A Special Announcement, Politicizing Christmas and Holiday Traditions - 132

‘Tis the episode before 2019 and all through the show, we are politicizing Christmas and hoping to grow.  Our new hosts are ready, and chosen with care. As we continue to cultivate a place for our souls to be laid bare.  So, gather in and listen to our chatter, as we serve up something fun and challenging on a digital platter. Let us call out together without haste, Merry Christmas to all and lay the establishment to waste.

Irenicast is expanding its borders this week and welcoming Bonnie & Raj Rambob and Casey Tinnin as official co-hosts of Irenicast.  Listen and hear how this came together and where Irenicast is headed with this new chorus of voices.

And that is not all for this super-sized holiday episode either.  All 5 hosts have a short but meaningful discussion about whether politicizing Christmas is a needless distraction or a true response to the gospel.  With everything happening in our world today it can seem that there are more parallels to the Christmas story then there has ever been.

The episode finishes as everyone gathers around the proverbial fire and shares their favorite Christmas and holiday traditions.  It is fitting that this official roll out of a new direction for Irenicast happens as we celebrate the birth of a movement in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Introduction of Our New Co-Hosts (00:35)

Conversation on Politicizing Christmas (31:58)

Holiday Traditions Segment (56:30)

RELEVANT LINKS

From Our Special Announcement

Intersections Roundtable – A Community of EXvangelicals and UNfundies – 113 (First episode featuring our now permanent Irenicast co-hosts) Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein (Book - Amazon Affiliate Link)

From Our Conversation on Politicizing Christmas

Twitter Users Mock Hannity’s Panicky New ‘War On Christmas’ Rant (Article) Parkside Community Church (Bonnie’s Church) How a local church is using a nativity scene to demand reunification of migrant families (News Coverage of Parkside’s Nativity Scene) Sacramento church protests immigration policies with caged nativity scene (More News Coverage of Parkside’s Nativity Scene) 7-year-old migrant girl taken into Border Patrol custody dies of dehydration, exhaustion (Article) Ammon Bundy breaks with Trump on anti-migrant rhetoric: ‘It’s all fear-based’ (Article) Groups want Placer County to join sanctuary state opposition (Article) The Beginning of the Gospel, Mark 1:1 (An article highlighting Mark’s parallel with the Priene Calendar Inscription) "No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land" Trump signals US won't punish Saudi crown prince over Khashoggi killing (article) Prominent evangelical leader on Khashoggi crisis: let’s not risk “$100 billion worth of arms sales” (Article) A caravan of phony claims from the Trump administration (Article) Telling Us to Go Shopping (Article on Bush’s comments after 9/11)

From Our Holiday Traditions Segment

Die Hard (1988 Film) Elf (2003 Film) Jingle All the Way (1996 Film)  

 

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IRENCAST HOSTS

Jeff Manildi | producer & co-host | [email protected]

Jeff  is co-founder of Irenicast.  In addition to getting his B.A. in Theology, he also received his ordination through the prestigious online organization of The Universal Life Church whose alumni include the likes of Conan O’Brien and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  Jeff loves all things that tell a story: people, movies, tv, music, comics, etc.

Follow Jeff (@JeffManildi) on facebook, instagram & twitter.  You can also listen to Jeff’s other podcast Divine Cinema.

 

Rev. Allen Marshall O’Brien | co-host | [email protected]

Allen is the pastor of a UCC church in Northern California, resident chaplain at an area hospital, and co-founder of Irenicast. He believes in the importance of education, peace, and ecology and writes for multiple platforms.

You can follow Allen (@RevAllenOB) on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, & Good Reads.  Also if you are in the Sacramento, CA area check out Allen’s brick and mortar version of this podcast calledIntersections.

 

Rev. Bonnie Rambob | co-host

Bonnie is the co-pastor at Parkside Community Church. Bonnie has also served the Congregational Church of San Mateo as Transitional Minister for Intergenerational Education.  As a graduate of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, she offers expertise in multi-faith leadership, the spirituality of children, process theology and church organizational structure.  Drawing from her fundamentalist Christian background, she co-leads several outreach ministries to those spiritual travelers who are migrating out of fundamentalist Christianity.

  

Raj Rambob | co-host

Rajeev Rambob (Raj) is spouse, of 26 years, to Bonnie Rambob. Both Bonnie and Raj are ordained ministers in the United Church of Christ. They have two adult children who are intelligent, creative, hilarious and kind. Raj has been a K-12 educator and principal.  Raj transitioned from K-12 leadership to executive leadership in the nonprofit sector. Raj's non-profit experience is largely in homelessness. Currently Raj is Executive Director of Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA). ATCAA is a multi-service, anti-poverty, agency that serves two counties.  Raj loves thoughtful and irreverent conversation over food and drink with family and trusted friends.

You can follow Raj on Facebook

 

Pastor Casey Tinnin | co-host

Casey is the pastor of Loomis Basin Congregational Church in Loomis California.  He is one of the co-creators of Intersections which is a support group that meets once a month to deconstruct their evangelical past. Casey also created a non-religious LGBT teen group, The Landing Spot, that meets once a month. When Casey isn’t preaching, protesting, or providing pastoral care he enjoys spending his time reading comic books, talking about theology, politics and sex, baking, cooking, kayaking and spending time with his partner Jose of six years and walking their dog Kole.

You can follow Casey on Twitter and Facebook, or you can check out his blog The Queerly Faithful Pastor or Gutter Theology

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CREDITS

Intro and Outro music created by Mike Golin.

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