Marcella Project 11/22/23 Marcella Project 11/22/23

# 98 Stretching Out Your Heart With Stephanie Giddens

Many of us feel disturbed by the violence we see in the news. We should be. Today’s conversation is about women who leave their homelands to find safety and security in ours. There is anguish and pain in these women’s stories but also beauty and courage.

Marcella Project 11/1/23 Marcella Project 11/1/23

#97 Breaking Silence: Unraveling Violence and the Church with Leslie Vernick

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the Church has been forced to confront its own demons and the uncomfortable reality that some of our teachings have served as breeding grounds for abuse.

Concepts like headship and submission, silencing women, limiting their roles to motherhood and wifehood, and even the disturbing idea that a woman must acquiesce to her husband's desires at all times have all contributed to a culture of harm rather than healing.

Marcella Project 10/25/23 Marcella Project 10/25/23

# 96 “Nobody’s Mother” A Conversation W/Dr. Sandra Glahn

Some Christians think Paul's reference to "saved through childbearing" in 1 Timothy 2:15 means that women are slated primarily for delivering and raising children.

Sandra Glahn thinks that we have misunderstood Paul by misunderstanding the context to which he wrote. A key to reading and applying 1 Timothy, Glahn argues, lies in getting to know a mysterious figure who haunts the letter: the goddess Artemis.

Marcella Project 10/11/23 Marcella Project 10/11/23

#95 A Conversation w/Kaitlyn Schiess "The Bible and the Ballot"

Today, we are talking with Kaitlyn Schiess about her new book called "The Ballot and The Bible."

She explains how the book is all about how we read the Bible, especially in the context of politics. It's an interesting topic and one that I think is particularly relevant given the current political climate.

If you're anything like me, you probably still feel shell-shocked from the 2016 and 2020 elections. It seems like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. And now, as we start to gear up for the 2024 election, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed. Part of me wants to move to another country until it's over. But Kaitlyn's book offers a fresh perspective on the intersection of faith and politics.

Marcella Project 9/27/23 Marcella Project 9/27/23

#94 Aging Part II

I’ve been unsettled about how women are pressured to stay young. When something gets under my skin, I do a deep theological dive to figure out what Jesus has to say.

Marcella Project 9/13/23 Marcella Project 9/13/23

#93 Aging Part I

I've been talking to women my age about aging, and I learned that women start to feel invisible as they age. Invisible Women's Syndrome is a real thing that affects women around menopause age. They feel compelled to engage in beauty work to combat aging. But this creates a tension between being physically and socially visible by looking youthful and the realities of growing older. In other words, social (IN visibility) arises from recognizing signs of aging and reinforces ageist, sexist perceptions of older women's bodies.

Marcella Project 7/5/23 Marcella Project 7/5/23

# 92 Spiritual Practices For Summer Rhythms

What if spiritual practices- ways of cultivating awareness and developing a stronger connection to God- seem made for our summer rhythms?

Marcella Project 6/21/23 Marcella Project 6/21/23

#91 Standing On Her Shoulders

Beth Allison Barr states, “Women’s leadership has been forgotten because women’s stories throughout history have been covered up, neglected, or retold to recast women as less significant than they really were.” Today we discuss the history of women in leadership in the church with Dr. Sandra Glahn.

Marcella Project 6/7/23 Marcella Project 6/7/23

#90 At Fifty-Seven, I’m Moving To Mothering

“Jackie, where do you see your work going?” And the word mothering popped into my head. When I told her she teared up.

Marcella Project 5/10/23 Marcella Project 5/10/23

#89 Jesus, Emotions and the Gospel

When I became a Christian I was told, women are emotional (a bad thing) and that anything like anxiety or fear was a sin. Of course Paul’s Philippians quote was used to back that thinking. Was that good teaching?

Marcella Project 4/14/23 Marcella Project 4/14/23

#88 A Very Big God

Many of our family's trips involved taking our kids to unsafe places. That's my husband's fault! But today, you will hear why I'm so glad he did.

Marcella Project 3/30/23 Marcella Project 3/30/23

# 87 Part Six In The Friendship Series: Brother Sister vs Danger Romance

In a previous episode, I laid out a theological argument for brother sister narrative instead of the “danger romance” narrative.

Today I'm talking with my friends, those I've intentionally built deep relationships with, people I've done life with for decades. Our family group has served together inside and outside the church. We've prepared and eaten many meals and vacationed together in Vancouver, New Hampshire, and Costa Rica. We celebrated birthdays and holidays. We watched each other's kids grow up and know each other's, extended families.

Is this normal or just dangerous?

Marcella Project 3/14/23 Marcella Project 3/14/23

#86 Part Five In The Friendship Series: On The Bus Together

The boys' and girls' buses collided during my summer intensive at Northern Seminary, and it's there; Denise, Jenny, Karen, Terri, Justin, Jason, James, and John experienced some real magic. Today you will hear from all of us.

Marcella Project 3/1/23 Marcella Project 3/1/23

#85 Part Four In The Friendship Series: Why Can’t We Be Friends?

Why can't men and women be friends? At least in the conservative Christian community, we have answered it with an anemic, wanting, and unbiblical answer.