Soil and Soul

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and another episode of Tuesday's Toolbox. Today, host Aaron reflects on the value of a good strong spotlight as a tool, to illuminate our path forward and our tasking before us. And it's certainly the same within our faith lives as well, where we need spotlighting tools to help guide us forward and also in our calling to do so for others in illumination. And as our Catholic Passage mission tagline reads, "Inspiring Passageways for Christ".

Welcome back to another week of Soil & Soul! We're kicked off again by Fr. Brian Feller and Passing on the Faith Through Farming. He's joined by guests, Tyler and Tessa Hoffman, who share their background, faith, and involvement in agriculture and community service, all while balancing family life. You'll be sure to enjoy this relatable conversation with insight and heart.

We're back with another week-ending episode of Soil and Soul! Today's conversation features co-hosts Caleb and Kayla, as they discuss current family and farm updates, resilience within parenting, life with an age-range of children, and a gamut of other relatable topics. Enjoy this Family Friday, but be sure to tune back in next week!

Welcome back to another episode of Soil and Soul! For this week's Tradition Thursday, we feature another short reflection on an important and pertinent Catholic saint. Saint Fiacre of Breuil (France) is the patron saint of gardeners and was an Irish priest and hermit in the 7th century. Take a listen to learn more!

Welcome back to Soil & Soul! Tonight's reflection episode is tied to the concerns we can, and should, have for the stories, insights, and teachings, from people who lived many years ago. They may seem so far removed from what we view as our modern culture, problems, and own people, but has the way changed? Has the gate changed?

Welcome back to Soil & Soul! Today's episode features a short reflection on a commonly used piece of equipment for row crop farming, as well as for many homeowners, albeit in a smaller form. Take a listen as host Caleb talks about how he imagines a fertilizer spreader can tie metaphorically to our faith.

Welcome back to our second week of Soil and Soul! Fr. Feller kicks us off with an interview conversation with our new co-host, Caleb Pokorny. You'll be sure to enjoy this interesting and insightful episode.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul! We are glad to have you with us. Our first week of this spring's seasonal podcast ends with a Family Friday episode, where co-hosts Aaron and Kayla discuss what it's been like getting prepped for the spring planting season. That includes both farm equipment and fieldwork, but it also requires prepping the family unit and keeping in mind all the people affected, including our children.

Welcome back to Soil and Soul! We have a new Thursday format and topical option for you this season. We're going to try out a "Tradition Thursday", where we touch on various Catholic saints and traditions that tie into farming, rural life, or even just our culture and life in raising the next generation. We hope you enjoy this first episode on Saint Isidore and his wife, Saint Maria.

Welcome back to another episode of Soil and Soul! On this first week of the season, our Wednesday podcast features a conversation about a world concern currently on many minds and hearts. The topic of the war in Iran is known to be a polarizing one, but the Christian/Catholic viewpoint doesn't have to be. Co-hosts Aaron and Caleb discuss how the situation abroad affects them all the way over here in the Midwest USA, as both farmers and believers of the faith.

Welcome back to another episode of Soil and Soul! We kick of this first week of the season with a Tuesday's Toolbox reflection on an everyday use cooler. Whether you eat sack lunches in the tractor cab, or bring goodies to a tailgate, almost all of us have used a cooler before. Host Aaron reflects off the cuff on this item and how it metaphorically can be tied back to our faith lives. We had some technical difficulties on Tuesday and thus the audio-only release at first. This episode is the same content, but simply with video intact. We are finding that it is much more difficult to upload videos in their large file format (versus audio-only), while in the middle of a remote field, with spotty data service.

Welcome back to another episode of Soil and Soul! We kick of this first week of the season with a Tuesday's Toolbox reflection on an everyday use cooler. Whether you eat sack lunches in the tractor cab, or bring goodies to a tailgate, almost all of us have used a cooler before. Host Aaron reflects off the cuff on this item and how it metaphorically can be tied back to our faith lives.

Welcome back to another season of Soil & Soul! We are happy to be here with you. Spring is in the air and the weather is changing, with tulips and lilies popping up and farmers getting started in the fields. As we sow seeds in the soil with goals of a bountiful harvest this coming autumn, we as the faithful also look to sow seeds in the hearts and minds of others around us. Whether you're brand new to our podcast, or have been a regular since last spring, we welcome you and pray that it might bless you in even some small way. Today's first episode of our seasonal podcast brings back Passing on the Faith Through Farming with Fr. Brian Feller, and he is joined by a guest (and one of our primary podcast hosts), Aaron Lorch. Check out this introductory conversation between Fr. Feller and Aaron, kicking us off for the week, and season. 

