Jeff Conway, a retired pastor, lives with a developing neuromuscular disorder that is taking away his ability to walk and talk. But even as the disorder has robbed Jeff of many things, it has not taken his joy. In this podcast you‘ll find Jeff and his friend, Susan Alloway, discussing and interviewing others on topics like faith, joy, grief, death, wonder, and truth, and seeing how pain and joy often go hand in hand in this life.
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Jeff's Health, Cherry Pie, and An Impromptu Counseling Session
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23:45
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As Jeff and Susan begin their summer break, they talk about Jeff's most recent health updates and their plans for next season. They also end up in an impromptu counseling session as they discuss imposter syndrome and the difficulties of middle-age adulthood. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan are delighted to get to speak with Josh Rodriguez. Josh is from Indiana, he’s a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University and Princeton Theological Seminary, and he is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Piqua, Ohio. Josh is also from an immigrant family that came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico. Thes…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan give a quick update on Jeff's health. And, since it is Holy Week, they discuss some of the Holy Week and Easter traditions that have been meaningful to them over the years. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to speak with Mike Abrams, who is the Deputy Standards Editor at The New York Times. A journalist himself, Mike’s job is to help make sure all journalism at the Times is held to high standards of Independence, Integrity, Curiosity, Respect, Collaboration, and Excellence. And, in an ever-changing world with ove…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to speak with Kathleen Biggins, the founder and president of C-Change Conversations. Kathleen founded C-Change Conversations as a non-profit that works to build consensus across cultural and political lines on the topic of climate change. She (and other volunteers from C-Change) has spoken to audiences all ove…
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Flying, Falling, Catching: A Walk with Carolyn & Henri
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to interview Carolyn Whitney-Brown about her recent book, "Flying, Falling, Catching." Carolyn was good friends with the late Henri Nouwen, a famed spiritual writer, speaker, priest, and university professor. Her book–framed by the true story of Nouwen being rescued out a hotel window during his first heart at…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan talk through their reactions since their interview with Kim van Essen on the topic of having a transgender spouse in the episode "Unity and/or Diversity: Part 1." They discuss the tools they've used to gain a better understanding of the topic including books, ballet, and medical diagnoses. Enjoy the episode!…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan talk through Jeff's latest health challenges while enjoying a few interruptions from their visiting peanut gallery (Jeff's college/Camino friends, Cathy and David Thoma). Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan are privileged to speak with Kim van Essen about her experience having her spouse transition from one gender to another. Admittedly, this topic is not an easy or simple one, but Kim is lovely and was gracious enough to answer their questions about faith and surgeries and family and living in a threatening world. E…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get together for the first time in a couple months to discuss Jeff's health and just enjoy a good chat. Not surprisingly, they end up having a fun conversation about miracles, books, and God. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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Happy Easter! Today's episode is the last of the season, and in it you'll find a very special confession from Jeff as he continues along his journey of faith. Join Susan in the role of a listening priest and, as always, enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to chat with Bill Haley who is a Spiritual Director and the founder of a spiritual formation ministry called Coracle. They discuss Bill's life (studying and traveling, church-planting and spiritual retreat) as well as where spiritual direction originated, what it is, and what it's supposed to do in the world. …
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan and Scotty get to chat about what brings them hope. Despite the most difficult issues at play in our world today, they believe that hope is not lost and that the future just might be a pleasant surprise. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan continue their discussion from the previous episode on deconstruction. Here they talk about church burn, issues of abuse and harassment, and how the stages of faith are not simply linear.By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to answer some questions about faith and deconstruction. Is deconstruction a bad thing? What is "church" supposed to be, and is there a difference between "going to church" and "going to worship"? Does it matter whether or not believers physically gather together, worship God together, and are the church toget…
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Comfort, Challenge, and Finding God in this World
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29:39
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time again with Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck, the founders of I'll Push You, Inc. and the leaders of wheelchair accessible trips along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This is Jeff's and Susan's last interview about the Camino, and they are excited to share how and where Patrick and Justin have se…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Scotty and Susan get to share their favorite (and least favorite) Christmas songs and why they matter to them. You'll hear some musical renditions by Susan (and one by her kids) and hopefully get some laughs along the way. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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Power, Leadership, & How God Deals With Pain
