To Us

The Next Step Podcast
Season 3: Light in the Darkness
Episode 1: To Us
Date: 28 November 2020
Guests: Singer/songwriter Brooke Orozco
& Visual Faith™ Ministry Artist Katie Helmreich

Also available on: iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and Amazon Music.

In this episode of the Next Step Podcast, singer/songwriter Brooke Orozco and Visual Faith™ Ministry Artist Katie Helmreich join author Justin Rossow to talk about the text, the music, and the art in Chapter 1: To Us from the resource Light in the Darkness: A Hymn Journal for Advent & Christmas.

After a brief introduction, Justin will pray and Katie and Brooke will read the Isaiah 9 passage on page 5 of the book. After discussing those verses, Justin will read the devotion on page 6, and we’ll hear the first two verses of the song “To Us” performed by Brooke Orozco and Brendan Knorp.

Brooke will then talk a little bit about the song and the process that moved from the biblical text to the song lyrics. We’ll listen to the rest of the song before talking to Katie Helmreich about her illustrations on page 9 and the process that led her from the biblical text to the art on page 3.

Along the way, the guests talk about the Jesse Tree project from Visual Faith™ Ministry. You can download that resource here or watch an interview with Katie Helmreich and Valerie Matyas, two of our Ponder Anew illustrators who created the Jesse Tree project.

This podcast also mentions the book Delight! Discipleship as the Adventure of Loving and Being Loved. The song “To Us” is part of the album A Light in the Darkness available on your favorite streaming services as well as on YouTube.

Before the podcast ends, you will hear our guest consider what next step Jesus is inviting them to take as they walk toward the Nativity of Our Lord.

This podcast is designed especially to go with the Light in the Darkness Facebook learning community sponsored by Next Step Press. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventHymnJournal.

Getting ready for Christmas and the New Year is a great time for you to make a commitment to the mission of resourcing next step discipleship. Please consider becoming a Next Step Patron today. To see different options for support, visit https://www.patreon.com/findmynextstep. Patrons make it possible.


The intro and outro music for Season 3: Light in the Darkness was arranged and performed by Brendan Knorp. The music included in the podcast was written by Brooke Orozco and performed by Brooke and Brendan. All rights reserved.


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