Six Ways From Sunday

Eric Gaudet has spent the last decade as Bashaw's local friendly pharmacist, getting to know families and individuals in this small town and becoming an indispensable part of the community as a primary care provider. In a rural community without a hospital and with family doctors in extremely short supply across Alberta, the role of a licensed prescribing pharmacist is super important. But that's not what makes Eric's story fascinating. It's not even the fact that Eric has recently been accepted into an elite national pilot program to explore innovative models of primary care delivery in Canada - although that is also really cool! No, the real reason that I wanted to share Eric's story is that his approach to patient care is so wholistic, open minded, empathetic and down to Earth. Every one of us have experienced issues with our health where we need help finding the right course of treatment or even just answers to what is going on and what our options are. Eric definitely has a way of leaving people feeling heard and seen, and rather than treating a symptom, he is deeply interested in addressing the full picture of health and what is going on for that person in their day to day life such as mental health, financial situation or relationship stress. In this episode we discuss all of the above and Eric shares some of the things he's learned along the way and what he loves about his work.

Lorne Gushue is a member of the worship committee at Yellowknife United Church, an affirming church located in a large public building in downtown Yellowknife. In the aftermath of wildfires that threatened homes, health and livelihoods, the needs of the local community have been top of mind for Lorne and the rest of the leadership team of their church. A church that is currently without a full time minister. And yet, as you'll hear through Lorne's incredible story, there are some amazing things happening at Yellowknife United Church! Through partnerships with schools, businesses and local health and social services, they are offering programs to support people experiencing homelessness, finding creative ways to share and rent their church space, and hosting diverse and inclusive events in their auditorium, like last week's meditative ecumenical labyrinth walk! Lorne's passion and compassion for his community is so apparent, and it was an honour to hear him share the recent story of evacuating from and returning to that community.

It feels like we're all facing one kind of storm or another right now, whether it's the strain of increased living costs, interest rates and inflation, or the lack of affordable housing, or the pain of feeling isolated, lonely and disconnected. Debt, food insecurity and homelessness are on the rise and the number of Canadians who feel optimistic about the future is dropping. Humans are suffering. So I wanted to talk with someone this week who brings compassion to human suffering and specializes in supporting people who are struggling. The kind of support that helps people not just improve their immediate situation but the kind of support that targets their suffering at a deeper level. Daniel McMillan is a clinical psychologist in Calgary and founder of the Assured Psychology clinic where he specializes in adult and couples therapy. He is also the author of a brand new children's book called "Badger and Turtle - Face the Storm", a beautifully illustrated story about common relationship and connection patterns that Dan regularly uses in therapy sessions. In this podcast we explore the challenging reality that as humans we all fundamentally need connection and yet we've all been hurt and have developed defence mechanisms that often hold us back from being vulnerable and get in the way of meaningful and healthy connection. Dan shares some great stuff about his approach to exploring these delicate issues with individuals and couples, and some of the tools he uses such as Emotionally Focused Therapy. To check out Dan's new book visit http://danmcmillanbooks.com/ and to learn more about Assured Psychology, check out https://assuredpsychology.com/

Robin has a way of always presenting a new and refreshing perspective on an old story. Miracle stories, like the feeding of the 5,000 or the gospel story of Peter walking out to Jesus on the water, are stories that we've heard so many times we almost forget to "think" about them. So in this episode we're diving into some miracle stories and talking about how our common interpretations of them have maybe missed some of their deeper meaning for our lives today.

Donna Ross is a 33-year educator. She is a Cree-Métis from Saskatchewan and member of the One Arrow First Nation, Treaty Six territory. Donna began her teaching career as a classroom teacher with Tsuut’ina Nation and continued to support First Nations learners in subsequent positions with Siksika and Stoney Nakoda Nations, and is currently an Indigenous Designer of Learning with the Calgary Regional Consortium. Donna brings passion and a deep knowledge of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit histories, the impact of residential schools, and the infusion of Indigenous ways of knowing into Alberta curriculum and organizational culture. Donna is also a proud Kokum. In this conversation, Donna generously shares many personal stories from her career as well as heart wrenching stories of her family members' experiences in residential schools and their impacts on subsequent generations. Supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action for education has been a huge part of Donna's work, including the development of educational resources and foundational knowledge which you can find out more about by visiting www.empoweringthespirit.ca.

