Spirituality For Ordinary People

Matt Brough and Jen Ostash-Gooch reflect on their experience walking through the practices for the third week of the "A Liturgy for Life" resource. This week the focus is on Neighbourhood and Nation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Matt Brough and Jen Ostash-Gooch reflect on their experience walking through the practices for the second week of the "A Liturgy for Life" resource. This week the focus is on Family, Ancestors, and Descendants.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Matt Brough and Jen Ostash-Gooch reflect on their experience walking through the practices for the first week of the "A Liturgy for Life" resource. This week the focus is on creation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

In this special episode of the podcast, Matt Brough and Jen Ostash-Gooch go over a new resource for Lent that they developed together and invite you to think through how you will mark lent, paying attention to your relationships with God, creation, your family, your neighbourhood, and yourself. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Rich Lewis shares with Matt Brough about his latest book, Sitting with God: A Journey to Your True Self Through Centering Prayer. They discuss why this kind of prayer or any contemplative practice is so life-changing and how this particular practice might be a key one during challenging times. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

This episode features a wide ranging conversation about the enneagram between Drew Moser and your host, Matt Brough. Drew covers some of the basics but also goes deep, especially in the areas of how our distinctive personalities effect our decision making. Drew speaks about his work as helping people navigate the big questions in life, such as Who am I? Why am I here? And Where am I going?Drew's latest book is The Enneagram of Discernment: The Way of Vocation, Wisdom, and PracticeMatt Brough also shares about his upcoming book Let God Send: Crossing Boundaries and Serving in Christ's Name. Visit letgodsend.com for more details. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Loneliness is an epidemic, and is effecting young people and people of all ages in massive proportions. This may have only been heightened during the pandemic. In this conversation with Jason Gaboury, we consider whether we might be invited to wait and meet God in the midst of our loneliness and uncover a depth of presence and friendship. We also discuss imaginative ways of reading scripture and why that is important, and also having spiritual practices for particular contexts of life, even in times of exhaustion, confusion, or struggle. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

In this conversation Matt Brough and Kate Rademacher talk about not always knowing or seeing, but still following, the spiritual path laid out by God. She shares her story of being raised Unitarian Universalist, being influenced by Buddhism, and being baptized as an adult in the Episcopalian Church. What does it mean to listen to “the still small voice?” Kate’s writing can be found at https://www.katerademacher.com/. Be sure to check out her books, Following the Red Bird: First Steps into a Life of Faith and Their Faces Shone: A Foster Parent’s Lessons on Loving and Letting Go. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

In this conversation, Matt Brough and Ed Cyzewski talk about some of the perils of technology on our spiritual life, from distraction to addiction. Are there ways to use technology that don't lead toward the more negative side? What do we need to understand about the psychology of apps and social media in order to reconnect with what is most important?Ed Cyzewski is the author of Reconnect: Spiritual Restoration from Digital Distraction, Flee, Be Silent, Pray, A Christian Survival Guide, and Coffeehouse Theology. He co-leads the Renew and Refine Retreat and works as a freelance writer who has contributed to numerous magazines and book projects. He blogs about writing and prayer at www.edcyzewski.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Andria Irwin is the online minister with Highlands United Church in North Vancouver. In this conversation with her we talk less about the "tools" of online ministry, and more about the Spirituality of what it means to do and be Church in an online space.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Matt Brough and J. Dana Trent have part 3 of their conversation on Ancient Wisdom in Chaotic Times, this time focussing on the season of Eastertide. Which Spiritual practices are most helpful right now and which ones might not be as much as we live with the realities of a Pandemic. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

This is a replay of the Facebook Live that Dana and Matt did on April 1st, 2020 about how in this time of emergency, crisis, and uncertainty, we have resources available to us embedded in the ancient wisdom of our faith. Together they explored: the 23rd Psalm, the Lord's Prayer, the difference between sabbatical and experiencing wilderness, and more. J. Dana Trent is a professor of World Religions and Critical Thinking at Wake Tech Community College in North Carolina. An ordained Baptist minister and former hospital chaplain, her work has appeared on Time.com, and in Religion News Service, Sojourners, Religion Dispatches, and The Christian Century. She is the author of Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life, One Breath At a Time: A Skeptic’s Guide to Christian Meditation and For Sabbath’s Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest. Matt Brough is a Presbyterian minister of a congregation in Winnipeg, Canada and also serves as the coordinator of the New Worshipping Communities Initiative of the Presbyt

This is a replay of the Facebook Live that Dana and Matt did on March 25th, 2020 about how in this time of emergency, crisis, and uncertainty, we have resources available to us embedded in the ancient wisdom of our faith. Together they explored: the importance of experiencing both joy and grief, how we need to lean into sabbath and why this is hard for us, and what we need in order to serve and love others in a time of physical distancing.  J. Dana Trent is a professor of World Religions and Critical Thinking at Wake Tech Community College in North Carolina. An ordained Baptist minister and former hospital chaplain, her work has appeared on Time.com, and in Religion News Service, Sojourners, Religion Dispatches, and The Christian Century. She is the author of Dessert First: Preparing for Death While Savoring Life, One Breath At a Time: A Skeptic’s Guide to Christian Meditation and For Sabbath’s Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest. Matt Brough is a Presbyterian minister of a congregation in Winnipeg, Canada and

