Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noël!
Jesus has come, our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace! God would do absolutely anything and everything just to be close to us. Jesus came as a little baby because God wanted to be with us, by being just like us. What about us? How can we open our doors and be good company to those in need? What can we do for people who may not even know? The people that God loves? All the people?
We meditate on love and welcome and hear your lovely Christmas greetings in many languages!

In the fields that dark night, angels appeared and brought something important, “good news that will cause great joy for all the people”. News of the kind of joy that brightens the darkest night and fills the hearts of everyone around. Pure joy. What do you think that kind of joy might look like? We hear your thoughts, a poem and listen to what the Bible has to say about where to find joy.

In this second episode for Advent, we talk about the good news from the angels to the shepherds. What good news do we have? What does the Bible tell us about giving and sharing?

This Advent, we are waiting for Jesus, God’s gift to all of us. And God calls us to share the love.

“For I am the Lord your God, who says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

In this first episode for Advent, we talk about our fears. What are you afraid of? What does the Bible tell us about fear? As it starts to get dark, remember that God is light. And this Advent, we are waiting for Jesus, God’s light coming into the world for all of us.

In our series « What do we know ? » we’ve been asking people who study the Bible to help answer your questions about God and Jesus. Today, we are asking The Rev. Michael Rusk to help us think about the question“Do people who aren’t Christians go to heaven?”

With this episode we are celebrating the end of our very first season of the Hope and Joy podcast!! This year, we recorded 20 episodes: talked about the Hope, Joy, Peace and Love of Advent, the very Beginning of the Bible in the New Year, Lent and Easter, and then through your wonderful questions, we have learned so much from you and from our guest writers. We are excited to end on a high note. Looking up to heaven. And we look forward to opening up our new season soon. Thank you all for listening!

In the meantime, you can follow all our news on Facebook and Instagram and if you're enjoying the show, please remember to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Have a good summer!

In our series « What do we know ? » we’ve been asking people who study the Bible to help answer your questions about God and Jesus. Today, we asked The Rev. Stephanie Burette to help us think about the question “If Jesus isn’t dead, where is he? Can I meet him?”

Stephanie shares a beautiful story with us about a shoemaker from the author Leo Tolstoy, we learn that ‘Where love is, God is’ and think about where we might meet Jesus this summer.

The Rev Stephanie Burette is a priest, and chaplain in a College in England, where she is also doing research and more studies herself! She spent six years as a youth leader at the American Cathedral of the HolyTrinity in Paris. Before that, she taught French in middle school and high school, and at universities. She has taught students aged 10 years old to ... 60+, because we never stop learning!

Do you have questions about God, Jesus, the Bible or about being a Christian? Send us a voice memo or have your parents write us an email at hopeandjoypodcast@gmail.com if you want us to answer one of your questions!

You can follow all our news on Facebook and Instagram and if you're enjoying the show, please remember to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

The deepest belief that we Christians hold is that God IS love and that God loves us and the whole world. Today, on World Refugee Day, we are asking The Rev. Austin Rios to help us think about the difficult question“If God loves us, why do bad things happen?”

Rev. Austin is the Rector of St. Paul’s Within the Walls and Executive Director of the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center in Rome, Italy. Along with his wife Maleah and daughter Aja, Austin enjoys celebrating the wonders of creation and learning how to encourage all the children of God to better love one another.

Do you have questions about God or Jesus or about being a Christian? We are answering them along with some great guest writers in our series "What Do We Know?" Send us a voice memo or have your parents write us an email at hopeandjoypodcast@gmail.com if you want us to answer one of your questions!

You can follow all our news on Facebook and Instagram and if you're enjoying the show, please remember to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

What we call people says a lot about what they mean to us and how we feel about them. Often times, we have special names for the people who are the closest to us. The same is true for God. In church we hear "Our Father", we've asked the Reverend Nathaniel Katz and you all to answer the question "Is God Our Parent?"

The Rev. Nat Katz has gone by many titles since becoming an Episcopal priest – “Reverend Nat”, “Father Nat”, and “Pastor Nat.” Since joining the staff at the American Cathedral in Paris, he’s been called “Canon Nat,” which he’s come to like a lot. But his favorite and most important title, which is for absolutely everyone to claim (even you) is “Child of God.”

Do you have questions about God or Jesus or about being a Christian? We are answering them along with some great guest writers in our series "What Do We Know?" Send us a voice memo or have your parents write us an email at hopeandjoypodcast@gmail.com if you want us to answer one of your questions!

You can follow all our news on Facebook and Instagram and if you're enjoying the show, please remember to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!