Fabric Podcast

Most of us are “off course” most of the time when it comes to aligning our best intentions with what we actually do. Instead of fighting it, what if we could learn to recognize and admit it with a little more ease, grace and regularity? What’s it like to have people to practice that kind of honesty, acceptance and re-orienting with over time? Turns out it’s pretty fun and empowering. And Fabric groups are made for it! 

Happy 18th birthday, Fabric! It seems like more often than not, it’s our local connections – our families, friends, neighbors, etc. – who remind us of who we are, and who serve as a compass in our lives.

This episode kicks off the North Star conversation talking about “potential energy,” because it’s back-to-school time, and why wouldn’t we jump right into physics? Where do we feel the tension of potential, and how might we chart a course forward as we participate in life, deeply woven? For a quick primer on potential vs. kinetic energy, see this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZZjM6Oiw8  

Listen in for this past week's conversation with Ellis Delaney, live from the bandshell at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. We're grateful for our ongoing relationship with Ellis, and are grateful for their leadership these past few weeks. *** Next week, join us at Field Elementary School (our "home" for the fall, winter, and spring) as we kick off the "North Star" series! *** To support this ministry, or to learn more about Fabric, please visit http://www.fabricMPLS.com

What if there’s more than production? We react to any suggestion that we ourselves are commodities or tools of unfettered capitalistic growth. And yet, statistics show that people are increasingly seeing themselves as not even spiritual, but merely… existing. Let’s become captivated by the mystery around us once again! ******* You can learn more about Fabric on our website by clicking here (http://www.fabricmpls.com/) or on social media at @FabricMPLS. ******* Support our work of innovating and experimenting with what "Church" can be by visiting http://www.FabricMPLS.com/give/ ******* You can learn more about Ellis Delaney, our end-of-summer artist-in-residence on their website (https://www.ellisdelaney.com/) or on Instagram at @EllisMusic. Go show them some love, will ya?

“Church” is not an easy word for many. What stirs in you when you think of that word? Fabric has a long-standing tradition and value of experimenting with what “church” can be for people, gathered together and digging in the dirt of the divine in a way that seeks unity, not uniformity. There’s a big difference! ____ We're glad to be a kind of critically important safe landing zone for folks who have either experienced hurt in church spaces, or who have grown disinterested or disaffected by traditional church spaces. If you'd like to support the kind of community we're always working to build and experiment around, you can do so by visiting us online at http://www.fabricmpls.com/give

AC/DC’s road manager Barry Taylor once reportedly said, “God is the name of the blanket we throw over mystery to give it shape.” There are countless ways to understand or perceive the divine; let’s affirm this diversity, and wonder together about which metaphors and images are working for each of us! Learn more about Fabric by clicking here! We may not be a very good church, but it sure seems like we're providing something that people are finding value in. If you agree, and want to support this community financially, we'd certainly appreciate it! You can visit FabricMPLS.com/Give to learn how to become a sustainer!

Have doubts? Join the club! What would it be like to view doubt less as an obstacle in conversations around God and faith, but rather as a friend and companion? Let’s spend a bit of time wondering what it would be like to become friends with doubt!

There are some pretty unhelpful lenses we use to look at ourselves!  Supernatural lenses to see God don’t help. “Life with God” or “spirituality” become achievements instead of natural ways of being. Humility isn't insecurity, submissiveness, niceness, or weakness. It’s a strong and grounded self-understanding that grows over a lifetime with practice, perspectives, and people. In this episode, Melissa Lock (with some help from Heidi Esposito) offers some delicious humble pie for us to chew on!

Does God “belong” to the institution of religion? Are “God” and “church” the same thing with different shapes? In this episode, Ian McConnell (with some help from Heidi Esposito) helps us find some fresh ways to enter into this conversation.

Is God supernatural, or as close and natural as our own breath? In a time where many claims about God are being made to bolster many agendas, it seems like a good time to affirm the diversity of thought around what is often called, “God.”

To “cease and resist” is ultimately about liberation; about being ready for the world and our place in it, but not being held hostage by it. What would it be like to release the need to control, to know more and do more and be more than is healthy? We are made for so much more than what is controllable!

Rest can sometimes feel like we are putting burdens on others; if I rest, then someone else has to work harder. However, when done well, sabbath can be an invitation to create healthy communities that together find balance in the interplay of work and rest. 

Life isn’t meant to just make us tired! It’s meant to make us happy. Deeply happy. The kind of happy we are told we can buy or achieve but that really only requires us to do one thing: stop. Are you ready to be surprised by the gratuitous goodness that is always growing in and around you?

Practicing sabbath cracks open the possibility of letting ourselves (and everything around us) go a bit wild… what would be possible if we experienced restoration? *** Learn more about Fabric on our website, or find us on Instagram and Facebook. If you find this podcast valuable to your life, and want to support this community financially, you can do so here. Or, if this is all well and good, but you're looking for something more— perhaps a sustained, in-real-life community, consider joining a Fabric Small Group!   http://www.fabricmpls.com/ http://www.fabricmpls.com/give http://www.fabricmpls.com/groups http://www.instagram.com/fabricmpls http://www.facebook.com/fabricmpls

Does it feel like there’s too much going on to pause what you’re doing? What if stopping was one of the most effective ways to join the resistance? Together, let's get into the concept of "sabbath," reclaim it a bit, and let it pick away at "the way things are" as we move forward towards how things could be.

As we closed out our Unearthed conversation, we welcomed Joe Davis back to help facilitate a time of artistic reflection and processing; to notice what came up, metabolize it, and bless it.

What comes up for us as we look up at the current events in Gaza? In this episode, we welcome Jenny Sung, a pastor working through the ELCA’s Sumud ministry toward justice in Palestine and Israel to hear about how she shows up in her role with steadfastness in light of such despair and heartbreak.

Climate change trivia?! Yes please(?!) We've taken a live gathering and turned it into a fun podcast for you, even if it's perhaps not the most fun subject. Let us know what you think as we keep experimenting with what in-person gatherings look like and how to turn them into meaningful podcasts! 

MN climate justice organizer Joshua Lewis (Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light) joins Ian McConnell to continue help us lift our heads up, this time toward the wondering if the climate crisis just too big, or if there are approachable ways for us to engage with courage and conviction.