"Be like John and believe in the light, believe in the things that God has promised to us." How is the Word made flesh in our world and our lives today? // John 1:6-8, 28-30 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light....This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and d...
Dec 17, 2020•6 min
"We need a Mother God right now because our brains are so saturated in patriarchy that a subtle change to a pronoun here or there can awaken our minds to a fuller understanding of the personality of God." How does the idea of a Mother God awaken your mind to a fuller understanding of the personality of God? // Psalm 11:4-7 The LORD is in her holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven. Her eyes behold, her gaze examines humankind. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, and her soul hates t...
Dec 16, 2020•8 min
"One of the first steps on the journey to freedom is to shed the ill-defined labels and limiting beliefs that separate us from the love of God." What are your next steps on the journey to freedom? // Psalm 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced. Rest...
Dec 15, 2020•9 min
"I can't help but wonder what God thinks of all the artificial trappings that have attached themselves to Christmas since the word became flesh and dwelt among us." What "artificial trappings" have attached themselves to your experience of Christmas? // Isaiah 61:1-2 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclai...
Dec 14, 2020•7 min
"Joy is still in the world. It has broken through and holds its own despite the sorrow it neighbors." What is bringing you joy in the midst of this year? // Psalm 30:5 Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. // This episode was written and recorded by Farley Lord. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relinquish and Daisy by Podington Bear, Jeus Joy of Man's Desireing by Amanda Welch, and The First Noel by Shane Becker. • Visit www.trcnyc.org /BeSt...
Dec 13, 2020•11 min
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Revised text by Rev. Tracy Howe, 2020 O come, O come, Emmanuel And free us from the bondage we’re in still Exploitation, violence and greed, Come break the chains of white supremacy Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel. Can liberate with love and power still. O come, green shoot of Jesse, free Those dying at the hands of the police Restore the land to whom it belongs, So borders melt away into songs. Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel. Can liberate with love and power still. O come now Da...
Dec 12, 2020•5 min
"Sumak Kawsay inspires me to examine how I live in relationship to the Pacha Mama – to the living and breathing creation that God made." What does it mean to live a good life in such a time as this? // Psalm 104 You set the earth on her foundations, so that she shall never be shaken. You cover her with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they flee; at the sound of your thunder they take to flight. May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord...
Dec 11, 2020•7 min
“May John the Baptist and so many others prepare the way for Jesus’ coming." Who has pointed you towards Jesus lately? // Mark 1:1-8 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for ...
Dec 10, 2020•5 min
“If we truly believe that God’s forgivness is expansive then we should believe that the eye of the needle is much wider than we can imagine.” How have you experienced God’s expansive forgiveness? How can you share this expansive forgiveness with others? // 2 Peter 3:8-15 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, no...
Dec 09, 2020•6 min
"This is a season of waiting in the middle of a year that has felt like one long season of waiting.” How has God been reviving you during this season of waiting? // Psalm 85:6-7 Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Amy Lunde-Whitler, the pastor at South Acton Congregational Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mu...
Dec 08, 2020•9 min
"Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.” -Mother Theresa Who can you help today? // Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and ...
Dec 07, 2020•12 min
"The work of making peace begins with the task of making ourselves whole." What can you do today to help make yourself, and the world around you, whole? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Cameron Trimble. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Threnody by Goldmund. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all eight seasons of Be Still and Go. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast ...
Dec 06, 2020•7 min
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. How does this verse speak to the realities of our world today? // This episode was recorded by MaryAnne Muglia. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all eight seasons of Be Still and Go. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church t...
Dec 05, 2020•5 min
"To keep alert and to pay attention is our call to be aware of one another and what is going on in the greater world." What are you keeping alert and paying attention to in the world around us? // Mark 13:24-37 “But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will ...
Dec 04, 2020•4 min
"Through Christ, I am stronger than any box; I am stronger than racism or sexism or any -ism." What are the “boxes” that you have had to overcome and break out of? // 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengt...
