Down to Earth Conversations

Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Oct 03, 2022

58. Dr Amy Kenny - My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church

Monday Oct 03, 2022

Dr Amy Kenny is an amazing human being who has recently released a book titled "My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church." In the book, and in our conversation, Amy shares her experiences of living in a world that is not designed with disability in mind. Sadly, her experience is that it is actually worse in the church than elsewhere.

We talk about her role teaching Shakespeare, her book and how it came about, and we tackle issues such as using disability as a metaphor, healing culture, whether she will run in heaven, whether hitting her other knee with a hammer would be helpful (?), how the church can be less ableist, and the difference she sees between inclusion and belonging.

If you are moved by the episode please consider sharing it with someone else - let's get this message out there.

Check out more from Amy at amy-kenny.com and go find her book wherever you can.

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Sep 19, 2022

57. Tash McGill Takes Over - Inclusion, Changing My Mind, and Three Things to Know

Monday Sep 19, 2022

This being my birthday, I decided to give you a bit of me as a gift from me to you. So I invited the incredible Tash McGill to take over the episode and put me in the hot seat, taking it wherever she wanted to take it. And she does just that.

Tash is a broadcaster, podcaster, creative, storyteller, writer, and strategist. She works in business transformation, especially within the food, beverage and hospitality industries. She is chairperson of the New Zealand Whisky association and has recently been named a finalist in the Spirits Communicator category of the prestigious International Wine and Spirits Competition. On top of all of that, she hosts a podcast called The Transformationist, talking to people who are transforming the spaces they occupy - so definitely check that out.

We talk about creating yourself rather than finding yourself, about changing our minds on theology and life, baggy jeans and oversized football jerseys, being a white male in a world of white male privilege and we explore how and why my new book came about.

Check out Tash's mahi at tashmcgill.com and a further range of sites and links at linktr.ee/tashmcgill

Connect with her online on Instagram at @tashmcGill and @thespiritswriter

Hear Suzy Cato read "Three Things to Know: and E Tū Tāngata Story" or buy a copy for yourself at etutangata.nz

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Sep 05, 2022

56. Donald Scott - Birds, Silence, and the Interconnectedness of All Things

Monday Sep 05, 2022

I spend a lot of time talking to people doing amazing things in the world. But today we get to hear about being, noticing, listening, and knowing our worth outside of what we do.

Donald Scott is a former shearer and pastor, and is now a spiritual director. He has been on a journey of learning to be, for many years. And he takes us on that journey with him today. It's deeply beautiful and deeply challenging.

We talk about his passion of ornithology (birds), his relatively recent embrace of lengthy silent retreats, how te āo Māori (the Māori world) has influenced his understanding of nature and spirituality, and about hearing the sound that lies underneath the loudness and the busyness.

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Aug 22, 2022

55. Hannah Hardy-Jones - Postpartum Bipolar, Digital Kites, and Global Impact

Monday Aug 22, 2022

Hannah Hardy-Jones has taken the challenges of life and turned them into something that is changing people's lives.

Hannah worked in HR until the birth of her first child triggered a manic episode and life changed forever. We talk a little of that journey, however you can hear more of it on episode one of Voices of Hope's podcast, A Moment With.

The focus of our kōrero is what happened from there. How did her newly acquired bipolar disorder lead to the development of her business, The Kite Programme? Why kites? And how does an app help anyone?

We talk mental health, being a mum, gathering a team to turn a dream into a reality, veterinary challenges, the UK government, brand new Jaguars and more.

Connect with Hannah on Instagram or at thekiteprogram.com

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Aug 08, 2022

54. Sel Leigh - Decolonising Business, Having Impact, and Knowing You’re Worth It

Monday Aug 08, 2022

Sel Leigh runs Leigh Development where she gets alongside people wanting to make an impact in the world through business and helps them to achieve that goal.

But if I said this was a conversation about business coaching and mentoring I would be doing Sel a huge disservice. Because what Sel is doing goes so much deeper than that.

We talk about diversity and inclusion, the effects of colonisation even on the way we do business, and about how Sel gets alongside people, encouraging them into and supporting them along their own decolonisation journey.