Shandi is a queer poet and organizer in Lethbridge. In this episode we discuss the origins of Shandi's incredible poetry, the genesis of her bold and impactful community project called the "Coming Out In Faith Monologues", and her own personal faith journey and coming out story. We also talk about violence against the LGBTQ2S+ community and the importance of going beyond celebrating during Pride Month and taking action, in order to create a society where all are safe and affirmed for who they are.

Victoria Bucholtz (She/Her) holds a doctorate in History from the University of Calgary, with a cognate field in gender theory. Victoria is a LGBTQ+ facilitator and currently teaches at Mount Royal University. She is a transgender rights activist, entertainment producer, and drag queen. An avid mountaineer, skier, and dog mom, she lives in Calgary, Alberta in the Treaty 7 Region. You can also learn more about Victoria's work through the Queer Education Foundation, which offers diversity and inclusion training with a focus on the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities.

Jason Clark has worked in youth ministry for many years and has recently moved to our little town of Bashaw, Alberta where he's now running the Bashaw Youth Foundation, working with youth at the Bashaw School and also getting involved as a leader in our Bashaw United Church. His energy and creativity seem to be endless, and already in the past few months of living in the community there has been a tremendous response from our youth in attending new events and programming that Jason has been creating. Today we are talking about how and why Jason was drawn to working with youth, his vision of what could be created here in Bashaw, what he's learned about teenagers in all these years, and what happens to our youth and our communities when teens are not supported emotionally and spiritually through what can be the most difficult and influential years of their lives.

The Christmas season is a time of giving, generosity and coming together as a community, no matter where you live. But there's something going on in the tiny little community of Bashaw that is unusual and almost inexplicably magical, and it is literally transforming lives. You could look at the Sugar Plum Ball event, or the Angels Among Us campaign, you could study the impacts of the Bashaw Food Bank and the annual Christmas hampers, or the Bashaw United Church's new care packages for seniors that are being distributed around town right now. It wouldn't matter which community program or event you examined, you'd find that behind every single one of them there has been a cultural paradigm shift in Bashaw in recent years that has magnified the impact and effectiveness of everything that we do to support those in need, and has fundamentally changed the way we create community. If you want to know what the secret is, you'd be hard pressed to find a better person in town to share it with you than Jackie Northey. Thanks for listening, and Merry Christmas!

"From The Wild" is a web film series that explores incredible journeys in wild food and beautiful, wild spaces. Its creator, Kevin Kossowan, is an award winning filmmaker and foodie who has worked with Michelin Star chefs and filmed on almost every continent on the planet. He's been a blogger since the days when you had to explain to people what a blog was, and his craft of storytelling combines with his craftsmanship with a camera and with wild food ingredients in the bush camp kitchen, at the fireside and out in the field, like a perfectly balanced and blended cocktail enjoyed with friends under the stars. In this podcast episode Kevin and I dive into his life and the origin story of From The Wild, we discuss the significance and role of "beauty" in elevating our eating experiences, and toward the end we go into the deep end a bit with questions about life and death and what makes a meal or a moment sacred.

