Bridge Building in a Divided World: A Conversation with the Rev. Canon Randy Callender

Join us for a powerful conversation with Rev. Randy Callender, Canon for Mission in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, as he shares his experiences and wisdom on being a "bridge builder" in faith, leadership, and community. Discover what it means to live in the middle, embrace tension, and foster real transformation. If you’re seeking inspiration on how to bridge divides, build authentic community, and live out your faith in action, this conversation is for you.

Timestamps & Topics:

00:00 – Introduction & Welcome

01:10 – Randy’s Background: Growing Up and Early Ministry

03:00 – The “Bridge Builder” Role: Living in the Middle

06:00 – Lessons from St. Philip’s and the Call to Mission

09:00 – What Does a Canon for Mission Do?

11:30 – Mission Beyond Sunday: Focusing on Weekly Impact

14:00 – Building Community: Food Pantries, Justice, and Reconciliation

16:30 – Authenticity in Church: Creating Spaces of Belonging

18:30 – Patience, Hope, and Self-Care in Ministry

20:30 – The Importance of Mentorship and Spiritual Anchors

22:00 – Advice for Aspiring Bridge Builders

24:00 – Final Reflections & Closing

Episcopal Diocese of Maryland: https://episcopalmaryland.org/

Sutton Scholars: https://suttonscholars.org/

The Good News! podcast series is part of the ListeningforClues portfolio. Catch us at https://listeningforclues.com/

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© 2025 Listening for Clues

Hello friends.

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What does it mean to be a true

bridge builder in a divided world?

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The Reverend Cannon Randy Calendar

shares his journey of living in

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the middle of the bridge, embracing

tension, fostering authentic community

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in transforming faith into action.

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Brought to you by the good news team.

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Lynn Shematek and Deacons.

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Jon Shematek and Lauren Welch.

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Jon Shematek: Randy Calendar.

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Welcome to Good News podcast.

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Lauren and I are thrilled

you're joining us today.

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Randy Callender: Thank you.

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I'm so excited to be here.

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as you've heard me say before, you two are

the podcast superstars, and so I'm truly

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honored to be a guest on your podcast,

I've listened to your interviews and the

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way you hold space for honesty, healing,

and laughter, which is such a gift.

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Just thank you for having me here.

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Lauren Welch: We are really happy to

have you, Randy, to begin with, would you

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share with us what is the thread, through

your life and your ordained ministry

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that has led you to where you are now?

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Randy Callender: I will say that

for me, the thread will be that

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on my journeys, I've always lived

in the middle of the bridge.

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And to be clear, I'm talking about

seeing myself as a bridge builder.

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I grew up as a church nerd, was baptized

at the African Episcopal Church of St.

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Thomas, which is the first

Black Episcopal church.

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And so I've seen a lot of, Pain

and struggles in the church.

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when I was growing up in Philadelphia,

I thought the Episcopal denomination

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was a predominantly Black denomination

until I went to my first diocesan event.

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And the words that I actually

said verbatim was, where did all

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these white people come from?

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Always been here.

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when I talk about being a bridge builder,

a lot of people like to say that.

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I hear that all the time.

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You know, I'm a bridge builder.

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What they really mean is that people

like to build their side of the bridge.

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around their values, their

comfort, their community.

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and then they hope that the other

people who might be different look

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differently, speak differently

are building their sides as well.

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but as I would tell people,

nobody wants to walk over.

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Or drive over a bridge that has

a hole or gap in the center.

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That's the thread that brought

me to this ministry and that

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messy, unfinished, middle.

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I learned to stay in that space,

that space where, tension lives,

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where differences rub against

each other, and not run from it.

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that's how I feel.

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That's where God has called me

to stand, to be in that center.

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And again, not as a fixer, but as

someone who listens Over time, I've

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learned, not to listen, to respond

as people are debating but to listen,

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to understand and to see where God

is in the center of that bridge.

