Design and Religion

In this episode of Design and Religion: Look for the Helpers , Kim Eppehimer shares the deeper logic behind her work with Friendship House, Limen Recovery + Wellness, and the broader “One Big House” vision. She explains that the partnership between these organizations grew from a clear need: people seeking housing stability, recovery, and support are often forced to navigate a fragmented system th...

This episode of Design and Religion continues the “Look for the Helpers” series with Cathy Kanefsky, President and CEO of the Food Bank of Delaware. The conversation opens with the larger theme of help itself: what it means to become a helper, how people are shaped by hardship, and why some leaders are drawn into work they never originally planned to do. Cathy shares her own path into nonprofit le...

This episode centers on Kevin L. Smith’s long vocation of service through Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County and the way his housing work and Christian calling have grown together over time. Kevin describes a formative sense of calling, “be with my people,” which led him through a Mennonite volunteer program to Habitat for Humanity in Fresno and then back home to Delaware, where he has now...

This episode of the Design and Religion Podcast explores the role of community helpers through a conversation with leaders from NAMI Delaware , the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Van Shea Sedita welcomes Marie Wenzel , CEO of NAMI Delaware, and Jenny Graham , who leads development and engagement efforts. The discussion focuses on how NAMI supports individuals living with...

This episode centers on Dan Zauderer, founder and CEO of Grassroots Grocery, and his effort to address food insecurity through a model rooted in dignity, volunteerism, and neighborhood connection . Dan explains that Grassroots Grocery is not simply a food distribution nonprofit. It is a movement built around a simple but powerful idea: neighbors helping neighbors. The work uses food as the medium,...

In this episode of Design and Religion – Look for the Helpers , Van Sedita and Pastor Nate Phillips speak with Michelle Santoro, Associate Director of Philanthropy at Undue Medical Debt, about a quiet but powerful movement working to eliminate medical debt across the United States. Undue Medical Debt purchases large bundles of unpaid medical debt from hospitals and debt collectors—often for pennie...

This episode of Design and Religion – Look for the Helpers features Chris Locke, founder of SL24: UnLocke the Light and Sean’s House in Newark, Delaware. Chris shares the story of losing his son Sean in 2018 to suicide just weeks before his 24th birthday and how that tragedy reshaped his life and mission. Sean appeared to have everything: he was a Division I athlete, a team captain at the Universi...

In this episode, Nate and Van  sit down with Alex Kocman to discuss his theological framework and his new book, Ordered to Love . The conversation explores the tension between "localism"—focusing on one's immediate family and community—and the global missionary mandate.  Kocman argues against treating the church like a digital media company, suggesting instead that the local church...

In this episode of Design and Religion – Look for the Helpers , Van and Pastor Nate welcome Dan McGarvey Esq., a criminal youth defense attorney in Colorado. Dan works daily with children charged in the juvenile system—and sometimes prosecuted as adults. He explains the profound gap between how the legal system treats youth and what neuroscience tells us about adolescent brain development. The bra...

In this Look for the Helpers episode, Van and Pastor Nate sit down with researcher and social scientist Julie Krohner, who defines her work simply: helping people cultivate self- and other-empathy.  Julie’s premise is: Safety and attention can create transcendence. When order enters the nervous system, it frees cognitive bandwidth. That’s when people feel expansion, unity, and source-connection. I...

In this episode of Design and Religion: Helpers , we sit with Jason Baxley , a police lieutenant, tactical flight officer, and paramedic whose work exists at the intersection of authority and compassion. Baxley describes a nontraditional path into law enforcement, beginning in medicine rather than criminal justice. That decision shaped how he approaches crisis. Not as a problem to control, but as...

In the first episode of Look for the Helpers , we talk with Jamie Moulthrop of Table of Plenty about what food insecurity actually looks like in suburban America. Jamie shares what he’s seeing on the ground, including how demand has grown since COVID, how housing costs have outpaced income for working families and seniors, and why dignity and relationships matter as much as food itself. This is a...

