Mile High Theology

In this bonus episode of Mile High Theology, the podcast's long-time host, Canon Broderick Greer, is interviewed by Evans Ousley, Director of Communications at Saint John's. They reflect on some of their favorite guests and moments from the podcast and talk about the conversations that still come back to them years after the original live recording. 

In our final episode of Mile High Theology, host Canon Broderick Greer speaks with Niyankor Ajuaj of Soul 2 Soul Sisters about reproductive justice. Throughout this conversation, Ajuaj offers beautiful readings and meditations on poetry.

Composed in the fourth century by a council of the Church, the Nicene Creed is said enthusiastically by some Christians, said with crossed fingers by others, and rejected altogether by some others. Dr. Albert Hernández, Associate Professor of the History of Christianity, will lead a roundtable discussion on the Nicene Creed, one of the Episcopal Church’s most-used sacred texts.

In the sixth season of Mile High Theology, we are engaging in conversation with ancient texts. In this episode, Canon Broderick sits down with Dr. Amy Erickson, Associate Professor of the Hebrew Bible at Iliff School of Theology, to discuss the composition and context of the Hebrew Bible, using the book of the prophet Jonah as a case study. Links from Dr. Erickson: The text of Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer is here (Jonah appears mainly in ch 10):https://www.sefaria.org/Pirkei_DeRabbi_Eliezer.10.4?lang=biJonah images from the Roman catacombs:https://www.christianiconography.info/catacombs/jonah1.htmlhttps://www.christianiconography.info/newStuffForXnCours/catacumbasCristianas/oranteJonas.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Marcellinus_and_Peter#/media/File:Jonah_thrown_into_the_Sea.jpghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Marcellinus_and_Peter#/media/File:Wilpert_060.jpgThe Cyrus cylinder:https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1880-0617-1941

In the sixth season of Mile High Theology, we are engaging in conversation with ancient texts. This fall, we are exploring the three Abrahamic religion’s sacred texts: The Torah, The Bible, and The Quran. In this episode, Dr. Aun Hasan Ali offers a descriptive analysis of the Quran.

On the newest season of Mile High Theology, we are engaging in conversation with ancient texts. This fall, we are exploring the three Abrahamic religion’s sacred texts: The Torah, The Bible, and The Quran. In this episode, Rabbi Emily Hyatt of Denver's Temple Emanuel guides us through a Torah study.

While the climate crisis may make us feel fearful, overwhelmed, or exhausted, many organizations in the Denver area inspire hope for our future. Altius Farms is a local urban farm, which is working toward building stable and lasting farms that produce beautiful greens all year round, locally. In this episode, Sally Herbert, co-founder and CEO of Altius Farms, discusses seed to table process, vertical urban gardening, and their journey to sustainability.

As the city of Denver grows, many of our neighbors are becoming displaced due to high cost of living and gentrification. The Globeville Elyria-Swansea Coalition Organizing for Health and Housing Justice (GES Coalition) is advocating to protect historically marginalized neighborhoods, to preserve affordability in housing, and to build a culture of welcome and hospitality. In this episode, Alfonso Espino of GES Coalition explores how these efforts are interconnected with the climate crisis and environmental justice.

Historically marginalized people suffer disproportionately from the climate crisis. Environmental hazards, such as pollution, contaminated materials, and industrial waste, often plague low-income communities of color. Pastor Eugene Downing, Senior Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church and member of Governor Polis' Community Access Enterprise, discusses how black communities in Denver are being affected by the climate crisis and how local government is responding to marginalized communities.

Canon Broderick Greer and Christina Rutland recap the first half of this season on the climate crisis and give us a preview of the final episodes coming this spring.

American systems actively silence and minimize the voices within Indigeneous communities, resulting in young Native Americans struggling to find representation. Spirit of the Sun, an Indigenous womxn-led nonprofit in Denver, empowers Indigeneous youth to become leaders and amplifies their voices as they advocate for systematic change. Join us on November 15 as we welcome Shannon Francis, Executive Director of Spirit of the Sun, who will discuss the interplay of environmental racism, indigeneity, and the climate crisis. The article by Olga González in the Denver Post was edited down in this interview due to length. Read the article in its entirety here.

