Thinking Faith With Eric Gurash And Dr. Brett Salkeld

On this 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, Eric and Brett welcome Archdiocese of Regina Ecumenical officer Nick Jessen into the studio to talk about how his office works towards Christian unity within the Archdiocese of Regina. We'll also discuss the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, global efforts among Christian Churches working towards unity and offer some tips on how Catholics can best commemorate the anniversary of an event that has had a major impact on Christians for the past 500 years. You'll want to make sure to nail this one to the wall so you don't miss it! In the show, we mention our good friend Catholic Apologist Matt Nelson of Shaunovan, SK and his blog. You can find the article we reference at reasonablecatholic.com.

Continuing their series on sacramental preparations, Eric and Bret take time this week to discuss some of the basic theology underlying the sacrament of baptism. Specifically, they'll discuss the theme of death and resurrection - what we call the 'Pascal Mystery'. We'll discuss how Christ's dying and rising serves to 'unlock' themes of death and resurrection in the Old Testament and can help us to understand just what we are entering into when we are baptized and when we prepare to baptize our children. A great episode for Catechists and to share with parents...you'll be dying (and rising!) to hear this all plays out on this week's Thinking Faith!

Eric and Brett sit down with Donor Services Coordinator Denise Walsh to take a peek behind the scenes of this year's 2017 "Hope, Born of Mercy" Archbishop's Annual Appeal. We'll discuss the purpose and goal of the Appeal, what you'll find in your Fall mailing (and why we do them), talk about the kinds of accountability and transparency that are built into Archbishop Appeal communications, and different ways to give. Best of all, we'll meet perhaps the most responsible and organized person in the entire building - the amazing woman who helps to make sure the ministry of Jesus Christ in our Archdiocese can actually happen. We're peeling back the curtain and visiting with the wizard on this week's Thinking Faith!

It's fine to speak about coaching families and adults, about accompanying and apprenticing others in the faith, but how does one actually do this?  What does Catechesis - teaching the faith - look like for adults, for kids, for intergenerational families and parish groups? Eric and Brett discuss the challenges and share some practical tips this week on Thinking Faith!

This week Eric and Brett invite you to join them for the Archdiocese of Regina's 2017 Archbishop's Annual Appeal "Hope, Born of Mercy" kick-off event hosted by Our Lady of Peace Parish in Regina. They'll introduce you to some of our new seminarians, our newest priest, and some very special musical guests! Here's your chance to pop in your earbuds, turn up the volume and join men and women from across the diocese for an exciting evening of entertainment, fun and above all hope! And yes, this episode was indeed recorded before a live, studio audience!  

Last week Eric and Brett set the stage for faith formation in general, the great need to understand the internal faith-narrative of parents who show up to our sacramental preparations and the centrality of whole-family and parent faith formation in preparing children for receiving the sacraments. This week we continue the discussion looking at some of the practicalities around the whole family and especially parent formation and how to introduce adults to the basic stories of our faith. We'll also take a look at how to create prayer experiences in your sessions with both parents and the whole family that can be easily integrated at home. Helping you cast the nets without becoming castaways on this week's Thinking Faith!

This week Eric and Brett begin an extended series on the intricacies of sacramental preparations for Kids and families. Over the coming weeks, we'll cover some sacramental basics, and zero in on the theory, theology and practical applications of each Sacrament from baptism through to Confirmation and First Eucharist.   In this weeks episode, we'll examine the role of sacramental preparations in the evangelizing mission of a parish, we'll discuss Whole Family Catechesis and the need for parental formation in the basics of the faith.  This series should prove to be fun, informative and useful for parents, pastors and all of those brave men and women who coordinate Sacramental Preparations in the parish.

Happy Anniversary - To Us! Today marks the 1-year anniversary of Thinking Faith! The very first thing we want to do is shout out a Holy Spirit-sized THANK YOU to everyone who has been listening, sharing and telling friends, family, and coworkers about the show over the past year. We also want to extend a very special thank you to all of the parishes who so graciously give up valuable bulletin real estate to promoting the show each week.  For our 52nd episode, we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to invite Archdiocese of Regina Youth Coordinator, Michelle Braden back into the studio to talk about the amazing things she and Braden Kuntz have been doing with youth over the summer. Chock-full of tips on how to encounter Jesus Christ with and through ministry to youth all through the lens of their amazing Summer Leadership Camps!

Ok...Eric and Brett don't ACTUALLY know what you did this summer (they've agreed that stalking listeners is a very un-Catholic thing to do!). But a few people have been approaching and asking how they spent the summer months, so here it is. From getting ready for new deacons to writing books and playing super-spy at VBS camps they'll share all the terrifying details this week on Thinking Faith!

This week on Thinking Faith! We're talking about Evangelization! It's an exciting and new 'catch word' right now in Christian circles and for Catholics, it might seem as though this is kind of a new thing. We can be tempted to see it as just another one of those religious fads that may sound exciting for a bit but then just fade into the background when something a bit shinier and new comes along. Hopefully today we come to a deeper appreciation for the place of Evangelization within the church, not just today...but from its very inception.

