On the podcast this week, we bring a fascinating conversation between the Bishop of Ramsbury, in Salisbury diocese, Dr Andrew Rumsey, and the podcaster and mindset coach David Watson, about church buildings and the contribution that they make to communities. Dr Rumsey is the co-lead bishop for church buildings; his recent folk album, Evensongs, was recorded in a 12-th century church in Wiltshire (Podcast, 20 October 2023). He is the author of the author of the highly praised books Parish: An Anglican theology of place (Books, 21 July 2017) and English Grounds: A pastoral journal (Books, 11 March 2022). This podcast first appeared on the David Watson Podcast, which explores the interesting people of this world, and what makes them tick. Find his podcast at https://www.youtube.com/@davidwatsonpodcast, at https://www.davidwatson.life/podcast-1, and on podcast platforms. Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On the podcast this week, Caroline Chartres, who has written this month’s Book Club reflection on the book, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. Maggie O’Farrell transports the reader to Renaissance Italy in her latest historical novel The Marriage Portrait. It is based on the true story of teenage bride Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici, the inspiration for Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess”, who died only a few years after marrying the esteemed Duke of Ferrara. In the book, O’Farrell reimagines the Duchess’s fraught final years, following her journey from the safety of her childhood home in Florence to the remote hunting lodge where her husband keeps her captive. Sections of the story are told from the first-person perspective, and Lucrezia’s fear that her husband is out to kill her is palpable. The Marriage Portrait is published by Tinder Press at £9.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.99); 978-1-4722-23880-3. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781472223883/marriage-portrait?vc=CT002 Caroline Chartres is a contributing editor to the Church Times. Sarah Meyrick is assistant editor of the Church Times and is to be its next editor. Her latest novel is Joy and Felicity (Sacristy Press, 2021). 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 Try 10 issues of the Church Times for £10 or get two months access to our website and apps, also for £10. Go to www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

On the podcast this week, the Archbishop of York speaks about “Tuning Forks and Orchestras: Music and the mission of God.” The talk was given at the first Church Times Festival of Faith and Music in York Minster late last month (News, 3 May). It was held in partnership with the Royal School of Church Music. “The universe and all creation are held together in harmony by the single note of the will of God, played throughout the ages by the Holy Spirit, and from which everything else is tuned,” he said. “The music is complex and beautiful, but it is held together, and we are part of it, only finding our meaning and fulfillment in life when we tune in with God. We are, in thise sense, the orchestra of God, each with our own contribution to make, whether we play the trombone or the kazoo.” Photo: Duncan Lomax https://faithandmusic.hymnsam.co.uk https://www.rscm.org.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 the podcast this week, Nick Spencer, senior fellow at the think tank Theos, talks about how the science v. religion debate has developed since the New Atheist movement came to prominence more than 15 years ago. Nick is the co-author, along with Hannah Waite, of a new report 'Science and Religion: Moving away from the shallow end', produced by Theos and the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. Read our story about it at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk In a Comment article for the Church Times this week (29 April), Nick writes: “People — in particular, certain kinds of atheist — do claim that science and religion are in complete tension. But it is not always clear where this alleged tension lies. To put it another way, there is a great deal of smoke hanging about the science and religion debate, the fog of an allegedly ancient war. But, beneath the smoke, where exactly is the fire?” Nick Spencer hosts the 'Reading Our Times' podcast, produced by Theos, which explores the books and ideas that are shaping us today. In 2019, he presented a three-part series on Radio 4, 'The Secret History of Science and Religion' (Comment, 21 June 2019, Radio, 28 June 2019). His next book, 'Magisteria: The entangled histories of science and religion', will be published by Oneworld Publications in March next year. His previous books include 'The Political Samaritan: How power hijacked a parable' (Bloomsbury, 2017), 'Mighty and the Almighty: How political leaders do God' (Biteback, 2017), and 'Evolution of the West: How Christianity has shaped our values' (SPCK, 2016). 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, Dr Mark Vernon interviews Professor Robin Dunbar about his new book, How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures. 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. How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures is published by Pelican at £22 (Church Times Bookshop £19.80) Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer. His recent books include Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: A guide for the spiritual journey (Angelico Press, 2021) and A Secret History of Christianity (John Hunt Publishing, 2019). Picture 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.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams joined other faith leaders on a visit to Ukraine this week. Its purpose, he said, was “affirm our solidarity with victims of this appalling war, and express thanks for the courage shown by the Ukrainian people, in the hope that we can at least let them know that they are not forgotten”. During the visit, Lord Williams, along with other faith leaders, spoke at an event in Chernivtsi, "Faith in Ukraine," organised by the Elijah Interfaith Institute and the Peace Department. His two addresses at the event follow, and are used with the permission of the organisers. A video of the full event can be found at https://faithinukraine.com/stream/ 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, Sam Wells preaches a sermon on Psalm 23, which was given online this week at the Festival of Preaching event “Preaching in Perilous Times,” hosted by the Church Times and Canterbury Press. “It may not be much of a stretch to say the 23rd Psalm was composed for the Ukrainian experience of death, destruction, horror, and fear in the face of Russian invasion,” he says. “We have many questions in the face of the horror of war and the shock of one European country invading another, something we regarded as unthinkable. Psalm 23 doesn’t answer our questions; instead, it transforms our context." The other speakers at the Festival of Preaching event were Malcolm Guite, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Rachel Mann, Lucy Winkett, and Angela Tilby. Buy a ticket to watch the whole event at https://festivalofpreaching.hymnsam.co.uk/preaching-in-perilous-times. The Revd Dr Sam Wells is the Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, in central London, and is the author of more than 30 books. His most recent, published by Canterbury Press, include Finding Abundance in Scarcity, A Cross in the Heart of God, and Love Mercy. The are all available to buy at https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk 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.