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our finale episode of this fall season. Thank you so much for listening to us and the support we've had. We hope and pray that you have gotten even just a little something from this ministry. Co-hosts Aaron, Kayla, and Fr. Feller all share some time reflecting on this 2nd season of the podcast and looking ahead for what's to come for Soil & Soul, and the other good work of Catholic Passage.Please find us on catholicpassage.com, Facebook, YouTube, and on our other two podcasts, The "Catholic Passage Podcast" and "Capturing Concepts for You". If you feel so moved to collaborate with us in some way, or to help further our mission, please reach out to us at any time. God Bless!

Welcome back to Soil and Soul! We're ending our 7th and final week of this seasonal podcast this fall. Be sure to check out tomorrow's final send off episode with co-hosts, Kayla, Fr. Feller, and Aaron. We hope this podcast has blessed you in even some small way. It's our prayer that small changes and the way each of us live our lives as Witnesses in Plain Sight, will have a ripple effect around us.

Welcome back to another episode of Soil & Soul, on our 7th and final week of releasing this fall season. We really hope you'll take a full-length listen to this Wednesday Witness interview, as the conversation with guest Logan Lyon was a fantastic one. He shares from his background, faith journey, struggles, and own insight, that you'll likely find both relatability and inspiration in. If you think someone else might enjoy this podcast, be sure to share it!

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our 7th and final weekly edition of Tuesday's Toolbox. Today's tool is the commonly held rain gauge. Host Aaron discusses several metaphorical ties to our own gauges, comparing how people might perceive us to how our gauge might truly look like inside.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul! We begin what will be our 7th (and final) week of releasing during this fall season. Make sure to go back and listen to any episodes you may have missed! Today's interview is with Roger and Jeanna Clayburg, who talk with Fr. Feller about their backgrounds and current lifestyle in agriculture, as well as their faith.

Take a listen to our ending episode of Soil and Soul for the week! Co-hosts Aaron and Kayla discuss routines in parenting, family households, sharing of the faith, and even harvest season.

Welcome back to another guest interview episode on Soil & Soul. Today's guest is Kyle Smith, who shares about his faith journey and and other life changes, such as his professional move from funeral director to now a soil sampler. Many listeners will find relatability in Kyle and host Aaron's conversation.

Last week's Wednesday Witness interview with Shelly Greving continues with this second episode, highlighting her conversion story and more from her faith journey.

Thanks for joining us on this 6th week of Soil & Soul, our seasonal podcast this fall. Today's episode ties an extremely common tool as a metaphor to our faith lives. Everyone has at least one mirror around their home, and multiple mirrors in each car or piece of equipment they might drive. Just like a mirror can allow you to look at yourself in a reflection, in a view you can't otherwise, so too can the mirrors in our spiritual lives. Take a listen to this relatable off the cuff musing by host Aaron from the cab.

Welcome to another week of Soil & Soul! We start out with a new weekly Bible Breakout contributor, Fr. Randy Schon, followed by a great interview between Fr. Brian Feller and Brian & Britney Rosburg. We hope you enjoy their conversation!

Have you ever felt like you've been thrust into the backseat, with something else taking 1st priority? It can certainly seem that way with farming during the busy, time-consuming harvest season. Today's episode is a fantastic discussion between co-hosts Aaron and Kayla, with plenty of self-reflection, as they dive into the relatable topics of the "farm priority", missing weekend events and even life events, all in the pursuit of another field completed... Or is there more to the story? This is an episode you'll want to listen all the way through to the end.

Welcome back to another episode of Faithful Farming on our seasonal Soil & Soul podcast. Tonight, host Aaron reflects on parenting and the dynamic between fatherhood and sonship. All mothers out there are also daughters too! God the Father calls us in from the field, to His table, in welcoming love.

Thank you for continuing to listen to our Soil and Soul seasonal podcast and we hope that it is blessing you in some small way. Today's Wednesday episode shifts from the past World Concerns theme, and begins what will likely be a 2 part interview with Shelly Greving, of Manning, IA. She is a successful woman in agriculture, as founder/owner of Emerge Marketing Solutions. You won't want to miss this first interesting discussion with host Kayla, where they delve into faith, agricultural business, and more. The plan will be for their follow-up to include more on Shelly's notable conversion story.

