The Church Times Podcast

On this week’s podcast, Lucy Winkett talks about her new book Reading the Bible with your Feet (Canterbury Press): a collection of her sermons from recent years, some of which were preached during the pandemic. She is in conversation with Chine McDonald, a writer, broadcaster, and head of public engagement at Christian Aid. It was recorded at the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature last weekend. The book is available from the Church Times Bookshop for the special price of £13.49. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781786223302/reading-the-bible-with-your-feet “Walking through scripture is . . . what I’m trying to encourage us all to do,” she says. “And to say we all have a preaching ministry . . . and that can be in a conversation, because conversation is revolutionary in scripture — it can be in conversation as much as it is standing up at the front.” During the interview, she also talks about how training for ordination in an ecumenical context has influenced her preaching, how she prepares sermons, the privilege of being a White preacher in a White-majority context, and what she learnt while preaching and leading a church during the pandemic. The Revd Lucy Winkett is Rector of St James’s, Piccadilly, in the diocese of London. Also at the Festival of Faith and Literature, Chine McDonald spoke to the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams about her most recent book, God Is Not a White Man: And other revelations (Hodder & Stoughton) (Features 21 May, Podcast, 28 May, Books, 11 June). Access to a recording of the whole event can be purchased at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/september-2021/ Picture credit: National Churches Trust/Creative Commons Find out about forthcoming Church Times events at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

On the podcast this week, the Revd Jarel Robinson-Brown talks about his book, "Black, Gay, British, Christian, Queer: The Church and the famine of grace." It’s published by SCM Press and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for the special price of £15.99. He is in conversation with the Revd Winnie Varghese, who is the Rector of St Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta. It was recorded at an online book launch this week, which was introduced by David Shervington, the senior commissioning editor at SCM Press. In a review of the book for the Church Times (Books, 3 September), the Revd Brunel James writes: “This book is a must-read and deserves to be a bestseller. There is a battle going on for the soul of the Church, and Jarel Robinson-Brown’s new book makes a courageous contribution to the discussion. It really should be compulsory reading for any church leader who has never thought through how we privilege the White and the heterosexual in our church life, and what this means for those among us who are Black and LGBTQ+.” The Revd Jarel Robinson-Brown is Assistant Curate of St Botolph without Aldgate, in London. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

On the podcast this week, Madeleine Davies interviews the Archbishop of Canterbury, who has recently returned from sabbatical. They spoke in his study in Lambeth Palace about a range of topics, including: what he did during his sabbatical; his time spent volunteering as a hospital chaplain during the pandemic; the future of the parish (“There is no conspiracy to abolish the parish”); church-plants; clergy morale; and the ministry of the C of E in a secular society. Archbishop Welby says: “I think I would want to say to clergy . . . and to laity: We can only do what God enables us to do, and the rest is his problem. So, if you can’t do things, don’t be guilty. . . Keep a sane home life, and keep up with your friends, and do what you can, having done that, and spend time with God in prayer. “If that means we end up as a faithful remnant, so be it. But my bet is, if we do go for simpler, humbler, and so on, if we do what God resources us to do, if we don’t exhaust ourselves, and if we get rid of guilt — and I am the champion of self-imposed guilt — the Church God will grow.” Read a write up of the interview in this week's Church Times (17 September). Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

On this week’s podcast, Dr Mark Vernon talks about his new book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A guide for the spiritual journey (Angelico Press)(Church Times Bookshop £16.20). This year marks 700 years since Dante’s death, and this week’s Church Times (10 September) includes features by Robin Ward and Alexander Faludy, as well as several reviews of books published to mark the anniversary. In a review of Dr Vernon’s book, Jonathan Boardman describes it as a “detailed and immensely thoughtful commentary. . . His personal experience as a psychotherapist and student of philosophy, polished further with physics, theology, and ordination, opens . . . a very special reflective door into Dante’s thinking and expression: its dreamlike design is peppered constantly with personal experience and knowledge.” Read a preview of the introduction to the book at https://www.markvernon.com/books/dantes-divine-comedy-book Dr Vernon’s books include A Secret History of Christianity (Christian Alternative) (Books, 20 December 2019) and The Idler Guide to Ancient Philosophy (Idler Books). Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

On this week’s podcast, there’s a chance to listen again (or, perhaps, for the first time) to Sarah Lothian’s interview with Susanna Clarke about her long-awaited second novel, Piranesi. The book has just been published in paperback and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for £8.09. Dr Jane Williams, the McDonald Professor in Christian Theology at St Mellitus College, chose Piranesi as her favourite book of 2020 (Books, 27 November 2020). “Piranesi looks with loving attention at the world in which he finds himself, caring for everything that he encounters, and receiving everything as loving gift,” Dr Williams said. “Other forces see it very differently. The book is deeply satisfying, with a depth of sadness — or is it joy?” Picture credit: Sarah Lee The next Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature takes place on Saturday 25 September. For more information and to buy tickets, visit https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/ Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

