Be Still And Go

"We’re all human. If each of us is cut, we bleed. If we miss a meal, we go hungry. If we miss too many meals, we perish."Why do we too easily overlook someone’s humanity?//Romans 15:5-8, 13May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy....May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.//This episode was written and recorded by Crystal Cheatham. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Science of S

"The myth of redemptive violence says ‘you hit me, I hit you back.’ The myth of redemptive violence calls for peace by issuing an attack."How have you seen or experienced the myth of redemptive violence in the world around you?//O come, desire of nations, bindIn one the hearts of all humankindBid Thou our sad divisions ceaseAnd be Thyself our King of peace//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

"I am nothing without you, God, and I depend on you for everything."In your own words, what does it mean for you to depend on God for everything?//Matthew 5:3Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

“I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."Perhaps rather than a season of us waiting for the birth of Christ, Advent is the season in which God waits for Christ to be born in us, our own awakening to the hope, peace, joy, and love we are called to embody in the world around us.//Amazing Grace, How sweet the soundThat saved a wretch like meI once was lost, but now am foundWas blind but now I see//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Jim Keat, the Boyd Family Singers, the Riverside Inspirational Choir, and the Riverside Choir. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

“God is doing a new thing and we are waking up to it."What “new things” do you see God doing in the world around you?//Romans 13:11-14Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Cameron Trimble. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish, Great Blue Heron, and B Roll by Podington Bear, and ø by Young Bay.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital re

"Every time we seek to embody the spirit of the one who inspires our very breath we are making a choice. We choose between love and indifference, peace and chaos."What do you need to let go of to make space for the Spirit of God?//Psalm 122I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together.To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord,as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.//This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Lawrence Richardson. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Backgrou

"Violence is a vibrant part of the American imagination. Can we make room for peace and plowshares even in the spaces that we guard most closely?"What are the swords in your world that need to be beaten into plowshares?//Isaiah 2:1-5In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s houseshall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills;all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!//This episode was w

"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."In your own words, how would you describe “the hopes and fears of all the years”?//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Surly Bonds by Blue Dot Sessions, We Call This Home by Alex Fitch, and O Little Town Bethlehem by Phillip Brooks and Lewis Redner, performed by Rich Mountain Revival. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

“Whatever the circumstances, despite the past or the difficulties of the present, there is always the possibility that God can, that God will, that God is with us, for us, coming to us in ways we cannot imagine. That is hope; that is Advent."What's your definition of Advent?//This episode was written and recorded by Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear and What Child Is This by Son Little.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

“As we make room, create space, slow down, we learn that waiting isn’t just about willing some future moment into your present one, but it is about being present with each moment, each breath, knowing that we can find God and connect with the world around us in each one."What does “making room” mean for you during this season?//This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Picturebook by Dave Depper, and In the Dark You’re More Colorful by Corrina Repp.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.Visit www.trcnyc.org/Donate to support this podcast and other digital resources from The Riverside Church that integrate spirituality and social justice.

“It isn’t too late, but we need to get moving to save the birds, to save the earth."Stop and look for the nearest bird. What do you notice?//This episode was written and recorded by Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle, Canbasback, and Red-tailed Hawk by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.

"Perhaps the murky chaos of the anthropocene may be our opportunity to act as co-creators with God and all living things."What new life can you grow out of the chaos around you?//Genesis 1:11-12, 20-21, 25 Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. And God saw that it was good...And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth….And God saw that it was good.//This episode was written and recorded by Ben Perry. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle, 88, an Tarnish by Podington

"We ought to live more simply so others may simply live."What kinds of shepherds do we want to be? How will we remain faithful in this strange land?//Ezekiel 34:18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? But you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?//This episode was written and recorded by Kevin VanHook. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear, and I'll Miss You by Will Bangs.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.

“You say you love your children above all else and yet you're stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” -Greta ThunbergWhat tangible actions can you take to help slow the effects of climate change?//Amos 5:24But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.//This episode was written and recorded by Bruce Lamb. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle Reed Canary Grass, Cottonwoods, and Oregon Grape by Podington Bear.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.

“How we honor and tend to the earth is a sign of how we honor and tend to our relationship with God and with each other."In your own words, why is it important to honor and tend to the earth?//Genesis 1:28-30God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.//This episode was written and recorded by Sheena Rolle. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and When it gets Dark at 4pm and The First Person Awake by Will Bangs.Vi

“The elephant slaughtered for it’s tusks, the oceans littered with swaths of plastic bottles, the forest being burned or cut down for palm oil plantations, the arctic ice disappearing at an alarming rate. These are 'the least of these' also because they are part of us and how we came to be. Their suffering, their loss, their exploitation is the suffering of Jesus Christ. Christ is on the cross all over this planet."Where do you see “the least of these” in the created world around you?//Matthew 25:31-46“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you ga

Memorizing scripture is the easy part. Walking the walk is incredibly difficult. But the benefit that we that get out of it is that we will live and walk and talk our faith and the gift at the end will be saving our planet.What does it look like for you to live and walk and talk your faith?//Isaiah 11:6The wolf shall live with the lamb,the leopard shall lie down with the kid,the calf and the lion and the fatling together,and a little child shall lead them.//This episode was written and recorded by Regina Tate. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and Seven, Juncture, and Opus 4 by Dexter Britain.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.

"Everything is engulfed by this lively mesh of existence and being, this tangled brew of life."What connections do you feel to the world around you?//This episode was written and recorded by Duane Toops. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and Houston St. and ø by Young Bay.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.

"Every march is a step forward into the unknown, trusting, surrendering, hoping against all illogical hope that a new life awaits.”What keeps you motivated to work for environmental justice in our world?//This episode was written and recorded by Chelsea MacMillan. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Trundle by Podington Bear and Looking for that Moment when Time Stands Still and The Dead of Winter by Will Bangs.Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all four seasons of Be Still and Go.