Service on the Margins Archives - Messy Jesus Business

Episode 67 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe:  Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh, FSPA, talks with Sister Laura Nettles, the Executive Director of Mission and Social Justice at Viterbo University. Sister Laura shares her vocation story and how she came to know her call to be a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration. They discuss the relational and communal charism of Franciscanism as well as the charism of FSPA: being Eucharistic presence to others. Sister Laura shares the importance of Christian action and outreach combined with an openness to the complexities and struggles for social justice. They get into the danger of bias and why it's essential to stay open to learning and knowing different perspectives, and how Christians are called to conversion. “Conversion in the Franciscan sense about just going inward and looking at yourself and reevaluating always what do I know and what don’t I know … We are not static, we are always changing,” says Sister Laura. ABOUT THE GUEST Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Laura Nettles is the Executive Director of Mission and Social Justice as well as an associate professor in Religious Studies and Theology at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Currently she is a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in Moral and Systematic Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary, researching topics within the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching and the inter-textual connections between Medieval Franciscans, Jews and Muslims. Most recently, Sister Laura has been exploring the connection between Christianity, Catholicism and racism. She regularly teaches courses in introductory Christian theology, World Religions, Franciscan theology, Catholic Social Teaching and Womanist, Mujerista and Asian feminist theologies. Sister Laura is also the author of multiple articles and book chapters and speaker of topics like Franciscan theology and spirituality. In addition to her ministry of education, Sister Laura serves the congregation in the ministry of justice and peace, primarily as a member of the FSPA Anti-Racism Team, missioned to authenticate unity in diversity by fostering the growth of FSPA into an anti-racist community and organization that dismantles racism through prayer, witness, study and action. Sister Laura also serves as co-chair of the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, a group dedicated to the eradication of islamophobia. Viterbo University's Sister Thea Bowman Center MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.  Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans. Email us at [email protected] BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness

Podcast: Play in new window | Download Episode 65 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Fr. Greg Boyle, director of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, CA. They discuss Fr. Greg’s journey into being a Jesuit priest who serves gang members and the mission of Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world, welcoming thousands through our doors each year.  Homeboy is centered in its principles that “everyone is good (no exceptions)” and “we belong to each other (no exceptions.)” Fr. Greg shared how the Gospel of Jesus Christ motivates him to build a community of “cherished belonging” that welcomes and honors the wholeness of each person who is encountered.  Sister Julia and Fr. Greg explore how Christians go to the margins to be changed, not to reach people or succeed, but try to be helpful. Sister Julia asks about the tension of running a successful nonprofit and being faithful to the Gospel call to be on the margins of society. They also get into the value of storytelling for moving minds and hearts, the importance of having healthy images of God and what Church and holiness mean. ABOUT THE GUEST Father Greg Boyle is a Jesuit priest and native Angeleno. From 1986 to 1992 Father Boyle served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, then the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles in a neighborhood with the most gang activity in the city.  In 1988 Father Boyle, along with parish and community members, started what would become Homeboy Industries. Homeboy employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, and provides critical services to thousands of men and women who walk through its doors every year.  Father Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times-bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion; 2017’s Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship; and 2021’s The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness. He has received the California Peace Prize and been inducted into the California Hall of Fame.  In 2014, President Obama named Father Boyle a Champion of Change.  He received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics. https://homeboyindustries.org/ MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is hosted by Sister Julia Walsh.  Produced and edited by Colin Wambsgans. Email us at [email protected] BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness

Episode 51 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, with Sister Julia Walsh. Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe:  Stitcher | Email | RSS | More IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with Ivan Ng during her visit to Singapore for the International Conference on Cohesive Societies in September 2022. They explore Ivan's conversion to becoming a Catholic Christian, the Focolare Movement and Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (H.O.M.E) as well as the messiness of Gospel Living. ABOUT THE GUEST: Ivan Ng is a Catholic convert of 28 years and a member of Focolare Movement which strives to fulfill Jesus last wish on the Cross that may all may be one (John 17:21) through living the Gospel in their daily lives. Married to his beloved wife, Alve, and the father of three adult children, Ivan retired from his banking career seven years ago and now volunteers with different marginalized communities including migrant workers, lonely elders and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Ivan says his motivation to serve these groups is to love Jesus in the least (Matthew 25:40) and to have a positive impact on others. In return he says that he receives hundredfold for whatever he gives, as Jesus promised. Ivan Ng at HOME in Singapore MESSY JESUS BUSINESS is produced and hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. Email us at [email protected] BE SOCIAL:https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MessyJesusBusiness Twitter: @messyjesusbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/messyjesusbusiness SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/messyjesusbusiness LISTEN HERE:

In episode ten, Sister Julia speaks with Ellen Walsh-Rosmann, a farmer, a Food Service director in a rural school district, and an owner of food hub and a farm-to-table restaurant. They discussed the systemic challenges of feeding the hungry during the COVID19 pandemic and how the ordinary person can eat in a way that helps builds justice and cares for creation.