In Good Faith

How can we continue learning and healing as we approach the end of our mortal life? Jewels Olsen sits down with Steve for a conversation about the end of life and how we can approach it with peace and reassurance, and how we can honor those we know who are dying. Jewels Olsen is a chaplain at Applegate Home and Hospice in Utah, where she has a passion for supporting those nearing the end-of-life transition. She is familiar with many traditions and practices and provides spiritual care for a wide variety of people.

What is a holy death and how can we make sure our loved ones experience peace and love as they die? Episcopal Bishop Phyllis Spiegel joins Steve to describe how we can prepare ourselves and those who are dying for a process we all experiences. The Rt. Rev. Phyllis A. Spiegel was consecrated as the 12th Bishop of Utah on September 17, 2022. She is passionate about The Episcopal Church’s work of deepening discipleship through daily practices of faith, believing that deepening our daily walk with God profoundly changes the way we walk in the world. She has done much study on the topic of death and afterlife in her tradition.

Welcome back to our mini-series on death. This week we are learning about near-death experience from Marianne Bahri. She speaks about her own NDE with senior producer Heather Bigley to discuss how her life was altered, and how introspective soul-searching helped her heal. Next week, we are speaking to Rev. Phyllis Spiegel and Jewels Chaplain to learn more about end-of-life care—stay tuned! Jyoti Marianne Bahri, an ethnologist and Indologist, teacher, facilitator and author, has written several transformative works. Her published book, "Freed from the Frame - A Miraculous Recovery", is a memoir of her near-death experience and her pilgrimage to find the healer within after a near-fatal road accident in South India. She is now working on a book about living and dying differently and is also conducting a series of workshops on this subject.

Welcome to part one of our death mini-series! We are exploring near-death experiences, working with those at the end of life, and grieving a loss. In this episode, Steve sits down with Martin Tanner from KSL to discuss how hearing near-death experiences from other people have impacted his own religion. This episode is jam-packed with powerful stories and a desire to believe. Martin Tanner co-founded Utah chapter of the International Association for Neath Death Studies in 1990. He is currently the chair of Utah IANDS and is the host of Religion Today on KSL Radio. He also produces a podcast for the Interpreter Foundation, focused on supporting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through scholarship.

Dr. Alp Aslandogan joins Steve for a conversation about his personal journey from Turkey to the U.S., his experiences with interfaith interactions, and how he integrates faith, science, and art under his belief in God. Dr. Alp reflects on faith, love, and compassion, as well as his commitment to fostering interfaith dialogue and understanding in secular society. Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Shared Values, a non-profit organization that promotes bringing together citizens of diverse backgrounds around shared values of humanity. Prior to his current position Dr. Aslandogan served as the board president of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog in Houston, Texas, and on the Board of Scholars and Practitioners of the Journal of Interreligious Dialogue.

Carmela Javellana chats with Steve about the importance of crisis as an opportunity for growth and the universal nature of suffering. She shares how she came to Buddhism and the vibrant differences within Buddhism. Dr. Carmela Javellana is a volunteer assistant minister at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple since 2010, which includes leading meditation service, teaching Buddhism classes, and co-teaching a 6-week course on Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and Integrative Mental Health called “Into the Light: the Shin Buddhist Path through Difficulties.” She is also a practicing psychiatrist and the founder and director of SHIN, a sanctuary for healing and integration, in Bountiful, UT.

Anne Snyder, Editor-in-Chief of Comment Magazine, joins Steve for a conversation about public theology. Discover how faith can transcend individual congregations and touch communities, blending spiritual and secular efforts. Anne shares her unique perspective shaped by her childhood experiences in outside the US and discusses the significance of public trust in religious and governmental institutions. Anne Snyder is the founder of Breaking Ground, which seeks to leaven our common life with a Christian humanist lens. Anne is also the host of The Whole Person Revolution podcast, co-editor of Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year, and author of The Fabric of Character: A Wise Giver’s Guide to Renewing our Social and Moral Landscape. Anne is a Senior Fellow of The Trinity Forum and a Fellow at the Urban Reform Institute, a Houston-based think tank that explores how cities can drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens. She has published widely, including The Atlantic Monthly, the Washington Post, City Journal, and, of course, Comment, and lives in Washington, DC..

