Recent Episodes

July 10, 2022

The Lessons of Forgiveness with Shane Claiborne

Shane Claiborne is an evangelist who proclaims an embodied gospel message, inviting us deeply into the journey of discipleship and the experience of beloved community.  He travels widely while living with great intention locally.  Shane is author of a number of books, including The Irresistible Revolution, which has become a contemporary classic.  His newest book, written with Michael Martin, is Beating Guns: Hope for People Who are Weary of Violence.  Shane is a founder of Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks committed to live “as if Jesus meant all the things he said.” He has long been dedicated to advocacy for the homeless, interfering with war by incarnating peace, ending the death penalty, and transforming gun violence.  Pay particular attention to the wealth of stories he brings to The Forgiveness Lab.

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June 8, 2022

Forgiveness and the Spiritual Journey, with Bernadette Rudolph

Bernadette Rudolph is the program director at Cranaleith Spiritual Center in Philadelphia and a certified Spiritual Director. She “endlessly explores how God is mixed up in human lives and tries to help others see it as well.”  Bernadette has a rich background that has included teaching at Villanova and Marywood Universities, pastoral ministry in a parish setting,  serving as a diocesan director for Family and Community Development, being a middle and high school teacher and a K-8 principal, and serving as a lay missionary. She loves to explore what lies beneath the surface of life.  This spring Bernadette is offering a series entitled “Confrontation and Troublemaking:  Gospel Perspectives.”

Cranaleith Spiritual Center is a welcoming space for those who wish to reflect on what matters deeply in their lives, renew their spirits for life and work, or restore themselves from life’s traumas.  It is holy ground for healing and inspiration.  Cranaleith is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy.

Hit the link below to listen in as we discuss Forgiveness and the Spiritual Journey, with Bernadette sharing more about Cranaleith and its mission.

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June 5, 2020

Choosing Peace with Zak Ebrahim

Zak Ebrahim is a peace educator, advocate for nonviolence, and the author of the book, The Terrorist’s Son: a story of choice.  Zak is the founder of the Zak Ebrahim Project, which is dedicated to building stronger, safer communities through addressing the root causes of hate-related behaviors.

Zak is the son of El-Sayyid Nosair, who in 1990 assassinated Rabbi Meyer Kahane, the head of the Jewish Defense League, when Zak was seven.  Later, while in prison, Zak’s father participated in the planning of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. Zak’s world was upended, with his family moving more than twenty times, and Zak haunted by his father’s actions and bullied.  His book articulates his journey through the years:  “(It) is the story of a boy inculcated in dogma and hate–a boy presumed to follow in his father’s footsteps–and the man who chose a different path.”

Over the last decade, Zak has shared his transformational journey in communities around the world, testifying to our capacity to make choices for a peaceful life.  As he does so, he shares his deep humanity.  Zak Ebrahim is a person who creates a place of hospitality and sanctuary for others with his way of being, welcoming us and the truth of our own stories.

You are invited to listen to a discussion of remarkable depth and richness. Zak’s life is a “forgiving” one!

 

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November 12, 2019

The Nonviolent God and Human Transformation with Anthony Bartlett

Tony Bartlett is a theologian, teacher, and author living in Syracuse, NY.  Among his books are the remarkable Virtually Christian: How Christ Changes Human Meaning and Makes Creation New, and Cross Purposes: The Violent Grammar of Christian Atonement. In recent years he has also published Seven Stories: How to Study and Teach the Nonviolent Bible, and a novel, Pascale’s Wager: Homelands of Heaven. 

Tony and his wife Linda founded a house church and bible study community in Syracuse, Wood Hath Hope, which has flourished over the last two decades.  Out of Wood Hath Hope has grown the Bethany Center for Nonviolent Theology and Spirituality.  Tony was a founding member of Theology and Peace, an organization dedicated to using the tools of Rene Girard’s mimetic theory to uncover gospel wisdom and the nonviolent example of Jesus’ love.

He is full of life and inspiration, and revels in the joy of transformative Christian community.  Tony blogs at http://hopeintime.com.

 

 

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September 6, 2019

Forgiveness, Healing, and Justice with Chris Antal

Rev. Dr. Chris J. Antal is Staff Chaplain at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, where he is involved in cutting edge treatment of moral injury borne by veterans.

He has been instrumental in establishing both the Moral Injury Group and the Community Healing Ceremony.  Chris is a Unitarian Universalist Minister serving the UU Congregation at Rock Tavern, NY.  For five years Chris was a U.S. Army Reserve  Chaplain, including deployment in Afghanistan in 2012-13.  He resigned  in a letter to the President in 2016, opposing the policies  of armed drones, nuclear weapons, and “preventative war.”

Chris refused to serve as an “empire chaplain.”  Take time to listen to this remarkably candid and wide-ranging conversation.

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August 8, 2019

The Rich Wisdom of Forgiveness with Carl Yusavitz

Rev. Dr. Carl Yusavitz is the longtime Director of Pastoral Services at Penn Foundation Behavioral Health Services in Sellersville, PA, and a Supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education.  In this podcast, Carl offers deep insights into how forgiveness is manifested in the midst of aging, illness, limitation, challenge,  loss,  tragedy, addiction, living and dying.  There is abundant pastoral and practical wisdom here about graciousness, care, communal living, transformation, and wholeness.

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