (ie - Christians on Islamic Fundamentalism)

25:18: Ellison on Gov. Mitt Romney's Faith in America address, and the simplification of religious faith

27:24: Ellison on the benefit of the class to the church members

28:26: Ellison on the diversity of the congregation and town

30:27: Ellison on the class members' suspicion regarding faith statements by politicians

31:20: Ellison on the benefit and health of honest disagreement

31:35: Ellison on the inability to separate politics from the practice of faith

32:37: Ellison on shepherding a diverse political congregation; on giving members tools to engage the political sphere

37:00: Ellison on the diversity of theological interpretation based on political and cultural context

38:18: Ellison on his own political involvement

43:04: An "Open Letter" to President Bush

49:00: Promo of next week's show: The Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes, author of The Phoenix Affirmations: A New Vision for the Future of Christianity

(image: "The Lecture" by James M. Thorne)