Episode 41: A Historic Moment in Black Catholic History
Meet Father Rivers
Eric and Emily reconvene the podcast after a break and share some life updates: for Eric, joining the Society of St. Joseph and beginning life as a seminarian; for Emily, campus ministry, liturgical music and teaching at Ohio Dominican University. They welcome Deacon Royce Winters of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (and personal friend of Father Rivers) to discuss some great news: the approval of a historical marker all about Father Rivers, to be installed at St. Joseph Parish in Cincinnati. Eric, Emily and Deacon Royce discuss the process for the marker (especially determining its text) and...
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Episode 40: Effective Worship with Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal
Meet Father Rivers
Liturgeeks, unite! Eric and Emily are joined by Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal, new friends from the November 2024 Symposium at University of Dayton, to geek out about good liturgy. The heart of the conversation dwells on Rivers’ concept of effective worship and how liturgists in various cultural contexts can—and must—encourage communities to achieve worship that is both beautiful and that forms disciples bent on justice. Lots of smart talk in this episode about liturgy, liturgical anthropology, inculturation, liturgical flow, the rites of the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of...
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Episode 39: An Eternal Offering with Daryl Grigsby
Meet Father Rivers
Eric and Emily interview author and speaker Daryl Grigsby, who with Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns, presented at last November’s Seeking for a City Symposium at the University of Dayton. Daryl’s new book, Catholics for the Common Good: An Eternal Offering, highlights the lives of thirty-six Catholics whose lives exemplify the line of Eucharistic Prayer III that asks God to “make of us an eternal offering to you.” Eric, Emily and Daryl discuss his presentation at the Symposium (including the insights of Fr. Rivers) and his new book, which employs a very liturgical lens in examining the nature...
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Episode 38: The Rivers Collection at CUA
Meet Father Rivers
Emily and Eric interview Bianca C. Farmer, an archivist-in-training at the Catholic University of America. As part of her coursework for her Master’s in Library and Information Science, Bianca completed a 50-hour practicum in CUA’s Special Collections, and she spent these hours with Father Rivers! She was responsible for the intake, organization and documentation of a new donated collection focused on Father Rivers. Emily and Eric find out what’s in this new collection and who donated it; they also learn what a “finding aid” is and how it helps researchers access material history....
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Episode 37: Christmas with Father Rivers... Again
Meet Father Rivers
Enjoy a unique and innovative Christmas Eve service created by Fr. Rivers--and Emily and Eric's commentary on the historic recording--in this replay episode of Meet Father Rivers. Merry Christmas! (No show notes.)
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Episode 36: We Are Seeking for a City
Meet Father Rivers
It's a live episode of Meet Father Rivers! Eric and Emily have spent the last year or more helping Deacon Royce Winters (Office of African American Pastoral Ministries, Archdiocese of Cincinnati) organize an academic symposium on Black liturgy and culture to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Black Bishops' pastoral letter "What We Have Seen and Heard" and the 20th anniversary of Fr. Rivers' death. The symposium took place Nov. 22-24, 2024 at the University of Dayton. This live episode of MFR engages the attendees and speakers of the symposium, entitled "Seeking for a City," to sum up what we...
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Episode 35: Meet the Doctors St. Romain
Meet Father Rivers
Emily and Eric introduce you to some new friends and collaborators: Dr. Darnell Allen St. Romain and Dr. Darrell Anthony St. Romain, twin brothers, recent doctoral degree recipients and Catholic church musicians who will together present a breakout presentation at “Seeking for a City,” the upcoming November Symposium at the University of Dayton on Black liturgy and culture. Their breakout will be titled “Soulful, Black and Catholic” and focuses on Black Catholic composers since 1964 and the ways in which they’ve enriched the Church. As is their way, Eric and Emily and their guests...
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Episode 34: New Season, New Opportunities
Meet Father Rivers
In this first episode of Season 3 of Meet Father Rivers, Emily and Eric discuss a recent scholarly publication about Father Rivers, an upcoming Symposium on Black Catholic liturgy and culture, and a new e-newsletter for friends of the podcast and anyone interested in Father Rivers Studies.
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Episode 33: The DeFrancesco Interviews, Part 2
Meet Father Rivers
In this episode, we discuss the second of Michael DeFrancesco's interviews with Fr. Rivers in the last few years of Rivers’ life, recently posted to YouTube. Emily and Eric are joined by Fr. Tom DiFolco, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and fellow friend of Fr. Rivers. The three point out interesting features of the second DeFrancesco interview, especially his comments on the role of priest as a cultic function, discussing Rivers’ insights and their broad-ranging implications for worship and the role of priests today. As a bonus, find out what the “DiFolco Death Stare”...
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Episode 32: The DeFrancesco Interviews, Part 1
Meet Father Rivers
In this episode, we discuss the first of the interviews Michael DeFrancesco conducted with Fr. Rivers in the last few years of Rivers’ life, recently posted to YouTube. Emily and Eric listen to clips of the interview and discuss their broad-ranging implications for worship today.
info_outlineEmily and Eric conclude their investigation of Fr. Rivers’ career teaching high school English and drama at Purcell in Cincinnati. Former Queen’s Man Kenneth Stevens shares his memories of Fr. Rivers as a teacher, director and inspiration for Ken’s long and productive career in the arts. Ken describes Rivers’ influence on his own career, contributing to his can-do attitude and his ability to look at situations without prejudice to create amazing results. Ken and the hosts talk about Rivers as a powerful mentor, and finally, Ken describes the scholarship he founded at Eastern Michigan University and why he named it after Fr. Clarence Rivers. For Show Notes for Episode 15, click here.