Holy Roast Podcast

S2E1 - Laura Hamrick

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Laura Hamrick. Laura serves as Clergy Engagement Coordinator for both the Clergy Health Initiative and the Religion and Social Change Lab.
A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and Wesley Theological Seminary, Laura is a second career pastor who worked in the field of group health insurance prior to entering seminary. An ordained elder in the Western NC Annual Conference, she served churches of various sizes in urban, suburban, and rural settings for seventeen years prior to entering ministry beyond the local church. Prior to joining the team at Duke, she served with Life Around the Table, where she helped to design and lead creation-based Sabbath retreat experiences for ecumenical groups of clergy in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. In her current role, Laura connects with UMC clergy and denominational leaders to offer support and evidence-based resources developed through our research in order to support their flourishing in life and ministry.
In this episode, Laura talks about the Duke Clergy Health INiative, how pastors can prepare themselves against burnout and mental health, ways local churches can help with their clergy’s health, and info about the upcoming event, “Flourish.”
Registration is now open for Flourish: A Day Away for Clergy Care. All clergy serving KYUMC churches and extension ministries are invited to join the Board of Pensions nad the Board of Ordained Ministry on October 22 to connect with leaders and resources on practicing mindfulness, your physical wellbeing, and rediscovering self-care in ministry.
Join us also on Monday, October 21 for dinner, fellowship, and trivia hosted by Louisville Trivia!
All events on October 21 and 22 will be at the Kentucky Conference Office located at 7400 Floydsburg Rd, Crestwood, KY.
Register by September 22 to be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. Deadline to register is October 15. This event is FREE and all clergy are encouraged to attend. Register here.
 

Holy Roast Annual Conference Special

Welcome to our Holy Roast Annual Conference Special! This recording is our special bonus episode, Live from Annual Conference, where Rachel and Rob sat down with Rev. Caleb Wheat. 
In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Caleb Wheat. Caleb is the Pastor at Antioch UMC, a new church start in Northern Kentucky. In this episode, Caleb will talk about his call to church planting, the story of Antioch UMC, some initiatives throughout the Kentucky Conference, and what every local church should be doing in this season.

Holy Roast Season Finale

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Tami Coleman and Rev. Dr. Jay Smith to talk about General Conference. Tami was our lead Clergy Delegate (and the Pastor at Hanson UMC) and Jay was a Clergy Alternate Delegate (and the District Superintendent of the Owensboro District.) In this episode, Tami and Jay will talk about their experience at General Conference. They will talk about how it felt to be in the room during GC, what gives them hope for the future of the UMC, the biggest questions they’ve received from Kentucky United Methodists about GC since returning him, how to worship and get along with people who may not agree with us on important subject matters, and more.
 
This podcast is for Traditionalists, Centrists, and Progressives in the Kentucky Annual Conference. If you found the episode to be helpful, please be sure to share with with other pastors, church members, and friends.

S1E11: Rachel Gilmore

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Rachel Gilmore. Rachel is the Director of New and Vital Faith in the Desert Southwest Conference of the UMC.
Rachel graduated magna cum laude from Duke Divinity School as a Distinguished Leader after serving for two years in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria.  She is the author of Expanding the Expedition Reach with Missional Communities and a contributor to Launching a New Worship Community: a Practical Guide for the 2020s (Upper Room, 2021). Rachel is married to Rev. Brandon Gilmore, a pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona where they are creating a new faith community while revitalizing the existing congregation.
In this episode, Rachel talks about the common myths about church planting, how to measure the impact and effectiveness of churches including church plants, how all local churches need to be church innovators, how to overcome the challenges of fostering community in our current social context, best practices that churches can take to reach new people in their community, and some current trends in church planting that she finds promising.

S1E10 - Will Willimon

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Bishop Will Willimon. The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon **is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Willimon is a graduate of Wofford College (B.A., 1968), Yale Divinity School (M.Div., 1971) and Emory University (S.T.D., 1973). He is the author of roughly one hundred books. Willimon’s articles have appeared in many publications.
In this episode, Bishop Willimon discusses his hopes for what will happen at General Conference, his dream for the future of the UMC, how pastors can create change in a denomination that is often slow to adapt, the role of the Bishop in the UMC, pressing challenges the UMC is facing today, and advice he would give to young people.
To learn more about Bishop Will Willimon, you can head to his website here: https://willwillimon.com/.

S1E09 - Jean Hawxhurst

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst. Rev. Dr. Jean G. Hawxhurst serves as an Ecumenical Staff Officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops.  Her responsibilities include general ecumenical engagement with organizations and groups, grants and scholarships, and leadership development.  She has served in this ministry position since 2015.  Dr. Hawxhurst holds a BA degree in mathematics and education from the University of Richmond, an MDiv degree in theology from Lexington Theological Seminary, and a DMin degree from Louisville Seminary, with a focus on theological diversity.  She also holds a certificate in ecumenical studies from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey.  She is an ordained elder in the Kentucky Annual Conference, and prior to this appointment served three local congregations and as a District Superintendent.  She is married to Rev. Dr. Jerry Cappel, a priest in The Episcopal Church USA.  They have two adult children and four grandchildren.
 
In this episode, Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst reflects upon her calling in her current role, how she has met two different Popes, how she navigates theological differences between various Christian traditions, the evolving role of pastors in an ecumenical future, challenges she has faced, and some helpful ways that local churches and pastors can embrace ecumenism and foster greater unity among Christians of different denominations.

S1E08 - Kate Bowler

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Dr. Kate Bowler*.* Kate Bowler, Ph.D. is a 4x New York Times bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and professor at Duke University. She hosts the Everything Happens podcast where, in warm, insightful, often funny conversations, she talks with people like Malcolm Gladwell, Tig Notaro, and Archbishop Justin Welby about what they’ve learned in difficult times. Author of seven books including Good Enough, The Lives We Actually Have, and her latest, Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!, she lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her family and continues to teach do-gooders at Duke Divinity School.
In this episode, Dr. Bowler talks about what history can teach us in this particular cultural moment in the church, what to do when things don’t go our way in ministry, the effects of toxic positivity in the church, and the hope she has for the future of the church.

S1E07 - Leigh Ann Maynard

In this week’s episode, Rob and Rachel sit down with Rev. Leigh Ann Maynard. Rev. Leigh Ann is the Associate Pastor for Bridge Ministries at Christ Church United Methodist in Louisville, KY.
In this episode, Leigh Ann will reflect with Rachel and Rob on what it means to be a woman in ministry. Leigh Ann will discuss her call to ministry, ridiculous things said to female clergy, unique gifts that female leaders can offer the local church right now, and how local churches and leaders can empower female disciples.
Are you sensing a call to ministry? We’d love to connect you to resources to help you discern that call! Email us at holyroast@kyumc.org.
Holy Roast will be LIVE at Annual Conference this June! Join us Sunday, June 9, 5pm, at the Marriott Hotel in Northern Kentucky for a live recording of the Holy Roast Podcast. Be on the look out to reserve your seat! (Space is limited!)