Discover Advent in Everyday Moments: LOVE

Discover Advent in Everyday Moments: LOVE

This video includes prayers, discussions and interviews focusing on spirituality, love, and faith. The main speaker introduces Bishop Robert W. Ihloff of the Episcopal Church, who stresses the importance of living the faith and accepting others regardless of their beliefs. Father Jeff Hual explains his meaningful involvement in the Syrian refugee crisis initiated out of love and friendship, which included providing wheelchairs and education materials. The video also features Dr. Dorothy Adamson Holley, a Developmental Psychologist who integrates psychology and spirituality in her work, shares her philosophy that love plus forgiveness equals freedom.

00:18 Opening Prayer

00:40 Introduction to Right Reverend Robert W. Ihloff

01:21 Discussion on the Future of the Church

04:41 Introduction to Father Jeff Hual and His Ministry

05:06 Father Jeff's Involvement in the Syrian Refugee Crisis

10:39 Introduction to Dr. Dorothy Adamson Holley

11:57 Dr. Holley's Philosophy on Love, Forgiveness, and Freedom

12:21 Dr. Holley's Reflections on the George Floyd Incident

13:44 Closing Thoughts

Listening for Clues is pleased to present our new series, "Good News!" featuring weekly conversations with people who are making a difference, large or small. We want everyone to know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how. So, our listeners and viewers can experience the good news and go out and make a difference themselves.

Listening for Clues invites you into conversations that discover clues, rather than solutions to life’s problems. Join the journey with Jon Shematek and Lauren Welch, Episcopal deacons, as we explore whatever lies ahead. Check our website Listening for Clues.

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Episode Transcript

(00:18):
Let us pray.
Dear Jesus, may the light of yourlove always shine in our hearts.
As Christmas draws closer, wemarvel at your great love for us.
Let your love transform every aspect ofour lives and touch everyone we encounter.
Our hearts are open to you, Jesus.

(00:40):
Amen.

Jon (00:46):
,today we have a very special guest, the Right Reverend Robert W.
Ihloff, who is a bishop in the Episcopal
Church.
Bob served 28 years as a parishpriest in three dioceses, followed
by 28 years as a Bishop of Maryland.
He was formerly a member of the Houseof Bishops Theology Committee, President

(01:09):
of Province 3, a trustee of the VirginiaTheological Seminary, and of the
national Board of Episcopal Schools.
He's currently offeringspiritual direction.
. , Bob: I think what we are going to see more and more of is people who take the
gospel seriously as the gospel of love.
are going to hopefully jettisonsome of the ways in which

(01:32):
Christians have been offensive.
And not the least of that isthe ability to welcome people
of different points of view.
We will have people who, forwhatever reason, justifiably
or not, drive us crazy.
But they are part of the householdof God, and they need some respect,

(01:53):
and they need to be listened to.
. The church I believe in for thefuture is a church in which the litmus
test will not be what you believeor how you present the faith in a.
written and or verbal sense,but how you live the faith.
How do you, in your daily life, witnessto a God who is loving and who has

(02:18):
called all of us to be brothers andsisters and into one family that finds
that love undercuts the other thingsthat divide us, so that it's possible
for people who are vastly different tohave a love and respect for each other,
despite their difference I think it'snot God's will that we should be uniform.

(02:39):
It is God's will that we learn tolove one another despite differences

(04:41):
We have a special guest with us today, Father Jeff Hual,
who's the rector of All HallowsChurch in Davidsonville, Maryland.

Lauren (04:50):
So, Jeff, Jon and I were really inspired at the election convention
when you spoke about this ministry.
So now we want you to share how you gotinvolved and what you were doing now,

Jeff (05:06):
you know, that's not a short answer as far as how I got
involved in this because it wassomething that just happened.
you know, in our line of work,we tend to say that the Holy
Spirit caused this to happen.
And that's the best answer that Icould possibly give because, you know,

(05:29):
if we claim love as God's principleattribute, this is a ministry that
grew out of love and friendship.
It started nine years ago with a friendof mine I went to Turkey on a seminary
immersion tour that was sponsored by asmall religious association in Istanbul.

(05:56):
And I became friends with the director ofthis little association, a guy named Hakan
Gulerce and this association was Becauseof the theologian that they follow.
A 20th century scholar named SaidNursi, they were seeking to foster
relationships with Christian communities.