Cole Arthur Riley is a writer, liturgist, and poet, and the creator of Black Liturgies, “a project seeking to integrate concepts of dignity, lament, rage, justice, rest, and liberation with literature and spirituality”. On this week’s podcast, she talks about her debut book This Here Flesh: Spirituality, liberation and the stories that make us, which is a New York Times bestseller. An extract is published in this week’s Church Times (1 April). Cole is in conversation with Chine McDonald, director of Theos, whose latest book is God is Not a White Man: And other revelations (Hodder & Stoughton) (Podcast, 28 May 2021; (Books, 11 June 2021) This Here Flesh is published by John Murray Press and is available to buy from the Church Times Bookshop for the discounted price of £14.99. https://colearthurriley.com/ 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, Professor Helen Bond and Professor Joan Taylor talk about their new book book, Women Remembered: Jesus’ female disciples. Inspired by their Channel 4 documentary Jesus’ Female Disciples, the book examines how a host of women — named and unnamed — have been remembered (or silenced) by posterity. It looks at the representation of these women in art, and how they have been represented in inscriptions and archaeology, as well as in biblical texts. Women Remembered is published by Hodder & Stoughton at £16.99 (CT Bookshop £15.29) Dr Helen K. Bond is Professor of Christian Origins and Head of the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. Dr Joan Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College 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 this week’s podcast, Dr Leo Cheng, Consultant in Oral, Maxillofacial and Head & Neck Surgery at St Bartholomew’s, The Royal London and Homerton University Hospitals, talks about the work of Mercy Ships. For more than 20 years, he has volunteered during his holidays on board the Africa Mercy, performing life-saving and life-changing operations. Earlier this month, a new purpose-built ship, Global Mercy, set sail for Africa from Rotterdam. The charity says that the new ship will more than double its surgical and training capacity (News, 9 July 2021). Speaking in Rotterdam before the ship set sail, Princess Anne, who is a Patron of Mercy Ships, said: “A mixture of volunteers bring brilliant surgery, knowledge, and medical skills, from countries all over the world — but everybody who comes here has a skill and is happy to serve in whatever capacity will help the whole. The success Mercy Ships has had training doctors, dentists and medics to carry out the work in the future in their own countries — that is a real legacy.” Find out more about Mercy Ships at https://www.mercyships.org.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 the podcast this week, Fr Luigi Gioia reflects on the theme of “Lent as the time of healing.” His talk was given at an online Lent Retreat last Saturday, hosted by the Church Times and the Church House Bookshop. Buy a recording of the entire event at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/lent-retreat. Fr Gioia is a freelance writer and speaker in theology and spirituality and Associate Priest of St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, in London. His books include The Wisdom of St Benedict: Monastic spirituality and the life of the Church (Canterbury Press), Touched by God (Bloomsbury), and Say it to God (Bloomsbury), which was the Archbishop of Canterbury’s 2018 Lent Book. They are all available to buy at the Church House Bookshop: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk 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 Mpho Tutu van Furth talks about her book Forgiveness and Reparation, The Healing Journey. The conversation with Catherine Fox was recorded at Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature, which took place online on 19 February. The theme of the festival was Finding Hope. Buy a recording of the whole event at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/february-2022/ Forgiveness and Reparation, in the My Theology series published by Darton, Longman & Todd, is available to buy from the Church House Bookshop. Read an extract here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2022/11-february/features/features/forgiveness-and-reparation-dance-begins-with-love Mpho Tutu van Furth is a South African pastor, author, artist, and activist. She is the daughter of Archbishop Desmond and Leah Tutu and the founding director of the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. Find out about forthcoming Church Times events, including an online Lent retreat on Saturday (5 March), at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Find out more about the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature at 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 the podcast this week, Hugh Williamson talks about the distinctive ministry of worker priests/Ministers in Secular Employment (MSEs), which are the subject of a cover feature that he has written for this week’s Church Times. Hugh’s father, Canon Tony Williamson, was an Anglican worker priest in a car factory in Oxford for 30 years (Obituary, 22 March 2019), so Hugh has long had an interest in this ministry. In his feature this week, he talks to a priest who is a full-time hairdresser, another who, until recently, was a checkout worker at a supermarket, a priest who is a carer, and another who works in a café. “Talking to them, and others like them, reveals a refreshing approach to faith, focused on how we express and support faith in everyday settings, not only in church buildings,” he writes. “And it challenges the Church to reflect on what ministry means.” https://www.hughwilliamson.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.

