Upon This Rock

Saint Thomas More (STM) Parish has a sister community relationship with San Andrés Itzapa, a rural parish in south-central Guatemala. STM Parishioners Phil Smith and Marla Byrne have visited frequently in recent decades, often leading groups on work retreats and pilgrimages of faith that support foreign friends. The STM group has escorted thousands of Kansas Citians, including over a thousand teenagers, to Central America to encoun...

Shanita McAfee Bryant speaks with Father Don and Mary Coppinger Orndoff about food waste, food rescue, and food redistribution in the Kansas City area. Shanita is a chef who empowers communities through nourishment. Her groups, The Prospect KC and Nourish KC Community Kitchen, address food insecurities, create culinary employment opportunities, improve nutrition education, and transform lives by connecting people and through econom...

Father Greg Haskamp sits down with Father Don one year after their first podcast together to continue talking about the mysteries of the priesthood. Both are in their sixties and look back on a combined seventy years of service as priests in our diocese. They look at priest-characters of the past and the kinds of things that might happen in the church’s future. Both are lifelong learners and want to get better at their vocation whi...

Mike Kopp rejoins Father Don for his annual October check-in. Mike talks about stages of life and faith, starting with his role as a son to remarkable parents, a brother to ten siblings, a classmate to countless peers and friends from Visitation to Rockhurst to Mizzou. 

From these growing up communities to current groups in his neighborhood, parish, clubs, and social circles, he emphasizes the importance of friendships. Though incre...

Mary Coppinger Orndoff joins Father Don in the first of a two-part discussion about reaching out to those in need. She has volunteered at various nonprofit organizations throughout Kansas City, and through her experiences, discovered that these numerous entities can do more when we work in unison. 

Realizing that volunteerism has decreased in recent times, she is on a mission to help those willing to volunteer find a place that is l...

Anne Bethune is a licensed clinical social worker who offers ketamine assisted psychotherapy. She explains some medical, psychological, legal, and religious parameters placed upon her work, as well as opportunities that patients are given to encounter spiritual experiences through psychedelic methods, according to religious doctrine. 

As a Catholic, she hopes that spirituality and psychotherapy will work hand in hand to help people ...

Jessica McGannon, a member of Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, comes to the table to reflect upon faith formation in Kansas City, from Saint Peter and Saint Catherine schools to O’Hara High and later at St. Elizabeth and Saint Francis parishes. She reflects on people who influenced her and our call to influence others who follow us. 

Along with her husband, Paul, they landed at SFX and have found a place t...

Jerry Reardon joins Father Don to bat around some thoughts in our very challenging times, when many people turn their opponents into enemies. Christ reminds us that there is one enemy: it is the devil, it is evil, it is sin and death. Jesus overcame and continues to overcome the enemy for us and with us. 

They discuss earthly battles, from war, sports, debates, and ideological differences. Jerry reminds listeners that if we are cent...

Lane Lucas joins Father Don to discuss the fallout from a recent blog and podcast that encouraged people to love in imitation of Christ when their instinct directs them toward hate in political exchanges. Rather than ceasing dialogue about controversial topics, they agree that the church needs to encourage discussion while discerning the will of God. 

And when conversation enters the realm of disagreement or debate, we should do our...

Father Don and his sister Barbie Faranan continue their discussion, this time on how people can help one another through their own stories and struggles. They talk about those who have gifts to give, including wisdom and experience, as well as those who just need a little help from a friend or someone unknown to them who is willing to reach out and offer hope.  This leads to an invitation to join them for Mass and a Chiefs’ Watch P...

Barbie Farnan and Father Don record an awkward conversation about why so many people hate the president and refuse to consider letting go of their bad feelings for him. They compare it to their own father, who shared some of the president’s personality and characteristics. They hope that, after listening to this podcast, those who despise the president will become more forgiving and/or soul-searching.

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Kim Meyer, a member of the Saint Francis Xavier Parish (SFX), talks with Father Don Farnan about the ways in which the Catholic Church is called to announce the Good News, and like Christ, cast out evil from society. Many members of the SFX community do that; one way is through public witness gatherings that proclaim Gospel values based on Catholic Social Teachings and injustices associated with poverty, crime, immigration, educati...

Patrick Marrin is the director of synodal life at Saint James Catholic Church in Midtown, Kansas City, Missouri. In this episode, he shares insights on how synodality can be lived in our churches today. From the first ecclesial council in Jerusalem, as the neophyte church was formed, to others that led up to the Second Vatican Council sixty years ago, the universal Catholic community continues to unfold according to Christ’s missio...

John O’Connor IV joins Father Don Farnan to talk about how a large Catholic family impacted him in many ways, including the ways of faith. One of the oldest of nearly fifty cousins, he bridged generations and, while most of his extended family is very connected to the church now, his questioning mind dares religions to be more like Jesus and less tied to systems and structures that sought to honor, and often diverted from, His mess...

Sam Miloscia has been ordained for nine years and has served numerous parishes in the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. Growing up in a large family steeped in Catholic tradition, he is deeply rooted in structures of faith. His experiences in seminary and parish life, as well as other ventures, have expanded his ability to empathize with people who seek greater understanding through God and religion. His engagement with children...

Maggie Viles and Jennifer Harris became friends while mothering children within the Saint Thomas More Parish Community at church, school, and youth group activities. Now their children are in their twenties. This conversation with Father Don contemplates the faith that we received and the faith that we pass along, especially as it relates to young people today. They offer great hope and good ideas for reaching out to, respecting, e...

Vince Hodes and his son, Vinnie, join Father Don to converse about the faith they received and the faith they want to transmit. After Saint Ann Elementary and Rockhurst High, Vinnie attended Mizzou, where he discovered that his religious instinct and spiritual perspective got integrated into other activities within his college experience. Now that he is a graduate, Vinnie takes advantage of opportunities to strengthen his faith in ...

Because of listeners’ interest, Mark shares more information about therapy and counseling for common people in today’s world. He offers insights into what those who choose counseling can expect. Not wanting clients to waste their time, he offers paths for us to search for and find a well-suited counselor quickly. He also offers some good ideas and exercises to deal with common anxieties and other negative impulses. There is somethi...

Mark McGonigle and Father Don continue their conversation about psychology and spirituality from two weeks ago on the Upon This Rock podcast. They talk about the evolution of counseling in the 21st Century, including EMDR (Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing) as well as the evolution of faith that expands beyond religious teachings to include mystical relationships with God and the spiritual world. Mark’s sense of the...