Pursuing Call

This week I got the homie to interview me! Makeda Pennycooke and I explore my story of call so that it is all here in one place. A couple of disclaimers, it's me so I do drop the f bomb a couple of times. Also, I am telling my story. While I talk about the institution I work for, know that I am speaking for Tamara Plummer and Tamara Plummer alone. My thoughts and opinions may not reflect that of t...

This week we speak with Chris Sikkema, who works in the communications office of the Episcopal Church. We explore his spiritual life, including being a proud alumnus of Hope College, our vision for the church, and predestination theology - as one does.  For homework this week, we want you to think about not only who you are, but where you are. Perhaps there is something about your location th...

Thank you all for listening to this podcast! We close 2021 with part 3 of my conversation with the Rev. Winnie. Follow here on twitter: @wsvarghese. Visit her church: https://www.stlukesatlanta.org  Some cuss words leave our mouths as we reached to the end of hour two of our conversation so... sorry. See yall in 2022. Your homework: find space to do nothing! If you insists on more, read Dorot...

This week we continue the conversation with the Rev. Winnie about how we tend to over-function and how the pandemic has invited us to examine where our ambition is merely suffering. So I invite you to reflect with us this week.  What are you made for? Not what can you achieve, accomplish or be praised for, but What keeps you in flow? How can you manage your own energy in a way that keeps you...

Everyone has their own approach, but as I prepare to take a much needed sabbatical from my paycheck job, I realized that my spiritual practice will be a process of leaning into what is happening and not always trying to create what is next.  Lean in to what is happening and stop trying to create what is next even if it is for only 30 mins. in a day.

This week I get to speak with Rev. Winnie Varghese, a powerhouse on so many levels. Most importantly, she is in my tribe of aunties of the Church that will support me when asked and even when not. We got to talk about the child of immigrant syndrome (a term I made up I think), what we mean by discernment and how we create a culture of listening to God's voice, and then we finish this segment off w...

What happened to time? Where is she and why does the world feel like it’s falling apart? Perhaps this is a moment to remember the Good News. What are some accomplishments, blessings from the past year that you want to share? Not on the internet but in real life with a friend like Elizabeth and Mary. Hug it out and celebrate how God/Universe/your inner knowing has moved you to more positive spaces...

Nope - I am not pregnant and I have no plans, but I did want to talk to folks that do have kids and learn more about why. For me, parenting is a calling to support others in living into their true selves. And while that can be a universal experience, there is a particularity about being a mom that hits different in our society. So I talk with three. Each woman's family dynamic is different and the...

What can we do to make a world where children can thrive? In the wake of challenges to Roe v. Wade, I am wondering more about what happens when children are born into this world than what happens in the womb. What happens to those who carry a fetus to birth? Do we care for their bodies? Do we care for their babies? What might our preparation for the baby Jesus have to teach us about the world we a...

For the month of December/Tamara's Birthday month, we are doing these quick episodes to offer time for a bit of reflection. This week, we pick up the scripture from Luke 21:34 - "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down..." What is weighing you down physically, spiritually, or emotionally? Is there something in the spaces you inhabit that is weighing you down? How might you release the...

This week I get to have a conversation with Brooke Roberts, founder of multiple business adventures like Inside Study Abroad and Brazenist . If you didn't listen to part 1, stop and go back! In part 2 of our conversation, we dig more into Brooke's work as an entrepreneur and how she supports others in their path of finding their vocation and their purpose.  Homework: Look up Ikigai: a Japanes...

This week I get to have a conversation with Brooke Roberts, founder of multiple business adventures like Inside Study Abroad and Brazenist . This is part 1 of a multi-part episode. In Part 1, we discuss how a rural low-income White girl was able to travel from rural Kansas to Spain and how questions about faith show up in the ways that she continues to cross cultural boundaries.  Homework: Wh...

This week, I am cussin with my friend and fellow alum Nordia Bennett as we talk about her theological work of embodiment, the erotic and acknowledging the incarnation in all things. In our conversation, we reference a couple of Scholars: Audre Lorde: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power from the collection, Sister Outsider Claudio Carvalhes : You should read all his books, but for our class we...

This week we speak with my supervisor and colleague Katie Mears. She is the Senior Director of the US Disaster Program at Episcopal Relief & Development, a pandemic ordained priest in the Episcopal Church and an Iowan. We reimagine Church leadership, discuss cultural impacts on religious practice and wonder about why ordination exists. Homework this week is choose your own adventure: 1. What a...

This week is part 2 of a conversation with my homie and fellow Bardian Mihoby Rabeharison. Check out her work at madagascarexperience.org . This week we dig a bit more into the conversation about connecting to spirit and developing a relationship with Spirit to really know what one's call is or might be. Homework: Pick up pen and paper or open your note app. Write what pops up for you? What keeps...

This week we get to speak with my friend and fellow Bardian Mihoby Rabeharison. Check out her work at madagascarexperience.org . This week is part 1 of the conversation where we learn about some of Mihoby's training process for priesthood in the Akan tradition and what the role of submission has played in her spiritual development. This is not my tradition, so you will hear some stumbling in my at...

This week's episode isn't an interview, its a sermon I gave at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in New York City. It was their patronal festival and the readings came the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Before listening to the episode, pre-homework: read the texts ! You can also watch a similar version of the sermon here . If you have any tools for surviving liminal space, let me know tamara@pu...

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with Jerusalem Greer, the Staff Officer for Evangelism for the Episcopal Church. You can learn more about her work by visiting jerusalemgreer.com . In this episode we talk about what it means to pursue a call to doing Church work that doesn't require ordination and how you can share your gifts from the church beyond its walls. This was a spirit filled, the...

This week we continue our conversation with my friend and sometimes spiritual director Makeda Pennycooke. Check out her work at makedapennycooke.com . This week is part 2 of the conversation where we debrief her spiritual journey and explore what larger lessons we might use for our own lives. As a consultant she holds the space between what was and what is not yet. Homework: Where have you felt an...

This week we get to speak with my friend and sometimes spiritual director Makeda Pennycooke. Check out her work by checking out her work at makedapennycooke.com . This week is part 1 of the conversation where we learn more about Makeda's spiritual journey from fundamental Church of God to the Episcopal Church. As a consultant she holds the space between what was and what is not yet.  Homework...

There was so much to talk about with Chris Gandsy, owner and operator of Daleview Biscuits & Beer that I left half of our conversation on the virtual cutting room floor. As a regular patron to Chris' coffee shop, beer garden, fried chicken spot, I wanted to know more about the man that created a business that feels a lot like home. Journal prompt this week: What do you need to do to stay cente...

This week's episode is an interview with my homie Wendy. She talks about not having a plan, listening to the spirit and being guided by inner strength to step out of confining boxes, break expectations and ask for help. Fair warning: there are a couple of cuss words, but there is nothing explicit in our conversation Homework for this week:   Sit for 5-10 minutes and imagine your perfect tomor...

Welcome to my first podcast ever! Pursuing Call. This episode is merely an introduction to what we will talk about this season.