(06:16):
This was something thatNursi felt was very important
this was around the time that thenews of just how bad the Syrian
refugee crisis was starting to finallybubble up onto the Western news.
And so I contacted Hakan and I said,we gotta make this something that

(06:36):
highlights the Syrian refugee crisis.
So we decided the best thing that wecould do would be to make a video as a
faithful Muslim and a faithful Christian,encouraging Muslims and Christians
worldwide to find ways to cooperateto try and alleviate the suffering.
And we always viewed that as beingan ongoing project that, I plan on

(06:58):
traveling back there in the summerand we would do more work together.
So I said, How can we get involved?
How can we help?
He said, Abi, that means brother Abi.
We need wheelchairs.
Apparently a lot of people hadeither lost wheelchairs in getting
out of Syria, or they now neededwheelchairs because of the bombings.

(07:22):
And so All Hallows, I held a fun driveand we raised enough money to buy.
I think a dozen wheelchairs.
And we sent that over and Hakan boughtwheelchairs for people who needed them.
And then I said, okay,what do you need now?
He said, well, we neededucational materials.

(07:42):
So I started a fund drive toraise educational materials.
What Hakan and his wife Rukia andsome other core volunteers have built.
It is a fabulous, multifaceted,long-term aid program that has all of the

(08:03):
hallmarks of how a near Eastern societywould seek to approach the problem.
It is all built.
Relationally.
It is all built on becoming friends,finding out what people need.
This, this is not, you know car drives up.
How many people in your familypop your trunk and we put the

(08:25):
food pantry food in your trunk.
This is, how can we help you?
What do you need?
How can we best approach that?
How can we solve, help you solvethe problems that you need solved?
And I was absolutely amazed.
At what we've been able to do.

Jon (10:39):
today we've got a special guest, Dr.
Dorothy Adamson Holley is joining us.
Dr.
Holley.

Dr. Dot (10:47):
Hey.

Jon (10:48):
Hey.
Good to see you.
Also known as Drum Dr.
Dot, which is very cool.
She's a Developmental Psychologistand Licensed Clinical Social Worker
who integrates psychology andspirituality in clinical practice.
She's the founder and psychotherapistof the Breathe Holistic Counseling

(11:11):
and specializes in working withclients who have not responded
well to traditional treatment.
Dr.
Holley is the creator of Drumetry,an art form that integrates
African drumming and poetry.
She's an author, recording artist,songwriter, vocalist, percussionist.

(11:32):
dancer, harmonicist andhealer through music.
Dr.
Holley is a proud member of theBaltimore based Band, Roses n Rust.
Welcome Dr.
Dot.

Lauren (11:46):
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
A bit of wisdom about?
Hmm.

Dr. Dot (11:54):
That's way, general, anything?
Okay.
I'll give you my taglinefor everything I do.
Love plus forgiveness equals freedom.
That's my tagline.
Love and forgiveness are the twomost powerful forces in the universe.
If you can love and if youcan forgive, that's freedom.
So I mean, I go through,man, we, I'm human.
We go through so much crap in life,and I know we go through anger and

(12:17):
blah, blah, blah, but I always settleinto a place of love and forgiveness.
I did an interview during the pandemicand someone asked me something about, I
don't remember, but I kept saying I wasso mad at God because when George Floyd
was murdered, By that officer I, I sawthe, I saw the video and I saw that and
it was traumatic, no doubt about it.

(12:39):
And I was allowed, maybe I won'teven say a day to rest in that.
And then my mind kept going to, Compassionfor the guy who had his knee in his neck.
Like what?
I'm like, God, okay, you gonnagimme more than a day to be
pissed off about this bull?
You know what I mean?
But it couldn't, I couldnot, it was horrible.

(13:00):
So I'm thinking about his childhood.
I'm thinking about if he's lockedup, like what is he thinking?
Like that he actuallykilled another human being.
Like I'm thinking about hisfamily and like, what would
motivate a person to do that?
And so that compassion came tothe fore and I'm like, God, okay.
Like, It ain't even, even aday, let me like be pissed for.
But it everything, becauselove is all that exists.

(13:22):
Everything else is just fear andthat is, I, it's not that I'm saying
it's intellectually I live this.
I know it in my soul.
So no matter what I go through,no matter what you, it's always
you have to fall always back intothat place of love and forgiveness.
Because I'm deeply and richly loving.
I'm Lord knows I'm forgiven.
Lord knows I'm forgiven.
You know what I mean?

(13:42):
So that's the only words ofwisdom that I will leave.
I have so much, but that is the mostprofound for me in my own life and love.
Plus forgiveness equals freedom.
That's my hashtag, mytagline, blah, blah, blah.
That's it.

Jon (13:54):
And that's the words we all need to hear.