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Covenant Community Kids

Covenant Community Kids

By Covenant Community Kids

Siblings Genevieve & Jacquie Jones talk with previous and current members of the Word of God covenant community and it’s auxiliary groups.
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Episode 7: Mark Gallagher

Covenant Community KidsAug 23, 2021

00:00
57:34
Episode 28

Episode 28

Evie and Jacqueline sit down together for a brief check-in. We discuss boundaries, feelings of unnecessary guilt, and how we plan to move forward with the podcast
Oct 08, 202319:18
Episode 27: Jesse Wilson

Episode 27: Jesse Wilson

Jesse grew up the son of a handmaid and a head coordinator in Ann Arbor, contracting a nasty case of Word-of-God-itis in households and clusters and at HVS, Pine Hills Camp, & more. He feels much better now, though, and is hard at work on a vaccine, which is currently being tested by his three kids.
Jun 04, 202301:14:46
Episode 26: Sophia

Episode 26: Sophia

Sophia was born and raised in Dexter, Michigan and was part of the Word of Life Community. She is the last of 6 kids and her parents met whilst in UCO. On this episode Sophia dives into her experience getting involved in a small group called the Healing Team which formed after a Word of Life member got connected with a priest in Wisconsin with “psychic abilities”.
May 28, 202301:08:21
Episode 25: Paul Turner

Episode 25: Paul Turner

Paul Turner is a former member of the Lamb of God covenant community in Baltimore, Maryland. He talks about how he was brought into the community by his parents, the dysfunctional relationships between men and women in the community, the sense of loss when he left in the early 90s, the love of his parents, and his decision to remain in the Catholic Church with the Traditional Latin Mass. Originally from Baltimore, he now lives in Reno, Nevada with his wife Sandy whom he met in Lamb of God. He recently retired from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and is a progressive rock aficionado and avid "wild swimmer.
May 22, 202301:02:27
Episode 24: Emmet Cousino

Episode 24: Emmet Cousino

Emmet was born and raised in Ypsilanti in the Word of God/Christ the King branch of community. The 9th child of 11 in an (obviously) large homeschooling family. Emmet happily drifted from the community and now focuses his time on more fulfilling pursuits.
May 08, 202349:44
Episode 23: Becky Colson

Episode 23: Becky Colson

Becky Colson has been happily married to Brad for 28 years. They have four amazing kids together, none of whom are afraid to be the people who God made them to be. They are ex-members of The People of God in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. They are current members of their local Catholic Church, and are excited to see what their spiritual lives will hold as they explore the “corners” of Catholicism.

Apr 30, 202301:18:00
Episode 22: Tim Rauch

Episode 22: Tim Rauch

Tim Rauch grew up in the Ann Arbor Word of God Community as the youngest of six kids born to Gerry and Marla Rauch. The Rauch family left Community around the time of the schism, with Gerry expressing misgivings about the direction of the group he co-founded. A lifelong non-believer, Tim is now an animation director & producer living in Pasadena, CA with his wife, Sharlene, and their two boys.
Sep 19, 202201:06:34
Episode 21: Hannah W.

Episode 21: Hannah W.

Hannah (Gornik) Wohlfert was born in to the Word of God community in a “baby boom” of the early 1980s. Over the years she was involved in UCO Ann Arbor, Campus Fellowship of the People of Praise at Notre Dame, Koininia (UCO equivalent) and Antioch in London, and made her public commitment to the Word of Life in 2011. She has not been involved in community since 2016, and has learned that a lot of the leaders she grew up respecting were not as holy as she thought…
Aug 31, 202201:07:06
Episode 20: Leah Jones

Episode 20: Leah Jones

The oldest Jones kid! I grew up in the Ann Arbor community and Catholic Church. Right after high school, I moved to Lansing to be a part of a UCO household… which did not end well. I talk about some differences between Lansing and Ann Arbor communities, my experience with household, and how to provide a support network and stability for my kids outside of community and church. I now live with my boyfriend and three boys in Ann Arbor.
Aug 22, 202252:29
Episode 19: Anna Patti

Episode 19: Anna Patti

Anna was born and raised in the Ann Arbor charismatic renewal, and spent her childhood and teenage years within the community milieu. After coming out as transgender, she was put through conversion therapy and deliverance prayer to “fix” her gender identity. In the process of living authentically, she lost most of her friends, family, and connections. She started a new life from scratch, and is now a mental health worker, author of fiction, and spiritual explorer.
Aug 15, 202201:01:21
Episode 18: Isaac Kosel

Episode 18: Isaac Kosel

Isaac Kosel is a husband, father, and nurse. He grew up nondenominational and his relation to covenant community was primarily through Mission Christ and Pine Hills Summer Camp.
Aug 09, 202201:07:15
Episode 17: Speaking in Tongues

Episode 17: Speaking in Tongues

Evie and Jacquie Jones sit down to discuss the practice of speaking in tongues - a "gift of the Holy Spirit" that was such a common practice in Covenant Community it often felt like a requirement.
Jul 26, 202243:48
Episode 16: Jules

Episode 16: Jules

Jules went to the University of Michigan Ann Arbor in 1982 and quickly became a part of University Christian Outreach (UCO). Despite undergoing a targeted conversion therapy designed to suppress her queer sexuality, ultimately she was unwilling to adhere to the homophobic UCO/Word of God Community expectations, resulting in her being unceremoniously kicked out.
Jul 18, 202201:05:36
Episode 15: Jess Blatchley
Jul 11, 202201:15:29
Episode 14: Marie Boland