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time with Mandy Smith. Mandy is the Pastor at St. Lucia Uniting Church in St. Lucia, Australia and she has much to teach us about gentleness, leadership, and absorbing pain. Enjoy the episode! P.S. - Click here to see the piece of art Mandy references: "Groomed For Leadership."…
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Spina Bifida, Athleticism, & The Americans With Disabilities Act
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to speak with Donna Jones. Donna is a native of Guam, she was born with Spina Bifida, and despite being paralyzed from the calves down she is a competitive athlete who enjoys skiing, skydiving, weight lifting, and has hiked the Camino de Santiago in a wheelchair. Enjoy the episode!…
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Co-Hosts, Telescopes, & Superman in the Stars
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In this episode, Jeff and Susan get to welcome their new Co-Host, Scotty Meiser. The three of them discuss headaches, Donald Duck, and technology, and they share the metaphors they are currently using to understand and connect with God. Go to www.adifferentkindofwalk.com/donate to help sustain A Different Kind of Walk through the spring.…
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Pets, Kid’s Books, & Thoughts On Euthanasia
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21:46
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In this episode, Jeff and Susan discuss their pets (Jeff's dog, Lumi, and Susan's cat, Charm), Jeff's most recent fall, and their experiences encountering euthanasia as a topic in media and in real life.By adifferentkindofwalk
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First Confessions & Navigating The Teen Years
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In this episode, Jeff and Susan are joined by 16-year-old Mary Proctor. They chat with Mary about Catholic School, faith, the first year of driving, and how to navigate high school when you deal with high anxiety.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Just a quick note from Jeff about the election coming up. We are so lucky to live in a country where we are free to have a voice, where we have the opportunity to vote for our leaders. This is your chance to participate. It's time to vote!By adifferentkindofwalk
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan are joined by Dr. Alexandria Nickles who is a physical therapist in the neurology department at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. From day to day, Alexandria works with patients experiencing traumatic brain injuries and chronic neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS), whic…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to chat with Nancy and Andy Mako who are friends of Jeff’s from his accessibility Camino walk. But it turns out that the Makos have done the Camino three different times for very different reasons. Now retired in New Hampshire, the Makos spend their time volunteering and mentoring (when they're not snowshoeing…
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Art, Health, Science Fiction, & Endangered Species
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47:37
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time with illustrator/designer Sarah Kaizar and writer/teacher Scotty Meiser. As friends and creatives, Sarah and Scotty are collaborating on artistic projects ranging in topic from nature conservation efforts to science fiction comics. In our talk, they share about these projects as well as losing re…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time with musician, poet, theologian, podcaster, and eco-activist David Benjamin Blower, who lives and works in the UK. David has many albums worth of musical projects ranging in style from ambient to folk to spiritual to alternative rock. And he's done a lot of artistic work around the biblical narra…
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(Technical difficulties have been fixed.) In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time with fellow Camino traveler Ken Proctor. Ken is an architect originally from upstate New York, and when planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11 as his father was flying home from business, Ken began to notice that his childhood anxiety had reached a new and un…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to spend time with Daniel Nayeri, who is a writer, editor, and publisher in the United States. His novel that they discuss is called Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story), which is a telling of his own family having to flee persecution in Iran and becoming refugees when he was a small child. Enjoy the episod…
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In today's episodes, Jeff (and Susan, but mostly Jeff) gets to chat with his college friends - David Thoma, Cathy Thoma, and Jeff Gill - and recap their recent experience together on the Camino de Santiago, with a little college humor along the way. In this episode, there are also references to the following videos: Donna Going Solo and Jeff Snorin…
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Faith, Tragedy, Merton, & Sophfronia Scott
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36:49
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to speak with essay and novel writer Sophfronia Scott. They discuss two of her books, The Seeker And The Monk: Everyday Conversations With Thomas Merton and This Child of Faith (the latter being written with her son, Tain, after he survived the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.) Enjoy the episode.…
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My (Jeff's) third solo act. This is a health update and an answer to "so how was the trip?"By adifferentkindofwalk
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Friendship, Trust, and Reconstructing Faith