On the podcast this week, Elizabeth Fremantle is interviewed about her historical novel Disobedient, which is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. She is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. Natalie K. Watson has written this month’s book club essay about Disobedient. Disobedient is an enthralling historical novel that retells the turbulent life of the great Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi. As a young artist in Rome in the early 17th century, Artemisia outstrips her brothers and contemporary male artists in talent. Her initial struggle as a painter in a male-dominated society is nothing compared with the dramatic turn of events that occur when a handsome male tutor is employed by her father to teach her linear perspective. Her rage against the trauma that she experiences at the hands of her tutor and the way in which law and society then fail her is expressed through her art. The story centres on her motivation for creating the brutal painting Judith Slaying Holofernes — a critical point, at which her art takes a dark turn. Disobedient is published Penguin Books at £9.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.99). https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781405952811/disobedient?vc=CT203 Sarah Meyrick is a novelist. Her latest novel is Joy and Felicity (Sacristy Press, 2021). 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: © J. P. Masclet 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, we revisit an episode from a year ago, in which the Anglican novelist Francis Spufford talks about and reads from his second novel, Light Perpetual (Faber and Faber), which is now available in paperback from the Church House Bookshop: https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk It was recorded last year at a one-day online event organised by the Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature. Since it was published last year, the book made the long list for the Booker Prize (News, 30 July 2021). Francis Spufford’s first novel, Golden Hill (Reading Groups, 3 March 2017), won the Costa First Novel Award 2016. He has also written five highly praised works of non-fiction, including Unapologetic: Why, despite everything Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense (Books, 4 October 2013; Features, 7 September 2012), which was shortlisted for the 2016 Michael Ramsey Prize. The next Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature takes place online on Saturday (19 February). Find out more and book tickets at https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk/february-2022 Photo credit: Eamonn McCabe/Popperfoto Music for the podcast is by Twisterium

