"We’re all human. If each of us is cut, we bleed. If we miss a meal, we go hungry. If we miss too many meals, we perish." Why do we too easily overlook someone’s humanity? // Romans 15:5-8, 13 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to G...
Dec 10, 2019•7 min
"The myth of redemptive violence says ‘you hit me, I hit you back.’ The myth of redemptive violence calls for peace by issuing an attack." How have you seen or experienced the myth of redemptive violence in the world around you? // O come, desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all humankind Bid Thou our sad divisions cease And be Thyself our King of peace // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear. Visit www...
Dec 09, 2019•5 min
"I am nothing without you, God, and I depend on you for everything." In your own words, what does it mean for you to depend on God for everything? // Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go. Visit www....
Dec 08, 2019•5 min
“I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see." Perhaps rather than a season of us waiting for the birth of Christ, Advent is the season in which God waits for Christ to be born in us, our own awakening to the hope, peace, joy, and love we are called to embody in the world around us. // Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now am found Was blind but now I see // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Jim Keat, the Boyd Family Sin...
Dec 07, 2019•12 min
Dec 06, 2019•8 min
“God is doing a new thing and we are waking up to it." What “new things” do you see God doing in the world around you? // Romans 13:11-14 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery a...
Dec 05, 2019•9 min
"Every time we seek to embody the spirit of the one who inspires our very breath we are making a choice. We choose between love and indifference, peace and chaos." What do you need to let go of to make space for the Spirit of God? // Psalm 122 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together. To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel,...
Dec 04, 2019•6 min
"Violence is a vibrant part of the American imagination. Can we make room for peace and plowshares even in the spaces that we guard most closely?" What are the swords in your world that need to be beaten into plowshares? // Isaiah 2:1-5 In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to th...
Dec 03, 2019•8 min
"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight." In your own words, how would you describe “the hopes and fears of all the years”? // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Surly Bonds by Blue Dot Sessions, We Call This Home by Alex Fitch, and O Little Town Bethlehem by Phillip Brooks and Lewis Redner, performed by Rich Mountain Revival. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes ...
Dec 02, 2019•13 min
“Whatever the circumstances, despite the past or the difficulties of the present, there is always the possibility that God can, that God will, that God is with us, for us, coming to us in ways we cannot imagine. That is hope; that is Advent." What's your definition of Advent? // This episode was written and recorded by Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear and What Child Is This by Son Little. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndG...
Dec 01, 2019•7 min
“As we make room, create space, slow down, we learn that waiting isn’t just about willing some future moment into your present one, but it is about being present with each moment, each breath, knowing that we can find God and connect with the world around us in each one." What does “making room” mean for you during this season? // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Picturebook by Dave Depper, and In the Dark ...
Nov 30, 2019•5 min
“It isn’t too late, but we need to get moving to save the birds, to save the earth." Stop and look for the nearest bird. What do you notice? // This episode was written and recorded by Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle, Canbasback, and Red-tailed Hawk by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go....
Oct 08, 2019•7 min
"Perhaps the murky chaos of the anthropocene may be our opportunity to act as co-creators with God and all living things." What new life can you grow out of the chaos around you? // Genesis 1:11-12, 20-21, 25 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. And God saw that it was good...And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above ...
Oct 07, 2019•6 min
"We ought to live more simply so others may simply live." What kinds of shepherds do we want to be? How will we remain faithful in this strange land? // Ezekiel 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? But you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? // This episode was written and recorded by Kevin VanHook. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear...
Oct 06, 2019•8 min
“You say you love your children above all else and yet you're stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” -Greta Thunberg What tangible actions can you take to help slow the effects of climate change? // Amos 5:24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. // This episode was written and recorded by Bruce Lamb. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle Reed Canary Grass, Cottonwoods, and Oregon Grape by Podington Bear. ...
Oct 05, 2019•8 min
“How we honor and tend to the earth is a sign of how we honor and tend to our relationship with God and with each other." In your own words, why is it important to honor and tend to the earth? // Genesis 1:28-30 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed...
Oct 04, 2019•6 min
“The elephant slaughtered for it’s tusks, the oceans littered with swaths of plastic bottles, the forest being burned or cut down for palm oil plantations, the arctic ice disappearing at an alarming rate. These are 'the least of these' also because they are part of us and how we came to be. Their suffering, their loss, their exploitation is the suffering of Jesus Christ. Christ is on the cross all over this planet." Where do you see “the least of these” in the created world around you? // Matthe...