Can I discuss faith at work? Does my faith fit into my job? In this episode Steve sits down with Scott Warren to discuss faith in the workplace. Scott Warren also tells his conversion story and how he, and his whole family, dove head first into organized religion. He explains how this changed every aspect of his life... including his place of work and how he treated his work colleagues. Scott Warren is the host of the Preach Where You Reach podcast, where he interviews “workplace apostles” about their experiences incorporating faith into their job. He is also the author of a book by the same name. As an author, podcast host, and speaker, Scott has experienced firsthand the profound impact of integrating faith into the fabric of his professional and personal life.

Steven Kapp Perry speaks in-person with the Smiths. They each share how they were called to ministry and answered that call. They describe how to discern the voice of God in our lives, including how He has helped them and their children find a higher purpose. Dr. Welton Smith is the pastor of the Greater Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is involved in AIDS Awareness and Men’s Health issues. Reverend Debra Smith focuses on women’s issues and education. Pastor Welton Smith and Reverend Debra Smith have labored together in ministry for over twenty years. Both have served Churches, Conventions, and the U.S. Military as Facilitators, Messengers, and Instructors. They are anointed to teach, preach and heal through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Currently they serve at the Greater Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church in Las Vegas.

This week, Steve meets Sam Wilkinson, author of "Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply about the Meaning of Our Existence." They discuss the idea that knowledge, both in science and in religion, are ever expanding. They also explore the psychological connection between serving a greater cause and feeling joy. Samuel T. Wilkinson is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Yale Depression Research Program. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His articles have been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

In this episode of In Good Faith, Steven Kapp Perry speaks with Antonia Tomao. She shares a touching story of recovery from a brain tumor. During this difficult time, she learned to lean on God. After her recovery, she started a business to help others who are enduring a difficulty realize that they are not alone. Antonia is the CEO of Antonia’s Promise, originally creating cross jewelry as a symbol of “brokenness” and a reminder that prayer and our trust in God will help us heal as a symbol of hope. She hopes that wearing or having these crosses will remind people that they are not alone in their suffering because God is with them.

How do you teach kids spiritual values? How do you have conversations that increase their empathy with other religious traditions? Steve sits down with podcaster and curriculum developer Jon Ogden. Jon shares how his religious upbringing inspired him to create a method to help families practice spirituality by drawing on the world's wisdom literature. Jon has worked as a teacher, curriculum creator, content director, and writer. He’s coupled that work with a decades-long study of the world’s wisdom traditions. John seeks for ways to keep the best of the past alive while evolving beyond its limitations. At Uplift Kids, he’s taking this interest in wisdom literature from around the world to help create community, alongside his spouse, for his two sons.

Why do bad things happen to good people? How can we wrestle with God in times of trial? In this episode of In Good Faith, Steve sits down with local friend Susan Murphy. The discussion follows her journey with Catholicism and Christianity. Susan Murphy shares what she has learned in helping victims of sexual assault and incest, and how religion can provide a unique sense to healing. Susan Murphy is on the Children’s Church Committee at the Provo Community Congregational United Church of Christ. She holds a seminary degree from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis and is a co-founder of Daughters of Lot, an abused women’s resource in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Steve speaks with Philip Goldberg about spirituality and how it can affect our understandings of other religions. Never before has the spiritual landscape been as diverse and abundant as it is today. Philip explains his anti-religious upbringing, how he learned about Eastern traditions, and how hosting an interfaith podcast has changed his life. Philip Goldberg is the author or co-author of numerous books, public speaker, spiritual counselor, and ordained Interfaith Minister. A resident of Great Barrington, MA, in the heart of the Berkshires, he leads American Veda Tours to India, conducts online courses and workshops, and contributes regularly to several publications. He also hosts the Spirit Matters podcast.

