Sandbox Cooperative Podcast

In the middle of navigating the coronavirus pandemic, people everywhere are trying to find creative ways to continue to create their work and develop community. We wanted to profile people who are finding creative solutions to keep moving forward in our new normal. Today’s episode is the second in this series. In Part Two, we talk with Matt Penz about the way his dental practice has adapted to the realities of Covid-19 while keeping the office a safe, warm, and welcoming place for patients, as well as the realities of being a parent during this difficult time. Learn more about Matt at PenzDentalCare.com. We also chatted with our friend, and frequent Sandbox guest, Heatherlyn. She shared about the ways she has taken her music online during the pandemic and continued to develop a virtual community through those musical experiences. Learn more about Heatherlyn and her music at HeatherlynMusic.com.

In the middle of navigating the coronavirus pandemic, people everywhere are trying to find creative ways to continue to create their work and develop community. We wanted to profile people who are finding creative solutions to keep moving forward in our new normal. Today’s episode is the first in this series. In Part One, we talk with Ben Grace and Karyn Thurston about Heathen Happy Hour and some of their other creative projects. Learn more about Ben’s music at BenGraceMusic.com and find the Heathen Podcast at HeathenPodcast.com or subscribe wherever you find podcasts. We also hear from our friend Derek Jensen, who shared with us a little bit about his experience as a chef and managing a restaurant through this difficult time. If you’re near us in Rochester, MN, go snag some delicious food (details at ChestersKB.com) Join us next time for part two!

2020 has looked a bit different than we imagined, hasn’t it? As the coronavirus pandemic officially hit the United States, we were convinced we just needed to sit on the couch, wait it out, and watch Netflix - but our expectations of newly found free time turned into the hard reality of quarantine. In this episode we discuss our experience so far of the pandemic and the ways that life has changed over the last several months. Through it all, what are we seeing? What have we learned? How might we stay healthy - mentally, spiritually, and physically, during this time?

For today’s episode, we’re revisiting our live event with Drew Hart. To dig deeper, visit SandboxCooperative.com and click on the discussion tab. On May 7, 2017 we welcomed Drew Hart for one of our Sandbox Live Events. Drew is a Theology Professor, Church Anti-Racism Trainer, and Justice Activist and author of the book, Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism, as well as the upcoming Who Will Be a Witness: Igniting Activism for God's Justice, Love, and Deliverance. We talked with Drew about the themes of his book, and had an excellent conversation with our audience. More about Drew at DrewGIHart.com, @DruHart, Drew Hart on Facebook

A few weeks ago a groundhog told us how much longer winter would last, and that a new season is right around the corner. It got us thinking about seasons in our own lives, paying attention to where we are and what’s next. What season are you in? Are you in between seasons? What could be next in your story?

In today’s episode we talk about gratitude. What would it look like for us to practice gratitude more consistently? How might that shape our view of our lives and the world around us? Web comic, I’m Honestly Fed Up With All The Bad News, So I Illustrated 50 Of The Best Ones From 2019: https://www.boredpanda.com/positive-news-2019-illustrations-mauro-gatti/

Dale Fredrickson is a teacher and a poet. He is the author of multiple books and albums, most recently Blessed is the Man. Blessed is the man is the story of how men can grow their capacity for mutual love and become openhearted, emotionally expressive, and relationally connected. Through poetry and the sounds of banjos, mandolins, saxophones, violins, and guitars Dale seeks to inspire men and women alike to let love shape their lives and write their stories. For more about Dale and his work, be sure to check out dalefredrickson.com, or listen to our previous conversation with Dale in Episode 25.

We hope you are all enjoying the holidays and have the chance to be rested and encouraged this season. We’ll be taking a short break from the podcast, but will be back in mid-late January. In the meantime, here’s a quick word from us and a gift of a poem, On This Night I Wonder, from our friend Dale Fredrickson.

In today’s episode we talk with Emmy Kegler about her book, One Coin Found: How God's Love Stretches to the Margins. In addition to talking about the book, Emmy shared her experience of tension with the Bible and the Christian story, specifically in the ways scripture has been used to marginalize people based on sexuality, race, or beliefs. She hopes that through her book, and we hope through this episode, people who have had a broken relationship with the Christian story might have the chance to find something that is liberating, holistic, and healing. Emmy also challenges us to better care for those who have been cast aside through rethinking our understanding of scripture, reminding us that “coins only disappear if the person who is responsible for recognizing their worth fails in their duty.”

