Category: Get Your Spirit in Shape

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In this episode, a school superintendent who was recognized by former President Obama, honored at the Oscars, and is a candidate to be a UMC deacon, shares where she finds joy, including how living out the Gospel for her includes sitting on the floor with a classroom of kindergarteners.

More information and the full transcript are available on our episode page.

Have a question or comment? Email us at gysis@umcom.org.

Connect with The United Methodist Church at UMC.org.

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Bishop Delores (Dee) Williamston, the first Black woman elected as bishop in The UMC’s South Central Jurisdiction, is a grandmother who discovered her call to ministry at a skating rink while supervising a group of 50 kids from her local church.

More info and a full transcript of the conversation are available on our episode page.

Share your thoughts with us: gysis@umcom.org

Connect with The United Methodist Church at UMC.org.

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United Methodist pastor Luke Edwards discusses how to develop listening as a spiritual discipline, a practice that when rooted in curiosity and love can transform our communities, our churches and our faith.

More info and a full transcript are available on our episode page.

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Spiritual trauma happens, even in the church. Rev. Christy Holden and Derrick Scott III discuss why some have experienced spiritual pain that may make the church feel unsafe. They share ways we can prevent harm and encourage healing as conduits of God’s love.

Learn more about this episode on our website.

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Pilgrimages are not tourism. Rather, these holy treks have the power to change lives. The Rev. Steven Manskar and the Rev. Chris Heckert discuss their roles as both pilgrimage leaders and pilgrims on “Get Your Spirit in Shape.”

Learn more about this episode at https://www.umc.org/en/content/pilgrimage-a-path-to-getting-unstuck-get-your-spirit-in-shape-ep-132

Have questions or comments? Email us at gysis@umcom.org.

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“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” is indisputably one of the most popular Christmas hymns of all time. When Charles Wesley penned the lyrics, however, the opening line read, “Hark, how all the welkens ring!” World-renowned Wesley scholar Paul Chilcote shares fun and interesting insights about a selection of Wesley hymns and explains how all of the 9,000 hymns written by The United Methodist Church’s most enduring and prolific hymn writer centers on one theme: love.

Learn more about this episode at https://www.umc.org/en/content/stories-behind-the-songs-of-charles-wesley-get-your-spirit-in-shape-ep-130

Have questions or comments? Send an email to gysis@umcom.org.

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What is gaslighting? What is cultural bias? What is implicit bias? We hear these terms in the news, on social media, perhaps even at church. Dr. Enger Muteteke who works with The UMC’s General Commission on Religion and Race, shares how understanding the terms and viewing them through a scriptural lens can help us build a culture of belonging in our congregations and communities.

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We all have an inner critic, that voice in our heads that is sometimes quite loud telling us we are not good enough, we are not in control and even that we are not lovable. In his new book, “Unmasking the Inner Critic: Lessons for Living an Unconstricted life,” author Andrew Lang shares steps for how we as people of faith can expand through these constrictions to a place of healing for ourselves and offer healing to those around us.

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After more than 20 trips to Africa to work primarily with vulnerable children who often lived in orphanages, Laura Horvath and her work with Healing Children Worldwide, has determined that centuries’ old wisdom about caring for underserved areas may need reimagining. Laura shares how the lessons she learned while working with communities across the globe have led her to engage in a radical initiative to unite and empower families.

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When it comes to the Brothers Wesley, most people know John as the preacher and Charles as the hymn writer. What is less recognized, however, is how Charles, the younger of the two, was a trailblazer, often forging ahead of his brother.

The Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote, world-renowned Wesley scholar, discusses the lingering influence of Charles’ lyrical theology on the Methodist movement and poses the question that Chilcote believes Charles would ask: What is the song that sings in your heart?