Tapestry from CBC Radio

Tapestry brings you something unusual. The show plays excerpts from a live performance by Canadian actor Kenneth Welsh. He read the full Book of Mark from start to finish without taking a break at Beaches Presbyterian Church in Toronto.

This week Tapestry asks how important is it for worship to be 'fun'. We meet Reverend Dorian Baxter, who also goes by the stage name "Elvis Priestly". We also hear from ordained minister, Jeffrey MacDonald. And we travel to Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, where the cowboy church is in full swing.

Tapestry, host Mary Hynes explores a strange subject for broadcasting.... Silence. It may seem a bad idea to base a radio show on absolute quiet, but not everyone defines silence as the complete absence of sound. Guests: Gordon Hempton, James Kugel, and Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Susan Cain is a lawyer, a writer and an introvert. On this episode of Tapestry, she and Mary explore what happens when entire societies decree that being loud, confident, and outgoing is the only recipe for success. And, the story of a man who is bringing the world of devotion to a bar near you. Landon Coleman is another Canadian singer-songwriter in a jean jacket who is toting his guitar from club-to-club across the country. What his audience doesn’t know is that he’s also trying to include the ph...

Laughing and praying don't often go hand in hand. It seems that somewhere throughout the long march of time, levity has been leached out of religion. We'll hear from Susan Sparks, a Baptist minister who's also a stand-up comic, about why she's on a mission of mirth. And Mark Pinsky talks about his book, The Gospel According to The Simpsons.

What happens when you want to believe but no longer can? Where do you find comfort in an impersonal universe? This episode of Tapestry features the stories of two different men who at one time had faith in God, but lost it. Even so, they continue to search for a sense of wonder and meaning in life.

You're relaxing on a cruise ship, maybe eating a fine meal, when the ship suddenly hits a reef, and begins to sink. It's the moment of truth: are you the one who steps up and does something to help? Or are you the one who runs away? Mary Hynes talks to John Izzo, the author of Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything. Also an interview with Rudy Berghuys, president of the Royal Canadian Humane Association, the organization which bestows Canada's bravery awards. And we'll examine th...

Is there a way to quantify wisdom? Can the exacting methods of science be applied to the changing world of philosophy and morals? Mary Hynes talks to science writer Stephen Hall. Also a documentary about Jon Turk, a research chemist who decided he couldn't stand the lab, quit his job, and became an adventure traveller.