Episode 14: Marie Boland

Marie is a practicing Catholic living in Seattle. She grew up in Washtenaw County and discovered that community she had heard about all her life was still active. She happily joined in college and was suddenly barred after 4 years of devotion to Word of Life in Ann Arbor for marrying outside of the community.
Jul 04, 202201:01:42
Episode 13: Rachel Montgomery

Episode 13: Rachel Montgomery

Rachel Montgomery comes on the podcast to discuss personal experiences with consent and sex education, and how different educational approaches on these topics effect young children. Rachel is an early childhood educator, artist, mom and partner. She lives with her husband, 2 sons, 2 kitties and 4 chickens. She loves watercolor painting and power tools. She was involved in community all through childhood and young adulthood and today she leans on her close friend/family community and her Catholic faith. She wants to share that it’s possible to learn autonomy and boundaries within relationships without shame and with abundant love.
Jun 27, 202253:28
Episode 12: Simon Mishler

Episode 12: Simon Mishler

Simon (Nic) Mishler was born into the Word of Life Community and remained there until shortly after high school. He is a voice teacher living in South Carolina with his husband and their two huskies. Simon shares that he always felt stuck in community, and yet never felt like he belonged. He hopes that anyone hearing his story will know that they do not have to feel trapped, and they are not alone.
Jun 13, 202249:52
Episode 11: Evie and Jacquie

Episode 11: Evie and Jacquie

And we're back!! Evie (left) and Jacquie (right) kick off the second season by checking in with each other about what doing the podcast has been like, and how our thoughts around covenant community have evolved from speaking with all of you. We're extremely grateful and excited to continue having these conversations and are excited to be back!
Jun 06, 202244:04
Episode 10: Rich Mishler

Episode 10: Rich Mishler

Richard was born in Ypsilanti and raised in the Washtenaw Covenant Community, now called the Word of Life community. He was a third generation community member, and remained a part of the community until high school.
Nov 28, 202101:17:14
Episode 9: Hope Yarrington

Episode 9: Hope Yarrington

Hope Yarrington was born into the Work of Christ Community in Lansing, MI, and left community soon after her gap year in Dublin, Ireland, in 2018. She is currently pursuing a social work degree from Central Michigan University, aspiring to work alongside families and individuals struggling with addiction. She hopes that her story will be encouraging and enlightening to those who have left community, to know that there is hope of healing from hurt it may have caused. Everyone’s story is different, everyone deserves to be understood and seen as an individual, and everyone deserves healing.
Oct 03, 202101:03:45
Episode 8: Ellen Sellstrom

Episode 8: Ellen Sellstrom

Ellen Sellstrom grew up in the Work of Christ in Lansing and was an active member serving in youth ministry as well as women's leadership til her early 30s. She currently lives in Detroit with her husband and two rescue pups and works in corporate leadership. She shares her experience of growing up immersed in community and serving heavily in leadership, and eventually transitioning out of community life. Hers was an experience of reflection, therapy and learning how to live married life outside of the rules she grew up with.
Aug 29, 202101:03:57
Episode 7: Mark Gallagher

Episode 7: Mark Gallagher

Mark grew up in and around Glasgow and is just shy of 42 years old. For around 12 years from adolescence to his early twenties he was involved with youth groups attached to an ecumenical, charismatic covenant community called Community of the Risen Christ that he also eventually became a member of. CRC is part of the Sword of the Spirit global network of covenant communities.

Aug 23, 202157:34
Episode 6: Charlie Foeller

Episode 6: Charlie Foeller

Charlie Foeller is our first guest who did not have direct involvement with a covenant community. He did however grow up in similar circles, and in this episode Charlie shares the perspective of being adjacent to the members of Sword of the Spirit and Word of God. He still considers himself Catholic but does not fall on the side of the church in many “hot topics” of today. He studied history and political science at Wayne State and works primarily in museums. Now living in Detroit, he is excited to be working on upcoming projects with his girlfriend.
Aug 14, 202159:02
Episode 5: Chrissy Desrochers

Episode 5: Chrissy Desrochers

Chrissy was born and raised in the Word of Life community In Ann Arbor, MI as the youngest of seven kids. She currently lives in Ann Arbor with her husband (and two pets).
She shares how learning to navigate life with a mental health disorder has been a process requiring tremendous awareness and continuous reevaluation of what's effective for her. One of the most important lessons she has learned is that what works for others may not work for her, and vice versa. It's a singular experience that's different for everyone and that's ok.
Jul 18, 202101:07:52
Episode 4: Elizabeth Royce

Episode 4: Elizabeth Royce

Elizabeth Royce was born into the Word of God Community(Ann Arbor, MI) in 1973 and attended Franciscan University of Steubenville for English Literature. She is a published author and working on a book about her experience being raised in one of the original Covenant Communities
Jul 11, 202101:11:15
Episode 3: Rina Caldwell

Episode 3: Rina Caldwell

Rina was a homeschooled, Charismatic Catholic and closeted community kid. She shares some of her story in hopes that in it other's would find comfort, courage, comradery and hope. She learned that she was never as alone or ill-fated as she was encouraged to believe. She hopes sharing her story will help others find the connection and support she often needed.
Jul 03, 202101:07:18
Episode 2: Rachel McCorry

Episode 2: Rachel McCorry

Genevieve and Jacquie interview Rachel McCorry, the first female baby born into the Word of God covenant community.
Jun 19, 202101:11:27
Episode 1: Evie and Jacquie Jones

Episode 1: Evie and Jacquie Jones

Siblings Evie and Jacquie Jones kick off the podcast by interviewing each other about growing up in a covenant community.
Jun 19, 202101:39:13