The F Word: Conversations On Faith with Matt Miofsky

My guest today is Kelley Weber. Kelley is a Spiritual Director certified through Aquinas Institute of Theology. An avid learner, this summer she will be finishing studies at The Living School at the Center of Action and Contemplation in New Mexico as well as certification in the Somatic Enneagram. Kelley has been a professional actor and theater teacher in St. Louis for over 23 years. Most recently she won the 202 St.Louis Theater Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in a comedy for her role in the Tennessee Williams Festival. She hosts the podcast, /A Prayer Practice/ for the Gathering. Website: aspiralspace.com IG: instagram.com/a_spiral_space Newsletter: https://aspiralspace.substack.com

My guests today are two pastors who conceived and launched The Collective Table - an online platform that makes progressive Christian conversations and resources accessible to people. Both United Methodist pastors in California. Learn more about The Collective Table at thecollectivetable.org!

The Season of Christmas with special guests John Carney and Julie Buck!

We continue our advent series with Love.

We continue our advent series with Peace.

It’s the first week of advent and we’re talking about HOPE. What’s the difference between optimism and hope? What is Biblical hope? We talk about this and more on today’s episode of The F Word.

My guest today is Bishop Karen Oliveto. She is the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church. She was elected bishop on July 15, 2016, at the Western Jurisdictional conference. Her four-year term of service began September 1, 2016 and she currently serves as the bishop of both the UMC's Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Conferences; she was officially installed on September 24.

So many of us are tired. Not a little tired, but really tired. We think of full schedule is a sign of importance and wear our busyness like a badge of honor. But this not how you are created to live. In this week's episode, we talk with Rabbi Amy Feder about rest and the ancient idea of Sabbath.

My guest today is Isaac Simmons. Isaac is a 23 year old openly gay drag queen who recently was certified as a candidate for ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church. He’s the first openly queer person to be certified in his conference and reportedly the first drag queen to be a candidate for ministry anywhere in the world. As his alter ego Ms. Penny Cost, Isaac speaks around the country seeking to bridge the gap between queerness and spirituality.

My guest today is personal. What I mean is that Jim Harnish is not only a pastor of 42 years, a prolific author, and a top leader in the United Methodist Church - but he was influential on my own faith long before I ever got to meet him. I am happy to now call him a mentor and a friend.

Do you know the names of your neighbors? Do you want to? Adam Barlow-Thompson started off his career as a pastor but in 2016 he left the local church to become a full time neighbor. He founded the nonprofit Neighboring Movement and now dedicates his time to training people in how to be better neighbors, and why it matters.

My guest today is the Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer, Bishop of the Sierra Pacific synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Megan is the first openly transgender Bishop in a major Christian denomination. In addition to being a Bishop, they are a pastor, filmmaker, musician, and parent. https://www.revrohrer.com/

My guest today is author and pastor Melissa Florer-Bixler. Melissa is the author of How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, which looks closely at what the Bible says about enemies--who they are, what they do, and how Jesus and his followers responded to them. https://www.melissaflorerbixler.com/

Our guest this week needs no introduction to our church, The Gathering. However, if you don't know her, Charity Goodwin is the pastor of our Clayton site, a preacher, teacher, coach, and author. We talk about her book "Get Up," and the upcoming sermon series of the same name. charitygoodwin.com

My guest today is Representative Barbara Phifer, a democrat in Missouri House of Representatives for district 90. Prior to serving the Missouri legislature she was a United Methodist pastor, serving churches for 40 years. Her faith deeply roots her political activism and today I want to talk about that intersection.

In the midst of school and sports activities, lessons birthday parties, play dates, parents often wonder how they can make time for church, not just for themselves but for their kids. Many of us want to pass faith along to our kids and maybe we don’t know how to do that or where to find the time. Our guest today is Kirk Weaver and he has made his life‘s mission helping families teach faith to their kids and we’re going to talk about that today.

Our guest today is Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker. Dr. Baker is an activist, a teacher, a community organizer, an anti-racist trainer, preacher, and now she brings all of that to bear in her new role as a professor at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

Our guest this week is Colby Martin. He is an author, a podcaster, and a co-pastor of Sojourn Grace Collective. He has a story and a journey that a lot of us can resonate with. He experienced the rejection of mainstream Christianity but he found a new home in a more progressive form of Christianity. https://www.colbymartinonline.com/ https://sojourngrace.com/

Today we announce a new time for The F Word: Conversations on Faith. If you've been listening, you're used to hearing us sometime in the afternoon on Sunday. Now look for us first thing in the morning each Tuesday for your commute! We can't wait to ride along with you.

As the first openly gay black bishop in the 192 year old Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Bishop Deon K. Johnson understands the importance of the church welcoming those it has often turned away.