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So that's kind of been a thread,

being that bridge builder and finding

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God in those difficult spaces.

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Jon Shematek: Wow.

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that really sounds to me

like a place where courage.

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Is a necessary attribute.

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there you are, and these days

we're so aware of, polarization.

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People talk about it

as it's not going away.

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someone willing to be

in the middle of that.

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Attempting to bridge those

differences is a real act of courage.

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So from a, your Canon for

Mission, that's your title in the

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Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

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and you're, it sounds like you're seeing

that as your role to be a bridge builder

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in chief almost, from a practical

standpoint, what does, how does, what

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does that translate into for, for folk?

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Randy Callender: before stepping into my,

current role as Canon for Mission, I've

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served over a decade as the Rector, at St.

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Philip's in Annapolis, one of

the historical congregations of

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African descent in our diocese.

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it was in that timeframe that

the community taught me what it

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means to love deeply, to lead.

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through struggle and how do we hold

fast in, in times of uncertainty.

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And it was during those 12

years of ministry that I

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started to feel this holy nudge.

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Like I felt this holy unrest from God.

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And that's when I realized I was being

called to work with, other congregations

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to walk alongside congregations and

leaders as they discern what mission

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looks like, in this changing world.

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that's what led me to, This ministry

for mission, helping congregations,

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lay leaders and clergy imagine what

it means to be the hands and feet

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of Jesus in a real, tangible way.

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how do we move from saying that we love

our neighbors to actually showing our

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neighbors how much we truly do love them?

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And so I, I love when people

will approach me and say.

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Well, you are the Canon for Mission.

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So, one, what does that mean?

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And what do you do?

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And I would say, well, what

do you want to know first?

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And they would say, well,

actually, what do you do?

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And I would respond and just say Yes.

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And they're like, what does that mean?

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And I would say everything

we do is mission.

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I feel like I'm tied into

a lot of different areas.

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a breakdown mission for me is talking

about, The heartbeat of God, the call

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to go beyond the walls of the church

and into the streets, neighborhoods,

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and places where hope is still possible.

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mission is not about

bringing God to the people.

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It's about joining God who is already

out there in the community already

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at the work of the margins already.

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Waiting for us to show up

with love, humility and a

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willingness to be transformed.

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I've seen that in our beloved diocese.

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I've witnessed, where a lot of our leaders

have said yes to that holy invitation.

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To go out in a community, to be with

God, to work, to be that bridge builder.

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I've seen it through our food pantries

that feed thousands of people,

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nurturing bodies dignity and connection.

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I've seen it through, Churches linking

through, local organization groups

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like Anne Arundel Connecting Together

through BUILD and PATH, and standing

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boldly for justice and equity.

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I've seen, communities create sanctuaries

for our migrants and refugees, declaring,

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with their actions that everyone is loved.

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and I've seen it through our Truth

and Reconciliation Commission in

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our diocese, we're confronting.

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Hard histories.

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We're telling the truth.

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We're walking, together toward healing.

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it's our role.

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we are called to actually go out into

the communities and join God, where God

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is already waiting and that's how you go

out into the center and start addressing.

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The middle of the bridge with the

Reparations Sutton Scholars program,

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that's what mission looks like.

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it's love that moves, faith that acts

and hope that refuses to stand still.

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that's how it connects everything.

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That's been my Passion for mission.

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that's the calling that I feel.

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living in that middle of the bridge

helps me to carry all that God has

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been asking me personally and all of us

as leaders in the Diocese of Maryland

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and within the Episcopal Church.

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How do we carry the weight of our

stories from both sides and still believe

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in working together in the center?

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it's about, not one person

just speaking, but our churches

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working together, working with our

beloved siblings in the community.

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I love when my grandmother used to say

things like, I need a church where I don't

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have to code switch, but be accepted.

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And I would say yes, that's what we

need in the Episcopal church, a church

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where we can be our authentic selves.

