Upon This Rock
Father Don Farnan and guests explore spirituality and faith in all aspects of life and how they inspire, support, and strengthen your relationship with God and your union with others. Learn more at farnanspiritualitycenter.com. Read Father Don's Blog at fatherdonfarnan.com. #farnanspiritualitycenter
Episodes
50 episodes
#50: An Artist’s Heart: John Bukaty - It’s Never Too Late To Reach Your Higher Calling
American artist John Bukaty grew up in Kansas City, yet he painted his way around the world and made his home in New Orleans. He has also traveled far in his faith life, including difficult challenges, recovery from addiction, strong frie...
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Season 2
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Episode 50
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42:18
#49 - More Family Tales: Recollections & Hopes From The Farnan Siblings
Father Don’s sisters, Joan and Veronica, join him on this podcast to recollect their early days growing up on a farm in western Missouri in a region with few Catholics. The sixth, seventh, and eighth children among eleven siblings were caught i...
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Season 2
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Episode 49
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39:16
#48 - Faith In Politics: Incorporating Religion With Our Human Obligation
The Roling Family hails from the smallest of many small rural German Catholic settlements near Jefferson City, Missouri. Steve grew up there while incorporating religion with our human obligation to work for a better society; from learnin...
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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45:28
#47 - When The Doorbell Rang: How Tragedy Can Bring Triumph To Our World
Jerry Anselmo’s life changed in September of 2008 when his son, Brian, suddenly died. He dedicates his remaining time on earth to advancing things his son did not have the chance to finish. Along with his wife, Mary Ellen, and their daughters, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 47
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48:38
#46 - Hunters: Respecting The Land & God’s Imprint Upon Nature
Jeff Angold and Kevin Connell have been friends since their early school days. Though they had different experiences, family backgrounds, schools, groups of friends, jobs, and activities, they stayed connected at every stage of life. Af...
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Season 2
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Episode 46
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51:43
#45 - Father Gerald Waris: Priesthood Through the Decades
Father Gerald Waris has been a priest for fifty-seven years. Growing up in Saint Joseph, Missouri, before the Second Vatican Council, he was nurtured by a loving family and parents who lived their faith both in praise of God and in outreach to ...
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Season 2
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Episode 45
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25:47
#44 - Fr. Greg Haskamp: A Priest’s Faith Journey
Father Greg Haskamp, pastor of Visitation Parish in Kansas City, reminisces about his upbringing, the priests who influenced him, his education, and his path to priesthood. He continues to grow and learn “on the job” through various assignments...
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Season 2
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Episode 44
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54:13
#43: Holy Matrimony: How The Church Defines Marriage
Father Don reflects on the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and how the church defines marriage, which is different from the way societies describe it as a civil union. Pope Francis makes this distinction when he suggests that church officials can b...
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Season 2
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Episode 43
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19:46
#42: Buddies: Uniting With Others To Extend Faith & Assist Struggling Families
Tom Laughlin grew up in Omaha and was educated by Jesuits; after becoming a doctor, he and his wife moved to Kansas City to work and raise their children. Mike Kopp grew up in KC at Visitation Parish, where his father served as a deacon, and hi...
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37:29
#41: Virtual Church: Connecting With An Online Society
Lane Lucas and Father Don discuss the church’s existence in our time, which is dominated by social media and online interactions. Lane served as a communications and marketing professional for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese before doing the...
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Season 2
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Episode 41
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25:04
#40 - Fundraiser Revisited: Rejoicing The Opportunity To Help The Church’s Social Mission
Father Don and his sister, Barbie, review the September 28 Angel Fund celebration at Southside Bar & Grille with co-sponsor Dominic Welsh. Raising over $150,000 to assist children, families, and people in need, at the “When September Ends” ...
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Season 2
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Episode 40
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20:24
#39 - Welsh Revisited: A Portrait of Family Dynamics & Beliefs
This podcast is a follow-up to Episode #22, in which Mary Ann (Rolf) Welsh and her older son, Eddie, speak about family life. In this follow-up feature, her husband, Danny, and younger son, Stephen, further develop the portrait of family dynami...