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38:47
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan get to speak with Patrick Gray, Co-Founder of I'll Push You, Inc. Patrick is one of the leaders of accessibility trips along the Camino de Santiago in Spain (the trip Jeff just finished). We get to hear about Patrick's upbringing, his friendship with Justin Skeesuck (interviewed previously), and his journey of dec…
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It's Jeff! Here is my first interview on the Camino trail. You'll hear from Jeff H. and Kim K.By adifferentkindofwalk
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You might already know that I'm not the best with technology (Susan says I make things explode just by looking at them), but I have just uploaded this podcast episode on my own. I am leaving in a couple days for the Camino in Spain. While I'm there, I will be posting short, unedited recordings of conversations with people in my group and other trav…
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan discuss what Jeff is looking forward to on the Camino de Santiago, and he gives an update on how his disease is progressing and what challenges he faces as a result. Warning, it's not great news, but Jeff is Jeff so there's still much joy. Enjoy the episode.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Mental Health & What Happens When We Need Help
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41:33
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In today’s episode, Jeff and Susan interview Psychiatrist Dr. Jeff Naser and discuss mental health, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected his work, and both the joys and difficulties of the health industry. Enjoy the episode.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Community Living, Hospitality, and Mental Health
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39:46
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In today’s episode, Jeff and Susan interview Spiritual Director, Shanna Cummings who lived in and ran a 10-bedroom community house in Bensalem, PA for almost 15 years. Enjoy the episode.By adifferentkindofwalk
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In this episode, Jeff and Susan get to introduce you to the lovely Dr. Claire Foster-Gilbert who is the (founding and current) Director of the Westminster Abbey Institute in London. She has published many books on ethics, but very recently published her own letters (Miles To Go Before I Sleep: Letters on Hope, Death, and Learning To Live) that she …
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Mental Health, Self-Harm, and The Value of Relationships
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42:07
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In today’s episode, Jeff and Susan discuss their own personal journeys with mental health, including some distressing incidents they’ve experienced and the tools they used to get through them. Enjoy the episode.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Enjoy the recordings of the A Different Kind of Walk blog. In this post, Jeff expresses his sadness about the current invasion happening in Ukraine and gives some practical suggestions for how we can all help. Join him in prayer.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Enjoy the recordings of the A Different Kind of Walk blog. In this post, Jeff discusses how he's feeling currently about change and how he has met with God in that. Enjoy the episode.By adifferentkindofwalk
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The New Year, Mental Health, and Realizing I’m Not God
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34:43
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In today’s episode, Jeff and Susan wanted to introduce the topics they’ll be working on for the next season, those being mental health, relationships, and friendships. They will be doing several interviews with people who are either personal friends of theirs or who work in mental health professions, or both. This recording contains some of their p…
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For today's episode, Jeff and Susan got to interview Justin Skeesuck, who is an artist and professional graphic designer as well as a co-founder of I’ll Push You which facilitates hikes along the Camino de Santiago in Spain for people with disabilities. Learn more about I'll Push You at www.illpushyou.com…
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It's Christmastime! In this special Advent episode, Jeff and Susan discuss the not-so-cute details surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ in hopes of giving you a more realistic—but also more meaningful—image of the nativity. (The comic book art connected to this episode is by Everett Patterson: www.everettpatterson.com)…
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Enjoy the recordings of the A Different Kind of Walk blog. In this post, Jeff discusses a few of the incredibly difficult phone calls he received throughout his time as a pastor and how doctrine isn't always the most helpful thing when confronting another person's grief.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Betty Fonner (95) on Joy, Grief, and Change
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In this episode, Susan (along with her husband, Gary) interviews 95-year-old Betty Fonner. They discuss her childhood in rural West Virginia, her marriage and grief when her husband died, and how she has reacted to a changing world.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Enjoy the recordings of the A Different Kind of Walk blog. This episode is a prayer that Jeff wrote to get us ready for the 2021 Advent season.By adifferentkindofwalk
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Saints, Mystics, and Theologies on Death (edited)
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38:39
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In today's episode, Jeff and Susan discuss medieval saints, ancient creation myths, and the blessing of being okay with not knowing all the answers. Enjoy the episode!By adifferentkindofwalk
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