I'm closing down this podcast at the end of June 2024. But, life goes on. I've moved all my written, audio and even video over to www.jameshazelwood.substack.com

Join me there.

It's been great

Thank you

James

I read the opening chapter of my new book, Ordinary Mysteries: Reflections on Faith, Doubt & Meaning. The book launches on April 30, 2024. But I've got a pre-launch special of a hardbound color edition. More information at www.ordinarymysteriesbook.com

or my website www.jameshazelwood.net

Book Description

Journey between two realms—the sacred and the mundane—with this thoughtful collection of essays on spirituality in everyday life. Drawing upon personal stories, cultural references, and wisdom from every age, James Hazelwood invites readers to uncover the thin spaces where heaven and earth meet.

From daily encounters in nature to the symbolism of dreams, the mundane is revealed as a gateway to the divine. Hazelwood explores the power to awaken grace and meaning through spiritual practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and compassion. With humor and heart, these stories and reflections offer insight for those looking to deepen their faith and nurture their spiritual life amidst the complexities of the modern world.

Blending theology, philosophy, and psychology, this book will open you to the extraordinary mysteries in ordinary life. Discover how attentiveness and an open heart can reveal the holy ground beneath your feet. This is an invitation to the spiritual journey, where your own story is woven into the Infinite.

Endorsements

"ORDINARY MYSTERIES is extraordinary in how much in-depth theology, psychology, and spirituality are brought together in one book. Here is Carl Jung paired with Howard Thurmond. Explorations into Trinity, Beatitudes, Ash Wednesday. We are invited to a "holy curiosity" and "a gritty mysticism grounded in compassion."

Bishop Doug Fisher
Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts

"Throughout this book of essays, James Hazelwood extends a continual and continuous invitation that dares us to see differently. Adjusting the lens and opening the aperture, he offers a view that is wider, deeper and nuanced by a light that allows the detail of shadow to emerge. Jim's scope is broad, his humor wry and his gaze unflinching. Reading Ordinary Mysteries felt like meeting a friend for honest conversation over multiple cups of strong coffee. I was left with a sharpened awareness of The Holy within and around me."

Sheila Longo Petruccelli
Director of Creative Embodiment
The Haden Institute

James Hazelwood serves as Bishop of the New England Synod (ELCA Lutheran). His previous books include Everyday Spirituality and Weird Wisdom for the Second Half of Life. His website is www.jameshazelwood.net

Rev. Dr. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is Associate Pastor at Tokyo Lutheran Church and the Founder of Thornbush Press. She has written, edited, and contributed to numerous books of both theology and fiction and has published hundreds of articles. She hosts the podcasts Queen of the Sciences, Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories, and The Disentanglement Podcast, and writes the e-newsletter Theology & a Recipe.

She is the Founder of Thornbush Press, launched in 2020, and author of a number of books under its imprint: I Am a Brave Bridge, Sermon on the Mount: A Poetic Paraphrase, Small Catechism: Memorizing Edition, Pearly Gates: Parables from the Final Threshold, To Baptize or Not to Baptize: A Practical Guide for Clergy, and A-Tumblin' Down.

Guest: Professor Volker Leppin, Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. He is a native of Germany, and a Reformation scholar

Show Notes

In the interview, Volker suggests people read Martin Luther's Treatise on Christian Liberty also called the Freedom of a Christian. You can find many translations. Here is one for free online, though I prefer the version in Timothy Lull's Martin Luther's Writing collection.

My regular Newsletter with an Essay on Mysticism and Psychology

https://jameshazelwood.substack.com/

Volker Leppin Bio

Educated at the University of Marburg Heidelberg University, and the Theological Academic Year in Jerusalem program, Volker Leppin received a chair in Church History at the University of Jena (Thuringia, Germany) in 2000. Ten years later, he moved to the University of Tübingen in Southern Germany, where he held the chair in Church History and directed the Institute for Late Middle Ages and Reformation from 2010 to 2021. He is a member of the Academies of Sciences at Heidelberg, the Saxonian Academy of Sciences, and as well the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, Salzburg, Austria, three distinguished scholarly societies in Europe.

Professor Leppin is the author of 20 monographs, most of them in German.

His biography of Martin Luther, Martin Luther. A Late Medieval Life, (Baker Academic, 2017) is also available in English. He has provided several critical text editions, e.g. William of Ockham, Dialogus. Part 2. Part 3, Tract 1, ed. with John Kilcullen, John Scott and Jan Ballweg (Oxford, 2011). In addition, he is the editor or co-editor of 53 books, and the author of more than 300 scholarly articles and chapters, altogether covering a broad range of interests from antiquity to the modern area.