The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, is interviewed on the podcast this week about a new Lent course that she has written, The Room Where it Happens, based on the smash-hit musical Hamilton. In a review of Lent books and resources in the Church Times, David Wilbourne writes: “In The Room Where it Happens, Rose Hudson-Wilkin comes to house groups, wherever they may be, watching the smash-hit musical Hamilton with them, and introducing staid Anglicans to hip-hop. She parallels her own immigrant experience with Alexander Hamilton’s, blisteringly honest about her humble origins, the ensuing hurts, and the dreams that fired her. . . “In 22 years of parish ministry, I ran many Lent house groups, and, as a bishop, I addressed larger Lent gatherings. I sense that this course will work brilliantly.” The Room Where it Happens is published by Darton, Longman & Todd, and is on offer at the Church Times Bookshop. 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, the Revd Fergus Butler-Gallie, priest and writer, reads a profound and moving article he wrote for the 4 February edition of the Church Times. Titled “In the end is my beginning,” it’s about a funeral he conducted recently with unexpected and deeply personal resonances. He is the author of A Field Guide to the English Clergy (Books, 30 November 2018, Podcast, 7 December 2018) and Priests de la Résistance! The loose canons who fought fascism in the twentieth century (Books, 8 November 2019, Features, 15 November 2019). Both are published by Oneworld Publications and are available to order from the Church Times Bookshop (here and here). Follow him on Twitter: @_F_B_G_ 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.

Cole Moreton has interviewed the famous, the infamous, and the extraordinary. He was named Interviewer of the Year in 2016 for his work in The Mail on Sunday, and was shortlisted for a fifth time in 2018. On the podcast this week, Cole reflects on the art of interviewing, and recalls memorable encounters with such people as Tiger Woods, Scarlett Johansson, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In a a forthcoming new podcast, “Can we talk?”, which launches on 8 February (produced by Hodder Faith), he reflects in each episode on a single encounter, and reflects on what such encounters have taught him about the incredible lives we live as human beings and the lessons we can learn from connecting with each other. In this week’s Church Times (28 January), we publish an edited transcript of the episode in which he describes an unforgettable encounter with Dr Tutu. His debut novel, The Light Keeper, was published in 2019 and is out now in paperback (Books, 10 January 2020; Podcast, 27 March 2020). https://shows.acast.com/cole-moretons-can-we-talk https://colemoreton.com 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.

Chris Mabey is interviewed on the podcast this week about the deepening political crisis in Myanmar, and the plight of Christians in the country. His book, Whispers of Hope: A family memoir of Myanmar, tells the story of how he came to understand the rich, nuanced history of Burma/Myanmar, through the family of his Burmes wife, April. He has also written on the crisis in Myanmar for this week’s Church Times (21 January). Chris Mabey is a chartered psychologist and Emeritus Professor at Middlesex University Business School. Whispers of Hope is published by Penguin Random House at £29.99 (Church Times Bookshop £26.99); 9-7898-1-495425-9. https://www.chrismabey.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 the podcast this week, the Revd Katherine Price, Chaplain of Queen’s College, Oxford, talks about her experience of Slimming World, and how it prompted her to think differently about the quest for spiritual health. She also considers whether the Slimming World’s model has lessons for the Church of England’s mission. “At Slimming World, I’d realised that I actually did have the will power and the discipline to make changes in my life that had a tangible difference,” she says. “But I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, I wasn’t even massively motivated to lose weight; it wasn’t my number one priority. My prayer life, which is a much bigger priority for me, why don’t I have that discipline there?’. . . “And I was wondering why is it that this really quite simple group, the Slimming World group, was enabling me to make the changes that I wanted to make in my life to lose weight; and the Church, for whatever reason, that surely should be exactly the group which is enabling me to make changes in my spiritual life, and somehow that wasn’t happening for me. And that just raised that question for me, I think.” Katherine has also written an article for this week’s Church Times. Picture credit: David Olds 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 Andy March, Vicar of St Christopher’s, Coventry, talks about his debut book Loving the Enemy: Building bridges in a time of war, an extract from which is published in this week’s Church Times (7 January). The book tells the remarkable true story of Andy’s grandparents, Fred and Rike Clayton, who first met in Dresden at the start of the Nazi era. In a foreword to the book, the Bishop of Coventry, Dr Christopher Cocksworth, writes: “It is my hope that, thanks to Andy’s efforts, the story will inspire you as much as it has inspired me, and that it will find its place as a signpost, even a landmark, along the path of reconciliation, trust and love which links Coventry and Dresden; Britain and Germany.” The book is published by Halwill Publishing and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for £8.99. Signed copies can also be purchased at https://halwillpublishing.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’s podcast returns to a Christmas interview from 2017, when Ed Thornton spoke to Paul Kerensa, the stand-up comic and comedy writer, about his book, Hark! The biography of Christmas (Lion Books) (Books, 24 November 2017). They also talked about comedy gigs in churches, comedy and evangelism, and whether preachers should tell jokes in sermons. Paul’s latest book, written with Ruth Valerio, is Planet Protectors: 52 ways to look after God’s world (SPCK) (Features, 22 October). His other books include Noah’s Car Park Ark (SPCK) (Books, 22 June 2018) and So a Comedian Walks Into a Church . . . Confessions of a kneel-down stand-up (DLT) (Books, 12 July 2013). Paul hosts the podcast British Broadcasting Century, and more information about his work, including upcoming gigs, is available at paulkerensa.com. Paul has also written for the BBC sitcom Not Going Out, some CBBC shows, and some pre-school animations for churches out next year. Treat friends and family to a gift subscription this year. We’ll send a Christmas card announcing your gift - and your choice of one of two free books! https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/christmas

