The Church Times Podcast

This week, we discuss the life and influence of Billy Graham, the American Evangelist who died on Wednesday at the age of 99. We also look at the latest ministry statistics which show that although the Church of England had 14 per cent more theological students overall in 2017, more than eight per cent fewer were in residential training. Plus, we highlight a feature by Mark Vernon on recognising and responding to narcissistic personality disorder in the Church.

This week, we post an edited recording editor Paul Handley’s interview with Justin Welby about his first five years as Archbishop of Canterbury. In conversation at Lambeth Palace last week, the Archbishop spoke, among other things, about the limits of his power, the state of the Anglican Communion, the C of E’s struggles over sexuality, and his forthcoming book on the state of Britain. The interview is published in edited form in this week’s paper, and in its entirety on our website. You can try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 – visit www.churchtimes.co.uk/subscribe to find out more.

In a special edition of the podcast this week, we discuss the key debates, motions, and speakers from the General Synod of the Church of England, which met in London from Thursday to Saturday, last week. This included a debate on valuing people with Down's syndrome, a motion on Methodist communion, a presentation on safeguarding, and a review of the workings of the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). You can read the top stories from the Synod on our website churchtimes.co.uk and a full digest of the sessions will appear in our paper and online, on Friday.

Listen to a taste of our exclusive interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury, this week, in which he spoke on the challenges of safeguarding facing the Church, and the related issues the Archbishop himself has had to address, since taking office, five years ago. The full interview will be published in our paper and online, next week, and will be also made available as a Podcast. A full special edition Podcast will also be released on Monday, in which we will discuss the motions, debates, and key speakers at the General Synod of the Church of England currently meeting in London. The last session of this February Synod will conclude on Saturday afternoon.

This week, we discuss the warnings issued by the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, during a Brexit debate in the House of Lords; and an ongoing campaign from the Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, on the negative impact of primetime gambling adverts on children. Plus, his Bill to name mothers on marriage registers

Malcolm Guite will be known to Church Times readers as the author of the weekly Poet’s Corner column. He is the chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge, and a poet, teacher and musician. His latest book, published by Canterbury Press, is called Love Remember: 40 poems of loss, lament and hope. It is, Malcolm writes, “written to give voice both to love and to lamentation, to find expression for grief without losing hope, to help us honour the dead with tears, yet still to glimpse through those tears the light of resurrection”. Malcolm came to the Church Times offices this week to talk more about the book. If you don’t already subscribe to the Church Times, and would like to read Malcolm’s column each week, along with a host of news, features, and reviews, go to churchtimes.co.uk/subscribe, where you can get 10 issues for £10.

This week we discuss the conclusions of a report from the Cathedrals Working Group on the sustainability, governance, and financial management of cathedrals in the UK. We also explore the second week in our series on young people and the Church: why people left church in their teens, gifts young adults can bring, and what the Church should know about young people.

As part of our new series on youth and the Church, starting this week, we look at the crisis facing the Church over its ability to attract – and nurture – a generation of young people, who are dwindling from congregations. Plus, the editor of the Church Times, Paul Handley, talks to Ed Thornton about the redesign of the paper which was revealed this week

This week, Ed Thornton interviews the Bishop of Kensington, Dr Graham Tomlin, about his new book, Bound to be Free: the paradox of freedom. In it, Dr Tomlin discusses the fraught concept of freedom in contemporary culture, finds a fatal flaw at the heart of the secular vision of freedom, and argues that the Christian vision of freedom brings together both personal fulfilment and the health of community life

On this week’s podcast, Hattie Williams sits down to speak to Bishop Sarah Mullally, the next Bishop of London, about a range of topics, including her experience working in senior roles in the NHS; how she will work with people who don’t accept her ministry; clergy well-being; and working with survivors of abuse. If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a friend or family member, why not take out a gift subscription to the Church Times. www.churchtimes.co.uk/christmas to find out more. The podcast will return on 5 January. We wish all our readers and podcast listeners a very Happy Christmas.