This week on Thinking Faith! Brett and I are very happy to welcome a couple of guests into the studio with us today - Jerome Marcello and Chris Masaoay Of Couples For Christ's ANCOP organization.   Couples for Christ is a Vatican-recognized Lay Apostolate group whose primary focus is providing families with small group-driven faith formation "From the womb to the grave". Part of this mission involves engaging families in missionary outreach which is accomplished through their Charitable organization ANCOP "Answering the Cry of the Poor". Jerome and Chris popped by to tell us a bit about Couples for Christ and the work they do for the Church in the Archdiocese of Regina and to tell us about their upcoming ANCOP Awareness Walk being held at Wascana Park on Sunday, August 27. They're here to tell us a bit about the charitable works of mercy they help facilitate around the world and an exciting way that you, our listeners can get involved.   Jerome and Chris popped by to tell us a bit about Couples for Christ and

Welcome to another episode of Thinking Faith. This week we bring you another excerpt from a series of presentations Brett delivered awhile ago to the new seminarians of the Archdiocese of Edmonton. In this episode, Brett discusses the role and place of theology in the lives of all of the faithful, what might be called a 'universal call to theology'. This is a recognition that every human being who has ever wondered about their reason for being, their place in the universe, if there is a God and, like Mary 'pondered these things in our hearts' we are entering into the spiritual space of theology.

This week Eric and Brett take a look at the relationship between science, evolution and 'creationism'. The relationships between these three can often be a source of confusion for the average 'Catholic on the street', the average non-Catholic and atheists too. We'll try to clear things up while remaining as awesome as always. How awesome? Jesus and the disciples riding through Jerusalem on velociraptors awesome!

This week Eric and Brett discuss the relationship between Hospitality and the Transforming Truth of the Gospel. Are name tag Sundays, handshakes at the door and coffee after Mass the 'magic bullets' of evangelization? Do we need to be wary of sharing the truth of the gospel for fear of scaring off potential seekers? We'll look at the place of an authentic Christian Hospitality in the Church's evangelizing mission and share a couple of our own transforming encounters with Jesus Christ. We're fired up and set to Testify! This week on Thinking Faith!

This week we have a special treat for your summer enjoyment - a homily by our Archbishop Donald Bolen delivered on June 10th at the 34th graduation Mass for our Archdiocese of Regina Lay Formation Program! As you may or may not recall, host Eric Gurash has been coordinating this program for the past two years. It's a program that seeks to give an answer to a great need, expressed by Pope Francis for "well-trained lay people animated by a sincere faith...whose life has been touched by the personal and merciful love of Jesus Christ." In this episode, Archbishop Donald speaks to us about the great, evangelizing mission of Christ that has been courageously taken up by this year's program graduates.   And if Archbishop Donald's homily has inspired you to find out how you might be a part of this movement of transformation change within our Church, don't hesitate to contact show host and program coordinator Eric Gurash about registering for our Fall intake at 306.352.1651 ext 211 or by emailing him at egurash@archre

This week on 'Thinking Faith!', Eric and Brett continue their discussion of Natural Family Planning looking more closely at what NFP actually involves, the kinds of healthy conversations that it encourages couples to have in their relationship and we'll look at the potential NFP has for providing a surprising avenue of spiritual growth for couples and individuals. Due to the program content, you may not want to share this with your kids so find a quiet place or put your headphones on and enjoy the exciting conclusion to our discussion!

This week Eric and Brett begin a two-part series on Natural Family Planning. It's a topic that can result in interesting and animated conversations with family and friends and in parish groups. In the next two episodes, we'll make some distinctions and clarifications around what NFP is and isn't as well as our general attitudes towards family, relationships, and sexuality. Due to the program content, you may not want to share this with your kids so find a quiet place or put your headphones on and let's see what all the fuss is about.

This week Eric and Brett welcome Joan Myers from the Archdiocese of Regina's Marriage Tribunal office to discuss the marriage annulment process. We'll examine some of the most common misconceptions about annulments, and look at some of the nitty-gritty details about the process itself.  We'll also be looking at the kinds of things couples can do even before the wedding day itself, to lay a solid foundation on which to build a lasting marriage. What to do before you say "I Do", and how to navigate the often messy labyrinth of a broken relationship through this surprisingly healing ministry of the Church on Thinking Faith! Looking for More Info on Annulments? https://archregina.sk.ca/marriage-tribunal

Is the Trinity really an unfathomable mystery? Did we exhaust all our material last week? Does any of this have any real application to our daily lives? And what the heck is a Filioque...and if you've got one, is there a cure? These questions and more get answered in part two of our series on the Trinity - wherein we also quite intentionally ignore the fact that we've done only two episodes on...the Trinity.   Also this week - your last chance to enter our book giveaway contest. Simply like, share and comment on our podcast Facebook post over at https://www.facebook.com/Archdiocese-of-Regina-174067602644767/ for a chance to win copies of Brett's books "How Far Can We Go: A Catholic Guide to Dating" (written with our friend Leah Perrault!) and "Can Catholics and Evangelicals Agree about Purgatory and the Last Judgment?". Contest ends June 30th! Winner will be announced July 4th.

We begin a two-part series on the Trinity this week on Thinking Faith! It's one of the most central doctrines of our Christian faith and can be found etched in our prayer, sacramental and liturgical lives and yet, it can be one of the most challenging doctrines for Christiane to speak about with others. This week we'll delve into the mystery that is the Trinity. We discuss what it actually means to call the Trinity a Mystery, we'll ask hard hitting questions like "Is God really a shamrock, or is He more like an apple?" and try to figure out if there is anything we can say at all about...the Trinity.    And don't forget to like, share and comment on our podcast Facebook post over at https://www.facebook.com/Archdiocese-of-Regina-174067602644767/ for a chance to win copies of Brett's books "How Far Can We Go: A Catholic Guide to Dating" (written with our friend Leah Perrault!) and "Can Catholics and Evangelicals Agree about Purgatory and the Last Judgment?". Contest ends June 30th!