On this week’s podcast, Ed Thornton talks to the writer — and General Synod member — James Cary about his new book The Gospel According to a Sitcom Writer (SPCK). An extract from the book is published in this week’s Church Times (27 August), and the book is available to buy from the Church House Bookshop. “The first thing you notice when you hear scripture read out loud really well by an actor, the first thing you notice is that it’s actually funny – not everywhere, but it’s usually surprising,” he says. “And if you hear large portions of it read, there will be lots of jokes, and there will be lots of what we would call in sitcoms ‘callbacks’, and moments where it’s like, ‘Ah, suddenly this is becoming clear’. “The book is an attempt to draw out here’s how it’s funny, here’s reading between the lines, here’s some stuff that isn’t in the Bible, but might have been running through their minds as they’re experiencing this in real time during Jesus’s earthly ministry, but also in the minds of the listeners as they are hearing it and their minds are thinking possibly what might happen next.” James’s writing credits include the BBC TV sitcoms Miranda and Bluestone 42 (Features, 1 March 2013), and the radio sitcoms Think the Unthinkable and Hut 33. His previous books include The Sacred Art of Joking (Books, 18 January 2019) and Death by Civilisation (Books, 23 August 2013); his plays include A Turbulent Priest (Arts, 26 April 2019), A Monk’s Tale (Features, 18 August 2017), and The God Particle. At the end of the interview, you can hear James reading from the book. The recording was originally posted on James’s YouTube channel, and is used with his kind permission. https://www.jamescary.co.uk Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

This week, Ed Thornton talks to the Revd Mark Nam, the founder of the Tea House, a new national network of C of E clergy of Chinese heritage. As the Tea House was launched on Monday, he said that its aim was “to support and empower clergy with Chinese-heritage in the Church of England by promoting their presence in all structures of the Church, creating connections and providing information and resources”. On the podcast, he talks more about the aims of the Tea House and the need for the Church of England and wider society to tackle the racism experienced by people of East Asian heritage, which has risen significantly since the start of the pandemic. The Revd Mark Nam is Assistant Curate of St Anne’s, Oldland, and All Saints’, Longwell Green, in south-east Bristol, and the diocese of Bristol’s Minority Ethnic Vocations Champion. https://theteahouse.org/ Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

This week’s podcast provides a chance to listen again, or perhaps for the first time, to an interview with Ysenda Maxtone Graham, which was first posted in July last year. She talks about her book British Summer Time Begins: The school summer holidays 1930-1980 (Little, Brown), which is now available in paperback from the Church Times Bookshop for £9.99. She also talks about holidays and churchgoing, which she wrote about last year for the Church Times (Features, 17 July 2020); Christian house-swaps and clergy holidays; and how the school summer-holiday experience has changed. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

THIS week, Ed Thornton talks to Carolyn Skinner, Events Chaplain at Sports Chaplaincy UK, about how chaplains support Olympic athletes. At this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Covid restrictions mean that chaplains have been prevented from entering the Olympic Village. Carolyn explains how they have had to adapt to provide virtual pastoral support (News, 23 July). Carolyn also considers the growing awareness of mental health among athletes, which has been highlighted by the American gymnast Simone Biles’s withdrawal from some events in Tokyo (Leader comment, 30 July). Carolyn has been an Events Chaplain with Sports Chaplaincy UK since 2007, and served as a chaplain at Royal Ascot in 2007, the 2010 Winter Paralympics, the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup, the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics 2012, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She also runs “Love All, Serve All,” an annual outreach project at the Wimbledon tennis queues, as well as being a chaplain at her local gym. Carolyn has been Pastoral Support Lead for Gyms since 2016, which is a rapidly growing area for Sports Chaplaincy UK. https://sportschaplaincy.org.uk/ Picture: Team GB’s Kelly competes in the second semi final of the Women's 800 metres at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, on Saturday. She went on to win the silver medal Credit: Alamy Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.

TODAY (30 July) is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. On the podcast this week, Ed Thornton talks to Esther Swaffield-Bray, Director of England at International Justice Mission UK (IJM), about the global campaign to end slavery and human trafficking. She talks about IJM works in partnership with police, local authorities, and churches in different countries to rescue victims of slavery and trafficking, bring perpetrators to justice, and provide long-term support to survivors. She also explains why the pandemic has made more people vulnerable to exploitation, and how churches in the UK can join the campaign to end slavery and trafficking. “We are hoping that this day will be used to spread awareness around the brutal realities of human trafficking today, particularly given the context of the pandemic which has made even more people vulnerable to trafficking,” Esther says. “This is fantastic opportunity to see a light shone on this problem. . . We also want to let people know that there is hope, and that change is possible.” https://www.ijmuk.org/ https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-human-trafficking-day Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader.