Train Wrecks for Jesus
Revs. Mark Townsend and Maggy Whitehouse are both ordained vicars ... and self-confessed f**k ups for Jesus. From spoonerisms at weddings, through breakdowns, divorce, failed emigration, shark attack (truly!) and back down to everyday stupidity and forgetfulness, we’ve lived and worked with the humiliation of failure for most of our lives. But every time we have fallen short, Grace and goodness have been the result even if it has only been the justified reduction of our egos. And this is our message - that it’s okay to be a Christian catastrophe (or any other kind of catastrophe for that matter). In fact, it’s pretty much essential in order to understand what Jesus was all about. Today we share some of our stories, have some laughs and we hope you will join us in future sessions by sharing your own f**k ups for Jesus (or Buddha or Krishna or ... or ... or). Remember, the cracks are where the light can get in. PLEASE NOTE: ABUNDANT USE OF THE F-WORD.
Listen on:
Episodes
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Wednesday May 24, 2023
The parable of the lost sheep tells of the shepherd who has a flock of sheep but leaves them to search for the one that is lost.
This episode is rather different ... Mark can't be with us this week, so Maggy is posting one of her church sermons on the subject of the lost sheep. It was recorded at Boasley Methodist Church with permission from the congregation. The audio is quite quiet - so sorry for that; hopefully you can still hear it.
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
We will be betrayed. That's a part of life. And we will also probably betray others. Today we look at why it hurts so very, very much and how best to get through it. Warning: serious swearing and - possibly worse - mentions of JK Rowling.
Thursday May 11, 2023
Thursday May 11, 2023
This week we have both been listening to a seven-part documentary on Spotify called 'The Witch Trials of J K Rowling.' It's by Megan Phelps-Roper a former member of Westboro Baptist Church, the incredibly right-wing church which lays down Hebrew Testament law without mercy.
The documentary focuses on our need to hate and to blame - and even more critically, our increasing resistance to even consider listening to a point of view that differs from our own. We would prefer to cherry-pick our facts according to our trained-in biases and refuse to see a wider picture.
We hope that we have discussed some of the many points in this documentary with fairness and openness and we invite you to listen to it yourself and THEN comment. Thank you.
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Whether you care or not, a rather grand event - a once in a lifetime one for most of us - is taking place on Saturday 5th May. Such a ritual carries within it a huge amount of energy and, at its heart (whatever its reality) there is magic within it. We can harness that magic for good or we can deny it; our choice. Today Maggy takes a look at the metaphysical aspects of the Coronation with the help of wise words from William Bloom
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
We've both been praying for a long time - but has anything got better in the world? That's our topic for today's podcast - if prayer works, how prayer works, why prayer works. And Maggy has a suggestion on how to get to know your Guardian Angel and receive its guidance.
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
This one doesn't sound very uplifting does it? But we all have times when we feel low, whether it's for a reason we know or we don't know. So today we are are talking about those low times, Eckhart Tolle's teachings about the internal 'pain body' (which Jesus would probably call a demon) and touching too on the Enneagram. Maggy is relieved that she might not, after all, be a type three!
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
It's full moon, the 15th of Nisan so Passover begins tonight. Perfect timing for looking at the esoteric meanings of the ten plagues of Egypt. The Exodus is not just 'a possibly historic event' it's a powerful metaphor of spiritual growth.So, today's podcast explores this inner story together with whether or not Christians honouring Passover is cultural appropriation ... and we move on to re-stating that foundational principle of loving our enemies (luckily, we're not called on to like or approve of them!).
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
Today we start off with the Florida school who thought Michelangelo's David is pornographic and wander off via the school shooting in Tennesseeinto a discussion of the shadow we all cary and spiritual directors who swear.
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Both the Lentern story of Jesus in the wilderness and the Exodus of Moses and the Israelites are metaphors for the importance of letting go of control and allowing ourselves to be taken to places that are new and uncomfortable - IF, that is, we want to grow emotionally and spiritually.
Today, Maggy outlines Brian McLaren's fascinating list of the biases we all carry within - the ones that the wilderness experience is intended to expose and heal.
And Mark comes up with some fascinating inspirational stories from movies about vampires, meaning that it could well be time for Maggy to challenge her own biases about vampire movies!
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Wednesday Mar 15, 2023
Today we talk about the nature of the immortal soul - whether it IS immortal, what it gets up to when we die and whether we come back again and again or not. And illusion - what is illusory? Is the whole world an illusion, like the Matrix? And how shall we f**k off, O Lord? :-D