Sorta Sacred
Honest, human, lightly irreverent, grounded in something deeper. This podcast explores stories, reflections, and conversations about life intersecting with faith.
Hosted by Mark Niethammer and Jessica Taylor. Mark is the senior pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport, Iowa. He is a wine enthusiast, enjoys all things outdoorsy, and is optimistically pessimistic by nature. Mark has been in ordained ministry for more than 15 years.
Meanwhile, Jessica is the director of communication at St. Paul. She is a whine enthusiast, enjoys all things indoorsy, and is pessimistically optimistic by nurture.
St. Paul Lutheran Church is a 3,500-member ELCA church located in the Quad Cities.
Sorta Sacred
Holidays through the years
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Remember when Christmas morning felt like pure magic? When the hardest decision was which cookie to leave for Santa? The holidays look different at every stage of life—and that's exactly what we're exploring in this holiday-themed episode.
Jess and Mark sit down with James Weiss, who takes us on a journey through decades of holiday celebrations.
This isn't just nostalgia (though there's plenty of that). It's an honest look at how holidays transform as we move from wide-eyed participant to exhausted orchestrator to reflective observer. Whether you're in the thick of creating magic for little ones, navigating the first year your kids celebrate elsewhere, or anywhere in between, this conversation will meet you where you are.
Special thanks to:
Music by Clavier Clavier from Pixabay
Thanks to the incredible production team of Sorta Sacred:
Music: Brian Schou
Tech support: Miles Thompson
Design: Lauren Brown
Merch: Allison Winter