St Paul's Cathedral

Sermon from the Ash Wednesday Sung Eucharist with the Imposition of the Ashes by Canon Mark Oakley. Recorded Wednesday 14 February 2018.

Recording of Session 2 - Please note that this podcast has been edited to remove some inaudible audience questions. Around the year 30 AD, in an insignificant province of the Roman Empire, a Jewish prophet, teacher and healer met with a shameful and brutal end on a Roman cross. 2,000 years later, this obscure figure has over two billion followers and is acknowledged as the most influential person ever to have walked the earth. As people of faith, we know Jesus through the Gospels. But scholarly enquiry into the historical figure of Jesus has brought new insight and illumination. In this study afternoon we will look at Jesus in his historical context: his Jewish heritage, his message, friends and enemies, his execution, and ask what difference this understanding makes to us as Christians in the 21st century. Professor Helen Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. She has contributed to a number of BBC TV documentaries, and her books include Jesus: A Very Brief History (SPCK 2017) and The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark 2012). Recorded 10 February 2018.

Recording of Session 1 - Please note that this podcast has been edited to remove some inaudible audience questions. Around the year 30 AD, in an insignificant province of the Roman Empire, a Jewish prophet, teacher and healer met with a shameful and brutal end on a Roman cross. 2,000 years later, this obscure figure has over two billion followers and is acknowledged as the most influential person ever to have walked the earth. As people of faith, we know Jesus through the Gospels. But scholarly enquiry into the historical figure of Jesus has brought new insight and illumination. In this study afternoon we will look at Jesus in his historical context: his Jewish heritage, his message, friends and enemies, his execution, and ask what difference this understanding makes to us as Christians in the 21st century. Professor Helen Bond is Professor of Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh. She has contributed to a number of BBC TV documentaries, and her books include Jesus: A Very Brief History (SPCK 2017) and The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark 2012). Recorded 10 February 2018.

Why do pilgrims walk so much? What do they learn? And does it do them any lasting good? Sally Welch has been going on pilgrimage for over 20 years and her new book is a guide to the art and practice of pilgrimage through some of the most beautiful and ancient pilgrim routes in the UK and abroad. She will share her experiences and some of what she has learnt about how to go on pilgrimage well including what it has taught her about, among other things, trust, travelling lightly and the joys of companionship. She will also reflect on how insights gained on the journey can be incorporated into the spirituality of everyday life. The Revd Dr Sally Welch is the Vicar of Charlbury in the Diocese of Oxford. Her books include Walking the Labyrinth (Canterbury Press 2013), How to be a Mindful Christian (Canterbury Press 2016), and Pilgrim Journeys: Pilgrimage for walkers and armchair travellers (BRF 2017). Part of St Paul's Adult Learning Department's Sunday Forum series, chaired by the Revd Rosemary Morton, Succentor at St Paul's Cathedral. Recorded 4 February 2018.

Sermon from Sung Eucharist on Friday 2 February 2018, The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas), by the Reverend Canon Mark Oakley.

The Place Mothers Call Home by Tice Cin - the sixth and final in a series of new poetry for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. For each Sunday from Advent 2017 to Epiphany 2018, six exciting young poetic voices and one emerging digital artist reimagine the story of Christmas. Taking the Biblical text as a starting point, they each retell a story that is both personal and universal, layering it with meaning and peppering it with insight. They bring to life the humans behind a familiar narrative, and enable us to see them, and hopefully ourselves, in a new way.

The Very Revd Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, gives us a message on Christmas Eve reflecting on the words 'we love because he first loved us'. Recorded 24 December 2017.

Wings and Tings by Kareem Parker Brown - the fifth in a series of new poetry for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. For each Sunday from Advent 2017 to Epiphany 2018, six exciting young poetic voices and one emerging digital artist reimagine the story of Christmas. Taking the Biblical text as a starting point, they each retell a story that is both personal and universal, layering it with meaning and peppering it with insight. They bring to life the humans behind a familiar narrative, and enable us to see them, and hopefully ourselves, in a new way.

Unmuted Word by Sarah Lasoye - the fourth in a series of new poetry for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. For each Sunday from Advent 2017 to Epiphany 2018, six exciting young poetic voices and one emerging digital artist reimagine the story of Christmas. Taking the Biblical text as a starting point, they each retell a story that is both personal and universal, layering it with meaning and peppering it with insight. They bring to life the humans behind a familiar narrative, and enable us to see them, and hopefully ourselves, in a new way.

To Bethlehem the town of David by Jeremiah Brown. The third in a series of new poetry for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. For each Sunday from Advent 2017 to Epiphany 2018, six exciting young poetic voices and one emerging digital artist reimagine the story of Christmas. Taking the Biblical text as a starting point, they each retell a story that is both personal and universal, layering it with meaning and peppering it with insight. They bring to life the humans behind a familiar narrative, and enable us to see them, and hopefully ourselves, in a new way.