Andrea Leigh Capuyan, Executive Director of the LPC in the Baltimore/Washington DC metro area and ProGrace Equip learning community member, discusses how her life experience and grace changed how she and her organization operate. Rejecting industry norms and standards, Andrea has allowed her own experience and faith, as well as the ProGrace community and resources, to guide her toward a more empathetic and loving standard of care in her organization. Andrea faced an unintended pregnancy at 25, not at a time in her life in which she felt capable of raising a child. Her own experiences, both go ..read more

In this episode, Angela talks to Christian Pregnancy Center COO Kristen Lonberger of Living Alternatives about their center’s desire to treat their clients in a way that is congruent with their faith. They discuss how the practices of traditional pregnancy centers can make women feel shame and guilt, and how the staff at Living Alternatives has worked to ensure that their practices are both ethical and representative of Jesus.  Guest Bio Kristen Lonberger is Chief Operations Officer for Living Alternatives Pregnancy Resource Center; a faith-based non-profit organization that serves Illin ..read more

In this episode, Angela discusses her recent experience participating in the National Day of Dialogue (NDOD) 2024. The event taught practical tools for having more constructive conversations. She explains the ABCs of Constructive Dialogue and how she learned to use them to increase understanding. She also recounts a time she used these skills in conversation with someone who held opposing views and how the conversation resulted in understanding, empathy, and even friendship. This episode will give you the hope and encouragement to navigate this election year and grow your faith in these divisi ..read more

Guest: Dr. Amy Peeler To have new conversations about abortion, we need to step inside people’s stories. Women specifically can sometimes wonder where they can find their place in the story of God's family. We’re celebrating this season of Advent by exploring how the coming of Jesus to reconcile God and humanity begins with a pregnancy story. Join Angela and her guest, Dr. Amy Peeler, the Kenneth T. Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College, a priest in the Episcopal Church (USA), and the author of Women and the Gender of God (Eerdmans, 2022). They unpack the story of Mary, the mot ..read more

Guest: Lisa Fields, Founder and CEO Jude 3 Project Experiences, hurt, and trauma always filter how we receive information. So, if we ignore people's lived experiences, we miss the opportunity for connection that leads to transformation. In this episode, Angela sits with Lisa Fields, Founder and CEO of The Jude 3 Project, about the importance of having conversations around divisive issues like abortion and racial divides in the church. They discuss the need for Christians to model their approach after Jesus, not politics, and to listen to others' experiences with empathy and understanding. They ..read more

“We’re in a time where people need healing, and the Church is the answer for that. Jesus is the answer, but [knowing] Jesus through the Church is critical. [If pastors only] knew how much people needed the Church—not the politics of the Church, not all of the theology of the Church, but just the Church in action.” Thoughts on Mission & Ministry FROM LEADERS IN URBAN CHURCHES & COMMUNITIES, Page 12 Pastors have a God-given opportunity to lead their church to impact communities for the common good. Listen as Angela welcomes Dr. Alvin Sanders, President and CEO of World Impact ..read more

Research shows that many people in our culture have positive personal experiences with individual Christians in their lives but a negative perception of Christian institutions and how they interact in the public square. How do we bridge that gap and show up differently on contentious issues like abortion, especially after the overturn of Roe v. Wade? In this episode, Angela welcomes her friend, noted author, speaker, former pastor, and host of the Holy Post Podcast, Skye Jethani. Listen as they discuss his book What if Jesus Was Serious About the Church and explain how the political abortion d ..read more

Angela interviews Rev. Dr. Darice Wright, Associate Pastor of Life Church in suburban Chicago, for an eye-opening conversation on her work to help pastors disciple people in racial reconciliation - and how she discovered that extending grace is essential to healing. They discuss how we can apply grace to discussions on gender, the political divide, and how we, the Church, show up for those who experience unintended pregnancy and abortion. Together they go back to Barbieland to uncover themes art can reveal about this cultural moment and how we can catalyze God's way of doing and being in our w ..read more

A nonpolitical discussion about the Barbie movie is important because it touches many people. It's sparking a cultural conversation about how women and men relate to each other, which must be healthy if we're going to have conversations that lead to empathy and understanding of divisive social issues like abortion that the Church is called to address.   Listen in as Angela and her special guest Simone Halpin, CEO of Naomi House, unpack their takeaways from the Barbie Movie and connect it to their personal stories. Using art and comedy, can the movie be one tool to help us deconstruct som ..read more

What’s in a story? We all have one. Hearing a person’s story requires listening to understand and identify the connecting points. What if we stopped the back and forth in the abortion debate to emphatically listen to the other side?  In this episode, Angela sits down with Christy Vines, President and CEO of Ideos Institute, who introduces us to how she and her team use Empathic Intelligence (EmQ) to transform spaces of division. The results advance empathy, transform systems, and inspire solutions. As with the ProGrace approach to help Christians think, talk, and engage dif ..read more