Virtual Walk Talk Listen with Pastor Wes Neal (episode 13)

Wes Neal is a pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina. Before Wes and his family came to North Carolina, he taught for three years at Davuilevu Theological College in Fiji.  He was raised in Virginia and the Philippines, and, after graduating with a BA in History and Asian Studies from the University of Michigan, has lived in both Indonesia and India. Wes his exposure to different cultures in the world, definitely make his stories very compelling and interesting. He is a real humanitarian champion, being involved in the CROP Hunger Walks as well as refugee resettlement activities. When Wes is asked by Maurice about his thoughts on the younger generation, Wes uses the words invite, relate, welcome and connect regularly and explains how he is able to engage the younger generation in a range of activities. Please like this podcast and follow Maurice Bloem on twitter: @mauricebloem. 

Virtual Walk Talk Listen with Rev. Patricia de Jong (episode 12)

Rev. Patricia de Jong is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, has served as Senior Minister at the First Congregational Church of Berkeley and the Urbandale United Church of Christ in Des Moines, Iowa. She also served as the Minister of Education for Christian Discipleship at The Riverside Church in New York City. Patricia’s roots in social justice began as a campus minister, serving on university campuses in Michigan, Oregon and California and social justice is still central to everything she stand for and what she does. She considers Jesus as a model and pointer for her to stay on course, in the need and search for justice. We also discussed about the role of the church especially for the younger generation. She works closely with emerging leaders and claims that as long as the church continues to be a living organism which embraces a wider world, the younger generation will continue to feel welcome and at ease. We should not over institutionalize faith, hope and love. We talked about her worries and hope, from Black Lives Matter and white supremacy until CWS and considering herself to be a global citizen. Pat is the is Chair of the Board of Directors of CWS. You can follow Maurice on twitter via @mauricebloem

Virtual Walk Talk Listen with Monique McCullough (episode 11)

Monique McCullough, an advisor of the CWS Incubation Lab explains how creating something beautiful has always been the driving force for her, however, the definition of beauty has changed over time. She searched for herself and the mark she wants to leave in life initially within the fashion industry, and shares the importance of a statement of her mom in changing the direction of her career. Also there might be less people going to church, but lots of (young) people still want to be part of a community and consider themselves religious or spiritual. "I talk to God every day". Further, she tells us to never give up and keep going: "You and the things that you do matter!" You can find all episodes of this podcast on www.100mile.org. You can follow Maurice via twitter at @mauricebloem.