The Liturgists Podcast

Ruthie Lindsey talks with Dr. Hillary McBride and Michael Gungor about her experience with pain and trauma. They also discuss some things we can do during the COVID-19 crisis. Ruthie's new book, There I Am: The Journey from Hopelessness to Healing, will be released on April 21, 2020. At seventeen years old, Ruthie Lindsey was hit by an ambulance near her home in rural Louisiana. She was given a five percent chance of survival and one percent chance of walking again. One month later after a spinal fusion surgery, Ruthie defied the odds, leaving the hospital on her own two feet. Just a few years later, newly married and living in Nashville, Ruthie began to experience debilitating pain. Her case confounds doctors and after numerous rounds of testing, imaging, and treatment, they prescribe narcotic painkillers—lots of them. Ruthie became bedridden, dependent on painkillers, and hopeless, when an X-ray reveals that the wire used to fuse her spine is piercing her brain stem. Without another staggeringly expensive experimental surgery, she could well become paralyzed, but in many ways, she already is. Ruthie goes into the hospital in chronic pain, dependent on prescription painkillers, and leaves that way. She can still walk, but has no idea where she’s going. As her life unravels, Ruthie returns home to Louisiana and sets out on a journey to learn joy again. She trades fentanyl for sunsets and morphine for wildflowers, weaning herself off of the drugs and beginning the process of healing—of coming home to her body. You are not alone! We have virtual rooms you can join 24/7 to talk with other liturgists from around the world. To find out more, visit theliturgists.com

In this episode we want to share a liturgy we created for Holy Week called "Garden." This liturgy features Amena Brown, Rachel Held Evans, Rob Bell, Science Mike, and Gungor. If you are not a regular consumer of liturgies, it as a collection of related works of art that all cover a specific topic. As we are all social distancing, we want to offer this to you as a way to connect to the ideas of holy week and a way to connect with others while your normal Easter plans have been changed. This Sunday at 11am Pacific you are invited to join us for The Sunday Thing. Hundreds of liturgists from around the world get together via video. We break into smaller groups to talk and it is such a wonderful time. You are not alone in your doubts, questions, anger, sadness, atheism, theism, or any other thing you are going through. To find out more and to join us on Sunday, go to theliturgists.com

Peter Rollins and Michael Gungor talk about happiness and the many ways we seek it out. We may use the tools of religion, belief, work, ideals, pleasure, or others to help us be happy. By breaking down the stories we tell ourselves using nondual thinking and philosophy they seek a deeper understanding of what makes us happy. Peter Rollins is an author, philosopher, storyteller, producer and public speaker. He is the author of The Divine Magician (2015) and The Idolatry of God (2013) among other books. Peter received his PhD in Post-Structural Thought from Queens University, Belfast. You are not alone! This Sunday at 11am Pacific you are invited to join us for The Sunday Thing. Hundreds of liturgists from around the world get together via video. We break into smaller groups to talk and it is such a wonderful time. You are not alone in your doubts, questions, anger, sadness, atheism, theism, or any other thing you are going through. To find out more and to join us on Sunday, go to theliturgists.com

Most of us are cooped up inside our homes and are social distancing in response to COVID-19. If we live with people, this marathon of close proximity may engage our feelings and heighten both the good and bad elements in our relationships. In this episode, Lisa Gungor joins Michael to talk about fighting, communication, and how they have grown over the years. To put your event on the calendar for one of the virtual rooms, go to theliturgists.com/community and follow the link that says schedule. You are not alone! You can join us each Sunday to talk with other liturgists around the world and meet in small groups. It is one of the most meaningful things we do. To find out more, visit theliturgists.com and look for the "Join The Liturgists" button.

History is literally a story we tell ourselves about what happened in the past. The way we tell that story is usually influenced by the people who have cultural and political power. We heard from so many of you from around the world about how whiteness affects our perception of history. In this episode Andre Henry, Propaganda, and Nikki Blak join William Matthews to talk about those influential dynamics. They discuss how we can help others and ourselves by viewing history from several vantage points. We can look into our past to understand ourselves better and use empathy to see the richness other people's stories bring to the tapestry of history. During the month of February we will be releasing a very special project called "Black History Is American History" via daily episodes covering heroes, icons, and titans in American history. We will release them every day on a separate feed you can sign up for and to our members via the member feed. Find out more by going to theliturgists.com/blackhistory You can also join us each Sunday to talk with other liturgists around the world and meet in small groups. We also talk online everyday. To find out how to join The Liturgists to be a part of that community, visit theliturgists.com and look for the "Join The Liturgists" button.