Steve sits down with Bishop Gregory Gordon and Father Elias Kabuk to discuss attacks on Catholics in Nigeria and what we can do about it, here in the US. This is a sobering interview that covers the recent history of Boko Haram in Western Africa, a terrorist group that has killed over 50,000 people in the last 20 years. Originally from Philadelphia, the Most Reverend Gregory W. Gordon, STL, is the first Auxiliary Bishop of Las Vegas. In the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Gordon serves on the Subcommittee on the Church in Africa. He also serves within the Archdiocese as chaplain to the Catholic Medical Association, and is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Knights of Columbus, and the Knights of Peter Claver. Father Elias Kabuk is Bajju by tribe, speaks Jju, and is from Kaduna State Nigeria. He was ordained a Catholic Priest for the Archdiocese of Kaduna in 2009. During the last 15 years, he has been appointed to work in the Kaduna Archdiocese, Nigeria, the Helena Diocese Montana, and the Archdiocese of Las Vegas. He attended St. John Vianney Minor Seminary, Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, Nigeria and Villanova University in Philadelphia. Father Kabuk loves visiting the sick and homebound and working with those on the margins of society.

This week on the In Good Faith podcast, Steve speaks with Corey Nathan, host of the "Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without Killin’ Each Other" podcast. Together, they discuss how we can have conversations with people who have different core values from us; even if we strongly disagree, we can have these deep, meaningful discussions. He even shares ways that we can revitalize the media that is overwhelmed by antagonistic voices. Corey Nathan shares how his personal journey has necessitated the ability to have healthier conversations about politics and religion. Corey Nathan is passionate about respectful discussion. He was raised Jewish, later converting to Christianity, and knows the importance of speaking with those closest to you about what you hold most dear. He has also been involved in many entrepreneurial and creative pursuits, including starting his own media company.

Steve and Ashton from the IGF team are joined by BYU English professor Paul Westover and student Ruth Thomas. Together, they discuss C.S. Lewis' "A Grief Observed." In this book, C.S. Lewis openly reflects on the reality of life and death in the wake of his wife's tragic death. This book provides an honest account of the whirlwind that follows a loss—sometimes causing even the strongest believers to waver—and how one can regain their bearings after such disruption. Paul Westover joined the BYU faculty in 2008. His specialties are Romantic-era British literature and cultural history. Westover is co-editor of the Romantic Circles electronic critical edition of "William Wordsworth’s Guide to the Lakes" (2015) and of a volume called "Transatlantic Literature and Author-Love in the Nineteenth Century" (2016). He currently serves as Book Review Editor for the Journal of British Studies and as Graduate Coordinator for the English Department. The discussions in this episode come from many different places and perspectives. Each guest shares their own unique experience reading the book. Whether you are familiar with "A Grief Observed" or not, this episode is for you. Enjoy this engaging and vulnerable episode of In Good Faith.

In this conversation, Steve Kapp Perry interviews James Early. James describes his desire to get back to the original Christianity of Jesus. He has taught this philosophy for years as a member of the Christian Science Church. This episode also includes James' prison ministries and what he learned from teaching inmates. James Early is a Bible teacher and gives talks and conducts workshops on the Bible to churches and groups, in person as well as online. Since October 2008, he has conducted weekly Bible study classes at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT. In fall of 2019, he started "The Bible Speaks to You Podcast," which has had listeners in 173 countries and focuses on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus.

This week, Steve sits down with Cassidy Hall to discuss the power of queerness and silence. In this conversation, Cassidy describes her experienced with contemplative, toxic, and loving silences. She also explains the way that she sees and understands queerness. In fact, her new book is dedicated to "the queerness in all of us." This book ("Queering Contemplation: Finding Queerness in the Roots and Future of Contemplative Spirituality") releases on May 21, 2024—just two days after this episode drops! Cassidy Hall is an author, award-winning filmmaker, podcaster, ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and leading voice in contemplative spirituality. She is the co-host of the Encountering Silence podcast and the creator of the Contemplating Now and Queering Contemplation podcasts. Cassidy is widely published and currently resides in Indianapolis, where she is studying for her Doctorate degree.

What does the Eucharist mean? Why is it so important to Catholics? This week, Steven Kapp Perry speaks with Marcy Youngster from The Catholic Whisperer Podcast. Their conversation explores how to deal with suffering, bullying, and trauma. Marcy shares how these hardships helped her form a definite belief in Christ, and how she uses this belief as a life coach. Marcy empowers women to embrace their Catholic Faith and fulfill their dreams and potential—even if they feel lost, unhealthy, invisible, overwhelmed, or unfulfilled. She found solace and faith during her first marriage, which she had annulled after 6 children and 18 years. Her second marriage was to a practicing Catholic with 4 children. Marcy is a serial entrepreneur with a newly formed podcast and YouTube channel.