Meet Father Rivers

Eric and Emily reconvene the podcast after a break and share some life updates: for Eric, joining the Society of St. Joseph and beginning life as a seminarian; for Emily, campus ministry, liturgical music and teaching at Ohio Dominican University. They welcome Deacon Royce Winters of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati (and personal friend of Father Rivers) to discuss some great news: the approval of a historical marker all about Father Rivers, to be installed at St. Joseph Parish in Cincinnati. Eric, Emily and Deacon Royce discuss the process for the marker (especially determining its text) and ultimately the enduring historical significance of their friend, His Grace, Fr. Clarence Rivers. Listeners are encouraged to donate to help offset the significant cost of the historical marker (see below). For Episode 41 Show Notes, click here.

Liturgeeks, unite! Eric and Emily are joined by Nick Wagner and Diana Macalintal, new friends from the November 2024 Symposium at University of Dayton, to geek out about good liturgy. The heart of the conversation dwells on Rivers' concept of effective worship and how liturgists in various cultural contexts can—and must—encourage communities to achieve worship that is both beautiful and that forms disciples bent on justice. Lots of smart talk in this episode about liturgy, liturgical anthropology, inculturation, liturgical flow, the rites of the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults)... and of course Father Rivers. For Episode 40 Show Notes, click here.

Eric and Emily interview author and speaker Daryl Grigsby, who with Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns, presented at last November's Seeking for a City Symposium at the University of Dayton. Daryl's new book, Catholics for the Common Good: An Eternal Offering, highlights the lives of thirty-six Catholics whose lives exemplify the line of Eucharistic Prayer III that asks God to "make of us an eternal offering to you." Eric, Emily and Daryl discuss his presentation at the Symposium (including the insights of Fr. Rivers) and his new book, which employs a very liturgical lens in examining the nature and character of great holiness. For Episode 39 Show Notes, click here.

Emily and Eric interview Bianca C. Farmer, an archivist-in-training at the Catholic University of America. As part of her coursework for her Master's in Library and Information Science, Bianca completed a 50-hour practicum in CUA's Special Collections, and she spent these hours with Father Rivers! She was responsible for the intake, organization and documentation of a new donated collection focused on Father Rivers. Emily and Eric find out what's in this new collection and who donated it; they also learn what a "finding aid" is and how it helps researchers access material history. Finally, Bianca tells us all how to access this new collection at CUA. For Episode 38 Show Notes, click here.

Enjoy a unique and innovative Christmas Eve service created by Fr. Rivers--and Emily and Eric's commentary on the historic recording--in this replay episode of Meet Father Rivers. Merry Christmas! (No show notes.)

It's a live episode of Meet Father Rivers! Eric and Emily have spent the last year or more helping Deacon Royce Winters (Office of African American Pastoral Ministries, Archdiocese of Cincinnati) organize an academic symposium on Black liturgy and culture to mark the 40th Anniversary of the Black Bishops' pastoral letter "What We Have Seen and Heard" and the 20th anniversary of Fr. Rivers' death. The symposium took place Nov. 22-24, 2024 at the University of Dayton. This live episode of MFR engages the attendees and speakers of the symposium, entitled "Seeking for a City," to sum up what we saw and heard during the 2-day event, and how we will move back into our lives of ministry and faith to implement the wisdom shared during this extraordinary event.

Emily and Eric introduce you to some new friends and collaborators: Dr. Darnell Allen St. Romain and Dr. Darrell Anthony St. Romain, twin brothers, recent doctoral degree recipients and Catholic church musicians who will together present a breakout presentation at "Seeking for a City," the upcoming November Symposium at the University of Dayton on Black liturgy and culture. Their breakout will be titled "Soulful, Black and Catholic" and focuses on Black Catholic composers since 1964 and the ways in which they've enriched the Church. As is their way, Eric and Emily and their guests get into deep stuff about liturgy, ministry, race, history, the future of Black Catholic Church music, what it means to be a Church musician in the Black Catholic tradition and of course, Fr. Rivers. For Episode 35 Show Notes, click here.

In this first episode of Season 3 of Meet Father Rivers, Emily and Eric discuss a recent scholarly publication about Father Rivers, an upcoming Symposium on Black Catholic liturgy and culture, and a new e-newsletter for friends of the podcast and anyone interested in Father Rivers Studies. For Episode 34 Show Notes, click here.

In this episode, we discuss the second of Michael DeFrancesco's interviews with Fr. Rivers in the last few years of Rivers' life, recently posted to YouTube. Emily and Eric are joined by Fr. Tom DiFolco, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and fellow friend of Fr. Rivers. The three point out interesting features of the second DeFrancesco interview, especially his comments on the role of priest as a cultic function, discussing Rivers' insights and their broad-ranging implications for worship and the role of priests today. As a bonus, find out what the "DiFolco Death Stare" is in this engaging conversation on worship, inspired—as usual—by Fr. Rivers. For Episode 33 Show Notes, click here.