Orchard Conversations
The Orchard Community is a 100-year old spiritual community helping people become who they are created to be. We’re less interested in dogma and more interested in living out our values: Goodness & Beauty, Wholeness, Renewal, Interdependence, Hospitality, Peacemaking, Humility & Curiosity. From digital content (like this podcast), to local events and Table Gatherings we’re doing our best to evolve into a spiritual community for the next 100 years.
Episodes
3 days ago
Radical Inclusivity :: Easter 2024
3 days ago
3 days ago
This week we’ll explore an account from the book of Acts, where early Christians have their expectations about inclusion challenged. How can this story inspire us to move beyond our own cultural and conventional boundaries? Join the conversation and discover the Spirit's call to radical inclusivity.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
Where do you experience confirmation bias?
What biases might you be holding onto that keep you from experiencing the fullness of life?
What preconceived beliefs, culturally assumed stories might be closing you off from experiencing the the Presence of God?
Where might Spirit be challenging your expectations right now, perhaps in a way that feels uncomfortable?
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Mentioned in today's episode:
Prayer to Overcome Confirmation Bias (by Brian McLaren):I do not know everything. I do not even know how much I do not know. Nor do I know how much of what I know is impartial, faulty, or false. So I pray: Source of all truth, help me to hunger for truth, even if it upsets, modifies, or overturns what I already think is true. Guide me into all the truth I can bear, and stretch me to bear more, so that I may always choose the whole truth—even with disruption—over half-truths with self-deception. Grant me passion to follow wisdom wherever it leads.
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Abide in Love, Abide in God :: Easter 2024
Monday Apr 29, 2024
Monday Apr 29, 2024
This week, as we continue our Easter journey, we delve into Jesus' teachings on abiding in God's love and maintaining our connection to the Source. Join us as Scott Hodge explores the practical and hopeful implications of these teachings for us today.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
How often do you find yourself measuring your 'spiritual success' by the amount of 'fruit' you produce, rather than the quality of your relationship with God? How can shifting focus from productivity to relationship change your daily faith practice?
What does the concept of 'home' mean to you in the context of your faith? How can understanding faith as a 'home'—a place of safety, love, acceptance, and connection—alter your approach to spiritual challenges and community?
In what ways do you rely on your spiritual community, and how do they rely on you? Discuss the importance of nurturing these connections and the potential consequences of neglecting them.
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Good Shepherd Sunday :: Easter 2024
Monday Apr 22, 2024
Monday Apr 22, 2024
This weekend we continue our resurrection journey with an exploration of what it means to truly engage with the love of the “Good Shepherd” described in this week’s lectionary readings.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
What are the “hired hands” that you tend to turn to for comfort and security?
Where is the Holy Spirit inviting you to draw from the love of the Good Shepherd to learn to live in the pattern of gracious love?
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Apr 15, 2024
A Savior With a Body Like Mine :: Easter 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
Monday Apr 15, 2024
One this episode, as we continue to examine the disorienting but wonderful story of Resurrection, Benjamin Jay Thomas dissects this week's gospel reading from Luke 24:35-48 and reminds us that our every experience is grounded in the body and the relationship with the divine that we are invited into is a physical thing.
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Apr 08, 2024
Doubts and Faith :: Easter 2024
Monday Apr 08, 2024
Monday Apr 08, 2024
"Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith, they keep it awake and moving." - Frederick Buechner
On this episode, Lead Pastor Scott Hodge challenges us to reflect on the relationship between doubt and faith and what role they have played in our spiritual journeys.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
Reflect on a time when doubt played a significant role in your spiritual journey. How did this experience challenge or deepen your faith? In what ways did your acceptance of doubt become a catalyst for growth rather than a barrier to belief.
In what ways do we seek to be seen and believed by those around us, and how can we offer the same validation and understanding to others? How can we acknowledge and validate other’s spiritual journeys, even when they differ from our own?
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Things mentioned in this week's episode:
"A Community Canvas" - Society 57 Gala || Friday, April 12, 2024
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Apr 01, 2024
"O Death, Where is Your Sting?" :: Easter Sunday
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Monday Apr 01, 2024
On this episode, Lead Pastor Scott Hodge reminds us of the abundance and joys that Jesus' resurrection brings; this Easter Sunday we find the tomb empty and death has lost it's sting.
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Contemplative Practices and The Enneagram :: Me, Myself and Why - Week 6
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Monday Mar 25, 2024
Self-Awareness with The Enneagram
We’ve learned a LOT about the Enneagram over the past several weeks. On this episode, we’ll dive into a conversation about how to move the information from head knowledge to life transformation through contemplative practices.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
Which intelligence center do you seem to be in? What is your experience with the contemplative discipline that is most crucial to that center?
Which contemplative discipline is the one that seems to draw you in, quiet your mind and create space for the Holy Spirit in your soul?
As we leave this Enneagram series, what do you want to take with you into the next season? What do you want to leave behind?
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Things mentioned in this week's episode:
"Enneagram at a Glance” resource
Enneagram and Lenten Resources
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Intelligence Centers and The Enneagram :: Me, Myself and Why - Week 5
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Monday Mar 18, 2024
Self-Awareness with The Enneagram
This week we continue our exploration of the Enneagram by examining our intelligence centers (head, heart and body), and the ways we can work with these intelligence centers to identify growth areas in our lives.
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Question for contemplation and conversation:
Explore the idea of intelligence residing not just in the brain but also in the heart and gut. How does recognizing these different centers of intelligence influence your approach to decision-making and understanding yourself?
Which of the following “lies about your identity” and “programs for happiness did you most resonate with? Did they align with the number you identify with?
Reflect on the centering prayer shared in the teaching. How did focusing on the body, heart, and head in turn affect your experience of the prayer? Did you notice any shifts in your awareness or sense of presence?
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Things mentioned in this week's episode:
"Enneagram at a Glance” resource
Enneagram and Lenten Resources
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To learn more about The Orchard Community visit theorchardcommunity.com
Subscribe to Orchard Conversations in your favorite podcast app or at orchardconversations.com
ORCHARD TABLES
Orchard Tables are small spiritual gatherings that happen in homes and other cozy spaces.
The gatherings involve some singing, meditation, prayer and teaching (led in part via video), then a delicious brunch and some meaningful conversation. In total they last about 2 hours.
Orchard Tables are safe spaces – fully inclusive and welcome to all walks of life. It’s all pretty low key.
For more info visit theorchardcommunity.com/tables