Milestone reflects the ‘diversity, intentionality and quality’ of guests
by Darla Carter | Presbyterian News Service
Photo by Jonathan Velasquez via Unsplash
LOUISVILLE — Three years after making its debut, “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” reaches an exciting milestone this week when it releases its 200th episode.
The episode drops Thursday and features Katie Seigenthaler, editor of the forthcoming book, “The Kingdom of the Poor: My Journey Home” (Vanderbilt University Press). The book centers on Seigenthaler’s uncle, Father Charles Strobel, a champion for the unhoused population in Nashville.
Seigenthaler is one of many authors who have guested on the podcast, which also has featured a bevy of church leaders, activists and theologians since it started March 11, 2021, with two episodes.
“I am most proud of the diversity, intentionality and quality of the guests that we have on the podcast,” said Simon Doong, co-creator and co-host of the podcast. “Each person comes in with such great knowledge and experience but also honesty. I also think it says something that our podcast can have the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA) one week and the author of a book on transgender issues the next, and a commissioned ruling elder talking about the difficulties that small and rural churches face the following week. And all of those conversations and guests get the same treatment, respect and attention from us in putting those episodes together.”
The 200th episode of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” drops Thursday.
A Matter of Faith is a joint project of Unbound, the Interactive Journal of Christian Justice; the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program; and more recently, Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), where Doong recently began working.
The weekly podcast, whose episodes are frequently covered by the Presbyterian News Service, got its start when Doong, who was then an associate for the Peacemaking Program, shared an idea with Unbound’s then-managing editor, the Rev. Lee Catoe, who would become co-anchor and production partner to Doong.
“As a podcast listener myself, I noticed that people often would write in with questions, regardless of the podcast topic,” said Doong, who is now associate for corporate, community and church engagement for MRTI. “I thought, ‘We all have questions about faith, justice or church, but we may be afraid to ask them openly out of fear that we are the only one with that question,’ so we created the podcast for the denomination to provide a space to ask and discuss those questions and also provide affirmation that if you have a question, it is likely that someone else has that same question. You are not alone in having these questions.”
The Rev. Lee Catoe
Catoe was drawn to the idea because “our church needed a broader conversation about faith and justice, not only in the Presbyterian context, but in the broader faith context. We are seeing a trend in our religious discourse where a particular type of Christianity is centered and has a monopoly on the narrative of Christianity, one that is conservative and fundamentalist while also perpetuating Christian nationalism. We wanted to offer a different narrative of what following Christ looks like in the world. Our podcast doesn’t only reach Presbyterians but those looking for a justice-centered faith, whether that means they go to church or not.”
The podcast, which averages 1,300 to 1,500 listeners a month, recently brought on a third co-host, Dr. Andrew Peterson, who’s part of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and joined at episode 199.
Dr. Andrew Peterson
“I think the podcast has done an excellent job intentionally creating an incredibly diverse range of guests and topics,” Peterson said. “This breadth of subject matters and experts helps demonstrate our sense that the church’s work in the world touches every aspect of life and that God’s call on our lives is all-encompassing. Talking to so many different folks about such a variety of topics helps keep things fresh and engaging for me.”
Both Doong and Catoe are happy to have Peterson join the podcast team.
“Having Andrew on board opens us up to a lot of possibilities as it gives us some time of rest as we rotate co-hosts and to focus on aspects of the podcast that need more attention,” Catoe said. “Andrew is an academic, which brings a different vibe to the podcast, which is needed, and we are excited to have him on board with us.”
The podcast started at a time when some people within the church weren’t as familiar with the genre as they are today.
“Podcasts have become very popular in the last 10 years, but as with many things, we did have to explain what a podcast is and once we did that and made a few episodes, people really hopped on board and have been very supportive,” Catoe said.
He knew the podcast had garnered a strong following “when we simply had a consistent listenership each week and month, which means people are coming back to listen.”
But there have also been other tell-tale signs. “I was at a conference last year and a person heard me speak and immediately came up to me and said, ‘You’re that Lee from the podcast. I’d recognize that voice anywhere,’ Catoe said. “It’s a funny story because at one point in my life, I was ashamed of my accent, but now, it’s what I am known for in this small church world.”
Simon Doong
Doong recalled a similar experience. “I echo Lee’s feelings and experience with someone recognizing me at a church (and saying), ‘Hey you’re from that Presbyterian Podcast!’ I would also add that when some of our partners, which include some book publishers, as well as individuals, started to reach out to us via email about potentially coming on the podcast, it felt like a good affirmation of the podcast’s value and reach.”
The podcast has led to multiple spin-offs, including a Spanish-language version and a Korean-language version as well as an advocacy version that was led by the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
“Many thanks to our colleagues who co-host, or have co-hosted, our ‘sister’ podcasts in Spanish and Korean: Rosa Miranda, Edwin González-Castillo, Kurt Esslinger, Hyeyoung Lee, and So Jung Kim,” Doong said. “The Korean podcast is currently on pause. We are so grateful to all of our co-hosts for going on this adventure with us.”
Collaboration is something that’s important to the hosting team and will continue to play a big role as the podcast team looks to the future and builds upon past successes.
“I’d like to see us collaborate and build partnerships with more faith spaces outside the PC(USA) as well as bringing on more international guests,” Doong said. “We also want to continue to be intentional about having diversity of voices, ages, identities and perspectives amongst our guests.”
Catoe said he would like to see “more collaborations with faith spaces and other denominations” for this reason: “As a Reformed tradition, we center the input of different perspectives, and this is where I hope the podcast can shine even more.”
You can find “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” wherever you listen to podcasts, including Buzzsprout. Got a question? Send it to faithpodcast@pcusa.org.
Unbound, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations are part of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries of the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Mission Responsibility Through Investment is housed in the president/executive director’s office of PMA.
You may freely reuse and distribute this article in its entirety for non-commercial purposes in any medium. Please include author attribution, photography credits, and a link to the original article. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeratives 4.0 International License.