Oct 03, 2019•8 min
Memorizing scripture is the easy part. Walking the walk is incredibly difficult. But the benefit that we that get out of it is that we will live and walk and talk our faith and the gift at the end will be saving our planet. What does it look like for you to live and walk and talk your faith? // Isaiah 11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. // This episode was written and ...
Oct 02, 2019•12 min
"Everything is engulfed by this lively mesh of existence and being, this tangled brew of life." What connections do you feel to the world around you? // This episode was written and recorded by Duane Toops. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and Houston St. and ø by Young Bay. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go....
Oct 01, 2019•8 min
"Every march is a step forward into the unknown, trusting, surrendering, hoping against all illogical hope that a new life awaits.” What keeps you motivated to work for environmental justice in our world? // This episode was written and recorded by Chelsea MacMillan. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and Looking for that Moment when Time Stands Still and The Dead of Winter by Will Bangs. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episo...
Sep 30, 2019•7 min
God of many names, one being: you slung stars to infinite galaxies in a universe whose outer limits are beyond our reach. You made this earth, so finely balanced, brilliant in beauty, breath-taking in wonder. You set our feet upon the ground and gave us eyes to see the sky, beating hearts and curious minds, busy hands to feel joy and work the planet for the good of all. Our failures are not your doing. Our triumphs tell of your glory. You are our true home. Young people all over the world march ...
Sep 29, 2019•5 min
What do we do when the very thing we need might end up killing us? // The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims God's handiwork. (Psalm 19:1) The sky is falling. The air is killing us. Nearly 80% of lung illnesses are due to the air pollutants caused by automobiles and other fossil fuel burning machines. They will roar over it on that day, like the roaring of the sea. And if one look to the land— only darkness and distress; and the light grows dark with clouds. (Isaia...
Sep 28, 2019•7 min
“There are no unsecured places but only sacred places and desecrated places.” -Wendell Berry Where have you found God in creation? // Psalm 18:2 My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. // This episode was written and recorded by Frances Connell. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle and Sepia by Podington Bear, Rivers and Mountains by Josh Spacek, and The Tide and Seeking Clarity by Alex Fitch. Visit www.trcn...
Sep 27, 2019•11 min
"See to it that you do not spoil and destroy my world for if you do there will be no one else to repair it.” // If we do not wake up our children and grand children will have a future of a diminishing food supply and withered trees. What are you doing to care for the future of our planet? // Leviticus 26:3-4 If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field s...
Sep 26, 2019•5 min
Hound dogs on my trail School children sitting in jail Black cat cross my path I think every day’s gonna be my last -Nina Simone What does it mean to “give a damn” about our world today? // Genesis 8:13–14 In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the eart...
Sep 25, 2019•9 min
"The people who are suffering the consequences of climate change the most didn’t even cause climate change." Where have you seen the impact of climate change in the world around you? // Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. // This episode was written and recorded by abby mohaupt. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and In the Dark You're More Colorful and Live For the Dead by Corina Repp. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStil...
Sep 24, 2019•6 min
"Here’s what I believe: we are a part of an evolutionary force, co-creating with God." What does it look like for you to co-create with God? // This episode was written and recorded by Beth Ackerman. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear, The Great Burn by Dave Depper, and Lightning by Kelly Pratt. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go....
Sep 23, 2019•5 min
"In our present age of massive climate disruption, we are seeing signs that should move us to healthy fear, to name our corporate sin and turn with renewed attention to the ways of the Creator God, who, as the psalmist sees, models careful, daily tending of the earth on which all life depends." What corporate sins does our culture need to name and repent from in order to tend the earth on which all life depends? // Psalm 65:3, 8, 12-13 Misdeeds – they are stronger than I am; our transgressions –...
Sep 22, 2019•9 min
What can you do to conserve and care for water in our world? // The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2) 71% of the earth is covered in water. So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21) Every year, more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including ...
Sep 21, 2019•5 min
“Another world is possible and God has given us all we need to live into it." What are you doing to support the global climate strike? // Mark 1:15 The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Good News. // This episode was written by The Riverside Youth Group — Santiago, Lucia. Athena, LaToya, Isabella, Mara. Chloe, Stephen, Charlotte, and Julian. It was recorded live on Sunday, October 15 at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Backgroun...
Sep 20, 2019•7 min
