Whether in tuxedo or collar, whether playing the role of smart aleck or slow learner, one thing is certain: Stuff happens. Be prepared. Say your prayers . . . and wear clean underwear.

Houston made the news recently—a story involving local legislation, "gender confusion," and restrooms. Fr Joseph, who ironically often wears a "dress" to the Men's Room, rants about . . . something else?

You might not be a Jedi in the Fast, but you may be speaking Wookiee and not even know it! The struggling faster Fr. Joseph calls in the big lightsabers for help: The Mamas & the Papas, The Boss, John Williams, Mississippi John Hurt, Scarlett O'Hara, and Chewbacca.

With current events around the country following the recent election, this episode might not typify the "lighter side of Orthodoxy"—but we Christians are called to be the light, right?

It is only September, but stores are already displaying their Halloween "goods." What are we to make of this holiday as Orthodox Christians?

Just a few more days until the Nativity feast. With the fast, the shopping, the preparations....how are you doin'? Let us prepare? Yes. But regardless of how prepared we are, let us be thankful.

In this episode Fr. Anthony interviews Bill Marianes, a gifted evangelist and lawyer (don't hold that against him; or at least pray for him because of it). Bill argues that the best way to bring energy and growth to our parishes is to reorganize ourselves around ministries and transform members into disciples, apostles, and ministry leaders. Bill has shared this vision with several dioceses and is currently working with the UOC-USA to implement it through their strategic planning process. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony talks about the phone apps he uses to slay the morning dragon of the desert and redeem the time. After a brief advertisement for an exciting new (bogus) app, he uses Max Weber to explain part of the frustration (and trust issues) on the part of clergy. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Alexander Webster, the Dean of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary and a retired Army Chaplain, shares his thoughts on the challenges of the priesthood and describes how Holy Trinity prepares men for it. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Anthony Perkins and Subdeacon and Evangelist Adam Roberts talk about the Western Rite and whether it is capable of becoming an organic expression of a uniquely American Orthodoxy. You can see the films that we talk about at orthodoxwest.com. Enjoy the show!

This conversation with Bill Black, OCMC Missionary to Kenya, was recorded during the International Orthodox Theological Association conference in Iasi, Romania (9-12 January 2019). Bill gave a talk on this subject at the conference and was gracious enough to take time away from the sessions to talk about it for the podcast. Enjoy the show!

Fr. Theophan (St. Job of Pochaiv parish in Los Alamos, NM) makes a case for treating others the way we would have them treat us, giving evidence that being patient and kind is a good and healthy way to live and spread the the Gospel. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Fr. Anthony reads the third chapter of St. John Chrysostom's On the Priesthood. The translation is by Rev. W. R. W. Stephens, M.A., (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church Volume IX, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D.), lightly edited to take out some of the archaicisms (Fr. Anthony's mispronunciations are a bonus!). Enjoy the show!

Listen as Fr. Anthony talks with Dn. Nicholas Denysenko, the Emil and Elfriede Jochum Professor and Chair at Valparaiso University, about his 2018 book The People's Faith; the liturgy of the faithful in Orthodoxy. Among other things, they discuss why it is important to listen to - and not just teach - the people and what can be learned when we do so (hint: it's more than an opportunity to figure out how to improve our catechesis). Enjoy the show!

Listen to find out which of the many conspiracies is occupying space in Fr. Anthony's fool head. Without it, he argues that the other problems (e.g. injustice, riots, elections, presidential narcissism) would have been handled as normal rather than extra-ordinary problems. We should have seen it coming! From his YouTube Livestream of 1/16/2021.

In this episode, Fr. Anthony interviews Fr. John Whiteford about some of the many joys he has found serving and glorifying God in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Fr. John is the rector of St. Jonah Orthodox Church in the Houston area (saintjonah.org) and he blogs at his parish website and at fatherjohn.blogspot.com. Fr. John has a great love of the Gospel and sharing it with everyone. That joy is contagious. Enjoy the show!