We are living in very uncertain times as we continue to face the realities of the Corona Virus. We might be anxious and afraid. And we might have all kinds of voices or thoughts that tell us to "be strong" or to not feel certain ways. In response to this, I am sharing a short meditation that I wrote recently.Start with your feelingsAcknowledge how you feel and actually feel it.Don’t let voices creep in that tell you that you shouldn’t feel.“you shouldn’t be afraid”“you shouldn’t be anxious”“you shouldn’t be angry”“you should be crying”“you shouldn’t be over-reacting”“you shouldn’t be reacting at all”Stop all those words and pay attention to how you actually feel.Feel the place in your body that is reacting. The back of your throat maybetense shoulders perhapsPossibly the pit of your stomachDraw your attention to how you feel and where you feel it most.Now, know this deep truth:You are not aloneYou are not aloneYou are not aloneThere is one who loves you deeply and calls to you: “Come to me, you who are weary

This was such a fantastic conversation with Pastor Steph O'Brien about her book, Stay Curious, which is all about embracing curiosity, questions, and even doubts as a key to unlocking a more vibrant and dynamic relationship with God.A lot of us sometimes think that we aren't supposed to have big questions about fundamental ideas about God, Jesus or the Bible. Or we might believe that the life of faith is about overcoming and eliminating doubt to have "true faith." Steph really challenges these notions, encourages intentionality in spirituality, and at the same time upholds the importance of community, the Church, the Bible, and Jesus. While our conversation is really great, you should definitely check out everything Steph O'Brien does.  Among other things, she teaches at Bethel Seminary, is on the pastoral staff of a Church, and co-hosts an amazing podcast called "Lead Stories." Steph is a really gifted speaker and teacher, and is well worth following. Visit Steph's Website for more about her and what she doe

The Spirituality for Ordinary People Podcast returns with a reflection on rediscovering our identity. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Season 3 of Spirituality for Ordinary People is all about Prayer Walking. In this third episode, Matt Brough continues the conversation from episode 2 with Robin McGauley about Labyrinths. Check out the resources below the picture of the Labyrinth... Overhead view of the Labyrinth in Chartres Cathedrale Resources: Veriditas: https://www.veriditas.orgThe Expressive Arts program at fleming college: https://flemingcollege.ca/programs/expressive-artsRobin's Website - Amazing metalsmithing - check it out!Season 1, Episode 8 of Spirituality for Ordinary People - Creativity, Metalsmithing, and Labyrinths with Rev. Robin McGauley Follow Spirituality for Ordinary People on Instagram Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com

Season 3 of Spirituality for Ordinary People is all about Prayer Walking. In this second episode, Matt Brough, welcomes Robin McGauley back to the podcast to talk about walking the Labyrinth. This is such an amazing conversation. So amazing, that it has been broken up into 2 parts - so there will be another episode with the second half of the conversation! Check out the resources below the picture of the Labyrinth... Overhead view of the Labyrinth in Chartres Cathedrale Resources: Veriditas: https://www.veriditas.orgThe Expressive Arts program at fleming college: https://flemingcollege.ca/programs/expressive-artsRobin's Website - Amazing metalsmithing - check it out!Season 1, Episode 8 of Spirituality for Ordinary People - Creativity, Metalsmithing, and Labyrinths with Rev. Robin McGauley Follow Spirituality for Ordinary People on Instagram Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episod

Season 3 of Spirituality for Ordinary People is all about Prayer Walking. In this opening episode, Matt Brough, goes over a few different kinds of prayer walks and invites listeners to consider making prayer walking a regular Spiritual Practice.He goes over two main types:1) Neighbourhood Prayer-Walking (Outward focus)This type of prayer walking intentionally focusses on a particular neighbourhood. Take time to walk around in a community and silently pray for the people who live, work, or go to school there.Pray for discernment - Seek the gift of seeing the community through God’s eyes and to discern what God may be up to in the neighbourhood. Pray for greater insight into how God is at work among the people, events, and places you observe.Pray for blessing - Observe situations and places that express both joy and brokenness in the community and silently give thanks and/or ask for healing, strength, or renewal.2. Personal Prayer-Walking (Inward focus)This type of prayer walking focusses on your own relationsh

In this episode of the Spirituality for Ordinary Podcast your host, Matt Brough, continues the conversation with J. Dana Trent, author of One Breath At A Time: A Skeptic’s Guide to Meditation. The first part of this conversation was in Episode 3 of Season 2. This wraps up the season on the Examen. For an overview of the Examen, you may want to go back to Episode 1 of Season 2 - The Examen in a Nutshell   Follow Spirituality for Ordinary People on Instagram Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | TuneIn Radio | Google Play This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mattbrough.substack.com