“What could Shakespeare’s plays and poems teach me about the Christian faith and the God who loves me?” This is the question posed by Peter Graystone on this week’s podcast, as he reflects on the spiritual significance of a memorable scene in The Winter’s Tale. The talk was first given at an online Advent Retreat, on 27 November, hosted by the Church Times and Canterbury Press. It is introduced by Christine Smith, Publishing Director of Hymns Ancient & Modern. To access a recording of the whole event, book a ticket at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/advent-retreat Peter’s latest book, All’s Well that Ends Well: From dust to resurrection: 40 days with Shakespeare, is published by Canterbury Press and is available from the Church Times Bookshop for £11.69. Peter is a writer who has worked for Scripture Union, Christian Aid, and the Church Army. He is the Church Times’s theatre critic, and a contributor to Reflections for Daily Prayer. 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 this week’s podcast, Dr Andrew Rumsey talks about his new book, English Grounds: A pastoral journal (SCM Press). The book is available to buy from the Church Times Bookshop for the special price of £15.99, and extracts are published in this week’s Church Times (3 December). “It’s a book about places, the way that we shape them and they shape us,” he says in a short video about the book. “It’s about memory and belonging and heritage, Christian heritage especially, and the way in which the Church has shaped the nation’s story for good and ill over many centuries, and my hope that the Christian narrative can yet help us to tell a more hopeful story about England’s future.” At the end of the podcast, he reads an extract from the book and plays a song, “Silbury Hill,” which he wrote to accompany the launch of the book. Dr Rumsey is the Bishop of Ramsbury in Salisbury diocese, and the co-lead bishop for church buildings and cathedrals. His previous book is Parish: An Anglican theology of place (Features, 2 June 2017, Books, 21 July 2017). Music for the podcast is by Twisterium. Picture credit: 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.

On the podcast this week, Fr Alex Frost — parish priest, best-selling author, and host of The God Cast — talks to Madeleine Davies about the Church of England’s problems connecting with people from working-class settings. Fr Alex has written a comment article in this week’s Church Times which argues that the C of E needs to remove barriers that make it harder for working-class people to respond to a call to ordination or lay leadership. “I heard examples of intelligent and highly capable individuals from urban working-class settings who had struggled to break through the pomp and procedures of the Church of England,” he writes. “And of individuals dismayed by the Church and its approach to training and developing leaders who happened to drink Vimto more than they did Vin Mariani. . . “I could relate to this. In my own journey to ordination, I had many advocates; but, for every advocate I had, there were dreadfully high hurdles put in front of me to demonstrate whether I might be worthy of fulfilling my authentic and genuine call to ordination.” The Revd Alex Frost is the Vicar of St Matthew the Apostle, Burnley, a member of the General Synod, and host of the podcast The God Cast: https://www.youtube.com/@thegodcast5878 His book, Our Daily Bread: From Argos to the altar — a priest’s story is published by Harper North (Books, 11 November 2022). Madeleine Davies is Senior Writer 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