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And as a Black minister growing up in

Black congregations and carrying this.

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Deep legacy of strength

and trauma as well.

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That's where I strive to make sure that

all who are welcome into our churches

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feel that same love, that they don't

have to switch up to be accepted, that

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they can come as their authentic selves.

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And so as Canon for Mission, I get

to do that again, not tell people

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that you love them, but actually

show people how much you love them.

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Jon Shematek: So you're really

reminding us when you as

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individuals and as parishes.

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In case we've forgotten, it's

that we are a missional church.

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We are people on a mission.

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We are called, by God.

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how is that message received

when you take it out there?

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Randy Callender: it's not easy.

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I've been in some of our congregations

where, when I talk about mission,

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sometimes people hear, How do we get

our churches on Sunday to grow and

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have a bunch of people in our pews?

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the question I would always ask is, are

you calling me to help you as Canon for

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Mission to focus on ASA average Sunday

attendance or as Bishop Chilton would

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say, are you wondering to focus on AWI

average weekly impact, when I was at St.

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Philip's, I would focus on average

weekly impact community was gone.

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Would the rest of the community

notice that the building and

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the people there are missing?

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And if you're not focusing on the average

weekly impact by actually going out

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into the community and meeting where

God is, then if your church building

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was to close, and if people weren't

there to show up, then the community

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would never know that the church

was closed or that it was missing.

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But if you are engaged and out

there with God, they would know

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that you're missing if your doors

were locked and you were closed.

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So average weekly impact is the

piece where, I try to get most of our

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congregations and our leaders to focus

on, and sometimes that can be difficult

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because again, we've always lived

in that space where, average Sunday

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attendance is sometimes important and,

we wanna make sure we have a lot of

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people worshiping with us on Sunday.

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But as the church, when we do God's

work, when we do God's mission, it's

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not always about Sunday service.

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It's about where do you

stand with God on Monday?

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Where are you walking with God?

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On Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

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Not just on Sundays.

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So that can be hard for people.

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'cause sometimes people only see

Mission or the church on one day.

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as I go out and I preach, it's

just reminding people what our

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role and our call is to do.

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Lauren Welch: Randy, as you stand in this

middle, when you try to get people to

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see what mission is, which is being in

the world where God is with God's people.

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It takes a lot of patience.

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So what is it that helps you, be patient

with everything that's going on and

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all of the feedback that you may get

and some of which may not be the best?

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Randy Callender: what gives me

patience, is finding, God in the

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midst of chaos, I always find God's

peace in the midst of chaos, I'll

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even align it with the word of hope.

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What gives me patient and hope, I'll

start with my 2-year-old daughter.

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She's the one who gives

me patience and hope.

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my 2-year-old daughter, Sariah, she's

bold, she's funny, asks deep questions.

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even when I'm preaching, she

somehow knows when I'm preaching

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too long, and she reminds me

that while I'm preaching as well.

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Then I have 11-year-old son who gives

me hope and patience with his love

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for the church and finding ownership

in it and knowing that he belongs.

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And so I look at those two and

think about, what it is that

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I'm doing and how I am creating.

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A safe space and a community of love

for those two when they grow up.

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my hope is that they would continue to

be in the Episcopal church where they

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can thrive and do the work that their

dad has been asking people, to live in.

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The other piece that give me patience

is, I love that we have a bishop that

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really focuses on self-care and making

sure that we surround ourselves with,

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spaces and places so that we can continue

to thrive and grow and take care of

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ourselves and that family is important.

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So, as I mentioned about my two

kids, I'm always there as a dad

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to support them and uplift them.

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my wife also is one of

my biggest supporter.

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I would always tell people, sometimes

I can be my own biggest critic, but

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my wife is my biggest supporter.

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And so that gives me patience as well.

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I surround myself with,

A lot of self care.

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I have, a spiritual director.

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a spiritual group that

I meet with colleagues.

