A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

Simon Doong, Lee Catoe & Andrew Peterson

Welcome to A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast, the podcast where we respond to your questions and comments on issues of faith, social justice and church life. Don't be afraid to write in and ask your question because if it matters to you, it matters to us and it just might be a matter of faith. Whether it be faith in God, faith in others or faith in yourself. We are brought to you by the Office of Faith-Based Investing & Corporate Engagement, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, and Unbound: An Interactive Journal on Christian Social Justice for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Submit questions to [email protected]. LISTENING GUIDES FOUND IN PODCAST SHOW NOTES.

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Top 10 A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Knowing Ourselves (and Singleness) w/ MaryB. Safrit

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

08/01/24 • 67 min

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Special Guest:
MaryB. Safrit, Communicator, Creator, Coach & Host of the Found Family Podcast
Question of the Week:
Let’s talk about everyone’s favorite subject: ourselves! How does knowing and understanding ourselves impact the kinds of friendships we make and the community that we seek, both inside and outside the church?
Found Family Podcast
MaryB.'s website

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Episode 16: Name Tags, The Church Website & DO WE NEED A HERO?

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

06/17/21 • 45 min

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Questions for the Week:

What are your thoughts on using name tags at church? I know that it is meant to make it easier for visitors feel like they can talk to members, but I'm not sure how I feel about them.
My church is a bit behind the times in terms of technology and communications. We have a Facebook page and a barebones website. How do we increase our social media presence, particularly with limited resources?

Guest:
David LaMotte, Author, Singer & Songwriter
https://www.davidlamotte.com/
Guest Question:

I see people in my community and my church who are troubled by various injustices that we see in the world. But I feel like they're also all waiting for someone to come along who has that "special" gift to get changes started and get things moving, and then they'll do something. Am I the only one observing this? And is this the correct approach? Further, I'm a young person who is constantly told to "wait" until I have my skills and my life figured out to participate in any cause for justice. But I don't want to wait. Am I just being impatient?

Resource Roundup: Juneteenth

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Advocacy Watch 4: COP 27 Debrief

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

12/05/22 • 35 min

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This month of Advocacy Watch, Jimmie and Sue invite members of the delegation to COP 27 to talk about their experience and how to get involved!
Special Guests:
Catherine Gordon, Associate for International Issues, Office of Public Witness; Jessica Maudlin, Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns, Presbyterian Hunger Program; & Victoria Alexander, Young Adult Volunteer, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
COP 27
PCUSA Conference of Parties Webpage
Office of Public Witness

Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
Presbyterian Hunger Program

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Election Results (eek), Truth Telling in Media, & Unbroken and Unbowed w/ Jimmie Hawkins

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

08/18/22 • 61 min

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This week, we talk about the recent primary elections that ousted Liz Cheney and the new leadership of the USA Gymnastics org...and we talk about Alex Jones. All that and more on A Matter of Faith!

Question of the Week:
The Alex Jones trial highlights the responsibility that people have when they have an audience and a microphone. As members of the public, how do we navigate the tension between free speech and lies when it comes to news, media, and personalities?
Special Guest:
Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, Director, Advocacy Offices, PCUSA
Guest Question:
I feel like when we think about advocacy in the US regarding people of color, and especially the Black community, we only focus on the abolitionist movement and the Civil Rights movement. But I imagine there are many more ways the Black community has both contributed to and lead justice efforts in our country. What are some examples? How does this affect our understanding of current struggles for racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement?
Resources:
Unbroken and Unbowed: A History of Black Protest in America
Office of Public Witness

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Heat Waves, Twitter, Our College Journeys, & The Theocracy of Work w/ Carolyn Chen

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

07/21/22 • 60 min

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This week we are sending out prayers to our siblings experiencing massive heat waves due to climate change and we are giving a little update on Elon Musk and Twitter!