This episode examines religious innovation through three distinct lenses. Philip Jones, a retired Presbyterian pastor, brings institutional honesty. He names the anxiety beneath the language of innovation: declining membership, aging volunteers, and a shrinking financial runway. From inside the church, he explains how innovation often functions as a survival strategy, and why small groups, digital...

Van invites Drew Marshall to explore the world of Islam through the lens of architecture as a living expression of belief, migration, conflict, humility, community behavior, and identity. Drew, an Islamic Studies expert and community advocate, guides us through the evolution of mosque design from Abraham and early Mecca to its global adaptations across the centuries.  The conversation delves into...

This episode brings together Rev. Dr. Pamela Adams, Van, and Pastor Nate for a deep, candid conversation about what actually happens at the intersection of mental health, spirituality, accountability, and human struggle. What emerges is a picture of healing that is warm and joyful, but also grounded, gritty, and human. Pam begins by breaking down why therapy scares people: not because therapy is d...

In this thought-provoking episode, Van Sedita and retired Presbyterian pastor Phil Jones speak with Mark Friedman , author of Come Now, Let Us Reason Together . The conversation explores what authentic Judaism means beyond stereotypes of rigid law and ritual. Friedman recounts his journey from Reform Judaism through years among Chabad communities, describing how neither liberal editing nor strict...

In this candid conversation, Van Sedita, Nate Phillips, and John Molina-Moore take on men’s health through stories of stress, faith, and vulnerability. What starts with beard lotion jokes quickly opens into a serious and deeply honest exchange about how men process—or avoid processing—emotions. John shares how stress physically manifested as back pain despite being in the best shape of his life, r...

What makes an experience unforgettable—and how do we design for it? In our latest Design & Religion , Van and Pastor Nate sit down with UX legend Jared Spool to unpack “indelible experiences.” From Disney’s crisis-ready hospitality to tissues in the pew and playful product micro-moments, we explore how the best teams: Exceed expectations (the stuff people can’t stop talking about) Anticipate l...

In this lively episode, Van and Pastor Nate dive into the hype and hope of AI—asking what it means for creativity, conscience, and the Church. From Black Mirror-style “hollow people” to very real ways AI can prep you for doctor visits, job interviews, and tough conversations, they wrestle with the promise and the peril: Can a tool that doesn’t “feel” still help us live better lives? Send us a text...

Nate and Van are joined by design researcher Oxana Loseva to explore endurance—how we keep going without losing ourselves. They contrast resilience with endurance, and Nate shares how gratitude in pastoral work turns burden into privilege. Oxana reflects on stress, health, and identity, while Van reframes tough days as “things we get to do.” Together they discuss removing small choices to save ene...

Nate and Van are joined by Charlie Hannagan, Tech Support Specialist about the role of technology in modern church services, particularly regarding live streaming and digital content creation. They talk about the balance between maintaining traditional church values while leveraging technology for outreach and pastoral care, with emphasis on avoiding over-reliance on digital presence at the expens...

Nate and Van engage in a wide-ranging conversation covering misinformation, and political discourse, while expressing concerns about leadership and the spread of false information on social media. They discussed personal experiences and shared perspectives on simple-living, sobriety, the importance of controlling what one can in challenging times, and the value of education and peaceful action ove...

Nate and Van interview Jeffrey Miller, a renowned church organist, about his career and experiences in church music and opera. They cover the planning and execution of memorial services, including the importance of music selection, personal preferences, and setting boundaries for family contributions. Finally, they explore the challenges of funeral attendance and community involvement, emphasizing...

Rachele Gilmore joins Nate and Van to discuss their personal experiences with performing and focus on the challenges and rewards of their respective careers. They also explored the psychological and therapeutic aspects of performing and leading worship services, emphasizing the importance of authenticity, subtlety, and interactivity. The conversation ended with a discussion on the significance of...

Rev. Dr. Jason Santos joins to discuss popular media and social influencers on religious views, and the challenges of tribalism in communication. We also explore the potential for rethinking how the gospel is communicated and proclaimed in the worship service, the importance of engaging with the world beyond their religious community, and the need for a more nuanced approach to understanding and a...