In this episode, Pastor Dan Smail and Pastor Wendy Farone are joined by Andre Francois, who has been the chair of the Stewardship Committee for many years. We explore how to recognize and use the gifts God has placed within you. We share practical insight on discovering your strengths, serving with purpose, and honoring God through everyday stewardship. It’s an encouraging, focused conversation that reminds you that your gifts were meant to be used.

In this episode, Pastor Dan Smail and Pastor Wendy Farone welcome our guest, the newly installed Bishop Melissa Stoller, from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, to discuss her new role as bishop, expectations for the future of the synod and the ELCA and much more!

This episode sounds scary! The wrath of God! Pastor Dan Smail and Pastor Wendy Farone share what this 'wrath' truly means and why it is so prevalent within the biblical narrative. Further, what is this 'wrath' intended to create in us and our behavior? In this episode, myths are dispelled, and the true understanding of the wrath of God is discussed.

In this episode, special guest Pastor Erin Evans shares her experience and insight on the topic of Children in Church with Pastor Dan Smail and Pastor Wendy Farone. Discussion surrounds integrating and engaging children within the church, whether they are very young or nearly adults, through teaching, explaining, and becoming a part of the church body. There are insights and some tips on how to find the joy of having "Children in Church"!

In this episode, Pastor Dan Smail and Vicar Wendy Farone share what makes Lutheranism distinctive! Discussions of these distinctions include a brief history, Luther's perspective that we are saved by grace through faith alone, and why we are called to "Sin Boldly" because we trust in God's grace, as well as other related topics. Bonus: A behind-the-scenes clip of our prerecording banter! Resources:

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland H. Bainton

The Reformation: A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch

In this episode, Pastor Dan Smail and Vicar Wendy Farone welcome Chaplain Gaea Thompson, who serves as Manager of Pastoral Care at UPMC Presbyterian/Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh. Chaplain Gaea guides us through the work and important care of the hospital chaplain as a "Physician of the Soul." The discussion is rich in guiding us toward understanding the role of serving in a hospital setting and serving those who may be at their most vulnerable moment.

Guest Lynn Holden, Spiritual Director, joins Pastor Dan Smail and Vicar Wendy Farone to discuss spiritual direction as the building of a relationship through which one person, the spiritual director, guides another toward the presence and call of God in all of life. Lynn shares the difference between counseling and spiritual direction, how one becomes a spiritual director, and the importance of gaining a deeper connection through the understanding of one's place in the world. Find a spiritual director at Spiritual Direction International.

https://www.sdicompanions.org/find-a-spiritual-director-companion/

In this episode, Pastor Dan Smail and Vicar Wendy Farone discuss a central doctrine of the Lutheran Church. There are a lot of 'churchy' words in just the episode title! Not to worry, we make it easy to understand! Justification by faith is a divine act by which God declares us righteous or in right relationship by offering us grace. Being in right relationship doesn't mean that we are just 'good people' or that we do 'good things' (and we should do both), but that through grace we are forgiven through our belief in Christ and made righteous! Listen and it will make more sense!