As the start of Advent approaches, this week's podcast returns to Malcolm Guite’s journey through “The Great O Antiphons”: seven prayers which the Church prayed during the first centuries, which called afresh for Christ to come. Malcolm reads each of the seven prayers and reflects on them, and offers his own poetic response to each one, taken from his collection Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian year (Canterbury Press). This talk was first broadcast last November during an online Advent retreat, hosted by the Church Times and Canterbury Press. 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. His books include Mariner: A voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Hodder), Love Remember: 40 poems of loss, lament and hope (Canterbury Press), and David’s Crown: Sounding the Psalms (Canterbury Press). 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, a panel convened for a recent Church Times webinar answers two questions: Does the parish need saving? And what frustrates them about the current debate about the future of the parish? Watch the whole webinar — including the panel’s responses to viewers’ questions — at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/12-november/audio-video/video/does-the-parish-need-saving The panel: The Bishop of Ramsbury, Dr Andrew Rumsey, author of Parish: An Anglican Theology of Place (SCM, 2017) (Books, 21 July 2017). The diocesan secretary of Bangor, the Revd Siôn Rhys Evans. The Rural Dean of Haverstoe, and Rector of The Waltham Group, in the diocese of Lincoln, the Revd Kimberly Bohan. The Rector of The Ascension, Hulme, the Revd Azariah France-Williams, author of Ghost Ship: Institutional racism and the Church of England (SCM Press) (Podcast, 25 September 2020). Canon Angela Tilby, Canon-of-Honour at Portsmouth Cathedral, member of the Save the Parish network steering committee, and Church Times columnist It is chaired by Madeleine Davies, Senior Writer, Church Times. 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, the Revd Stephen Hance, the C of E’s Lead on Evangelism and Discipleship, talks to Madeleine Davies about research that he has carried out about how the general public views the Church of England. The research is published in a Seeing Ourselves as Others See Us: Perceptions of the Church of England (MEv135), published by Grove Books at £3.95. 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, we hear from the launch of the Green Church Showcase, which took place in Glasgow on Tuesday, during the COP26 climate summit. The speakers are the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, who is the C of E’s lead bishop on the environment; Dr Ruth Valerio, director of advocacy and influencing at Tearfund; and Richard Black, senior associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. The Showcase, a joint production by the Church of England’s environment programme and the Church Times, highlights seven projects from different denominations (watch a video about them on our website). Read more about the Green Church Showcase in this Friday’s Church Times (5 November). Picture credit: Albin Hillert 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 COP26 climate-change conference begins in Glasgow, on Sunday (31 October). So this seemed like a good time to revisit a special podcast that we posted a year ago: Everybody Now, a podcast about what it means to be human on the threshold of a global climate emergency, in a time of systemic injustice and runaway pandemics. Scientists, activists, farmers, poets, and theologians talk bravely and frankly about how our biosphere is changing, about grief and hope in an age of social collapse and mass extinction, and about taking action against all the odds. On 19 October 2020, Everybody Now was released by podcasters all over the world as a collective call for awareness, grief, and loving action. With contributions from: Dr Gail Bradbrook, scientist and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Professor Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester Dámaris Albuquerque, works with agricultural communities in Nicaragua The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams, theologian and poet, and a former Archbishop of Canterbury Pádraig Ó Tuama, poet, theologian, and conflict mediator Rachel Mander, environmental activist with Hope for the Future John Swales, priest and activist, and part of a community for marginalised people Zena Kazeme, Persian-Iraqi poet who draws on her experiences as a former refugee to create poetry that explores themes of exile, home, war, and heritage Flo Brady, singer and theatre maker Hannah Malcolm, Anglican ordinand, climate writer, and organiser Alastair McIntosh, writer, academic, and land rights activist David Benjamin Blower, musician, poet, and podcaster Funding and Production: This podcast was crowdfunded by a handful of good souls, and produced by Tim Nash and David Benjamin Blower (www.nomadpodcast.co.uk). Permissions: The song Happily by Flo Brady is used with permission. The song The Soil, from We Really Existed and We Really Did This by David Benjamin Blower, used with permission. The Poem The Tree of Knowledge by Pádraig Ó Tuama used with permission. The Poem Atlas by Zena Kazeme used with permission. The Poem What is Man? by Rowan Williams from the book The Other Mountain, used with permission from Carcanet Press. The Church Times Podcast will return next week (5 November).

This week, Joe Ware, senior climate journalist at Christian Aid, is on the podcast to talk about the UN climate-change conference COP26, which starts in Glasgow at the end of this month. He has written a preview of COP26 for this week’s issue of the Church Times (22 October), as part of a series of features on the climate crisis. He has also written an in-depth report in our news section on how climate campaigners of faith have been building pressure for change in advance of COP26. On the podcast, Joe expands on the themes of his articles, explaining the scale of the challenge, the part played by geo-politics in climate negotiations, and what campaigners think that COP26’s priorities should be. Picture 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.