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a therapist mentors and coaches

who, make sure they continue

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to guide me and lead me.

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And my ministry.

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But most of all, what gives me hope and

patience that I've learned from one of

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my, late mentors, Canon Ed Robman, he

used to tell me when I was in seminary.

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Randy, if you want to, be successful and

you want to continue to do God's work and

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not be overwhelmed and burnt out quickly.

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You can have your hands in everything,

but do not leave your fingerprints.

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And what he meant by that is that

everything that I do ministry, I can

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be called in multiple places all over.

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But make sure that the ministry

and the work that I'm doing, I'm

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doing for God and God's people.

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Because if it becomes all about me, and,

and I'm the one who have to be the face

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of everything and, and wanna get all the

accolades and tell everybody, look at me.

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Then that's quickly where burnout happens.

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But if you are helping others to learn

how to lead and inspire lay leaders

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as well, then you can teach encourage

and lead people you can step aside and

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let people continue to do, God's work

and continue to live in that ministry.

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Lauren Welch: Wow.

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Ed Ramen was a very good mentor

how has your spirituality

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deepened during this work?

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Randy Callender: my spirituality

has deepened in the part where,

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some days I find myself wondering,

are we really changing when it

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comes to the process of the church?

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Or are we just rearranging the furniture

my spirituality mostly comes from

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reminding myself that sometimes admission

or sometimes in the most, radical

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things that you can do is just stay.

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And what I mean by that is stay rooted.

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Stay honest, stay hopeful.

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many who have received emails from me

have saw at the bottom of my email, you'll

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see a scripture where it talks about

be, still know that I am God, or I say

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peace, be still and know that I am God.

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And those are the words

that, echo in my heart and my

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spirit, and I hear them often.

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And those are the words that carries me.

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Every day.

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And so when I am feeling overwhelmed

or when I feel like, there's too

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much happening, things that are going

on in our country where people seem

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divided, where everyone is seeking and

searching for answers and have all these

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questions and we're not getting enough.

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results and things happening.

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I hear those words, peace be

still and know that I am God.

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And it connects me and brings me back,

to, God in Christ being my anchor

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and leading me and reminded me that

everything that I do is not about me.

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And so, that's what helps me

in my spirituality and also

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finding a lot of time of prayer

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Another space that centers me

and brings me, one with God.

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every Friday.

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That's my Sabbath.

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if nothing is going on, I try to go to the

movie theaters, it's something about going

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into a movie theater and I'm by myself I'm

sitting in the chair and all of a sudden

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the lights dim, the, the movie or the pre

or the, trailers start to come on and,

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And then the surround sound starts to

play and you're in this sacred space.

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For me, it's the sacred space where it

has taken me out of the world and I'm

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no longer thinking about everything

that's happening on the outside.

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I'm focused and present being with

God just in that space, and it

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doesn't matter what's on the screen.

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It could be an Avengers movie, it could

be something scary that's going on.

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I'm just in this new space with God and

everything on the outside of that theater

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is, still going on, but I'm in this space.

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And then as soon as the,

movie is over, the lights come

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on and I walk out the door.

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I reenter into the world again.

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And then I focus on, The task or

whatever it is that I need to focus on.

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that's another place where I feel like

I find God or helps with, guiding my

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spirit of just being in this space, in

the movie theater of just being silent,

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but there's a lot of noise around me.

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when I take Myers-Briggs

test, I'm an extrovert.

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whenever I take the test, I'm a high

extrovert, to the point where my wife

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would tell me many times when I'm home

and I'm bored, she would say, you need to

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be around a bunch of people, don't you?

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And so I'm a person who

can go to a restaurant.

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sit there and watch the game

everybody's talking and it's loud,

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and I feed off of that energy

versus being at home, sitting in the

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basement watching the game by myself.

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I find God, I find energy and

I find my spirit stirring up.

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in the midst of chaos, I find God's peace.

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I'm someone who's not afraid

to be in uncomfortable spaces.

