This episode was borne out of Maddy’s experience working on staff at a church and the sheer amount of people who confessed feeling disconnected and lonely in the post-service crowd. These people knew people at church, but described feeling awkward and uncomfortable, like they were not sure if they belonged or fit in with the crowd. So today, Maddy, Rach, Britt and Bec dig into our own experiences of loneliness, specifically at church, and what helped shift us out of these seasons.

We are interviewing all of our regular contributors for you to get to know them better. Today’s guest is M, who was a GP and cross-cultural worker in the Middle East, but currently living in Argentina with her Latino husband. She is also one of our regular writers at Stories.

We explore M’s lifelong interest in connecting with and finding common ground with the stranger, people whom on the face of it seem quite different to her, and how this has played out in her work history and friendships. We also discuss grief in relation to the cancer diagnoses of two of her brothers and learning to trust a God who is good, strong and kind.

Loving On Your Brothers and Sisters was born from Britt texting this essay to our group chat and us collectively weeping at how beautiful and honest and encouraging it was. Join Maddy, Rach, Britt and Bec as we debrief and process the practicalities of loving our as brothers and sisters in the church.