Elissa shares how to use the lives of the Saints to combat children's fears.

Elissa offers some suggestions for teaching children about the purpose of fasting.

Elissa tells the complete story of Noah's Ark to demonstrate how doing so can be used to teach children about why we go to—and participate in the disciplines of—the Holy Orthodox Church.

Elissa shares some of the youth-centric traditions of her home parish with regard to Holy Week and Pascha.

Sometimes, the God we imagine is not at all who He really is. We need to let our children see faith that is alive and real—which reflects the True God who exists apart from our imaginations.

Our culture shies away from death, but every year, as we Orthodox participate in Holy Week and Pascha, we recalibrate our relationship with death. We face death squarely, and we enter into grief and find that Christ conquers death.

Elissa updates the Raising Saints audience on some new projects they might find interesting, and establishes a new plan for the future of Raising Saints.

We tell them that God is Love, but do we go a step further and teach them what it means to actually love other people? Literally, how do we show love? I think we assume that people know that already, but maybe they don't—or maybe we could do better.

Fr. Michael shares about lessons learned from a poem by author Beatrix Potter and why he doesn't have a bucket list.

“What must I do to be saved?” This is a natural question when we reach the stage of our spiritual journey at which we begin to realize that something is wrong, something is wrong between me and God. It is a natural question, but it is the wrong question, at least according to Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra (monastery on Mt. Athos).

We don’t clean ourselves up before we pray—then we would never pray (or we would only pray the prayers of the Pharisees). We come to God in prayer bringing all of our weaknesses with us, even, perhaps glorying in our weaknesses. We glory in our weaknesses because we know that any deliverance we experience, any good that comes from our lives will only be evidence of God’s great love and power to save even the most screwed up, even the chief of sinners. We glory in our weakness because we know that our weakness is only another opportunity for God to reveal His greatness.

After the introductory address of “Our Father in heaven,” the Lord taught His disciples to make three commands.

Someone, apparently a young adult, wrote me recently and asked about prayer. This person was having a hard time discerning the difference between worry and prayer. He or she was wondering if prayer, although salutary to ourselves, really does have an effect on those we pray for. Particularly, this person was worried about and/or praying for his or her parents who seemed to be getting further and further apart. Did God hear his/her prayers for them? Do a child’s prayers really make any difference for the parents?

It seems as though the nearer I draw to God, the farther away I realize I am. The more I realize, the less I understand. People sometimes ask me about certainty: “How can you be certain about your faith in God?” Honestly, I gave up certainty years ago. The only thing I am certain of is my utter dependence on the mercy of God.

As we prepare with God’s help to enter the arena of the Great Fast, let’s not mistake the means for the end. Let’s use the tools the Church gives us wisely. Let’s push ourselves. Let’s deny ourselves that we may know ourselves. Let’s pray with the Publican, the Harlot and the Thief. And let’s together long for the Glorious Resurrection of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ.

"Even if I feel I must oppose in some specific ways someone whose sin, for the sake of Christ, I cannot tolerate; still I must weep, weep as one who also is laden with sin—even if my own particular sins, at least the ones I recognize in myself, are not so socially repugnant."

Indeed, from whence does the strength of God and the knowledge of God come? I think I have always imagined a kind of magic wand that God waved over those He loved so that they would be full of His virtue. Even the Apostle Paul tells us that his own humility came from a messenger of Satan sent to beat him up (2 Cor. 12: 7). If St. Paul had to learn humility through suffering for Christ’s sake, should we expect anything less? No, there is no magic wand. We grow in Christ as we love what He loves, especially in the midst of suffering.

When we celebrate the Cross, we are not so much remembering the Crucifixion of Christ, as much as we are remembering the salvation that Christ’s Crucifixion has brought us and all the ways that we too are crucified with Christ. You see Christ did not suffer so that we would not have to suffer. Rather, Christ suffered on the Cross to be with us in our suffering, to lead us to the Resurrection through our suffering.

