Modern society tells us that we should constantly reinvent ourselves to stay interesting and that we should do whatever it takes to get wherever we want to go. In her book, Here: A Spirituality of Staying in a Culture of Leaving, Lydia Sohn argues for the opposite: stay. Stay and cultivate the immense potential and beauty that currently lies dormant within your circumstances. In this episode, we sit down with Lydia and discuss her book, the necessity of speaking to audiences across faith and spiritual traditions, and how sometimes stability requires a particular type of leaving.
The Progressive Christians Podcast is a ministry of The Loft, a worship community of Westwood United Methodist Church. If you have an idea for the show or want to connect with us, please email us at progressivechristians@theloftla.org.
Lydia Sohn is a mom, writer, and United Methodist Pastor currently serving Walnut United Methodist Church. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Christian Century, among others. One of her very first essays, "What Do 90-Somethings Regret Most," received over 700K views, leading it to be one of the top ten most-read essays on Medium.
As a daughter of immigrants who moved to America in search of the American dream (and achieved it), she saw with her own eyes that all can be burned down to begin afresh at any time. But it wasn't until her adult years, after multiple moves and a life of chasing greener pastures, that she began to realize the power of stability and commitment and our miraculous abilities to transform our circumstances from the inside out. She lives in Claremont, California with her husband and three children.
You can purchase her book through her website, and it is available at all major bookstores.