Peter Stanford returns to the podcast this week to talk about his new book, If These Stones Could Talk: The history of Christianity in Britain and Ireland through Twenty Buildings (Hodder & Stoughton). It’s available to buy from the Church Times Bookshop for the special price of £16. A press release from Hodder says of the book: “In exploring the stories of these buildings that are still so much a part of the landscape, the details of their design, the treasured objects that are housed within them, the people who once stood in their pulpits and those who sat in their pews, he builds century by century the narrative of what Christianity has meant to the nations of the British Isles, how it is reflected in the relationship between rulers and ruled, and the sense it gives about who we are and how we live with each other.” 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, Ed Thornton talks to Andrew Graystone about his book Bleeding for Jesus: John Smyth and the cult of Iwerne camps (DLT (Books, 1 October). The book is available to buy from the Church Times Bookshop for £11.69. “I've drawn on a very wide range of sources to produce really quite a detailed account of what has happened,” Andrew says. “But I've tried to weave it together into a narrative that makes sense and is more than just a life of John Smyth. “The intention is that it should also serve the Church as a bit of a study in how spiritual abuse can happen. So, I hope that people who read the book will not just be horrified, although they will be horrified, by the ways that this man treated young men and children. But I hope they will also reflect on the ways that cultures within the Church sometimes enable abuse to happen.” Andrew Graystone is a writer, theologian, and activist. His previous books include Faith, Hope and Mischief: Tiny acts of rebellion by an everyday activist (Canterbury Press) (Podcast, 28 August 2020) and Too Much Information? Ten essential questions for digital Christians (Canterbury Press) (Podcast, 4 October 2019). 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, 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.

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald is the choice for this month’s Church Times Book Club. On the podcast this week, Emily Rhodes, who has written this month’s Book Club essay about the book, is in conversation with Sarah Meyrick. The Beginning of Spring is a historical novel set in Moscow a few years before the Russian Revolution as political tensions mount. The story starts with the sudden unexplained departure of Frank Reid’s wife, Nellie. She boards a train heading west, leaving her husband and children behind. Frank moved to Moscow with his family to run his father’s print business. Unlike his rambunctious Russian neighbours, Frank is a repressed but honourable English gentleman — a man of reason. Frank is left to look after three small children, and, for him, the ensuing days are full of misadventure, poignancy, and wonder. This intriguing story, which doesn’t follow conventional plot lines, is set against the background of the great thaw in Moscow which heralds the arrival of spring. The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald is published by HarperCollins at £9.99 (Church Times Bookshop £8.99); 978-0-00-654370-1. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9780006543701/beginning-of-spring?vc=CT405 Emily Rhodes is a writer and journalist, whose features and reviews have appeared in publications including the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Guardian, and the TLS. Sarah Meyrick is a novelist. Her latest novel is Joy and Felicity (Sacristy Press, 2021). 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 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 Subscribe to Church Times before 15 April, and you will also a receive a FREE three-month subscription to the bestselling app, Reflections for Daily Prayer

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.