Question for the Week:
A lot of high school students are preparing to begin their college journey at this time of year during the summer. What was your college application and decision-making process like? Did faith play any role?
Special Guest:
Dr. Carolyn Chen, Sociologist, Co-Director of the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies; University of California, Berkeley
Guest Question:
Across many Christian denominations, we hear about declining church membership and that fewer people are attending church. But we don’t always talk about the how the role that faith and religion plays in our lives might have changed in relation to the role that work plays in our lives. How have you seen these roles change? What do you think it means for the future of faith communities?
Resource Roundup:
Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley
New York Times Guest Essay: When Your Job Fills In for Your Faith, That’s a Problem
Carolyn Chen's Website

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Jan. 6th, Decolonizing, THE CROSS, & the Commission on the Status of Women Part 2 w/ Mamisoa Rakotomalala

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

06/16/22 • 45 min

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This week, we talk about the Jan. 6th Hearings and how Ukrainians are decolonizing their space through renaming and reclaiming.

Question for the Week:
What do you think about the image of the cross and how it is used, such as its physical location in the church or even in jewelry or necklaces?
Special Guest:
Rev. Dr. Mamisoa Rakotomalala, CSW66 Delegate
Guest Question:
What was your experience as a delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women? What inspired you? What challenged you? How has it impacted your faith?
Resource Roundup:
Commission on the Status of Women Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations

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Harvard, Elon Musk, Corporation or Church? & Sermon Plagiarism w/ Thomas G. Long

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

04/27/22 • 41 min

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Question of the Week:
The church as a denomination, as well as at the congregational level, often finds itself in an identity crisis: Are we a corporation? A non-profit? Or a mission organization? How do we navigate this fine line as people of faith?
Special Guest:
Dr. Thomas G. Long, Professor Emeritus of Preaching, Emory University's Candler School of Theology
Guest Question:
I have a question about preaching and plagiarism--Is it wrong? How can you tell a sermon is plagiarized? How can we stop it (or should we)? Or is this topic moot because preaching as we understand it now will be irrelevant in the future?
Resource Roundup:
A Little Book of Plagiarism
Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery
Twitter and Elon Musk

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Church Set-Up, Customer Service Jobs & Reparations w/ Ashley DeTar Birt & Rick Ufford-Chase

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

12/16/21 • 58 min

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Questions for the Week:

When people think of church, they probably think of a traditional sanctuary with pews facing the pulpit and a cross at the front of the room. But there are other interesting and creative arrangements and settings for church. What are some of the other arrangements that you have experienced and what did you think of them?
Let's talk about people in customer and service oriented jobs like waiters and delivery folks. I feel like these jobs are under appreciated and underpaid. Based on a recent Washington Post opinion piece written by a waiter, I'm correct. What are your thoughts? How does the way we treat people in these jobs relate to our faith?

Special Guests:
Rev. Ashley DeTar Birt & Rick Ufford-Chase, Co-Directors of the Center for Jubilee Practice
Guest Question:
What are your thoughts on how the Church should do reparations? Should every congregation implement reparations in the same way?
Resource Roundup:
Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization
Center for Jubilee Practice

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Pandemic Woes, Squid Game & 한 ("han") and 정 ("jeong")

A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast

11/18/21 • 68 min

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Questions for the Week:

A recent article came out in The Atlantic titled "My Church Doesn’t Know What to Do Anymore" outlining the challenges of churches trying to "return to normal". The author, a rector at an Episcopal Church states that it is actually harder to do church now in 2021 than it was in 2020, in the heart of the pandemic in the US. I find her experience quite relatable. What do you think?
The latest popular show that people are talking about is "Squid Game" a Korean drama on Netflix. Squid Game shares some similarities with other dystopian themed shows: a bleak outlook on life, people competing for survival in some sort of game or contest, and the powerful using the poor for entertainment. Why do you think this show and these themes are popular? Do the messages these themes convey have any relevance for people of faith?

Special Guests:
Hyeyoung Lee & Kurt Esslinger, Mission Co-workers, South Korea
Guest Question:
I've heard about the terms 한 ("han") and 정 ("jeong") in Korean culture. What do these terms mean and how might they apply to faith?
Resource Roundup:
Three Talks on Minjung Theology
Han & Jeong: Korea's Sadness and Love
A complex feeling tugs at Koreans (Los Angeles Times)

For Listening Guides, click here!
Got a question for us? Send them to [email protected]!
A Matter of Faith website