Finding our place where we feel a sense of belonging, purpose, security and happiness is what all of us hope for in life, and Mandy seems to have found all of it right here on Main Street, in Daysland, Alberta. But like all great rewards it hasn't come without great risk and hard work. This is the story of Mandy's giant leaps of faith that led her into the world of business and have helped to revitalize her small corner of rural Alberta in Flagstaff County. If you know Mandy, you already know she's a great storyteller and she's a force to be reckoned with when she gets an idea in her head. And if you haven't met her yet then you better get out to the Rusty Daisy Gift Co. in Daysland. She won't let you leave town a stranger. You can also check out Mandy's shop on Facebook @therustydaisy and on Instagram @rustydaisyco

Vik Maraj is the co-founder of Unstoppable Conversations in Edmonton, AB. He helped create and lead an international high-growth education company, developed curriculum and taught hostage negotiation for Canada's National Police, resolved international disputes within the UN, and galvanized an almost unthinkable billion-dollar collaboration between some of the world's largest energy companies, academics, and local stakeholders. To sit in conversation with Vik is to be truly seen and heard, and his unique ability to create space for generative conversation with any group of humans has taken him to some wild and inspiring places that we talk about in this episode of the podcast. It all started with the day Vik "woke up".

What is this, a podcast studio, a community theatre stage, or a church? The answer is yes, it is all three. And on any other given day it's also a movie theatre, a space for worship, for grief support groups to meet, for a baptism, communion, funeral or a wedding. In other words, it's a space for creating community. Here in Bashaw we've found that community theatre productions are an amazing way of building community, but rather than simply making use of our church "facility", theatre is just another part of our church identify and how we live in community together. It's a concept that Jesus seemed pretty big on, so rather than pretend that this giant set piece (Moana's traditional Polynesian canoe, called a "wa'a kaulua") isn't parked in the middle of our Sunday morning worship space, Robin has created a 5 week theme called "Set Sail With Jesus". There are also some great biblical dramas (stories) about the early disciples setting sail on a new journey of discovery, adventure and relationship building, and stories of miracles and faith. They align so perfectly with our journey of building community here in Bashaw, and also with the story of Moana, that we just had to sit down for coffee right beside the boat and talk about it all.

Ary Vreeken is the Alberta regional representative for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 Canadian churches and church-based agencies working together to end global hunger. It is estimated that up to 828 million people on our planet currently do not have "food security", meaning they do not have regular access to enough nutritious food to live healthy and active lives. Here in Canada, farmers are combatting hunger all around the world by donating the value of crops to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Some of these collaborative projects have been going on for 40 years, and bring together land owners, seed and fertilizer supply companies and dozens of neighbours and volunteers from nearby rural communities. Our local Bashaw and Ponoka faith community is involved as well, through our support of the United Church of Canada's Mission and Service Fund, and also through some of our congregation members who are grain farmers and actively involved in growing projects that donate proceeds of their harvest to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. There are many ways you can get involved, too. Check out their website to learn more about how the Canadian Foodgrains Bank partners with the United Church of Canada and how you can support this important work. https://foodgrainsbank.ca/ucc/

Holy Moses! is the name of this year's summer church program for kids, happening right now at the Ponoka United Church and starting up on Monday at the Bashaw United Church. It's the first in-person summer day camp that we've been able to run in three years, but it's a program that Robin King and Lori Miller have been planning and delivering for about 12 years now. This summer we've also been really busy recruiting volunteers as it's the first summer in three years that we've been able to take on fundraising contracts at large in-person events in other communities. Today, Robin talks about the challenges of getting things going again after "the great chasm of emptiness" that has left community nonprofits, events, fundraisers and churches all grappling with how to re-engage the people they are seeking to serve and the people they rely on for volunteering, participating and supporting their important work in the community. As Robin says, it's not about "getting back to normal", it's about building something new. In many ways, it's a lot like the story of Moses that the children are learning about this summer. There are plenty of challenges facing us, and also many opportunities to create something new together.

