The Church Times Podcast

So far this year, there have been 18 school shootings in the United States, and a total of more than 200 mass shootings in the country. On the podcast this week, the Bishop of Colorado, the Rt Revd Kym Lucas, is interviewed about this epidemic of gun violence, and talks about her own experience of a shooting in her son’s school. Interview by Francis Martin. “When I tell people what I do, I say: ‘I’m a follower of Jesus. And I mean that Jesus who said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The one who said, “Those who live by the sword (or the gun!) will die by it,’”’ she says. “It is very odd notion that somehow being a follower of Jesus makes you an advocate of violence, or even a proponent of violence, in terms of gun ownership. I find that very strange.” Music for the podcast is by Twisterium 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 month’s Church Times Book Club choice is Of Stone and Sky by Merryn Glover. On this Book Club Podcast, Ian Bradley, who has written an essay about the book in this week's Church Times, interviews the author. Of Stone and Sky is published by Birlinn and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for £8.99. Of Stone and Sky is a novel set in the hills and straths of the Scottish Highlands. At the heart of this multi-generational saga is the mystery of the disappearance of the Highland shepherd Colvin Munro. One of the main narrators of this modern-day redemptive tale is Mo, the missing shepherd’s foster-sister. Mo is a Church of Scotland minister, and her voice becomes the book’s moral compass. In the book, the author covers a range of themes relevant to the use of the Highlands, including land ownership, ecology, and the challenges facing sheep-farming. Merryn Glover is a novelist and radio dramatist. She was born in Kathmandu and brought up in Nepal, India, and Pakistan, where her Anglican Australian parents worked as Wycliffe Bible Translators. The author now lives in the Upper Spey Valley, in the Highlands, which provides the setting for Of Stone and Sky, her second novel. The Revd Professor Ian Bradley is Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews. His latest book, God Save the King: The sacred nature of the monarchy, is published by Darton, Longman & Todd at £8.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.09) (Comment, 28 April). The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature: https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup. Discuss this month’s book at facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub Photo: © Stewart Grant Music for the podcast is by Twisterium 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, there’s a chance to listen again (or perhaps for the first time) to a conversation between Professor Robin Dunbar and Dr Mark Vernon. They discuss Professor Dunbar’s book How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures, which is now available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop. In a review of the book for the Church Times (Books, 29 April 2022), Dr Vernon wrote: “The longstanding tendency has been to treat the almost universal presence of religious beliefs and rituals in human populations as a by-product of human needs, from lessening the terrors of death to bolstering the moral imperatives that support sociality. But, instead of treating religions as noble lies or discardable delusions, Dunbar presents the evidence for religious practices’ being a necessary part of human evolution. This necessity is why he thinks that religion will endure and resist secularising pressures.” Dr Robin Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Anthropological Institute. Dr Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer. His latest book is Spiritual Intelligence in Seven Steps (Iff Books, 2022). His other recent books include Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: A guide for the spiritual journey (Angelico Press, 2021) (Podcast, 10 September 2021) and A Secret History of Christianity (John Hunt Publishing, 2019). Photo: 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

On the podcast this week, Richard Harries is interviewed about his memoir, The Shaping of a Soul: A life taken by surprise. In a review of the book in the Church Times (Books, 6 April), Stephen Platten wrote: “The pages breathe throughout a certain confidence, but failures are not swept away, and the writing is permeated by a consistent generosity.” Lord Harries was Bishop of Oxford from 1987 to 2006, after which he became a crossbench life peer in the House of Lords. He is the author of more than 40 books focused on art, literature, politics, social issues, morality, and, theology. He is also a frequent contributor to the Church Times. The Shaping of a Soul: A life taken by surprise is published by John Hunt at £18.99 (Church Times Bookshop £16.99); 978-1-80341-162-0 Read an extract at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/31-march/features/features/richard-harries-new-memoir-theology-and-sherry-in-the-officers-mess 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 podcasts brings a highlight of the most recent Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, which took place in Winchester in late February: Colin Heber-Percy in conversation with Andrew Rumsey on the theme, “Throwing away the map, and setting out anyway.” Dr Heber-Percy reads extracts from Tales of a Country Parish: From the Vicar of Savernake Forest, his account of life and parish ministry during lockdown, which was published last year by Short Books (Books, 1 April 2022, Faith Features, 18 March 2022), and discusses some of its themes with Dr Rumsey. Dr Heber-Percy also reads pieces of writing not included in Tales of a Country Parish. The Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy is a Team Vicar in the Savernake Team Ministry, in Salisbury diocese. He is also a writer and screenwriter, and has written numerous articles on faith and film, the philosophy and theology of cinema. His book, Perfect in Weakness, on the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, is widely acclaimed. The Revd Dr Andrew Rumsey is the Bishop of Ramsbury in Salisbury diocese, and the co-lead bishop for church buildings and cathedrals. His most recent book is English Grounds: A pastoral journal (SCM Press) (Podcast, 2 December 2021, Books, 11 March 2022). https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk Photo: KT Bruce 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

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, Malcolm Guite shares a sequence of sonnets for Holy Week. They are taken from his collection, Sounding the Seasons (Canterbury Press). Today, he reflects on and reads his sonnet, “Maundy Thursday.” The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times. 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

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On this month's episode of the Book Club Podcast, Dr Natalie K. Watson, who has written about the book in this week’s Church Times, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. The Island of Missing Trees is set between Cyprus in 1974, at the start of the country’s conflict with Turkey, and London, decades later. Two teenagers, Kostas and Defne, from different sides of the warring parties, meet in secret at a taverna. In the middle of the taverna is an impressive fig tree. Kostas, a keen botanist, takes a cutting from his beloved Ficus carica when forced to flee to England. It is from the perspective of the fig tree that much of the story is told — a tale of love, loss, and generational trauma. Born in France (1971) to Turkish parents, Elif Shafak is an academic, author, and advocate of women’s and minority rights. As an author of fiction, she has written 11 published novels in both Turkish and English. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2019. She now lives in London. The Island of Missing Trees is published by Penguin at £9.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.99); 978-0-241-98872-5. The Church Times Book Club is run in association with the Festival of Faith and Literature. Sign up to receive the free Book Club email once a month. Featuring discussion questions, podcasts and discounts on each book: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup. Discuss this month’s book at https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchtimesbookclub Dr Natalie K. Watson is a theologian, writer, and editor, living in Peterborough. 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

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, Malcolm Guite shares a sequence of sonnets for Holy Week. They are taken from his collection, Sounding the Seasons (Canterbury Press). Today, he reflects on and reads his sonnet, “The anointing at Bethany.” The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times. 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

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, Malcolm Guite shares a sequence of sonnets for Holy Week. They are taken from his collection, Sounding the Seasons (Canterbury Press). Today, he reflects on and reads his sonnet, “Cleansing the Temple.” The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times. 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

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, Malcolm Guite shares a sequence of sonnets for Holy Week. They are taken from his collection, Sounding the Seasons (Canterbury Press). Today, he reflects on and reads his sonnet, “Jesus weeps.” The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite is a Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and writes the weekly Poet’s Corner column for the Church Times. 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