In today’s episode each of us share a story of an experience we had that was somehow important - one of those experiences that seemed to be full of life, where we truly noticed something special about what was happening. They’re all tied together, but maybe in surprising ways. Here are a few things to listen for in today’s episode. Why were these awesome? What made these experiences memorable or important? What experiences have you had that you would put in this category?

For today’s episode, we share our conversation with Rick and Rose Admiral of New Life Prison Ministry in Pella, Iowa. We met Rick and Rose on our trip to Houston last summer and talked with them about their work starting a church inside a prison. They shared stories of hopefulness, encouraged us to consider restorative justice, and remind us of the value of all people, even those we might otherwise cast aside. Find out more about their work at newlife-prison.org.

Today we’re excited to share a conversation we had with some folks from Decolonize Lutheranism. What started as an internet meme in response to jokes about Sven and Ole and Lutherans eating Jell-O has shifted into a movement advocating an expansive Lutheran tradition that includes and values the contributions of Lutherans from all cultural backgrounds and identities. If our faith communities are to be places of healing and of growth together, then we need to do better to provide space for other voices and hear from those who have been left out and cast aside. It’s important to step out of the way and let others share, speak, and lead whose voices have been silenced and marginalized - to hear the ways God has been working in their lives and their communities. We have a lot to learn, and a lot of work to do. Learn more at DecolonizeLutheranism.org

Today marks something a little something different here in the Sandbox as we interviewed Dave about his time away this summer. We had the opportunity to learn a little bit more about his travels and what he learned during his time of sabbatical. We talked about his study of celtic spirituality, the need for rest and taking time to step back, and heard a couple of the essays he wrote while he was away.

In this episode we share our conversation with Stephen Bouman, Director for Domestic Mission in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Stephen shares stories about a variety of experiences in his years as a pastor, church leader, and now with the ELCA, and encourages us to trust in the value of relationship and community to bring change to our neighborhoods.

In this episode we talked with Ruthie Kolb, owner of Kindling Communication, about how to have healthy conversations around human sexuality and our sexual identities. Using researched-based best practices in sexual health education, Ruthie facilitates strengths-based, interactive, age-appropriate, and inclusive conversations about sexuality that are adaptable to diverse settings: from schools to church groups and community organizations. Learn more about Ruthie and Kindling Communication at www.kindlingcommunication.com.

In today’s episode, we’ll hear from two women who represented the Women and Justice social statement at the National Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas last summer. We had the chance to sit down with them and learn a lot about the process of creating a social statement and why this one is especially important. As you’ll hear in the episode, in the ELCA, the Lutheran church organization that hosted this gathering, a social statement is a document that explains how Lutherans live out their understandings of God in relationships to one another. And while these particulars are very Lutheran and ELCA-centric, the process and the topic are much more broad - how are we addressing patriarchy and the role of women in all of our social concerns, no matter our religious background, and how can we discuss this with the people around us who may agree or disagree?

Many of our conversations over the last several months came from our trip down to Houston last summer. One of those conversations was with an organization called Water to Thrive, a faith-based American nonprofit that funds the building of wells in eastern Africa and spreads awareness about the African water crisis. We had the opportunity to meet with Jazzy Schwolert and Lindsay Pease, who work for Water to Thrive, and learn about their work to bring clean water to all. Learn more at WaterToThrive.org.

In our world we see a lot of perfection, end result, and final product, but not a lot of the process of the people and things that inspire us. That might lead us to think our own work isn’t good enough if it doesn’t match someone else’s standard of success. But maybe something is worth doing just because of the joy it brings - even at our own level and pace.

Have you ever thought: “You know what somebody should do…? Somebody should…” Could it be that the “somebody” you are talking about is you? Last summer we had the opportunity to meet with Brad Otto, the founder and president of Acts of Wisdom, a non profit organization dedicated to assisting people in rural Africa in their quest to obtain quality, relevant education. We had a great conversation with Brad, and we’re excited to introduce him and his work. Visit ActsOfWisdom.com for more information.

In the final episode of our immigration series, we connected again with our friends from St. Michael’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico to see what they have learned over the last 9 months or so since we had our initial conversation. With new developments on the southern border, St. Michael’s has expanded their work in immigration to meet the need, and once again they inspired us with their compassionate work, and the new things they are doing.