Dec 03, 2020•8 min
"Teenage girls are visionary. They always have been." Who are the teenage girls that you know. What can you do to support and encourage them today? // This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Hopeful Child by Podington Bear. Sample tracks include Emma González from an interview on 60 Minutes, Claudette Colvin from an interview on Great Big Story, and Greta Thunberg from her 2018 TED Talk. • Visi...
Dec 02, 2020•8 min
“When we sing we are literally breathing hope and faith that justice will come, that God will shine upon us, God will save us, God will revive us." What is giving you hope and faith during these times? // Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God ...
Dec 01, 2020•8 min
"We must be the ones tearing through all of the fences, gates, and walls that separate our world from the compassionate, justice seeking, radically inclusive Christ-child we will soon find in a manger." What obstacles do you see in our world that separate people from this compassion, justice, and inclusivity? // Isaiah 64:1-9 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— ...
Nov 30, 2020•11 min
“Here in the center, in the big middle of the crisis, with months behind us and months ahead of us comes Advent." What does Advent mean to you this year? // This episode was written and recorded by Amanda Meisenheimer. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Thousand Miles by Goldmund. • Amanda Meisenheimer is the Minister of Children & Families at The Riverside Church. She’s also the only minister at Riverside who knows how to use T...
Nov 29, 2020•7 min
“O come, o come, Emmanuel." Emmanuel means “God with us.” How do you know that God is with you? // This episode was written and recorded by Malinda Kathleen Reese. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all eight seasons of Be Still and Go. • Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spiritualit...
Nov 28, 2020•5 min
“It is a great equalizer. No matter how smart or fit or on top of the world we may believes ourselves to be, everyone requires sleep." What is your relationship with sleep? // Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot by Podington Bear and The First Person Aw...
May 31, 2020•9 min
“Power is shared, peace prevails, love is law, grace is poured out, the margins become the center, the earth is cherished, humanity thrives." How would you describe a world filled with justice? // Luke 13:31-35 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, an...
May 31, 2020•12 min
"We recommit our need to the charity of daily bread and the justice of an economic system for all the people of God. We are all essential." Who do you consider to be “essential” in our world today? // Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Michael Livingston, the Interim Senior Minister at The Riverside Church. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot by Podington Bear and Grey Sunday, Memories Again, and Wait...
May 24, 2020•9 min
Namaske — the mask I wear to protect you recognizes the mask you wear to protect me. How do you feel about wearing a mask when you go out in public? // James 1:27 "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress.” Leviticus 19:18 “Love your neighbor as yourself." // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot by Podington Bear and Building the Sled, Even Dreams of Beaches, Roundpine...
May 17, 2020•14 min
“God can make beautiful music with notes that seem out of place." Where do you find God in the dissonance in our world or in your life? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Kevin VanHook. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot and Reckoning by Podington Bear, I’ll Miss You by Will Bangs, and Lucky Kentucky by The Night Train. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all seven seasons of Be Still and Go. Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donat...
May 10, 2020•12 min
“Thanks be to God for dirty dishes." Who was the last person you shared a meal with? // John 21:1-14 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, b...
May 03, 2020•10 min
"Your strength and dignity comes from your humanity itself. God made you in their image. You are dressed in garments of glory whether you are wearing scrubs or 3-day-old jeans." What garments of glory are you wearing today? // Proverbs 31: 24-25 She makes linen garments and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. Isaiah 61:10-11 I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me u...
Apr 26, 2020•8 min
"Taking a walk is an invitation to observe the world as it is and to anticipate it as it might be." What do you notice and anticipate when you observe the world around you? // Luke 24:13-35 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And...
Apr 19, 2020•12 min
"Find the divine in the daily, the Christ in the common, and whatever you do, give thanks to God." Where have you found God today? // Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything...giving thanks to God. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Barefoot and Arctic by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go. Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to suppo...
Apr 16, 2020•5 min
"Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed." What does it mean to see Easter as a message for systems and not just individuals? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Juncture by Dexter Britain. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go. Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resou...
Apr 12, 2020•9 min
