It Is Wonderful That You Exist: A Conversation with Dr. Jenny Martin

What Matters Most

Season Three, Episode Three is a banger! Do the kids still say that? Dr. Jennifer Newsome Martin, the director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, and the John J. Cavanaugh Associate Professor of the Program of Liberal Studies and Associate Professor, Department of Theology, brings incredible joy to theology and that joy is infectious.

She will make you fall in love with ideas, of the true, the good, and the beautiful. Listen to her talk about theology, soil, seeds, gardening, John Henry Newman, Josef Pieper, and why it is wonderful that you exist.

You can find the full range of her publications at her website, linked above, but here are a few pieces that might interest you:

On liberal education;

On Jenny's conversion to Catholicism.

Some news on upcoming podcast episodes:

In the coming weeks we will be hearing from Dr. Daisy Vargas of the University of Arizona, speaking on Latinx theology and "crimmigration," Dr. Adele Reinhartz of University of Ottawa, Dr. Bill Cavanaugh of De Paul University, Dr. Gerald Schlabach, and many more excellent scholars and thinkers.

The first episode of Pop Culture Matters is out. I hope you have listened to it. Martin and I are ready for more and we are definitely thinking about a movie: the Matrix? The Big Lebowski? Philomena? The Meaning of Life? Let us know what you want to discuss. Follow us at our social media pages, linked below, and drop us a line as to what you want to see or hear. We’ll post on our socials with a question as to what you are most interested in seeing. When we decide what’s next, we’ll let you know and then we can all make sure to watch it or listen to it or read it before the next episode of Pop Culture Matters. Or email us with your suggestions to [e-mail] or [e-mail].

Upcoming Events:

On October 29, we will have a webinar on the American election featuring Steve Millies and his new book, A Consistent Ethic of Life: Navigating Catholic Engagement with U.S. Politics. We will also have a Canadian respondent Dr. Jane Barter, professor of religion and culture at the U of Winnipeg. She teaches and does research on Christianity, Religion and Gender, and Religion and Political Theory. You can register for the webinar now at Eventbrite.

On December 5, we will have Matt Hoven presenting in-person on his new book on Fr. David Bauer, Hockey Priest. Matt will be interviewed by Clay Imoo, Canuck Clay!

Finally, the CCE is presenting a conference in 2025, The Promise of Christian Education: Past, Present and Future, MAY 1-3, 2025, at ST. MARK'S COLLEGE, VANCOUVER, CANADA. Please consider sending in a proposal for a paper. If you are a graduate student and we accept your proposal to present a paper, we will cover your conference registration fees and the cost of the conference banquet. You do not have to present a paper to come. You can purchase a conference pass and simply attend all of the sessions. Consider joining us in Vancouver in 2025. You should also know that the plenary or keynote addresses are free and open to the public.

Three Confirmed Plenary Speakers:

Dr. Margaret MacDonald, St. Mary's University, Halifax

Dr. Samuel Rocha, University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Reverend Dr. Stan Chu Ilo, De Paul University, Chicago

If you are interested in presenting a paper at the conference please go to the link above. The deadline for proposals is fast approaching, October 1, 2024. All the information for how to propose a paper is on the website linked above.

The CCE website is now up and running. I am so excited that we now have one stop for all of our events, the podcast, our YouTube videos, and everything else, including upcoming events. Check it out!

What Matters Most is produced by the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC. The CCE is a centre at St. Mark’s College that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, members of other religious traditions, and from those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation.

Thanks to Martin Strong, Kevin Eng, and Fang Fang Chandra for all of their help and support in crafting this and all the other episodes. I also want to thank our donors to the Centre, whose generosity enables this work to take place at all: Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs. In addition, the Cullen Family, Mark and Barbara, continue to support the work and outreach of the CCE, particularly in our lecture series and support of our conferences, and now in their donation of money for the purchase of new podcast equipment.

Since St. Mark’s Centre for Christian Engagement seeks to enable the creation of a culture of encounter and dialogue, let me invite you into that discussion. Send me questions, send me ideas for guests, send me comments. Please follow me on Twitter, Threads, or BlueSky @biblejunkies, or on Facebook, at Biblejunkies, or on Instagram @stmarkscce. Or email me or Ms. Fang Fang Chandra at [e-mail]. Let us know what you think.

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. It really does help people find these inspiring conversations!

John W. Martens

Director, Centre for Christian Engagement, St. Mark's College at UBC