Refugia

Dave Koetje returns as co-host to reflect on what we’ve learned about refugia church from our guests this season.

Fellow Fortress Press authors Sharon Delgado and Talitha Amadea Aho discuss writing books during a pandemic, young people's spiritual hungers, and the resources the church can offer during a climate crisis. 

The executive directors of Creation Justice Ministries explain how faith-based climate organizations can bring people together, inspiring churches and individuals to build social cohesion and work toward a livable and just future.

Rev. Gerry Koning describes the process of moving from an ordinary, traditional congregation to a refugia church focused on "all abilities, all creation, all nations."

Rev. Jim Antal recounts his long experience in climate activism and shares his conviction that Christians, and people of all faiths, are called to a communal vocation at this crucial moment in history.

Theologian Ruth Padilla DeBorst describes life in Casa Adobe, an intentional Christian community in Costa Rica, and discusses what faithful living can look like as we seek to resist complicity in the abuses of empire.

Rabbi Shapiro, founder of an interfaith clergy training program called The Joseph Project, discusses how religious ritual and story bind us together and help us strengthen community in times of crisis. 

350.org co-founder and Executive Director May Boeve describes the joy and challenge of connecting climate activists across the globe, scaling up climate solutions, and drawing on faith to drive courage and prophetic speech.

To open Season 3, homiletics professor Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade considers the prophetic role of churches amid the climate crisis, as well as the challenge of working for long-term transformation through preaching and structured dialogue.

We're back! Join us for Season 3 of the Refugia Podcast starting Sept. 18.

Biologist Dave Koetje returns to reflect with host Debra Rienstra on major themes from Season 2.

Writer Fred Bahnson explores the distinction between arks and refugia. He describes his visit to the church forests of Ethiopia and his involvement in the community garden movement, and he ponders the role of metanoia and mystical connection in a refugia faith. 

Kathryn Mae Post describes her own process of reckoning with a faith crisis, engaging in anti-racism work, and starting out in religion journalism at a time of major cultural and religious transition.

Wildlife biologist Tim Van Deelen reflects on the spiritual challenges of wildlife conservation and considers the call to value the commons and engage in strategic activism. 

Katerina Parsons reflects on refugia in international development settings, on engaging in advocacy and activism as a young adult, and on feeling restless and place-starved at once.

Randy Woodley brings Christian and indigenous worldviews into instructive conversation, describing his quest to establish Eloheh Farm, a place where people can reconnect with land and recover indigenous farming practices.

Ruth Harvey describes how times of crisis spur people toward new ways of imagining and organizing community. She reflects on how the Iona Community models refugia as places we move in and out of, located and dispersed.

Bill McKibben reviews some recent good news in the climate fight and reflects on an ethic of human solidarity, the demands of activism, and holding on to Christian faith. Also: the book of Job, refugia, and the delights of vernal pools.

Biologist Dave Koetje talks with host Debra Rienstra about how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered his ideas about refugia. Also: Zoom worship, garden pests, and stepping-stone refugia.

Biologist Dave Koetje returns to reflect with host Debra Rienstra on everything we’ve learned over the course of the last twelve episodes. 

Hillary Scholten, an attorney who worked for the DOJ under President Obama and then provided legal representation for migrant workers in Michigan, considers how government policy, people of faith, and the larger community can intersect to create healing refugia spaces.

In this episode, we travel out to the shore of Lake Michigan and back in time. Jazz musician David Jellema recounts the history of the "artist intelligentsia retreat" founded by his father and uncle.

A pastor and education team leader at the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice, Kate Kooyman sorts out some confusing matters of immigration policy and explores how people of faith help immigrants and refugees go beyond refuge to community integration.

Tim Van Deelen, professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explains how the term refugia is used in the context of wildlife conservation, along the way telling stories about grizzlies, black-footed ferrets, wolves, and Aldo Leopold.

Journalist and recent seminary graduate Jeff Chu ponders the intersection of theology and farming. He also describes the Evolving Faith Conference and other places of healing and fresh imagination for people who are, for whatever reason, feeling on the margins of the church.

John Witvliet, Director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, explores how Christians can create refugia spaces in worship through thoughtful public prayer and courageous practices of lament.

Dean for Intercultural Student Development at Calvin University and co-host of the Truth’s Table podcast, Christina Edmondson reflects on the potential for refugia on college campuses and on the virtues and difficulties of virtual refugia.

Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, National Organizer and Spokesperson for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, takes stock of how the church is doing in addressing climate change and describes how young Christians are leading the way, finding refugia through intentional action.

Studio artist and art educator Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk reflects on art and risk-taking, sacred spaces pedagogy, vessels, and pokey things.

Steve Bouma-Prediger, professor of religion at Hope College and “ecotheologian,” reflects on examples of refugia in the Bible and the virtues necessary to fulfill our God-given, human responsibility to the earth.

Jamie Skillen, professor of environmental studies at Calvin University, overviews the sometimes tense relationship between Christianity and environmentalism and urges us to aspire toward an “eschatological stewardship.”

Dave Koetje, professor of biology at Calvin University, helps lay the groundwork with some definitions.