Rector’s Cupboard Podcast

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. John Martens, Director of the Centre for Christian Engagement at St. Mark’s College at UBC, for a reflective conversation about faith, public life, and hope in a fractured world. Drawing on his Mennonite roots, his journey into the Catholic tradition, and years of teaching and scholarship, John reflects on how theology is shaped through lived experience, relationships, and place.

Together, we e...

In this episode, we welcome back journalist and author Katherine Stewart, whose work has become a trusted guide for us as we continue to think about the intersection of politics, religion, and public life. Over the years, we’ve often found ourselves returning to her writing and asking, “What would Katherine say about this?” especially as stories emerge around Christian nationalism and the erosion of democratic norms.

As the pace of...

The Cupboard is pleased to welcome back longtime friend, mentor, and Orthodox theologian David Goa for a reflective conversation about the recent rise in church attendance among young people, particularly within Orthodox Christian communities. We explore what might be happening beneath the surface of this trend—and why it evokes both hope and caution.

David offers historical, theological, and pastoral insight into patterns of conve...

In this annual Christmas episode of Rector’s Cupboard, the cupboard is opened for seasonal tasting, spirited conversation, and a few holy disagreements. Over glasses of wintery mead, the hosts reflect on Christmas songs they love and those they would happily never hear again, exploring how nostalgia, repetition, and theology shape the sounds of the season. What begins lightheartedly soon deepens into a conversation about nativity s...

We recently had a storytelling evening in our garage studio. In this episode, we share a recording from this event featuring writer and lawyer Jonathan Wright, host of the podcast Hello Unknown, which has just released its second season. Jonathan invites us into the hidden layers of the human experience through stories that blend history, imagination, and spiritual reflection.

We heard two (and a half) stories that evening. Coffee,...

In this episode, we’re joined by Tara Boothby, a registered clinical psychologist, working in BC and Alberta for nearly 20 years. She is an Experiential Attachment Focused Therapist and a certified Emotionally Focused Couples, Family, and Individual Therapist and Supervisor. She is also currently doing a second Master's degree at St. Stephen's University, where she is studying themes of theology, social justice, and literature.

We ...

We are very happy to welcome back returning guest and friend of the podcast, Julian Davis Reid. Julian is a gifted writer, musician, speaker, theologian, and pastor and spoke with us about his new album, Vocation, in particular the song Moan: For Hearts of Flesh. Julian’s work is deep and thought provoking. It often walks a line between joy and pain, mixing the two together, demonstrating how one informs the other. His work articul...

For the final instalment of our Alberta mini-series we visit Happiness by the Acre a regenerative farm run by Marcus and Sarah Reidner.

Rector’s Cupboard met Marcus and Sarah three years ago and things were tough then in the farming world. We hear about what has changed since and about what the future might look like.

You might not be a farmer, but you are likely familiar with the count-the-cost type of conversations like that whic...

You have likely noticed that hope is apparently in short supply these days. Talk of politics, rising authoritarianism, and political unrest reveals a present despair felt individually and collectively. Stories of effective hope can change the world.

Land of Dreams is changing the world for many people. Hearing the stories of this place might well inspire hope for you.

Because someone had hope, there is life in a place that was lack...

Rector’s Cupboard in Alberta, Canada.

We set out on a road trip to visit some regenerative farmers we first met three years ago. In this episode, Todd and Allison and Amanda speak about the trip and about a visit to the Pine Haven Hutterite colony.

It is the season of harvest, the autumn. Winter is coming. Looking at the skies and reading the news can bring about the feeling that an apocalypse is imminent. However, in the context o...

Welcome to season 7 of Rector’s Cupboard!

Do you sometimes feel like all we do is talk about America? While many Canadians would see Canada as distinct from the States, we are influenced by our neighbours to the south. In Alberta, the provincial government is supporting the banning of books. Some of the political and religious currents in Canada look very similar to those in the United States.

In the first episode of our new season...

In our final episode of season 6, we are pleased to speak with Angela Reitsma Bick, editor of Christian Courier and co-author of the newly released book Blessed Are the Undone, which explores faith deconstruction in the Canadian context.

Angela joined us while in Vancouver on the national tour for the book, and we talked about why so many people in Canada are stepping away from church—and how we might begin to understand, rather th...

This is our third and final instalment of our series with Orthodox theologian and friend of the Cupboard, David Goa. This series has focused on the topic of fundamentalism, how it is expressed within the church, from several sides. If you haven’t listened to the first two episodes in this series, we’d encourage you to go back and take a listen to them before diving into this conversation.

In today’s episode, Todd and David speak of...

This is the second of three conversations we had with friend of the Cupboard, David Goa, on the topic of fundamentalism. If you haven’t listened to part one, we’d encourage you to do so before diving into this conversation.

In this conversation, Todd and David consider the question, If not fundamentalism, than what? David observes that our capacity for conversation, particularly with those with whom we have profound disagreement, h...

You have likely heard, and perhaps said, that we live in a world that is very polarized. Too often, communities of faith have contributed to this polarization rather than offered help or healing to a divided world.

David Goa has been, and continues to be, a formational voice for Rector’s Cupboard and for the work of Reflector Project.

David has been running Philosopher Cafés in his home province of Alberta, Canada around the topic ...

Those in Christian circles have likely spent many a Sunday morning sitting in a pew (or, perhaps, a more comfortable seat) listening to someone preach. While the length of sermon or its place in a service may vary from denomination to denomination, or pastor to pastor, the act of hearing the Word of God preached regularly is part of the Christian tradition.

We were please to speak to Mark Glanville about this topic. Mark is a pro a...

Today is Good Friday. In Christian faith, today and Easter Sunday are two of the most important days of observation.

We often, on Rector’s Cupboard, refer to what is happening in the world, the news, politics, culture.

In Christian faith, Good Friday is always more than news of the week. It is at the heart of the faith. With that in mind, we offer a Good Friday reflection.

The reflection is intended as an invitation to spiritual co...

A special episode. Recorded live at the Rector’s Cupboard studio. John Swinton is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen. Before becoming a mental health professional and then a writer (of at least four books) on faith and mental health, John wanted to be a rock star. He brought together his interests in recording an album called Beautiful Songs about Difficult Things.

We speak with John in studio, hear him...

It might be that being a full-time pastor is now untenable. It is a job that pulls in so many directions that it becomes virtually impossible. One of the things that can help is accepting that for pastors, spiritual energy often comes from outside of the church in which they work.

We speak with Matthew Brough, a Presbyterian pastor in Winnipeg, who is also an author and podcaster. Matthew has written books on spirituality (Let God ...