Dear Patrons,

Today, June 24, 2025 is the festival day dedicated throughout the world-wide Christian Community to the person of John the Baptist: St. John’s Day. He stood at the banks of the Jordan as “a voice crying out in the loneliness”—a voice calling people to reorient their lives toward the spirit; a voice summoning each heart to radical truthfulness as preparation for the coming grace of God.

In honor of this extraordinary human being, whose earthly mission was to prepare the way, we are sharing episodes from our Christian Shadow Work series, first posted in May 2023. This episode is the first in that series. We hope it may serve you in your own encounter with John’s voice—his call to turn, to see, and to ready the soul for grace.

With gratitude,

Patrick

for The Light in Every Thing team

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From the first posting:

Our new series takes up the far reaching subject of working with our “shadow,” especially as it relates to the overarching question posed this year, “What divides us?” In this first episode, Jonah and Patrick begin to lay down some of the core elements of working with the shadows we cast in the light of Christ. How do we as individuals relate to the shadow we cast into this world? Can we perceive ourselves accurately? Can we integrate our shadow in a way that bears fruit? How do we relate to the shadows of others, both individuals and larger human communities, such as Christianity as a whole or The Movement for Religious Renewal? Why is working with the shadow part of the Christian path of walking with Christ? These questions and more will be explored together over the coming episodes.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

What if Christ’s Second Coming is not a distant, future event but is already underway—perceptible now through what the liturgy of the Christian Community calls “the eyes of the soul”? This radical perspective challenges both traditional Christian expectations and modern spiritual assumptions.

Jonah and Patrick explore the depths of the Ascension mystery, especially in its connection to the riddle of Christ’s return. Through close readings of Scripture and insights from the liturgy, they reveal that Christ’s reappearance does not depend on physical sight but on a new organ of perception—one cultivated through love and devotion. This is a seeing that can behold him in the “being of the clouds.”

But how can we come to see in this new way? The conversation turns to prayer and the mystery of clouds. Just as water rises, becomes cloud, and returns as rain, our prayers ascend as love-forces that can be gathered and poured out as blessings. When we direct these soul-forces toward Christ, we form the very medium through which he reveals himself—not in a single place, but like lightning across the heavens: a universal presence, made visible through devotion.

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Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.

What if baptism isn't just an ancient ritual but a transformative medicine for the wounded human soul? This conversation explores the profound mysteries hidden in Christ's Great Commission to "baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."

The traditional words of baptism have become formulaic for many modern ears. But when we penetrate beyond the formula to the living experience, we discover something revolutionary: an invitation to die to our isolated selfhood and open to the intelligence of the risen Christ. This baptismal death isn't a one-time event but an ongoing process where our thinking, creating, and feeling are gradually transformed through participation in divine life.

Through a fascinating exploration of the cross as gateway rather than mere symbol, we discover how making three crosses upon ourselves - at head, mouth and heart - can be understood as an active collaboration with the Trinity. The Father brings the ground of being to our anxious, isolated consciousness. The Son infuses our creative will with his purposes of love. The Spirit enlightens our heart-thinking with divine wisdom.

These insights address a fundamental crisis in modern consciousness. Many spiritual paths today either emphasize total self-empowerment ("manifest your reality") or complete self-abandonment ("just let go"). The baptismal understanding offers a third way - maintaining our individual agency while allowing it to be transformed through divine collaboration. The result isn't loss of self but discovery of our true purpose within the meaning of Earth itself.

Have you felt the existential insecurity that characterizes our age? Perhaps this isn't a flaw to overcome but an honest recognition of our incompleteness without connection to the gournd only the divine can provide. Perhaps the medicine we need isn't more self-optimization but immersion in the healing waters of baptism - dying to what we have been so we can live in what we are becoming.

This whole conversation uncovers one of the core missions of Christianity — baptism — as a living medicine for our humanity and how this understanding is regained in the movement for religious renewal.

Support the show

The Light in Every Thing is a podcast of The Seminary of The Christian Community in North America. Learn more about the Seminary and its offerings at our website. This podcast is supported by our growing Patreon community. To learn more, go to www.patreon.com/ccseminary.

Thanks to Elliott Chamberlin who composed our theme music, “Seeking Together,” and the legacy of our original show-notes and patreon producer, Camilla Lake.