In Good Faith

Eckart Tolle's "The Power of Now" (1997) was many North Americans' first introduction to what we now recognize as mindfulness. The In Good Faith production team--Heather Bigley, Austin Ball, and Peter Ellison, chat with host Steven Kapp Perry about their thoughts and reactions to the book's ideas, and even trying some of the meditation practices described in the book. Join the book club by reading "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson in preparation for our next IGF Book Club episode in February 2023!

While we might normally think of grief as the collection of emotions we feel after the death of a loved one, in this episode of In Good Faith, we explore some of the many different ways grief can manifest and consider some new ways of responding to grief. First we hear Julie Milor Donovan discuss how losing a child changed her outlook on life. Next we hear from Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, professor at ASU and Zen priest, speak to Steve about healthy ways of responding to grief in ourselves and others. Then we spoke we Leonard Bagalwa, founder and executive director of Utah Valley Refugees, about his experience fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo as a child and then making a new life in Salt Lake City. Next we heard from Mark Miner, who spoke about the grief of shattered expectations when his life was thrown off-course by the aftermath of a traumatic childhood. Finally we talked with Dr. Adam Miller, a philosopher and theologian, whose recent work considers how the grief of time's passage is impossible to escape and how we ought to think about the eternities as a result.

Dr. Farina King joins the podcast to discuss her experiences with the spiritual power of the peoples and places of Dine culture. To learn more go to https://farinaking.com/. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is the Horizon Chair in Native American Ecology and Culture and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma, in the ancestral lands of the Caddo Nation and Wichita & Affiliated Tribes. Many diverse Indigenous peoples have converged in the region of what is now considered Norman, Oklahoma, including Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, and Osage nations. Before joining the University of Oklahoma faculty, King was Associate Professor of History and affiliated faculty of Cherokee and Indigenous Studies at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, in the homelands of the Cherokee Nation and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees. She also directed and founded the NSU Center for Indigenous Community Engagement. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in History, and she specializes in twentieth-century Native American Studies, especially Indigenous experiences in boarding schools. She is the author of The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century, and co-author with Michael P. Taylor and James R. Swensen of Returning Home: Diné Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School. She is the current President of the Southwest Oral History Association

Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is the Executive Director of the Inclusive America Project at the Aspen Institute. Recognized among TIME Magazine’s “sixteen people fighting for a more equal America”, he is an Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, Senior Adviser on Equity and Inclusion for YSC Consulting, and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. He is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, CNN, and TIME Magazine and writes a monthly column for Religion News Service. Simran is the author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life and he lives with his family in New York City. Check out more of Simran's work here: https://simranjeetsingh.org/

Steve speaks with Aubrey & Tim Chaves as they prepare for the upcoming Faith Matters Restore Gathering. The couple discusses how their faith crisis led to a stronger marriage and connection to their faith community. Aubrey and Tim grew up near Salt Lake City, Utah; the two married after Tim served an LDS mission to Montevideo, Uruguay. He attended BYU for his undergraduate studies before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is now an entrepreneur working in Utah County. Aubrey received a degree in Elementary Education from Utah State before teaching fourth grade for two years; she now owns a cake decorating business. Tim and Aubrey are the parents of four children. Listen to Faith Matters here: https://faithmatters.org/

The Divine often reveals itself to us in ways that are deeply personal and unique to our own tradition. Despite the power of these experiences, we can sometimes become complacent in how we experience divinity, and deprive ourselves from finding God in new ways. In this episode, we hear different ideas about God's characteristics and attributes. First, we hear from Dr. Abhishek Ghosh, a religious studies professor and the Director of the Institute for Vaishnava Studies in Gainesville, Florida. Then we spoke with La Thao in Wisconsin, who works for Christian Campus ministry group InterVarsity, and recently co-wrote "Learning Our Names" a book of advice and experiences aimed specifically at young Asian-American Christians. We hear from call-in listeners from Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Utah, who share their encounters with aspects of God. Next is Buddhist publisher Samuel Bercholz who, in a near death experience, found himself in Hell. Finally, we hear from A Helwa, Muslim poet and author who's work explores Islamic theology from a perspective of God's boundless love.

What is the role of social justice for religious institutions? Dr. Terrence Smith talks about the journey to a more just and equal community in his hometown of Raymond, Alberta, where he has served for several years as a leader for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, as well as a family doctor for 47 years. Across decades, he has worked to establish the physical, mental, and spiritual health of the people in this specific place of the world. We asked Terry about his vision for a "Zion society," the concept of a prosperous and balanced society that inspires the practice of Latter-Day Saints in the areas of public service. He told us personal stories from his life of how God's Spirit works within us to make Zion a reality.

Steve speaks with Barbara Brown Taylor, New York Times best-selling author, about her book "Holy Envy," and how to find God in the faith of others. Barbara Brown Taylor is a best-selling author, teacher, and Episcopal priest. Her first memoir, Leaving Church, won an Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writers Association in 2006. Her next three books earned places on the New York Times bestseller list. Taylor has served on the faculties of Piedmont College, Emory University, Mercer University, Columbia Seminary, Oblate School of Theology, and the Certificate in Theological Studies program at Arrendale State Prison for Women in Alto, Georgia. Her latest book, Always a Guest, was released in October 2020 from Westminster John Knox Press. Photo Credit: Jean Santopatre

Can people really change? How does change really happen? Steve met with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg over zoom to discuss these questions and to consider a better way of seeking repentance in the modern age. Their discussion is centered around Ruttenberg's upcoming book, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World. This book examines and reinvigorates our modern understanding of repentance using the writing and theories of Jewish philosopher Maimonides. Named "rabbi to watch" by Newsweek, Ruttenberg is Scholar-in-Residence at the National Council of Jewish Women. She is the author of 7 other books about the intersection of Jewish theology, parenting, feminism, and other topics. Listen to Steve and Danya discuss how we can improve our practices of repentance and repair.

In this episode, we talk with Indigenous American guests about the people they gather with, as well as the places where they gather. Farina King speaks about the trauma of displacement which indigenous children faced during the era of America's residential schools, which she writes about in Returning Home: Dine Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School. Nathan Hadfield talks about his involvement with Chaco Canyon and Pueblo Bonito, an ancient gathering site of the ancestral Puebloan peoples. Several guests are featured in our special segment on the Gathering of Nations, a pow-wow located in Albuquerque New Mexico. Lastly, we discussed the Art Heals project with Eugene Tapahe, a photographer who was inspired to take traditional healing to the world during the Covid-19 pandemic.