This week, Ed Thornton is joined by Corin Pilling, UK director of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, a charity that seeks to raise awareness of mental-health issues in the Church. Corin talks about how he has navigated the challenges of lockdown, and explains what Sanctuary is doing to help churches and communities. Sanctuary UK this week launched a new app that features the “Together Again” conversation game, which prompts people to talk about the challenges that they’ve experienced during the pandemic, the anxieties they feel about restrictions being lifted, and their hopes for the future. The app is available is available for free at the usual outlets, including the Apple and Google stores. The Sanctuary Course, meanwhile, is an eight-week small group resource that is designed to help a church explore the topic of mental health through the lenses of theology, psychology, and lived experience. Corin Pilling was previously deputy director of public engagement at Livability (Interview, 19 May 2017). https://www.sanctuarymentalhealth.org/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 is joined by Church Times cartoonist Dave Walker to talk about his new book on cycling: From A to B: A cartoon guide to getting around by bike (Bloomsbury). The book is on special offer at the Church Times Bookshop for £10.99. The book contains 100 full-page cartoons about the delights and challenges of cycling. The publisher describes it as a “cartoon manifesto for pedal-powered transport is a mixture of comedic insights and actually useful information, for everyone from beginners to seasoned cycling campaigners”. The broadcaster Jeremy Vine, who is a keen cyclist, has described Dave’s book as “Pure joy. Happy, generous, funny, kind, wise and full of fresh air. An absolutely wonderful book.” Dave also discusses on the podcast how more clergy and laypeople can be encouraged to cycle, especially to services. He has also written a feature about this for this week’s Church Times (16 July). https://cyclingcartoons.com https://cartoonchurch.com 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 Rector of St Andrew’s, Ramallah, the Revd Fadi Diab, is interviewed by Francis Martin. Fr Diab was in the UK last week, hosted by Friends of the Holy Land, an ecumenical organisation whose volunteer committee he chairs (News, 22 March). During the visit, he met the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, Fr Diab says, “stands firm in solidarity with the Christian community in the Holy Land”. Fr Diab also preached in Southwark Cathedral and was in conversation with the Dean, the Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zZNPBFNlCI&ab_channel=SouthwarkCathedral Fr Diab speaks on the podcast about how life in the West Bank “has turned upside down” since 7 October, after Hamas attacks on southern Israel. The situation in the West Bank, however, could “not in any way be compared to the amount of pain in Gaza”, he says. https://www.friendsoftheholyland.org.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

England are through to the final of the Euros, after beating Denmark 2-1, in extra time, during a tense and thrilling semi-final match at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night. What is it about Gareth Southgate’s approach to leadership that is inspiring the players to perform, and what lessons might there be for the Church? What does the humility of England’s players show about the link between character and performance? And what are we to make of this generation of players’ championing of social-justice causes? To discuss all this, and more, Ed Thornton is joined on the podcast this week by the Revd Peter Crumpler, a priest in the diocese of St Albans, a former communications director at Church House, Westminster, and an avid football fan. He has written previously in the Church Times about the relationship between football and faith,, and spoken about it on this podcast. The book he mentions in the interview, Thank God for Football!, by Peter Lupson, is published by SPCK and is available to buy from the Church House Bookshop. Picture 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.

On the podcast this week, Rowan Williams talks about his new book, Looking East in Winter: Contemporary thought and the Eastern Christian tradition (Bloomsbury Continuum) (Books, 25 June). It is available to buy from the Church Times Bookshop for the special price of £16. Lord Williams is in conversation with the RC Bishop of Trondheim, in Norway, Dr Erik Varden OCSO, who is a former Abbot of Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire (Features, 14 September 2018). The conversation was recorded at an online book launch last week, hosted by the Church House Bookshop and Bloomsbury. In the book, a Bloomsbury press release says, Lord Williams “introduces us to some aspects and personalities of the Orthodox Christian world, from the desert contemplatives of the fourth century to philosophers, novelists and activists of the modern era. He shows how this rich and diverse world opens up new ways of thinking about spirit and body, prayer and action, worship and social transformation, which go beyond the polarisations that we take for granted.” An extract from the book is published in this week’s Church Times (2 July). Lord Williams is a former Archbishop of Canterbury, and was the Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, until his retirement last year. His dozens of books include Candles in the Dark: Faith, hope and love in a time of pandemic (SPCK) (Books, 19 February); The Way of St Benedict (Bloomsbury) (Books, 13 March 2020); and On Augustine (Bloomsbury) (Books, 24 June 2016). Dr Varden’s books include The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance (Bloomsbury) (Books, 1 February 2019). Find out about other forthcoming Church Times online events at www.churchtimes.co.uk/events. Sign up to receive our email newsletter at churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup 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, Mark Oakley explores the role of lament in the midst of a pandemic, and how the work of R. S. Thomas can help us to find a voice. His talk given last Saturday at the R. S. Thomas and ME Eldridge Society Festival, in association with the Church Times. The online festival brought together people with an appreciation of the literary and artistic works, musical compositions, people and places associated with R. S. Thomas and ME Eldridge. Purchase a ticket here to access a recording of the entire event. https://rsthomaspoetry.co.uk Find out about other forthcoming Church Times online events at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events Sign up to receive our email newsletter at churchtimes.co.uk/newsletter-signup Picture 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.