Category: Get Your Spirit in Shape

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Meet Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the New York Episcopal Area. He was raised in West Virginia where his family worked in the glass industry and raised him in the church from day one. At West Virginia Wesleyan College, he developed an appreciation for the stories each person has to tell, which later deepened as he had opportunity to travel the world. When asked about the best part of being a bishop, he responded, “Being a bishop.” Bickerton is clearly enthusiastic about his ministry. Although a self-described driven personality, he talks about the importance of stillness, encouraging us to “just breathe” as an act of spiritual discipline.

Please note: We recorded this conversation before the global pandemic.

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While serving as a hospice chaplain, United Methodist pastor the Rev. Gary Shockley, noticed parents, grandparents and other caretakers struggling to help children in times of grief. Because he is also a children’s author and illustrator, Gary created My Heart Sings a Sad Song, a wonderful new resource to help kids and their families as they experience the complicated emotions of grief.

In this conversation, Gary shares some tips for helping children—and all of us—face our emotions during difficult times, including the grief we may be feeling during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

We also talk about how Gary learned to use his gifts for art in his ministry.

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In the stillness of the night during a youth retreat, his pastor asked a simple question. “Bruce,” Bishop Ough recalls him saying, “have you ever thought about ministry?” Several years later, in another quiet moment at night, this time looking up at the stars, he was struck with a sense of his place in the universe and with God.

As Bishop Ough shares his journey of faith and ministry, we get a glimpse into our own spiritual lives and the ways God speaks to us in the stillness. What a great reminder for these days of stay-at-home recommendations and quarantines.

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Bishop John Yambasu of the Sierra Leone Episcopal Area and Megan Klingler, a registered nurse who serves as the Primary Health Care Specialist of the Global Health Unit of United Methodist Global Ministries, share some great information about coronavirus and COVID-19, things we can do to help keep one another safe, and how the church is responding in Africa. We talk about why this virus is called “novel,” what the difference is between an epidemic and a pandemic, and how social distancing is an important way to keep one another safe.

Bishop Yambasu also shares a couple of mini-sermons, sharing inspiring words for us to consider as we celebrate Holy Week and Easter during this time.

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Using clips from previous conversations, host Joe Iovino shares some thoughts and encouragement during this difficult time of social distancing to help “flatten the curve” and stem the spread of COVID-19 and coronavirus.

Hear the words of Adam Hamilton, Jessica Lagrone, Matt Miofsky, a public health physician and more.

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“When we put on our identity in Christ,” the Rev. Rachel Billups teaches, “when we lean into the fact that God has called us beloved children, we’re unstoppable. We become these super people. Not because there’s an extra chromosome of faith.., but [because] we actually trust what God says about us.”

Billups, lead pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Dayton, Ohio, is the author of Be Bold, Finding Your Fierce a wonderful book about living into our true, Christian identity. In our conversation, she reminds us to let go of the false stories we may have heard about ourselves, and fiercely live into the promises of Christ.

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“Christ’s thumbprint is everywhere if we’re willing to see it,” teaches the Rev. Matt Rawle. That includes our books, movies, and music.

Rawle, who serves as lead pastor of Asbury United Methodist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana, is the author of a series of books exploring the intersection between faith and pop culture. His latest, The Grace of Les Miserables is a six-week study for Lent. Using Victor Hugo’s familiar tale, Rawle explores the Christian themes of grace, justice, poverty, revolution, love and hope.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about how we can find Christ’s thumbprint in the books we read, the music we listen to, and the movies and television shows we watch.

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Clara Mridula Biswas serves as the director of a the Street Children Ministry and Community Outreach in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As you might imagine, her work with children connects her to families who may be struggling with overwhelming poverty, domestic violence, and people with HIV/AIDS – among other things.

One of the beautiful aspects of Clara’s ministry, is she intentionally works to equip and empower people to be in service to others. Those who have been blessed through her ministry are encouraged to bless others. For example, children who have been taught music and dance, return as teachers. People she helps get the care and medicine they need, then guide others through the process. “I just help them from the back,” she says modestly, “but I let them do. So now they can do by themselves.”

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How would your life be different if you focused on all God has already given you, rather than the things you lack?

Katelin Hansen serves the United Methodist Church for All People in Columbus, Ohio as their Minister of Music & Strategic Initiatives Director. Her ministry has given her the opportunity to see what God can do with what we are willing to offer, like the young boy’s lunch that Jesus turns into enough to feed more than five-thousand people (see John 6:1-13).

As you listen, consider what you have that might be used to glorify God!

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As you prepare for Christmas, what are you listening for?

The Rev. Jean Claude Masuka Maleka and Francine Ilunga Mbanga Mufuk, a married couple from the Democratic Republic of Congo who serve as United Methodist missionaries to Côte d’Ivoire, do great ministries to strengthen women, children and families.

Their story is an inspiration.