Be Still and Go

Maybe If Only (Crystal Cheatham)

“If only I had the faith of the Samaritan woman maybe I would" What difference does faith make in your life? // John 4:5-42 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said...

The Insufferable Apostle Paul (Amanda Meisenheimer)

“These are hard times and your feelings of frustration, fear, sadness, disappointment, and confusion are valid. We need to feel our feelings." What are you feeling right now? // Romans 5:2-5 We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through...

The Miracle of God's Provision (Farley Lord)

"Receiving God’s provision of food in due season redefines each fruit and vegetable from commodity to sacrament." How does eating seasonally impact your spirituality? // Psalm 145:15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. // This episode was written and recorded by Farley Lord. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and Live for the Dead by Corinna Repp. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen ...

It Bends Towards Justice (Dr. Ronald Lonesome)

“It’s not enough for me to sit on the sidelines and throw rocks but I need to be part of helping to do something, whatever I can." What is God calling you to be a part of? // This conversation features Dr. Ronald Lonesome. Dr. Lonesome has been a part of The Riverside Church since the 1981. This episode was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Backwater by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five season...

The Sound of Silence (Vince Anderson)

"When we actually get that peace and quiet it can be louder than the world we thought we left behind." What does peace and quiet sound like to you? // Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the c...

Giving Birth to Something New (Jim Keat)

We need to hover over the chaos, the formless and void in our world and our lives, and give birth to miracles. What miracle are you hoping to give birth to today? // Romans 4:17 God…calls into existence the things that do not exist. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms, Lullaby, and Calla Lilly by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all five seasons of Be Still and G...

Where Does My Help Come From? (Bruce Lamb)

"Look up to God, our spiritual compass, rather than out to the chaos of our world." Where do you look for peace in the midst of chaos? // Psalm 121 I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall n...

Someone Big (Amanda Meisenheimer)

"If you can’t find your god in the grit of this life, your god is not so big." Where do you find God in the grit of life around you? // A poem by 14th century Persian Poet Hafiz (1320-1389 CE) Translated by Daniel Ladinsky Some gods say, the tiny ones, “I am not here in your vibrant, moist lips that need to beach themselves upon the golden shore of a naked body.” Some gods say, “I am not the scarred yearning in the unrequited soul; I am not the blushing cheek of every star and planet— ...

God is Calling (Kevin VanHook)

“God continues to call us to new ways of being. Where are you willing to go?" Where is God calling you to go? // Genesis 12:1-4a Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be ...

Born Again (Cameron Trimble)

“You can’t put the wind of the Spirit in a doctrinal box, though it seems like we try to do that all the time." What “doctrinal boxes” have you experienced in your life? // John 3:1-17 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the k...

Social Justice and a Wedding (Susan Wersan)

“We’re not just here for ourselves. We’re here for everyone around us." What does it mean to show up and be there for the people around you? // This episode was written and recorded by Susan Wersan. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear and The Tide by Alex Fitch. 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 digit...

The Sound of Silence (Sidney Outlaw)

"And no one dared disturb the sound of silence.” -Paul Simon When was a time that you experienced the sound of silence? // Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes we...

Justified (Farley Lord)

"Through the gift the world received more grace than the sum of her brokenness." When was a time you experienced grace like this? // Romans 5:12-19 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam,...

Shout! (Phil Tom)

“We are called to shout, to shout out loud, to shout for joy, through acts of compassion and justice." What is God calling you to shout about? // Psalm 32 Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the...

Every Moment is a Choice (Rachel Ricketts)

“Nothing will ever change unless we speak to the injustices in the world.” What power and privilege do you possess and how can you best use it to fight injustices? // For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures like...

God's Beautiful Balanced Garden (Brian McLaren)

"I seek to reinhabit my space as a creature in God’s beautiful, balanced garden." What does it mean for you to reinhabit your space in this garden? // Genesis 2:15-17 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” // This episode was written and recor...

The Desert of Our Days (Cláudio Carvalhaes)

“We are growing into times of despair and climate barbarism. Unless we are able to stay in the wilderness we will not be able to survive what is coming." What are you doing to survive the desert of our days? // Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. I have fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread....

Crossing Racial Boundries (Emogene B. Stamper)

"It happens in church just like it happens when neighborhoods change: people become frightened of the unknown." How have you experienced change and fear of the unknown in a church? // This conversation features Emogene B. Stamper. Emogene has been a member of The Riverside Church since 1962. This episode was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms and Pilgrim’s Progress by Podington Bear. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all f...

The Sound of Silence (Melissa Greene)

"When I let go of my certainty, I thought I would also let go of peace and yet surprisingly, that’s where I found it." What would it look like for you to let go of your certainty? // Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street ...

A Day of Darkness and Gloom (Jim Keat)

"The created world is not ours to control, own, or occupy. For we are a part of creation and must find our place in the family of things." What is one thing you can do during the season of Lent to care for the created world around you? // Joel 2:1-2 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackne...

There Is No "Enough" (Amanda Meisenheimer)

The purifying baptism of God’s Holy presence, disinfects the lies you’ve been told, the lies you have told, and the names you’ve been called. God calls you Blessed. God calls you child. And you are enough. What difference does it make to know that God loves and accepts you, exactly as you are? // Psalm 51:1-2, 15-17 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cl...

