Holding It(,) Together

In the last episode of 2018 (and the series), Rachel Epp Miller and Sarah Bixler break silences and talk frankly about infertility, miscarriage and infant loss. They tenderly share their individual journeys with one another and open space for honest questions as they struggle to find hope, support, healing and God through it all. Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by: www.bensound.com Special Guests: Rachel Epp Miller and Sarah Bixler.

In three Women Doing Theology shorts, we're introducing our main-stage presenters at the upcoming #WDT18 conference in November. Our theme is Talkin' Bout a Revolution: Dialogue Practice and the work of Liberation. At the conference we'll get to know our presenters' thoughts and ideas, but we wanted to offer an opportunity to get to know them on a human level. In this episode, we meet Yvette. Find out more info about #WDT18 at www.MennoniteUSA.org/wdt18 . Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by Maria Pien (https://freemusicarchive.org/search/?quicksearch=Maria+Pien) Special Guest: Yvette Blair.

In three Women Doing Theology shorts, we're introducing our main-stage presenters at the upcoming #WDT18 conference in November. Our theme is Talkin' Bout a Revolution: Dialogue Practice and the work of Liberation. At the conference we'll get to know our presenters' thoughts and ideas, but we wanted to offer an opportunity to get to know them on a human level. In this episode, we meet Malinda. Find out more info about #WDT18 at www.MennoniteUSA.org/wdt18 . Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by Maria Pien (https://freemusicarchive.org/search/?quicksearch=Maria+Pien) Special Guest: Malinda Elizabeth Berry.

If you live with mental illness, it can be too easy to believe you are all alone. We believe we must pretend that "everything's fine," because sharing our reality with others is just too terrifying. Jill Stemple helps us to break silence around mental illness as she reads, "Learning to be known and loved: The movement from hiding mental illness to sharing it with the church," an article she wrote for The Mennonite magazine in July of 2016. Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by: www.bensound.com Special Guest: Jill Stemple.

As we seek to make meaning of the darkness in our life's story, how do we take back power from the events that we've allowed to define us and embrace wholeness? In this episode, we break silences with Claire DeBerg, as she reads her essay, "Choosing Love: Adultery, Adoption, Abundance." Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by: www.bensound.com Special Guest: Claire DeBerg.

In three Women Doing Theology shorts, we're introducing our main-stage presenters at the upcoming #WDT18 conference in November. Our theme is Talkin' Bout a Revolution: Dialogue Practice and the work of Liberation. At the conference we'll get to know our presenters' thoughts and ideas, but we wanted to offer an opportunity to get to know them on a human level. First we'll meet Carolina. Find out more info about #WDT18 at www.MennoniteUSA.org/wdt18 . Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by Maria Pien (https://freemusicarchive.org/search/?quicksearch=Maria+Pien) Special Guest: Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros.

Why is it so difficult to talk about our failure? In the second episode of our “Breaking Silences” series, Jenny talks with three women: Elizabeth Soto Albrecht, Linda Gehman Peachey and Marathana Prothro, to explore failure — how it shapes who we are and who we become, and all it has to teach us when we face it. Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by: www.bensound.com Special Guests: Elizabeth Soto Albrecht , Linda Gehman Peachey, and Marathana Prothro.

This summer we’re focusing on “Breaking Silences” and talking about things we’ve typically avoided. We’re choosing to release shame, fear and discomfort as we courageously face conversations that have been put off for too long. In this episode, Erica Littlewolf reads her essay “On Singleness and the Church” published on the Menno Snapshots blog in August 2016. In the conversation that follows, Jenny and Erica explore the pressure single women face in the church, touching on sexism, purity culture and belonging. Theme music by Addie Liechty (https://www.facebook.com/addieandthesubtrax/) Other music by: www.bensound.com Special Guest: Erica Littlewolf.

We conclude our series “Women in Leadership” with a talkback episode. We’ve invited five women from across the country to consider one event, experience or interaction that significantly shaped their leadership. Their stories are as unique as the women themselves and get to the heart of challenges and triumphs we’ve attempted to capture throughout this series. At the same time, their stories are universal, touching themes that continue to bubble up when we talk about women in leadership. Special Guests: Emily Kauffman, Janet Stauffer, Nancy Kauffmann, Shirley Hershey Showalter, and Sue Park Hur.

How do we as women in leadership navigate through expectations about our bodies imposed upon us by the white patriarchy that is embedded within our faith communities? What do we have to strip away? What do we have to let go of? We continue our series “Women in Leadership” with Melissa Florer-Bixler, pastor of Raleigh (North Carolina) Mennonite Church. Special Guest: Melissa Florer-Bixler.

What is imagination’s role in resistance? How does personal transformation influence systemic change? How do we hold the tension of all that we’re working for together with finding joy in our journey? Jenny talks with three women – connected through Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Indiana – whose life and work has spanned three generations. They gather together for the first time to explore their overlapping yet distinct stories. Special Guests: Alison Brookins , Gayle Gerber Koontz, and Malinda Berry.

In October of 2016, Chris Hoover Seidel wrote, For the Body Tells Me So, an article exploring the disconnection and trauma inside her physical body as metaphor for the church, and our collective trauma and disconnection. What could it look like to stand in solidarity with ourselves, to be present our collective pain, to become faith communities that embrace God's divine presence embodied through us all? Special Guest: Chris Hoover Seidel.

Privilege and opportunity, growth into leadership, spiritual journey, culture, encountering joy. Iris de León-Hartshorn and Michelle Armster have been friends for over 30 years. In this first ever episode of Holding it(,) Together, find stories, wisdom and inspiration as we listen in to an honest conversation between friends. Special Guests: Iris de Leon-Hartshorn and Michelle Armster.