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I tell people that when I'm

leading anti-racism or anti-bias

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trainings, I'm comfortable.

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With being uncomfortable, and

I'm also comfortable with making

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others uncomfortable, if that's

gonna help us push towards justice.

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Jon Shematek: Well, Randy, you

don't really surprise me when

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you say you're an extrovert.

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You might have surprised me about

the movies, but I kind of had that

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sense, you know, and I just, I am,

what I'm really appreciating and

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listening with you today is, there

are so many amazing clues for folks.

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About how to become more

spiritually healthy.

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you're talking about, your spiritual

life, and thinking about all the different

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facets you mentioned ranging from

spiritual director to movie director.

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it's all there there's so much

that feeds the spirit if you

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allow it to, and I commend that.

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and that's just, a wonderful

model for people to consider.

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another thing I'm kind of.

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Wondering, Randy is, I know

Bishop Carrie has, several Canons.

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Many of them have actually been

guests on our podcasts, and they tend

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to go around from parish to parish,

teaching, preaching, talking, meeting.

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I know you do that as well.

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You've, hinted at that.

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What's that experience like for you?

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Randy Callender: I love it.

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I mean, I really enjoy preaching.

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it is truly a passion and a gift for me.

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I enjoy going out into our congregations

and having the opportunity to

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preach and be with so many amazing,

leaders in the Diocese of Maryland.

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when I go out, I get the opportunity

to let our, congregations know that.

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We are here to help them.

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our role is to support all of our

congregations, our schools, our

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clergy, our lay leaders, everyone

to help them in any way they can

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continue to strive in their ministry

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Love each other, love God,

and just do God's work.

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And when I'm there, I also get

the opportunity, as I mentioned

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earlier, to share what it means

to be, the Canon for Mission.

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I normally tell people,

I'm your Canon for Mission.

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I'm not the diocesan office,

Canon, I'm your Canon for

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Mission, where I get to serve and

support all of our congregations.

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And then I will break down some of

the areas of how I get to do that.

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the first one is I help congregations,

connect with their community.

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a lot of times we say

we love our neighbors.

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but we don't know our neighbors

I help congregations, learn

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how to do that by doing,

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Listening sessions with their communities,

figuring out what their community,

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views the church a lot of us sometimes

don't even know what our community

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thinks about our congregations.

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And I help congregations explore that.

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the second way is I help congregations,

get to really know each other.

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Canon Kristen and I get a great

opportunity to work together.

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Doing, anti-bias trainings.

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And then I get to work with, Reverend

Pan, Conrad to do, anti-racism trainings

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or Becoming Beloved Community trainings.

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And so the second piece I would

tell congregations is I help

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you all connect with each other.

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I was at a church one time and, This woman

was sharing how, you know, she's been a

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member of this church for over 20 years,

and was happy to share that, the person

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next to her with someone that, she's been

worshiping with for many years as well.

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And then I just said, that's great.

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And I asked, well, what

does she do for a living?

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I.

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Froze and thought oh.

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I help congregations really

get to know each other.

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Sometimes we sit next to each

other every single Sunday, but we

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don't really get an opportunity

to learn about who the person is.

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through our anti-racism

training, we get to do that work

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through our anti-bias training.

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We get to do that work Having house

meetings within our congregations, we

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get to do that work where we get to ask

each other, what keeps you up at night?

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what brought you here to this church?

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Why are you still here in this space?

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What is it about this community

that you love the most?

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what is it about, this space that

inspires you, that feeds you?

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where do you see God?

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In this church as well

as out in the community?

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you're helping people build a

relationship with each other.

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And then the third part is,

Finding ways of connecting

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with God through creation care.

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If you're looking at environmental

justice, you can look at ways of

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connecting with God Through our

Food pantry ministries, our Maryland

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Episcopal Public Policy Network.

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we can look to connect with God

through other forms of, of ministries,

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of connecting with God, within.

