Connecting our Conversations

Connecting our Conversations is hosted by the Presbytery of Southern New England, a regional governing body in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is our space for conversations that push the edges of our faith and help us deepen discipleship. Today, Shannan Vance-Ocampo speaks with Bruce Reyes-Chow about his new book, Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith.
In this primer on progressive, expansive, generous Christianity, writer and pastor Bruce Reyes-Chow offers his own "faith montage" and helps individuals and groups create their own. There is a more loving, more genuine vision of God than the one we see being performed around us, and this book helps us find it.
With clarity, vulnerability, and wit, Reyes-Chow helps us learn a grammar of faith about God, Jesus, and the Spirit that breathes fresh meaning into old words like sin, confession, salvation, baptism, communion, and gratitude. He doesn't shy away from calling out the hateful and hurtful dogmas of many churches, but he also turns our attention toward essential questions: What if God created humans to be beautifully complex? What if the Spirit calls us to lament and repent and also beckons us toward pathways of healing, wholeness, and hope? And if Jesus equips us for lives of justice and kindness, how might our imaginations expand for what the world could be?
Bruce Reyes-Chow is a sought-after speaker and writer on topics of faith, culture, politics, race, and technology. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), has led churches in the San Francisco Bay Area for nearly three decades, and is a former moderator of the PC(USA). Reyes-Chow, who is third-generation Filipino-Chinese American, hosts the podcast BRC & Friends and has authored five books, most recently In Defense of Kindness. A senior consultant and coach with Convergence, Reyes-Chow and his spouse have three adult children and live in San Jose, California.
Read "Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith" today! The book is available everywhere books are sold, including bookshop.org/ or check out your local bookstore. You can go to https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506495699/Everything-Good-about-God-Is-True or https://reyes-chow.com/books/ to learn more.

Content Warning: This podcast discusses suicide and suicidal ideation, and some people might find it disturbing. If you or someone you know is suicidal, please, contact your physician, go to your local ER, or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255), or message the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Both programs provide free, confidential support 24/7

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Members of Presbyterian Promise have a conversation about LGBTQIA Youth in our communities and the unique role the church can have in supporting them in the mental health crucible our youth are facing coming out of this pandemic. From the Trevor Project: "Being LGBTQ alone does not put a young person at higher risk for suicide; the discrimination, rejection, fear, and harassment that may come with being LGBTQ in an unsupportive environment are what increase the risk." Presbyterian Promise consists of member congregations from the Presbytery of Southern New England and is part of the larger church's movement toward inclusivity of LGBT persons.

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