Episodes

When trauma strikes, it is like a pane of glass shattering. We can gather the pieces and try to fix it, but our lives do not return to where they were. In this episode of the Faith & Resilience Podcast, Rev. Ellen Corcella welcomes Pastor Kelly Green, a veteran of both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, for a conversation about being wounded, finding healing, and discovering that God can still use what remains. Kelly shares how a football game changed the trajectory of his life and began a cascade...

What do we do when life interrupts us without warning? Midway through this conversation, recorded at the Wild Goose Festival in North Carolina, a tornado warning forced host Ellen Corcella and her guest, Will Rogers, to stop and move to safety. That unexpected pause became a living parable: our lives can be upended at any moment, and resilience often begins with knowing where to turn for shelter. In this episode, Will shares the story of his spiritual transformation and his journey into the Rel...

This episode continues our Thriving in the Wilderness Series by asking what do we learn in the wilderness and how do we carry it forward as we move into a restored life. To do so, we revisit episode #10, originally aired in October 2025, that told the story of the Indiana Fever navigating injuries, loss, and constant change. With a renewed perspective, as the Indiana Fever returns for the 2026 WNBA basketball season, this episode asks us to consider what we are learning during times of wilderne...

Why do we rush past Holy Saturday on our way to Easter morning? In this powerful solo episode, Ellen Corcella invites us to slow down and contemplate the sacred "middle," that Holy day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Companion Episode: This episode is part of the series Resilience: Finding Your Path through the Wilderness —Episode #13: Resilience: Your Path through the Wilderness. In This Episode Part I: The Day Nobody Talks About: Why Holy Saturday is called "holy" if nothing is happen...

Where do we encounter God—in extraordinary mountaintop moments, or in the quiet rhythms of everyday life? In this episode of the Faith & Resilience Podcast, Rev. Ellen Corcella welcomes Pastor Tara Eastman for a thoughtful conversation about resilience rooted in faith, creativity, and community. Tara shares her evolving understanding of theopoetics—a creative engagement with God through poetry, art, contemplation, and community. Drawing on the wisdom of Julian of Norwich, she reflects on the f...

Can faith actually change the way our bodies and minds respond to stress, illness, and trauma? In this episode, Ellen Corcella welcomes Dr. Natalie Hamrick, founder of Healing Journey Ministries, to explore how partnering with God transforms our capacity to cope with life's greatest challenges. Dr. Hamrick shares practical tools for building resilience and discusses the key components of holistic healing that integrate deep faith with psychological expertise. About Our Guest: Dr. Natalie Ha...

Faith & Resilience is a podcast for those seeking to navigate life's complexities with hope, faith, and courage. Each episode offers contemplative exploration of how we can live out our deepest values in an anxious world. About the Host Ellen Corcella is an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the author of Walk with Me: A Journey through the Landscape of Trauma. Through the Faith & Resilience Podcast, Ellen explores the complexity of our lives while illuminatin...

In this episode, Rev. Dr. Lynel Beaty speaks with host Ellen Corcella about navigating grief. Dr. Beaty recounts her deeply personal story of her husband's unexpected death at 60 years old, illuminating the pain, dashed expectations, and upended relationships that follow the loss of a loved one. Dr. Beaty reminds us that such events may shatter our faith, but faith also allows us to reframe our grief and remind us to keep living. Key Lessons from This Episode There will be hard times where we s...

When the safety net tears. When hunger returns to the faces of children. When we're tempted to turn away from our neighbor's suffering—what then? In this episode, Ellen Corcella explores the life and legacy of Dorothy Day, a bohemian writer who became one of the twentieth century's most powerful voices for the poor. Day's journey from Greenwich Village radical to Catholic Worker founder offers profound lessons for anyone seeking to live out their faith in action. Through Day's famous call for ...

In this episode, host Ellen Corcella explores the Fever's extraordinary season of comebacks and draws powerful lessons about resilience that apply to our own seasons of crushed expectations and losses. Key Themes Support, Trust, and Community: Building genuine connection in the face of chaos Belief in the Transcendent: The power of "we all we got, we all we need" Meaning and Purpose: Feeling valued and valuable in community Adaptability and Flexibility: Bending without breaking when circumst...

