Fun Things #2 - Discovering a New Community (Part 1)

Last post, I mentioned the fun I had discovering and sampling new podcasts. I was specifically looking for some fresh devotional material, and in addition to some excellent bible podcasts, my surfing led me to some unexpected treasures.

I explored many interesting academic podcasts and then I focused on a few personal interests left over from my part time seminary studies at Canadian Bible College/Canadian Theological Seminary: history of the early church and basics of New Testament Greek, which I keep dabbling in. (Earlier in the fall of 2007, I treated myself to a new reference text, William D. Mounce's Interlinear for the Rest of Us: the Reverse Interlinear for New Testament Word Studies [2005]).

I don't recall how I stumbled across a strange sounding podcast called Rosary Army, but I tried it and discovered a fun podcast put out by a couple named Greg & Jennifer Willits. They serve in a ministry that gives twine Rosaries (donated by listeners) to anyone who asks for one and teaches anyone how to make one. From this, it was but a few mouse clicks to discover Daily Breakfast, a lively talk show by a priest named Father Roderick Vonhögen from the Netherlands.

Father Roderick happens to be the CEO of SQPN.com, an award winning production company of dozens of Catholic podcasts, videos, and other "new media" productions. Around the time that I began listening to his podcast, I was stunned to hear him doing a "sound seeing" tour on the podcast during a trip to Canada that brought him right to my current city of Winnipeg. I enjoyed listening to his live commentary during a Manitoba Moose hockey game in Winnipeg's MTS Centre, as well as at other Winnipeg sites: The Forks (junction of the Red & Assiniboine Rivers) St. Boniface Cathedral, and St. Mary's Cathedral. Unfortunately, I discovered these podcasts after the fact and missed the opportunity to meet Fr. R. at any of his speaking engagements held in Winnipeg.

In a later blog, I'll explain how yours truly, a "mongrel" evangelical Christian (NABC Baptist/BGC Baptist/Christian & Missionary Alliance/Mennonite), discovered a new community of evangelical Catholic Christian friends (and their other non-Catholic Christian fans) via this new media.