About Simply Christian LIFE with Bishop Michael Hunn
The Simply Christian LIFE podcast is for the spiritually curious - everyone seeking God or a deeper relationship with God.
It’s about living simply, loving God, and loving our neighbors. It’s about deepening the roots and broadening the reach of our faith.
It’s about spiritual practices like parenting, prayer, nonviolent communication, embracing diversity and permaculture gardening.
Simply Christian LIFE is hosted by Michael Buerkel Hunn, who is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, which includes New Mexico and the far west part of Texas.
Inside Border Detention : Prolonged Detention, Family Separation, and Pressure to Self-Deport
Inside Border Detention: Bishop Michael Hunn & Chaplain Ana Reza on Prolonged Detention, Family Separation, and Pressure to Self-Deport
Bishop Michael Hunn of the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande speaks with Diocesan Border Chaplain Ana Reza about current conditions in two El Paso detention centers visited weekly through Rio Grande Borderland Ministries. Reza describes detainees held for over a year despite having work permits and following legal processes, including a young man awaiting a habeas petition and a woman seeking bond review in the Fifth Circuit, and emphasizes they are not criminals. She recounts family separation and trauma affecting children, plans to attend court for support, and details a faith leader detainee repeatedly processed for deportation—shackled, transported, and returned—apparently to pressure self-deportation while her habeas case continues amid poor medical care and mail barriers. They discuss for-profit detention, a recent protest at Camp East Montana, and third-country removal agreements with about 35 countries with little oversight.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions00:29 Border Ministry Overview00:47 Why Detention Still Matters01:33 Long Detentions and Habeas02:44 Work Permits Yet Detained04:01 Families Separated and Trauma05:23 Pastora Targeted for Deportation06:55 Mail Blocks and Protest Inside08:19 Inside the Pastoral Prayer Circle10:03 Deportation Threat Tactics12:18 Return Processing and Medical Neglect13:26 Third Country Removal Explained14:56 Human Rights Call and Closing
13 Jun 2026
Big Bend :: Circuit Riding PriCircuit-Riding Priessthhood in Faod in Far West Texas West Texas Bend :: Circuit Riding PriCircuit-Riding Priessthhood in Faod in Far West Texas West Texas
Circuit-Riding Priesthood in West Texas: Five Episcopal Communities in the Big Bend Traveling toward Marfa, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn follows Episcopal priest Mike Wallens as he describes serving a wide Big Bend circuit that grew from a part-time call at St. Paul’s in Marfa to weekly ministry across Marfa, Alpine, Fort Stockton, Terlingua, and Lajitas, with long drives between each. He explains adapting worship to local needs, including Roman Catholic devotions and culturally rooted celebrations in Terlingua, community outreach through Otra Vez, and a Saturday congregation at Lajitas where baptisms and a border festival begin with Eucharist in the Rio Grande. Wallens says the rhythm of travel is life-giving, offering time for prayer and renewal, and he outlines how each town’s distinct culture—art and racial history in Marfa, a college and tourist hub in Alpine, ranching and arts in Fort Stockton, and border communities near Big Bend—shapes his priesthood.
00:00 Life Giving Ministry
00:43 Meet The Circuit Priest
01:37 Three Town Sunday Route
04:15 Terlingua Traditions
07:51 Lajitas River Baptisms
08:30 Why This Works
13:08 Marfa Culture And History
17:03 Alpine College Town
19:59 Fort Stockton Community Arts
23:37 Terlingua Guadalupe Revival
27:05 Border Eucharist Fiesta
31:46 Adventure Ministry Wrap Up
6 Jun 2026
Conserving the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas the Big Bend: Water, Wildlife, and Community in Far West Texas
Big Bend Borderlands Ministry: Water Conservation, Rancher Collaboration & Creation Care in Marfa Traveling between Alpine and Marfa, Texas, Bishop Michael Hunn of the Diocese of the Rio Grande rides with the Reverend Mike Wallens, who serves Borderlands Ministry and five Big Bend congregations, as they head to Mexico to meet the mayor of Ojinaga and visit two shelters the ministry has supported for years. They discuss environmental work in the Big Bend focused on drought and grasslands, including collaboration with Sul Ross State University’s Borderlands Research Institute and interim head Billy Tarrant, who convenes water conservation efforts, encourages measuring ranch water levels to assess aquifers, and promotes land practices that slow runoff, reduce flooding, and recharge groundwater to sustain streams and bird migration habitat. Wallens also describes a Creation Care grant-funded tree-planting project in Marfa’s low-income housing, with trees provided and planted with help from an Apache group and maintained by church members and residents.
00:00 Road to Marfa
00:31 Bishop on the Borderlands
01:18 Water and Grasslands
02:28 Ranchers and Aquifers
03:14 Wildlife and Migration
04:13 Restoring Water Flow
05:19 Tree Planting in Marfa
06:25 Closing Reflections
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
17 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
51
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
Contact Simply Christian LIFE with Bishop Michael Hunn
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Simply Christian LIFE with Bishop Michael Hunn?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