Welcome to our week 5 Tuesday's Toolbox on this fall harvest seasonal podcast, Soil & Soul! We begin today's episode with a great reflection by Fr. Craig Collison, followed by a short musing by host Aaron on the menial tasking and lesser status we might associate with jobs involving a broom or similar cleaning tools. Today's toolbox episode offers a chance to reflect on all that we have around us to make life enjoyable and easier, as well as the people that may have a role in that as well, from the most prestigious jobs, to the "most lowly". Everyone is a gift and has great value.

Welcome to Week 5 of Soil & Soul! We hope you are all doing well this mid October and fall season, whether in the midst of harvest or outside of ag. It's our hope that episodes like today's excellent interview with Jon Flattery of Fort Dodge, IA, help show others that we truly have Witnesses in Plain Sight. In everyday people all around you, there is beauty and gift, including in yourself.

Welcome to the end of our 4th week of Soil & Soul during this fall harvest. We hope you've been enjoying this seasonal podcast and it's been able to bring about some contemplation and perhaps discussion in your own individual and family settings. Today's episode has host Aaron reflecting on the end of a long and tiring week in the heat of harvest, where patience can certainly be a struggle at times. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome back to another weekly episode of Faithful Farming, where we feature a guest's witness and dive into their life's story, where faith and farming have intertwined, and sometimes both the ups and downs. Today we're all blessed to take a listen to the great conversation host Kayla had with Jeanna Clayburg, as they again discuss farm and family life from the perspectives of women in agriculture. There's also a special 2nd guest even!

Thanks for joining us for another episode of Soil & Soul, with our weekly Wednesday World Concerns theme. Today's discussion between co-hosts, Aaron and Kayla, delves into the balance of protecting and fostering our innermost circle first, while also keeping the needs and concerns of others further out of our immediate pool, in mind and heart as well.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and another episode of Tuesday's Toolbox, where today's tool discussed is the magnetic parts tray found in many mechanic and farm shops, and even households. Even the "catch-all" tray might throw your keys and random items when you get home relates to today's episode where host Aaron reflects on a metaphor to our personal and spiritual lives. Is your own parts tray shiny and clean, or is it grimy and full of iron filings?

Welcome to our 3rd week of this harvest season of the Soil & Soul podcast. Today starts a new week of Bible Breakout with Fr. David Hemann, as well as a great new interview episode with Fr. Brian Feller and guest Bruce Nelson. This is a conversation you won't want to miss! We also hope for all listeners in the field, that you are having a good and safe harvest, with another bountiful week ahead.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and the end of our 3rd week with a Family Friday. On this episode, co-hosts Aaron and Kayla share a great conversation on family life, especially from the different perspectives as men and women; as husbands and wives; as fathers and mothers. They talk plenty of farm life references, because it's so central on the mind currently, but their discussion will certainly resonate with all couples. Aaron and Kayla make some great points and leave you with the goal of checking in on your people.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and another episode of Faithful Farming. Today's guest is Zachary Boss, who shares an excellent conversation with host Aaron about their farming and faith backgrounds, family life, keeping things cohesive, and our ultimate central goal to get us all to heaven.

Welcome back to another episode of Wednesday World Concerns on our Soil & Soul seasonal podcast this harvest. Today we have host Kayla in conversation with Mike & Deb McCarty, of Carroll, Iowa, as they discuss their years of experience with mission work in Honduras. The McCartys share about both the agriculture and faith they've seen abroad, and provide a great witness.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our week 3 episode of Tuesday's Toolbox. Host Aaron discusses and reflects on the common rachet hand tool, making ties between our prayer life and the mechanical reference. We hope that you enjoy this interesting and reflective episode and that it might call to mind a a little pondering for yourself, or a discussion with a spouse or other person.

