Streams in the Desert | Justice Worriers Episode 47
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Jörg and Leah bumble through Isaiah 35 wondering whether there is any hope to be found, or just nationalistic rhetoric. Some of the things mentioned: Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers on , , , or . Subscribe and rate us on , , , Stitcher, tunein, , or .
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Shamilka on faith rocked by the Soul Survivor scandal | Justice Worriers Episode 46
Justice Worriers podcast
Content warning: brief discussion of coercive control and inappropriate sexual behaviour. Andy, Leah and Jörg talk to Shamilka about her faith journey, especially the importance of her experiences at the Soul Survivor festival, and the impact of finding out about the scandal surrounding its leader, Mike Pilavachi. She describes how as a teenager she longed for a sign of God's acceptance, and Soul Survivor provided some chance for that, and then how that was thrown into confusion when its integrity was destroyed. Why do we look to hero figures to live our faith for us? Can we take good things...
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What Freedom? | Justice Worriers Episode 45
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Jörg and Leah talk about freedom: What did Jesus mean when he talked about freedom? Would it be right to be "free" when so many terrible things are happening? Is the "Free World" free, or just free to buy things if you can afford them? What was it like for Jörg when freedom came to East Germany? Can we hope for freedom from sin? What would that be like? Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers on , , , or . Subscribe and rate us on , , , Stitcher, tunein, , or .
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New life through violence | Justice Worriers Episode 44
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy asks Leah and Jörg for help writing some hopeful prayers for Easter Sunday in the face of appalling violence across the world. What hope is there, and what should we do when we see precious people treated so cheaply again and again? Does the resurrection of Jesus offer some kind of pattern of hope that our world repeats every Spring? Or is it a sign of something terrifying and new that is far outside of our control? Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers on , , , , or . Subscribe and rate us on , , , Stitcher, tunein, , or .
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Ghost on the Water | Justice Worriers Episode 43
Justice Worriers podcast
Jörg asks Leah and Andy for help preparing his sermon on Mark 6:45-56, where Jesus walks across the surface of a lake, and his disciples are terrified that he is a ghost. What are we supposed to make of this story? Is it about how Jesus is powerful, or how silent prayer can somehow make us powerful? If so, how come Jesus didn't prevent them being blown completely off course? Did Jesus retire to the mountain to pray because he was exhausted? How does any of this teach us anything about silence and solitude? Also, why on earth was he about to walk straight past the boat? Contact us on or...
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Steve and Claire on whole life church | Justice Worriers Episode 42
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Jörg and Leah talk to Steve and Claire talk about the kindness they have felt in church communities. We talk through the different phases of both their lives, including the remarkable influence of an "all-in" Christian community where members shared all their possessions and lived together, with all the joy and heartache involved. Their experiences lead us to discuss the importance of actually sharing our lives and being truthful about what is going on inside us. Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers on , , , , or . Subscribe and rate us on , , , Stitcher, tunein, , or ....
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Rima: church is where we are | Justice Worriers Episode 41
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Jörg and Leah talk to Rima about her extreme adventures, from the North Pole to the Community Fridge, with a lot of dragging tires in between. Rima is an adventurer and a challenge-maker. She tells stories of cancer treatment and running marathons with the same vigour and passion, encountering God viscerally in those experiences. She has given her life to her passion for preventing waste and preserving the creation of which we are a part. She describes God's close presence and protection through her suffering, her adventures, and her joy. Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers...
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Sue on church as sitting with people | Justice Worriers Episode 40
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Leah and Jörg talk to Sue about her story with the church, including the death of her son Jake, and her work helping people escape from debt. Sue received incredible support from friends and leaders at her church in her grief and anger, and she somehow still sees God working. She describes the support she received when people sat with her, and she follows that example in her work helping people with debt problems, and in her relationships. She includes all the people who come into contact with our building and our people in her vision of "our church". Sue's husband is Andy, who we...
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Anu on Rage for Climate Justice | Justice Worriers Episode 39
Justice Worriers podcast
Andy, Leah and Jörg meet Anu, whose experiences of being part of communities across the world lead her to call for productive rage about ecological destruction, instead of mourning or despair. She sees the climate crisis as a continuation of the centuries-long process of unfettered grown and extraction, and the trail of destruction left by the colonisers following that process. How then has she found a new connection with the same God in whose name many of these things were done? If you want to take action, have a look at the scheme we mentioned on the podcast: from Christian Aid. It...
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What is Church for? | Justice Worriers Episode 38
Justice Worriers podcast
Many of us sometimes find it a struggle to go to church. Andy, Jörg and Leah work through some of the reasons, and try to figure out why we meet, why it's difficult, and maybe even what we can bring. Andy's poem at the end is . Contact us on or look for JusticeWorriers on , , , , or . Subscribe and rate us on , , , Stitcher, tunein, , or .
info_outlineAndy, Leah, and Jörg try an experiment: praying together by discussing the awful violence happening in Ethiopia and working together to work out how to pray about it. This involves the usual doubt and self-contradiction, time to listen to some lamentation from the bible and a time of silence, leading to the creation of a spoken prayer that is as raw and honest as they can manage.
Here's the prayer:
"God, what are you doing? People are being brutally killed in Ethiopia. Lies are being told. Where is your truth?
"We are sorry for our narrow compassion and lack of imagination. We humans are so quick to let fear turn into violence to protect our own group. We can't escape from this pattern without you.
"God, do something.
"We call forth Peace: establish the works of the peacemakers, establish the works of the witnesses, establish the works of people brave enough to speak out, establish the work of the protectors. Protect them, encourage them.
"What should we do? Make us peacemakers in our situations. Use our resources for people in need - can we give money to help the refugees?
"Shatter our smug self-satisfaction. Break our hearts. Break them in a way that makes us useful - not so we're too broken to act. Give us hopeful brokenness.
"We call for Love, and Peace, and Compassion to break out in our world.
"Your Kingdom Come. Your Kingdom Come. Your Kingdom Come."
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