Affirming Connections is an organization that's placing itself at the intersection of faith communities in southern rural Alberta communities and the LGBTQ2S+ community, making valuable connections among churches interested in becoming an "Affirming" ministry. As part of their work, Affirming Connections created a series of videos called "Small Town, Big Impact: Stories and Strategies from the Affirming Journey". Miranda interviewed Rev. Robin King and Ben Wilson as part of the video project, and I think we learned as much from her as she learned from our story here in Bashaw, Alberta where our United Church has been walking the path toward officially being an Affirming church. Those videos, as well as information about the other work of Affirming Connections, are available at their website, www.affirmingconnections.com

I love stories about big and impactful things emerging from small, unlikely places. So the story of Rainbow Camp popping up from the tiny, remote Northern Ontario community of Thessalon - a camp that is changing and saving lives - was one I really wanted to learn about and share with you! Ten years ago Harry and Chris founded Rainbow Camp for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, creating a safe space where teens from all across Canada (and some from outside Canada) can have a fun summer camp experience and simply be who they are. This conversation dives into the origins of Rainbow Camp, the personal "why" that drove Harry and Chris to create the program, and the incredible impact that it's now having on hundreds of teens every summer. To learn more about Rainbow Camp, to register for an upcoming camp or send a donation, check out RainbowCamp.ca. Harry and Chris also talked about their new online family support program called Rainbow Online Connection (ROC) that you can learn more about and register for at WelcomeFriend.ca.

I was recently sitting in a movie theatre, half way through watching Dr Strange - Multiverse of Madness, when things started getting pretty deep and existential! Thinking about my own life, the concept of other potential parallel realities and universes, it occurred to me that the Marvel universe and the enormous world of comic book superheroes in general, is so incredibly rich in stories that offer us spiritual wisdom and deep introspection about life. Personally I didn't grow up reading a lot of comic books. I've always been a big Star Wars fan, but never considered myself a Marvel or DC super-fan. Since my superhero history and trivia knowledge is pretty pathetic I knew exactly who I needed to invite as my next guest on the podcast, my wife's cousin Daniel Schneider who is a full time professional comic book artist!

One of the many organizations Lewis is involved with is the Parliament of the World's Religions. As a trustee and member for many years, Lewis has shared his Indigenous culture and spirituality at global tables and conversations that he describes as being like "the Olympics of world religions", in that they gather in a different city once every four years to bring together leaders from many nations and spiritual traditions. Lewis also works with the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action, and when he speaks about his family's experience as survivors of Canada's residential schools Lewis emphasizes just how important education and action are in the journey of reconciliation. Lewis is also project manager at the Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre, and he tells us about a new Indigenous cultural centre being constructed in Edmonton's river valley, called Kihciy Askiy (pronounced key-chee-ask-ee for "sacred land"). With all of the great stories about his work and the wisdom that Lewis has to share, it was difficult to wrap up our conversation after only 55 minutes. There's way too much packed into this podcast to try to describe in just a short paragraph, so you'll have to listen to the full conversation and hopefully we will have Lewis on as a guest again in the near future!

Working as a freelance writer for the the United Church Observer 20 years ago, Jocelyn realized she had a passion for journalism and for sharing stories that inspire, inform and challenge her readers. Over the last two decades she has seen journalism evolve into the digital realm, the rise of social media, and also the transformation of the Observer to what is now Broadview. The magazine and website's tagline is "Spirituality, Justice and Ethical Living", and as their website's About page says, "With Broadview, Editor and Publisher Jocelyn Bell aims to create an inclusive magazine and digital platforms for thoughtful readers interested in exploring and living out progressive Christianity’s core values. “We understand that this means being both introspective and outward-looking,” she says. “We are required to examine our beliefs and values, and to live and act accordingly. We are called to engage deeply with the justice issues of our day — and to believe that hope lies in caring profoundly for one another and for our planet.” In this episode of the podcast, one of Broadview's online stories that Jocelyn talks about is an article written by Emily Standfield that you will definitely want to read for yourself after hearing why Jocelyn loves it so much (and so do we!), so here is the direct link to that story: https://broadview.org/medically-assisted-death-church/ To subscribe to Broadview, make a donation, or follow their social media, visit broadview.org or their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/BroadviewMag