Mike Chamberland, Fr. Mario Amore and Mary Wilkerson record an episode of their new Catholic lifestyle podcast, “Certifiably Catholic,” in March. In the podcast, the trio of friends discuss a wide range of cultural topics from the different lenses of a parish minister, Catholic priest and mom.Priest, mom and parish minister find 'Certifiably Catholic' a witness to authentic, real-world faith
FARMINGTON — In their 10 years as friends, Fr. Mario Amore, Mike Chamberland and Mary Wilkerson have casually mulled over Catholic and cultural topics around a table or at gatherings.
Today, they’re still having those conversations around a kitchen table — Chamberland’s — but with a microphone as the centerpiece.
In March, the trio recorded their first episode of “Certifiably Catholic,” a new podcast that discusses Catholic topics in an approachable way.
The description on the podcast hosting site Buzzsprout explains that “each episode, a Catholic priest, a stay-at-home-mom, and a parish minister discuss how we strive for heaven in the midst of this crazy life.” Listening to the podcast feels like spending time with good friends, complete with outbursts of laughter and poignant moments.
Mike Chamberland is coordinator of evangelization at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington.The three met at World Youth Day in Autralia in 2008. Today, Fr. Amore is associate pastor at St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, Chamberland is the coordinator of evangelization at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, and Wilkerson is the mother of five young children and a speaker at conferences and retreats. Wilkerson and Chamberland also work together to conduct retreats with BOLD Ministries.
The idea for the podcast came from Fr. Amore, who once considered pursuing a career in radio or television. Earlier this year, Fr. Amore was the spokesperson for “#LiveYourBestLent,” an effort by the Archdiocese of Detroit and The Michigan Catholic to encourage Catholics to share the Gospel during the season of Lent.
In addition to fostering conversation among fellow Catholics, the podcast gives witness to non-Catholics who are drawn in by the relaxed style of the show.
Fr. Mario Amore is associate pastor of St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills.“The power of social and digital media allows us to reach people from all over,” said Fr. Amore, who until July 1 was associate pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows. “We each come to this from a certain angle, and we hope that’s helpful for anyone who’s active in the Church as well as those who are curious about the faith.”
The podcast has had more than 2,600 “listens” over the course of the first 14 episodes, with listeners on six continents and as far away as Germany, Argentina and Tanzania.
Topics range from popular culture to personal dilemmas. Recent episodes featured discussions about an MTV Movie & TV Awards acceptance speech, different prayer styles for different vocations, and “how to love those hard-to-love people.”
Mary Wilkerson is a retreat and conference speaker and mother of five young children.“We thought it would be fun for listeners to hear each topic through our three different lenses, all from a Catholic viewpoint,” Chamberland said. “What are people talking about? What’s on their minds?”
The trio did not want the podcast to be catechetical, but to be relatable and conversational. To do that, they share personal stories that are sometimes humorous, sometimes painful.
“Especially in the social media world, people tend to try to hide what’s really going on. But if we’re honest, our faith can be messy. We need to be real; our faith is real,” Chamberland said. “In doing this podcast, we want to keep parts of our personal lives private, but we also want to be honest and share what’s really going on for people to want to go there with us.”
Their friendships have been strengthened by the new endeavor, which allows built-in time to get together despite busy schedules. At the same time, the platform helps them sort through their own view of the subjects they discuss as they share and sometimes defend their views.
Fr. Amore noted his parish will always be his highest priority — episodes are recorded on his day off — but he sees “Certifiably Catholic” as an enriching and faith-enhancing hobby.
“I find it keeps me grounded, hearing the two different perspectives from my own,” Fr. Amore said. “Mike and Mary’s way of unleashing the Gospel enriches me and teaches me.”
The group doesn’t know how long they’ll continue the podcast, but for now, they have a backlog of topics to record and no plans to stop.
“We’re allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, and we hope we’re giving people something of value — something authentic,” Wilkerson said. “No matter the topic, we want to make it fun for people to spend 30 minutes with us.”
‘Certifiably Catholic’ podcast
To listen and subscribe to the “Certifiably Catholic” podcast, search on iTunes, Spotify, Facebook or by going to the host site at CertifiablyCatholic.buzzsprout.com.
