WHO ARE WE?
I'M MAIRIN SMIT...
1. I hosted my first radio show in Grade 1. I recorded it after school – on a tape player in my bedroom. I sang the theme song, told stories and interviewed my neighbour’s kids. One of those tapes may still exist...
2. I started practicing yoga at 6 years old. I followed along to a PBS show every morning while my parents snuck some extra sleep. And when I stepped into my first teacher training at 26, it felt like home.
3. I’m a Unitarian Universalist. But at first, I thought it was a fake religion. The name sounded weird – like one of those websites where you get ordained to perform your friend's wedding. Turns out it’s a real faith with a 1000+ year history.
4. Theatre was my first love. I ran a theatre company for 7 years that explored the question – why do you believe what you believe, and what would it take for you to give it up? Any surprise I started this podcast? 😉
5. Nature’s a sacred place to me. I grew up camping, hiking and swimming in the Great Lakes. Nothing grounds me and connects me to myself faster.
6. My work’s always been about helping people connect to themselves. So they can go out and do what they’re meant to do in the world. It's taken the form of many jobs – theatre director, yoga teacher, movement coach – and now creating this podcast.
7. I love talking about faith & spirituality. It’s how I got the idea for this podcast – from years of talking with fellow millennials while facilitating a young adult group at First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto. And now, I get to do it all day. 😊
AND THIS IS RON KELLY...
1. In the 90s, he played clubs and bars around Canada & the U.S. He was part of a noisy, weird band called Smallmouth. They managed many memorable performances but were not commercially viable.
2. He met Mairin in theatre school! It was a strange time for everyone and he feels fortunate to have made some enduring friendships (and some theatre). 😉
3. His music’s been featured on TV. In some of the behind-the-scenes featurettes of Orphan Black, as well as some other podcasts.
4. He won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Sound Design. It was in 2018 for his work on the play Situational Anarchy in Toronto, ON.
5. He’s a Dad. To an energetic and hilarious toddler – the kid might be commercially viable. 😊
WHAT DO WE DO?
We make a podcast about millennials & faith.
Each episode, I talk with millennials about faith, hope and what – from God to Google – they put their trust in, in an uncertain world. And they share the everyday spiritual practices they turn to, to keep them grounded through it all.
And Ron makes it all sound good.
If you’ve been asking, how do I…
Navigate life, when I have more questions than answers?
Find my centre, when I’ve given up what I believe?
Stay true to my values, when I’m still figuring out what they are?
Take a step forward, when I’m unsure what comes next?
Join us.
We’re taking on the big, spiritual questions you’ve been asking your whole life, but never had anyone to talk about them with – until now.
This is Keeping Faith.
WHY DO WE DO IT?
Because even though we’re called the most “unreligious” generation in history, we’re still deeply spiritual.
It just looks a little different than how it did in the past.
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80-84% of us believe in a higher power.
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Almost 80% of us report feeling spiritual peace or wellbeing weekly, monthly or several times a year.
And here’s the kicker.
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76-86% of us report feeling wonder about the universe weekly, monthly or yearly – more than any other generation.
We may not be attending shul, church or temple. But there’s no denying we feel a deep connection to something bigger than ourselves.
And that’s what this podcast’s all about.
ONE MORE THING...
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The land we live on is alive with the stories of people and events here before us.
That’s why it’s important to learn its history – if we don’t, we can’t learn from the wisdom of its traditional people or confront its colonial past.
At Keeping Faith, one way we do this is by naming the Indigenous people whose traditional territory both we and our guests live on. We hope this sparks your curiosity to learn more about the heritage of the land you’re on and how you fit in it’s unfolding story.
If you’re looking for a place to start, here are a few of our favourite resources:
Whose Land – Website featuring maps of global Indigenous territory and land treaties.
Native Land – Website with maps of Indigenous territories and language regions.
Unreserved – Episode about Indigenous mapping projects and the issues of land acknowledgement from the acclaimed radio show.
Or even better, get in touch with your local Native Centre or Council to find out more.
Keeping Faith is located on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and the Anishinaabek people in Hamilton, ON.