We also talk about why Sel is keen for people to know that charities aren't the only way to have an impact, and whether or not it's all worth it in the end.

Connect with Sel through Leigh Development's website, or their Linked In or Instagram pages.

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Jul 25, 2022

53. Jared Byas - Shifting Faith, Being ’Right’, and The Bible For Normal People

Monday Jul 25, 2022

Jared Byas and his friend, Pete Enns, run a podcast called The Bible for Normal People. They've been having conversations with all sorts of amazing guests for years, bringing a diverse group of voices together and covering a wide range of content with the aim of helping people explore the Bible. Jared is also an author, having written books such as Love Matters More, and his latest, Jonah for Normal People, which is hugely helpful in demonstrating how to read certain kinds of texts while letting go of the demands that some of us were taught to place on the text...we talk about that in the conversation.

We also talk about what drove Jared's faith to shift while he was pastoring in a large church, what he now sees differently from the Christianity he grew up with, and his Choctaw nation heritage and how that shapes who he is and how he sees the world.

Check out The Bible For Normal People wherever you get your podcasts, or at peteenns.com/podcast

Find the podcast on Facebook or Instagram, or connect with Jared on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Also make sure to check out Jared's latest book, Jonah for Normal People

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Jul 11, 2022

52. Alex and Matt Wild - Chiropractic, Community, and a Generous Connectedness

Monday Jul 11, 2022

Alex and Matt Wild are a married with two beautiful tamariki. They are the founders and Directors of Connect Chiropractic in Ōtautahi (Christchurch), but they do far more than just work Chiropractic magic. They have set up the clinic using a business model that allows anyone who needs their care to be able to afford it, regardless of their financial situation, which has led to people who usually wouldn't receive care being able to get it, while the business has become a thriving success. They also have a very community focussed practice and see how their support of others returns to them in good measure.

We talk about how they got into Chiropractic, how and why they started their practice and how their generous business model is going for them, their business, and the community.

Check out Connect Chiropractic at connectchiro.co.nz or on Facebook or Instagram

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Music by Strahan:

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Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Jun 27, 2022

51. Stuart Ennor - Kairos Food Rescue, Building Relationships, and He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata

Monday Jun 27, 2022

Stuart Ennor is a former youth worker who now, alongside his wife Sarah, runs Kairos Food Rescue in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) including the Kairos Free Store.

We talk about how Kairos started, how Stuart became involved and how the organisation has changed in it's short life. Stuart also shares stories of people whose lives have been changed in remarkable ways through this organisation that simply offers free food to those who need it. It's clear in the conversation that it's about so much more than food for Stuart. It's about dignity, valuing people, and connecting people to others who can help with what's going on for them. It's about people.

Connect with Kairos Food Rescue at kairosfoodrescue.org.nz or on Facebook, or why not support them financially?

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Music by Strahan:

Spotify: Strahan

Facebook: facebook.com/StrahanMusic or facebook.com/commonerscommunion

Instagram: @strahanmusic or @commoners_communion

Monday Jun 13, 2022

50. Michal Bush aka Music with Michal - Children’s Music, Seeing the Good, and Changing the Atmosphere

Monday Jun 13, 2022

We celebrate this 50th episode with someone who knows how to celebrate - someone whose job it is to bring joy and fun into the world - Michal Bush, a.k.a Music with Michal, the recently crowned New Zealand Children's Artist of the Year!

Michal a mother of three who has seen her love for music and her kids become a career. Her song Brave won the best song at the 2021 New Zealand Children's Music awards, and followed up with a second place in the children's section of the International Songwriting Competition. She has albums, books, and a loyal fanbase.

Michal is someone who is super down to earth, and brings beauty and joy and goodness into the world on a daily basis for children and those who care for them. We talk about the music, the lyrics, the reality of life behind the scenes, and what living with this focus has done for her own wellbeing. In something a bit different this episode you will also hear snippets of Michal's songs throughout the episode.

Find Music with Michal on Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook.

Or head to her website, musicwithmichal.com.

Become part of the Music with Michal Club at ko-fi.com/musicwithmichal

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