Fr. Michael Gillis talks about what we should do about the Great Reset. About once a week Fr. Michael gets a message from one or another of my parishioners with a link to a video that he “has to see.” Many of these videos are of a monk on Mt. Athos (or a monk from some other place reputed for holiness), or it is a video by a conservative religious or political commentator decrying the loss of religious freedom that is or will be brought about by the secular powers that be. The not usually spoken but very strongly felt subtext of these messages is that if we are true Orthodox Christians we should do something to stop it. What that something is, is generally left for us to decide. This is probably why parishioners want to know what a priest thinks after watching the video they sent, a video decrying the Great Reset, and the terrible loss of religious freedom that is taking place and will certainly get worse.

Join Steve and Christian as they discuss art and its capacity to form us. They explore what art is, why it is important, and whether iconography and Van Gogh can be considered artistic on similar terms. In addition to discussing old Nintendo games, Contra, and Turtles in Time, the guys share some works of art that have formed them as humans throughout their lives.

This week, the guys take a look at NBC’s new hit show, This is Us. They discuss how men are portrayed in pop culture, the role of the virtuous person in a family, and the reality that families make us who we are. They close their conversation with their Top 5 Fictional Dads.

This week, Emma and Christina read (and watched) A Light Between Oceans. Join them as they discuss the danger of spiritual delusion, the path toward true love and repentance, and how the film adaptation missed the heart of the novel. They close with their Top 5 Worst Book-To-Film Adaptions.

This week, the guys decided to talk about their first overtly Christian piece of art: Josh Garrels’ album, Love & War & the Sea In Between. They discuss the unique power of poetry and music to speak our hearts, the struggle and necessity of facing our own brokenness, and the tension between what we see and what we hope for. They close with their Top 5 Western Christian Church Hymns.

In the final episode before the summer break, Steve and Christian discuss DC’s hit summer blockbuster Wonder Woman. They discuss the nature of human beings, the power of compassion, and (as always) how secularism has taken hold of our notions of the transcendent. They close with their Top 5 Heroines.

The girls watched Netflix’s Original Series The Crown. They discuss portrayals of marriage, the need for leaders to be held to higher standards, and questions of what it means to be authentically oneself. The end with their Top 5 British-isms.

The girls are back to discuss Kimberley Freeman’s novel, Wildflower Hill. They tackle the book’s portrayal of religious people, how shame ought to lead to repentance, and how judgment can be transformed into love through the lens of suffering. They close with their Top 5 Worst Popular Books.

Emma and Christina take on the Netflix film, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. They discuss the ways humans deal with suffering, how true love demands vulnerability, and how our choices impact the world around us. They close with their Top 5 Sister Friendships.

It’s the 100th episode and to celebrate, the guys and the girls took on the cult classic Firefly! You asked for it, and they listened! And buckle up folks, because it’s a big one! Join them in the first ever four-person episode as they discuss the need for a crew, the impact of cross-pressure, how the show explores what it is to be human, and as they reflect on 100 episodes of PCCH! They close with their Top 5 Pop Culture Coffee Hour moments!

Since we're all trying to be socially responsible and live in a state of self-imposed quarantine, Christian Gonzalez and Steve Christoforou want to offer a little bit of lightheartedness. That's why they will be going LIVE every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 a.m. Pacific with a brand-spanking new episode of Pop Culture Coffee Hour! Join them at www.y2am.org/PopCultureLive and be a part of the conversation!

The girls watched the new adaption of the classic musical West Side Story. They explore how time can change your perspective, the tension between hope and the reality of hurt, and the tragedy of rejecting Love.

Our baptismal garment gives a profound responsibility throughout our lives to live in a way that shines with the divine glory—that radiates the light of Christ to a world so filled with darkness, death, and despair.

What is the point of our lives according to Jesus?

Fr. Philip LeMasters explains the parable of the Wedding Feast which shows us that Christ came to save the entire world through union with him.

Fr. Philip LeMasters preaches on the example of the twelve holy apostles who sacrificed all for the sake of following Jesus.