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Season 2
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Episode 39
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36:46
#38: Peter Clune: His Blessings & More About The Angel Fund Fundraiser
Peter Clune sits down with Father Don as a follow-up to an earlier podcast with his buddies, Vince Hodes and Donnie Welsh. This time, Peter fills in some blanks about an upcoming celebration and fundraiser, When September Ends, for their group ...
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30:15
#37 - Football & Scripture: Student Mentoring & Bible Study To Help Younger Co-Eds
Malik Ashford is a graduate student at Avila University and two-time captain of the Eagles football team, where he is known as “preacher.” Growing up in Detroit, he gained a good work ethic and learned perseverance from his parents. Moving to t...
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Season 2
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Episode 37
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30:18
#36 - The Angel Fund: Helping Families In Need
Donnie Welsh & Vince Hodes are part of a men’s group that challenges members in ways of faith and acts together to help people in need. Years ago, they established an “angel fund” to support families in difficult situations that are trying ...
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Season 2
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Episode 36
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23:06
#35: Sisters of Saint Joseph: Passing Along The Gift of Faith
Sister Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, has served the Catholic Church in a broad capacity—much of her adult life in Kansas City. She shares stories about how her faith was shaped by her Lutheran mother and Catholic father, as well as educators wh...
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Season 2
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Episode 35
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38:38
#34 – Church Couple: A Life Filled With Adventure and International Intrigue
Denis and Jenny Greene are an unlikely couple to be thought of through a stereotypic church lens. His life has been filled with adventure and international intrigue. Hers was altered when, as a young girl, she fell from a ladder and was caught ...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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39:46
#33 - Literature: Discovering Messaging and Spiritual Levels of God’s Presence
Keith (Bullhead) Allen, a longtime local high school literature professor, facilitates a book discussion group for men at the Farnan Spirituality Center. We read classical novels as well as modern and local authors.Through discussion, w...
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Season 2
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Episode 34
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24:48
#32 - Miracle of Innocence: Helping To Free The Innocent
Darryl Burton was unjustly accused of murder in 1984 and served twenty-four years in prison, suffering torture and solitary confinement before he was exonerated for the crime he didn’t commit. Susie Roling, the long-time staff member of Journey...
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Season 2
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Episode 32
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51:01
#31 - Mystical Experiences: Embracing This Intangible Grace
At a very early age, Marilyn Gibson realized that she had a different sense of faith and reality than most people. As an empath, she possessed a keen sense of others’ feelings and spiritual matters. Both a curse and blessing, she embraces the i...
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Season 2
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Episode 31
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34:36
#30 - Kansas City Irish Fest: Celebrating A Strong Relationship With The Emerald Isle
Pat O’Neill, whose father was co-founder of the Kansas City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the early 1970s, along with his daughter, Keli Wenzel, is the founder of the annual Labor Day Irish Fest at Crown Center.Father and daughter speak...
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Season 2
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Episode 30
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31:59
#29 – St. Francis Xavier Parish: Transitioning From Jesuit To Diocesan Presbyteral Leadership
Since 2014, Ann Sheridan has served as the Director of Work at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church (SFX), located at 52nd and Troost, between the college campuses of Rockhurst and UMKC universities. “Director of Work” is a Jesuit phrase referr...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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26:15
#28 - Mixing Fun With Faith: Teaching Athletes About Life Through Sports
Shawn Summe grew up in South Bend, Indiana, in the happy atmosphere of the Catholic faith, with a good education and Notre Dame football. An athlete deeply rooted in religious history, he played college baseball and was greatly influenced by co...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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38:47
Episode #27 - Shannon Connell Fisher: Yoked In Faith
Shannon Connell Fisher grew up in south Kansas City, where the Catholic faith deeply shaped her family. As a kula yogi instructor, she reminds people of ways in which the physical and spiritual overlap and interconnect as Jesus taught us ...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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36:35
Episode #26 - Mary Mooney Burns & Pasquale Trozollo: Communication & Communion
Pasquale Trozollo and Mary Mooney Burns follow up on the Ignatian Conversation and how it applies to real life. In an Upon This Rock episode two months earlier, Mary explained how the spiritual style of conversation that impacts Rockhurst Unive...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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41:06