As we learn more and more about the effects of climate change, we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed rather than driven to create change. In his album "Still No Mother," musician Logan Farmer tells the story of our reckoning with the impending reality of climate change through American folk music. In this episode, Logan Farmer plays a few selections and discusses his inspiration to explore the climate crisis in his album "Still No Mother" and how he uses music to weave our personal struggle into this global crisis.

When youth activist Greta Thunberg became a global leader against climate change, she inspired people around the world to recognize the already existing youth activists in their own communities. Earth Guardians, a nearly 30-year-old organization representing young activists, caught the attention of many Coloradans as they led the climate rally in October of 2019, which featured Greta Thunberg herself. In this episode, Leala Pourier, an Earth Guardians Youth Council Member, shares her own story as a youth activist and as an Indigenous woman fighting against the climate crisis.

As European settlers came to the Americas, they prepared to claim and conquer the land, exploiting its various resources to further human life. Dr. Tink Tinker, Professor Emeritus of American Indian cultures and religious traditions at Iliff School of Theology, explores in many of his works how this worldview contrasts with Native American religious and cultural ideology. In this episode, Dr. Tinker discusses the Eurochristian roots of the climate crisis and indigenous understanding of human relationship to the land. 

When Canon Broderick's parents renovated their home a few years ago, he gave them one of Lanecia Rouse Tinsley's paintings as a house-warming gift. In a note to his parents, Tinsley wrote, "I am happy one of my creations has found a home with you." It has been said that Lanecia’s art is known for its subtle manipulations of color, texture, materials, and form—a practice of improvisation and play that mirrors the intricate layers and landscapes of individual and communal formation, memory, experience, and history. It is these themes, and the paschal candle Lanecia designed for Saint John's, that she and Canon Broderick will discuss to close season 4 of Mile High Theology.Show Notes:The Art Project HoustonFollow Lanecia's work on social media at @larartstudio and at laneciarousetinsley.com.If you enjoy Mile High Theology and want this programming to continue, support Saint John's Cathedral by giving at sjcathedral.org/give.This podcast was recorded on the land of Ute, Cheyenne

"They say, Lord, piety is speaking to you, // but madness is hearing you // speak back." And so Natasha Oladokun stings her audience in her 2020 poem "Black Credit." In line after line, essay after essay, and poem after poem, Oladokun teases out of us what good literature usually teases out of us: An unmistakable smallness before the vast expanse that is our fragile and beautiful cosmos. In this special National Poetry Month episode, Natasha and Canon Broderick will discuss Audre Lorde's 1985 essay "Poetry Is Not a Luxury" and Lorde's assertion that poetry is "a vital necessity of our existence."Show notes:Audre Lorde's "Poetry Is Not a Luxury"Natasha Oladokun's "Black Credit"Follow Natasha on Twitter and Instagram to say up-to-date with her work.If you enjoy Mile High Theology and want this programming to continue, support Saint John's Cathedral by giving at sjcathedral.org/give.This podcast was recorded on the land of Ute,

Adriann Barboa is a New Mexico policy director of Forward Together, an organization dedicated to ensuring "rights, recognition, and resources for all families" that recently led a people-powered coalition to defeat state infringements on access to reproductive healthcare. In this interview, we hear how Forward Together, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, and other groups fight every day to protect the rights and dignity of our most vulnerable communities. Show Notes:Forward TogetherArt as Power ProgramForward Together Art Feed On Bustle –  How Indigenous Women Repealed New Mexico’s Longstanding Abortion BanThe Road to Reproductive Justice: Native Americans in New MexicoAttitudes Towards Reproductive Health in Among Rural New MexicansIf you enjoy Mile High Theology and want this programming to continue, support Saint John's Cathedral by giving at sjcathedral.org/give.This podcast was recorded on the land of Ute, Cheyenne, and Araphao peoples.