This is the first in our final series of podcasts, called 'Continuing'. Here we are looking at resources for individuals and faith communities who have been engaged in the process of intentionally opening outwards to welcome cultural diversity.

Commencing 6: Finding the heart beat (Part 2)

Mar 2nd, 2021 49m 1s

This is the second of two episodes exploring the vital role of music in creating and sustaining intercultural / intentionally open faith communities. Once again we draw on our conversation with Scottish hymn-writer and global music pioneer, Joh

Commencing 5: Finding the Heartbeat

Feb 22nd, 2021 31m 2s

This is the first in a two-part series exploring the vital role that music plays in building both intercultural community and cross-cultural connection. More than simply a pretty add-on to a worship service, music is a language of the heart it

Commencing 4: Storytelling, deep listening & disengaging expectations: The challenge of intercultural decision-making

Nov 14th, 2020 46m 53s

While group decision-making is never easy, when the group making decisions is diverse - with some collectivists, some individualists, some direct communicators, others indirect, some top-down, and others bottom-up - it's a mix that regularly le

Commencing 3: Space, Place & Displacement

Oct 26th, 2020 29m 12s

The third in our Commencing Series looks at "place" in our faith communities. As we open to people who are somehow different than those who have been there in the past - what are we offering them? Just space? Or a place? Placemaking involves d

Commencing 2: Decluttering Concepts

Oct 13th, 2020 27m 38s

"The more words you use, the less sense you make - how does that help anyone?" (Ecc 6:11). Apparently most intercultural researchers, theorists and trainers missed that wee verse. Intercultural competency. Cultural intelligence. Cultural humili

Commencing 1: The Edge Effect

Sep 28th, 2020 29m 58s

We begin our second season by looking at the critical elements in the lives of folk who are part of communities that are opening out, actively engaged in the process of opening themselves to welcome those who are somehow different. In our firs

Committed 7: Re-Opening - The Problem of Invitation

Jun 16th, 2020 27m 40s

This last episode in our Committed series looks at the challenge of re-opening our churches in the midst of the racial tensions that have been pulsing through our cities over the last number of weeks. How do Black Lives Matter and Intercultural

Committed 6: De-shuttering worship (Part 2) - Ubunye, Ubuntu & Amandla

Jun 8th, 2020 31m 59s

This episode, a bit more technical, drawing on the wisdom of Michael Blair (Director of Church in Mission for national UC) and others, looks at the challenge of creating worship that can engage North American born folk [individualist culture] a

Committed 5: De-shuttering Worship (Part 1) -Diving deep with the 90%!

Jun 1st, 2020 32m 43s

This episode, # 5 in our Committed series, was published during Pentecost 2020, the festival of intended inclusion, just as America is rocked by racial pain that can no longer be contained, the reality of exclusion. We are are beginning conside

Committed 4: How many kisses are necessary? How differences affect us (Part 2)

May 25th, 2020 29m 48s

Have you noticed? Even greeting each other can be tricky... should we bow [who first?], shake hands, kiss [one cheek or two? How many times?] Often the things we stumble over in our cross-cultural relationships aren't the big things - but the m

Committed 3: Is your 'me' a 'we'? How differences affect us (Part 1)

May 18th, 2020 30m

Is your 'me' a 'we'? It's an important question! This episode is the first of two looking at key differences in the ways people from different cultures think, feel, and make decisions - how they act and react. Today we focus on that core questi

Committed 2: Mindlessness, mindfulness and moonwalking bears. (Implicit Bias #2)

May 11th, 2020 29m 28s

This is our second podcast exploring Implicit or Unconscious Bias, the stereotypes ad shortcuts that our brains create to help us. Except it's not always such a big help. Sometimes they're just kind of odd, and sometimes they can even be danger

Committed 1: What's height got to do with it? (Implicit Bias #1)

May 4th, 2020 28m 7s

Why do more people die in hurricanes with female names? Why are so many male CEOs so tall? What's height got to do with being a CEO? Why do bosses give lower performance appraisals to workers who are overweight? Why indeed. . . This is the fi

Considering 4: That's how the light gets in.

Apr 27th, 2020 29m 29s

In this episode we explore the vital role of vulnerability in opening ourselves to folk with different cultural backgrounds. Humility and giving up control are key factors when a community wants to welcome newcomers – but how do we do that? Per

Considering 3: Bricks, Sandals & Leeks

Apr 20th, 2020 27m

This episode picks up on some of the thoughts of last week's "Rebooting", but in today's we focus specifically on the actual mechanics of how we change. Our brains are hard-wired to resist change, yet and this is so evident on a global scale at

Considering 2: Rebooting our minds [and faith communities]!

Apr 13th, 2020 24m 54s

When our computers stop doing the things we want them to, we reboot the system. How can we reboot our thinking? Our relationships? Our churches? Our brains naturally perceive anything ‘different’ as a potential threat – so how can we help our

Considering 1: What might we look like?

Apr 6th, 2020 26m 24s

After these days of shuttered churches, our time of sheltering in, once more will come a time for opening out. It will not be a return to what was, but some kind of new time for churches - we will need to decide how we open out and to whom we w

Curious 3: A Changing Church?

Mar 30th, 2020 24m 37s

Episode recorded before full effect of Covid-19 pandemic In this episode we continue to explore why faith communities and other groups might want to intentionally open outwards, welcome the new diverse folk who are the new Canada. Today we look

Curious 2: A Changing Country

Mar 23rd, 2020 24m 37s

In this second episode of the "Curious" series, we look at reasons why faith communities (and other groups) might want to consider opening themselves to welcome greater cultural diversity - because Canada itself has changed, and is changing - d

Bonus

Special Open Out Podcast on Covid-19

Mar 17th, 2020 8m 2s

Given the dramatic changes in our world over the last few months, and especially, for North America in the last weeks, the context for Open Out, and for conversations about interculturalism and faith communities has changed significantly. In fa

Curious 1: What are the possibilities?

Mar 16th, 2020 23m 16s

This first series of Open Out podcasts, called "Curious" begins to explore that the possibilities are for faith communities who want to be intentionally open to welcoming folk who are somehow different - often those with different cultural back

Episode 0: Open Out Introduction

Mar 8th, 2020 26m 45s

We are living in a time of transition, when the character, the personality of Canada [and all of NA] is changing, morphing. In many cities, the 'visible minority' now are actually the majority - and within a few years this will be true in most

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