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The parish within the community,

or even if people want to do

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things on a national level.

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So how do we connect with our community?

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How do we connect with each other

and how do we connect with God?

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I break it down when I go

out to congregations and help

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them figure out what mission,

ministry is important to them.

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what do they feel God is calling

them to do, and what gives them

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excitement and joy as they go out.

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and meet God where God is already dwelling

and moving within their community.

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Jon Shematek: That's awesome.

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You know, and I think there's so much

ties into your original, opening, comment

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with us about being a bridge builder.

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and this is, if the divine mystery is

about anything, in my opinion, it's

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about relationships and connections.

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And so that's your life and your

work and all of our life and work.

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I thank you for that.

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Thanks for that image.

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Lauren, I'm gonna turn to you and

say, I think it's time for you

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to ask Randy a final question.

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Lauren Welch: Okay.

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Randy, you have shared so much and as

we leave, this, conversation, what would

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you like to leave our listeners what

advice would you like to leave them with?

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Randy Callender: So from the very

beginning I talk about living

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in the middle of the bridge.

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And yes, that's where I live.

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it's not always glamorous and

sometimes it can feel lonely.

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Often it is heavy.

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And yet in that space I've learned to love

it even when it's hard because I believe

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when we learn to live there not just stand

there for the moment, but live there.

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In the tensions we might discover

the kind of transformation the

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gospel calls us to it's not just

reconciliation for the sake of peace,

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but reconciliation for the sake of truth.

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We start telling each other the truth

not what we hope and want people

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to hear, but the truth out of love.

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to anyone who is, listening to

this podcast with these two amazing

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superstars, and who fills that pull,

who fills that pull, and, and those who

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are tired of division and, and wants

to be a part of something real, I want

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people to know that you're not alone.

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There are organizations.

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And committees doing the work right now

of living into the community of love

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that we strive and are called to live in.

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There are groups like, One America

movement that I get to work with, and

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I've been working with for eight years

of how to eliminate toxic polarization.

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as I said earlier, our Diocesan Truth and

Reconciliation Commission, who's doing

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the work that people can be a part of.

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There's the Reparation Task Force that

people can be a part and do the work.

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people can join food Ministries,

asking other congregations,

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how are you doing this work?

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We wanna do it.

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We want to learn.

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How to support and feed our

fellow siblings in our community.

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We have a ongoing meeting once

a month where our food pantries,

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come together and do this work.

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There's reading camp, for children and

as I had mentioned earlier, there's

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that Maryland Public Policy Network

and that's just the name, a few.

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So if people are wondering

where do I begin?

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How do I get involved?

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How do I actually, move from just

telling people I love them to

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showing people how much I love them.

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They can reach out to me,

you know, they can go to,

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rcallender@episcopalmaryland.org

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and I can help them connect with others

who are already building a community of

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love right in the middle of the bridge.

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And so that's what I believe with people.

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If you want to really be a

bridge builder, I can help.

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connect you with others who are doing this

work so that we can continue to meet God

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where God is already dwelling and moving.

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I'm just grateful, for both of you,

for having me here to share my story.

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There are a lot of, connections and

stories that I could have shared, but I

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know that this podcast is not four hours

long, I know it's just been a gift to

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be a part of the good news, and I just

love being in this space with all of you.

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And I'm just grateful for the ministry

and the work that you two are doing.

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Jon Shematek: Thank you, Randy.

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And you know, we can have you back.

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we would love to have you back.

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And, Canon Randy Callender, thanks

so much for being here today.

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We appreciate your time with us,

your wisdom, and your presence.

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Thank you.

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Lauren Welch: Jon and I also want to

thank those who are watching and listening

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with us today for the gift of your time.

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until next time, peace and blessings

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Lynn Shematek: This episode

of Good News has been brought

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to you by Listening for Clues.

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For more podcasts, check out

our YouTube channel or our

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website listening for clues.com