2020 + 90 + 40 + 7 (Michael Livingston)

"We have choices to make about who we are and who we can become." Who will you become during this Lenten season? // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Michael Livingston. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear, Finally Found You by Solitude, and Across the Desert by Acreage. Rev. Michael Livingston is the Interim Senior Minister at The Riverside Church. Visit www.trcnyc.org/BeStillAndGo to listen to more episodes from all...

Are We There Yet? (Jim Keat)

"Because God is not waiting for us at the end this Lenten road. God is not some distant “there” we’re looking for when we ask, “Are we there yet?” God is already here, present in the Ash you receive on Wednesday as we enter the season of Lent and every reflective step you take in the weeks to follow." How would you describe the season of Lent? // Exodus 3:5 Take off your sandals for you are standing on holy ground. // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Bac...

Making Room for a Savior (Diana Butler Bass)

“Jesus heals not only us as individuals but a savior has been born, one who will heal the world from all its ills. What does the word “savior” mean to you? Where has salvation appeared in your own life? // Luke 2:8-14 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, watching over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone about them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringin...

Making Room for a Song (Jim Keat)

"The story of Christmas is about God breaking through in the world in new ways, in all of us and in spite of us." In your own words, what is the story of Christmas all about? // Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. // This episode was written, recorded, produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish, Habitat, and Down and Around by P...

Making Room for my Shepherd (The Riverside Choir)

How does changing the traditional pronouns impact the way you think of God? // The Lord is my Shepard, I have all I need She makes me lie down in green meadows Beside the still waters, She will lead She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs She leads me in a path of good things And fills my heart with songs Even though I walk, through a dark and dreary land There is nothing that can shake me She has said She won't forsake me I'm in her hand She sets a table before me, in the presence of...

Making Room for Joy (Riverside Youth Group)

“Joy is like a disease, but a good one. Once someone has joy it can spread to someone else." What does joy mean to you? // This episode was written and recorded by The Riverside Church Youth Group. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish and Movin’ On Up 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...

Making Room for Imagination (Lindsay Andrelli Comstock)

"We need a hopeful imagination with snippets of everyday grace that have not yet become mainstream news." What are the snippets of everyday grace that give you a hopeful imagination? // Matthew 11:2-11 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cl...

Making Room for a Liberating Judge (Tyler Sit)

“Love inevitably results in social change." How have you seen love lead to social change in our world? // James 5:7-10 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standin...

Making Room for Hope in the Dark (Debie Thomas)

“God’s Spirit hovers over the dark water preparing to create worlds. The child we wait for grows in the deep darkness of the womb." What is giving you hope right now? // Psalm 146:5-10 Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord ope...

Making Room for Restoration (Bruce Lamb & Amanda Meisenheimer)

“The most important task in life is to find out what is broken in our world and to repair it.” -Lawrence Kushner What’s broken in the world around you? And what can you do to help repair it? // Isaiah 35:1-5 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory ...

Making Room to Rejoice (Jim Keat)

"God is not far off in some spaceship called heaven. God is here, the ground of being, as close as our very breath." Where have you found God today? // O come, o come Emmanuel To free your captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice, rejoice o Israel To you shall come Emmanuel // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, O Come O Come Emmanuel by Gungor, Punch Brother...

Making Room for Dreams and Visions (Kevin VanHook)

“Even when we grow weary, we are to push beyond our limitations and imitate God’s love in the world." What does it mean for you to imitate God’s love in the world around you? // Romans 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Kevin VanHook. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Rel...

Making Room for a Sparrow (Victory Boyd)

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free. What does “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” mean to you? // Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? // This episode was written and recorded by Victory Boyd. It was produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear. His Eye Is On the Sparrow was written by Civilla D. Martin and compo...

Making Room for the Spirit of God (Cláudio Carvalhaes)

“If the poor are not cared for, if the immigrants and refugees are not welcomed, if the earth and the trees and the animals are not preserved, we are going down with the spirit of our times.” Where is the Spirit of God leading you? // Isaiah 11:1-9 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge ...

Making Room for Professional Development (Farley Lord)

“Setting an impossible standard for our own lives is not the point." What’s the best professional development advice you have ever received? // Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush th...

Making Room for the Desert (Jared Byas)

“In the desert there is a voice that calls, that says you are the beloved child of God." What do you hear when you step into the desert? // Matthew 3:1-12 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’” Now John wore clothing of camel’...

Making Room for Unity (Crystal Cheatham)

"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, 13 May 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 prais...

Making Room for Peace (Jim Keat)

"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, bind In one the hearts of all humankind Bid Thou our sad divisions cease And be Thyself our King of peace // This episode was written, recorded, and produced by Rev. Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear. ...

Making Room for Humility (Lorenzo Lebrija)

"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 5:3 Blessed 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. ...

Making Room for Grace (Jim Keat, the Boyd Family Singers, The Riverside Church choirs)

“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 sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now am found Was blind but now I see // This episode was written and recorded by Rev. Jim Keat, the Boyd Fa...

Making Room for Possibility (Anna Golladay)

Making Room to Wake Up (Cameron Trimble)

“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 13:11-14 Besides 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 debau...

Making Room for the Spirit (Lawrence Richardson)

"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 122 I 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...

Making Room for Plowshares (Amanda Meisenheimer)

"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 2:1-5 In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall 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...

Making Room for Hope (Jim Keat)

"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 e...

Making Room for a Child (Michael Livingston)

“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/BeSt...

Making Room for Advent (Jim Keat)

“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...

The Birds (Michael Livingston)

“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.

God Saw That It Was Good (Benjamin Perry)

"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...