Welcome back to week 3 of Soil & Soul. Today kicks us off with this interview with Jeff & Sandra Joyce. Fr. Feller has a great conversation with them about their faith and farming backgrounds that you'll be sure to enjoy.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and the end of our week 2. Today's Family Friday episode has host Aaron discussing fatigue, which can be relevant to workers, parents, and more, whether you're a farmer busy with harvest long hours or not at all. And how do we manage that fatigue? And what are the indirect ripple effects of this fatigue? Some things to consider.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our week 2 of Faithful Farming, where today's episode has host Kayla in great conversation with her friend, Jayme Kock. They have a great discussion on women in agriculture that you won't want to miss. Take a listen to the insight, laughter, and mix of faith and farming.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our week 2 episode of Wednesday World Concerns. In today's offering, we have an excellent Bible Breakout reflection by Fr. Mark Stoll. And then host Aaron discusses and reflects on the global nature of today's agricultural work, trade, and business, and how it can tie to a connection and understanding of people across the world. We can be unified in an overall farm production mission, but also in a prayerful well wishing of others, both local and afar.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and our week 2 Tuesday's Toolbox. Host Kayla discusses how a GPS tracking app on her phone comes in handy as she manages to balance farm, family, and faith. Enjoy this relatable episode as she shares from her own experience as a wife and mother, as well as a person tied to both farm life and a world outside of it.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul and another week of the harvest season. Whether you're in the field, unable to get started yet, or even removed from agriculture, you're all welcome to enjoy this podcast from a cab, car, kitchen, a run, or wherever you may be. This week is kicked off with Fr. Feller interviewing Andrew Lauver, who shares some great insight and perspective on his faith, raising a family, and his farming and ag business experiences.

Welcome back to Soil and Soul, with our first harvest week episode of Family Friday. Today we have host Kayla discussing family life on the farm, joined by her daughter. You'll smile and enjoy this conversation that delves into the perspective of a child.

Welcome back to Soil and Soul, with our week 1 of Faithful Farming on Thursdays. Here, we look to connect testimonies and reflections on rural life and agriculture, along with our strongest roots, in faith. Sometimes, like today, we may host solo and share from our own thoughts and experiences. In this episode, Aaron discusses seeing the light off in the distance, even when everything around you is dark and gloomy. And reminds us to remember where our hope comes from, hope even in the hard times.

Welcome back to Soil and Soul and this harvest's first episode of Wednesday World Concerns. Aaron and Kayla discuss their blending perspectives on farming and the harvest season. It's important to be able to look outside our own box and narrow focus, understanding another perspective and how it can ultimately strengthen us and our relationships.

Welcome back to Soil and Soul, with the first Tuesday's Toolbox of the harvest season. Host Aaron reflects on his pocketknife took he carries everyday and how he can turn it metaphorical over to his faith life. Fr. Pat Behm also continues this week's Bible Breakout, leading our episode off with an excellent reflection.

Welcome back to Soil & Soul! Fall and harvest is upon us and we hope you all will see great fruits this season, both in the fields and in your spiritual lives. Today's first episode of our seasonal podcast brings back Passing on the Faith Through Farming with Fr. Feller, and he is joined by a guest (and our new podcast co-host), Kayla Venner. Fr. Feller and Kayla share a wonderful conversation where they overview our Soil and Soul podcast, discuss Kayla's background, operation, family, and faith, and offer some nuggets of wisdom to take away as well.

Welcome to our final episode of Soil & Soul for this planting season. We hope you've enjoyed being a part of this ministry project with us, as a listener and in prayerful and reflective communion. Hopefully our ramblings and musings have found at least some place in your mind and heart with relatability and connection to something more. Perhaps a spark where you needed it, a push, or just an encouragement for your own relationship with God. And that's where we (mostly) take this Family Friday episode. Aaron and Scott discuss the importance of a strong relationality, from your immediate family structure here, to your spiritual relationships. We hope that this podcast has blessed you in some small way. We look forward to bringing Soil & Soul back in the fall harvest time frame, and we encourage you to join us then. In the meantime, check out our other content from Catholic Passage, such as our primary podcast, The Catholic Passage Podcast, plus our videos and other content on YouTube, Facebook, and our website, [email protected].

Welcome to our fourth and final weekly Faithful Farming episode for this season of Soil & Soul during planting time. We're joined by a great guest, Ben McDonald, who is a close friend of host Aaron Lorch and a Catholic farmer in NE Iowa. Ben shares from his personal story and insight, as we look to where faith and farming upbringings intertwine. This is a great and rich conversation that you'll want to hear in entirety. Ben and Aaron's discussion will likely offer insights and relatable experiences for you to reflect on yourself.