Professor Leppin's scholarship is particularly interested in medieval and Reformation studies. He argues that the Reformation should be understood as a transformation of the medieval world rather than a stark rupture. His work also focuses on the history of spirituality, mainly in mysticism. Accordingly, his most recent book is a history of Christian mysticism from the Bible to the 20th century: Ruhen in Gott (Rest in God).

https://divinity.yale.edu/faculty-and-research/yds-faculty/volker-leppin

Host: James Hazelwood

James Hazelwood, author, bishop, and spiritual companion, is the author of Weird Wisdom for the Second Half of Life and Everyday Spirituality: Discover a Life of Hope, Peace, and Meaning. His website is www.jameshazelwood.net

Joanna Penn on Writing the Shadow

Episode 89. Special Edition Interview with Author, Creative, Businesswoman and Host of the Creative Penn podcast, Joanna Penn.

Joanna is a multidimensional person with interests spanning psychology, theology, business, writing, publishing, and Artificial Intelligence among many pursuits. She is the author of over 45 books, and she's already imagining the next one. Her most recent is Writing the Shadow: Turn your Inner Darkness into Words. That's the focus of our conversation in this episode.

To join the kickstarter campaign or buy the book click here www.TheCreativePenn.com/shadowbook

Personal Updates

On Wednesday evening, October 11, I'll be joined by local musician Mike Bussey for an evening called "Songs and Stories of Weird Wisdom." Cross Mills Library in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Write me at jim@jameshazelwood.net

My Weekly Newsletter with an Essay on Mysticism and Psychology

https://jameshazelwood.substack.com/

Guest Bio - Joanna (J.F. Penn) Penn

www.TheCreativePenn.com

www.CreativePennBooks.com

She is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with 45+ books, with almost a million sold across 169 countries and 5 languages. She is a podcaster, international speaker, and award-winning creative entrepreneur.

Joanna (J.F.) Penn
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Thriller Author
Podcaster. Speaker. Award-winning Entrepreneur.

For authors and writers:

www.TheCreativePenn.com

www.CreativePennBooks.com

The Creative Penn Podcast: www.TheCreativePenn.com/podcasts/

www.twitter.com/thecreativepenn

Thrillers, dark fantasy, crime, horror:

www.JFPennBooks.com

www.instagram.com/jfpennauthor

www.Facebook.com/jfpennauthor

Host: James Hazelwood

James Hazelwood, author, bishop, and spiritual companion, is the author of Weird Wisdom for the Second Half of Life and Everyday Spirituality: Discover a Life of Hope, Peace, and Meaning. His website is www.jameshazelwood.net

Encountering Mystery

Guest: Professor Dale Allison, Princeton Theological Seminary, author of many books on the New Testament. The most recent book and topic of our conversation is Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age

Personal Updates

On Wednesday evening, October 11, I'll be joined by local musician Mike Bussey for an evening called "Songs and Stories of Weird Wisdom." Cross Mills Library in Charlestown, Rhode Island.

Write me at jim@jameshazelwood.net

My Weekly Newsletter with an Essay on Mysticism and Psychology

https://jameshazelwood.substack.com/

Dale Allison Bio

Dale C. Allison, Jr. is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. He earned his MA and PhD from Duke University. His academic research and publications include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Judaism, and the history of the interpretation and application of biblical texts. His book, Constructing Jesus, was selected as "Best Book Relating to the New Testament" for 2009–2010 by the Biblical Archaeology Society. His most recent books are The Resurrection of Jesus: Apologetics, Polemic, History and Encountering Mystery: Religious Experience in a Secular Age. He served for several years as the main New Testament editor for de Gruyter's International Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception and has been on the editorial boards of multiple academic journals. On a more popular level, he has written books on George Harrison, religious experience, and death and what might lie beyond.

https://www.ptsem.edu/people/dale-c-allison-jr

Host: James Hazelwood

James Hazelwood, author, bishop, and spiritual companion, is the author of Weird Wisdom for the Second Half of Life and Everyday Spirituality: Discover a Life of Hope, Peace, and Meaning. His website is www.jameshazelwood.net

Guest Sept 2023 is Sheri Kling

Coming up. Interviews with Dale Allison Encountering Mystery, David Tracey, Volker Leppin and Joanna Penn

Substack Newsletter. https://jameshazelwood.substack.com/

Thanks to the newest supporter, Jonathan V, and others Charlie, Paul, Marilyn, Rick, Matt, Ron, William, Leslie.

https://www.jameshazelwood.net/

Today's interview

As an accomplished keynoter, faculty member of the Haden Institute, and director of Process & Faith for the Center for Process Studies and Claremont School of Theology,

Dr. Sheri regularly speaks to groups, leads retreats, works one-on-one with individuals who seek to deepen their spiritual lives, and guides groups in online and in-person special events. Her primary text, A Process Spirituality: Christian and Transreligious Resources for Transformation was published by Lexington Books in 2020. She has numerous other publications and has released three music CDs.

Dr. Sheri Kling holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Religion (Claremont School of Theology) and a M.A. of theological studies (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago). She is a faculty member of the Haden Institute and a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist who considers herself a "voice for transformation."

https://www.sherikling.com/