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March 26, 2020Faithful discipleship is now part of a new archdiocesan podcast entitled "Red Dirt Catholics."
Starting this Lent, three young Catholic friends – Chris Beck, James Riter and Jayce Palmer got together to start a podcast for Catholics in Oklahoma. They have covered a range of topics aimed at sharing their faith journey experiences.
Beck is director of evangelization for Saint Mary Catholic Church in Ponca City, Palmer is the coordinator of young adult and campus evangelization and discipleship for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, and Riter is a real estate broker.
Palmer said the outreach stems from Archbishop's Coakley's 2019 pastoral letter, "Go Make Disciples! Building a Culture of Conversion and Discipleship for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City."
The letter also inspired the name of the podcast. The archbishop, Palmer said, discussed the red dirt of Oklahoma as well as the dirty work of discipleship. The message led to the first Lenten program of the podcasts, "Good Soil, Bad Soil."
The audio presentations of the three close friends last about an hour. Each one share stories of their faith and some of the challenges faced along the way. On one recent episode, Chris talked about a fire he experienced at his home while he was at Sunday Mass.
"We figured a lot of young people, who may not be inclined to read a book, might be willing to listen to a podcast," Palmer said.
During the episode on soil, they reflected on times in their lives when dealt with thorny soil. Operating with thorny soil led them to failing and sin. But, proper seed and water from God and his word can help them live a lives of joy and discipleship.
They’ve already received positive feedback.
"We have six or seven priests who tell us they listen regularly,” Jayce pointed out. One is quarantined a half a world away in Italy.
Usually, the three friends will get together and tape an episode or two with the help of their producer Avery Holt, who serves as the digital media coordinator for the archdiocese.
An upcoming podcast will address the coronavirus and, specifically, a recent column by Archbishop Coakley, entitled "A mortal contagion."
"Like Archbishop Coakley said, there is no cure for the virus but there is a cure for sin," Palmer said. “It’s Christ.”
Especially now with the postponement of public Masses, the group urged all to listen to the podcast and help deepen their faith. While the show's target audience is a younger demographic, they said any Catholic can learn and relate.
This outreach won't stop with the conclusion of Lent.
"We will continue after that with our stories of discipleship," Palmer said.
Steve Gust is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Red Dirt Catholics is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher as well as at the links below:
Google Podcasts
https://bit.ly/32JJZUY
Pocket Cast
https://pca.st/vaprwnk0
Website
archokc.org/reddirtcatholics
Above: Chris Beck, James Riter and Jayce Palmer created a new archdiocesan podcast entitled “Red Dirt Catholics.”
Top: Chris Beck in the studio at the Catholic Pastoral Center in Oklahoma City. Photos Avery Holt/Sooner Catholic.