What if we've been reading the Gospels wrong? In this powerful conversation recorded live at the 2025 Wild Goose Festival, theologian and author Jennifer Bashaw challenges us to flip the script on familiar Gospel stories. Instead of focusing solely on Jesus's death, Bashaw reveals how Jesus consistently positioned himself alongside society's scapegoats—women, the poor, infirm and the outsider. Through this lens, we discover how Jesus exposed the scapegoating mechanisms that create victims in the...

What happens when you wander into an open-air festival seeking spirit and justice and find a whole community committed to using music, art, conversation and community to engage faith-inspired social justice. This episode explores how encounters with poetry, music, people and community can transform our understanding of ourselves, our despair and lead us to the sacred spaces where healing happens. Join Faith & Resilience host Ellen Corcella as she shares her serendipitous encounter with Rev. Tar...

In this powerful episode, Ellen Corcella explores the concept of resilience through the extraordinary life of Congressman John Lewis. Drawing from the Latin root resiliere ("to leap back"), she examines how faith can be the foundation for bouncing back from life's most challenging circumstances and achieving our goals. Through Lewis's example of getting back up after every beating, arrest, and setback during the Civil Rights Movement, listeners discover practical ways to build resilience in thei...

The Faith & Resilience Podcast explores the complexity of our lives while illuminating paths towards healing and hope, examining the sacred values that anchor us to who we are and who we can be despite the turbulence, trauma, and anxiety of our contemporary lives. Episode Summary In this inspiring episode, host Ellen Corcella explores the extraordinary life of Mother Frances Cabrini, drawing from the recent film "Cabrini." Despite facing enormous opposition from church and city officials, this ...

Ellen Corcella – Author, speaker, faith leader, and ordained minister with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Ellen’s new book, Walk with Me: A Journey through the Landscape of Trauma, illustrates that when we embrace our own woundedness, we can become sources of healing and hope for ourselves and others. Learn more at www.ellencorcella.com In this episode, Ellen explores how our greatest strength isn't found in external measures of success but in our spiritual foundation, something that...

In this episode, Ellen Corcella, author, speaker and ordained minister, explores the values that anchor us to who we are and who we can be despite the turbulence, trauma and anxiety in our lives. Rev. Corcella lifts up a countercultural faith perspective on generosity in which we are encouraged to be open to sharing, giving and integrating with others and our community. The podcast shares ways in which generosity opens our hearts to ourselves, each other and our communities. 1. Generosity loos...

In this episode, Ellen Corcella, author, speaker and ordained minister, explores the values that anchor us to who we are and who we can be despite the turbulence, trauma and anxiety in our lives. Rev. Corcella lifts up the selection of Robert Francis Prevost, as the successor to Pope Francis. To be known as Pope Leo XIV, the new Pope’s first words to the assembled crowd outside of St. Peter’s Basilica were “Peace be with you.” Pope Leo XIV’s words harken back to Jesus’ words when he greeted his ...

In this episode, Ellen Corcella, author, speaker and ordained minister, introduces the podcast’s goal – explores the values that anchor us to who we are and who we can be despite the turbulence, trauma and anxiety in our lives. Rev. Corcella take a look at the spiritually exhausting demands of secular life, those external factors that have little to do with who we are as children of God. The question is how can we begin to anchor ourselves in times of stress, worry, uncertainty and confusion. Re...

In this pilot episode, Ellen Corcella, author, speaker and ordained minister, introduces the podcast’s goal – to explore and cultivate the values that anchor us to who we are and who we can be despite the turbulence, trauma and anxiety in our lives. Rev. Corcella talks about how we see hope, how hope has motivated individuals throughout history to advocate for justice, fairness, and better treatment of each other even when it seems impossible and how hope motivates us as individuals and communit...

Ellen writes and speaks about the intricate relationships between faith, spirit, trauma, and resilience. Aiming to unearth pathways for deeper faith integration and heightened resilience in times of adversity, she urges us to embody love, mercy, courage and hospitality. Ellen’s forthcoming book, Walk with Me: A Journey through the Landscape of Trauma, illustrates that when we embrace our own woundedness, we can become sources of healing and hope for ourselves and others. Learn more at www.ellenc...