The Church Times Podcast

Mar 02 2025 378 ep. 28 mins 313
The Church Times Podcast artwork

News, interviews, book reviews, and discussion each week from the Church Times - the world's leading newspaper on faith and the Church.

  Religion & Spirituality
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Bishop of Leicester on the intercultural lessons for Living in Love and Faith

Mar 02 2025 35 mins  
On this episode, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, is interviewed about his new booklet, Can We Imagine a Future Together? Intercultural lessons for living in love and faith, in which he attempts to chart a way forward for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process. Bishop Snow is the lead bishop on LLF. “The Church of England is in a season of discernment as it

Reflections on a long and difficult General Synod

Feb 18 2025 26 mins  
Staff writer Francis Martin spent all of last week in the press gallery of Church House, Westminster, reporting on the latest meeting of the General Synod. He reports back to the editor, Sarah Meyrick, about some of the most significant debates and votes, including on the future of safeguarding and proposed changes to the Crown Nominations Commission. Francis was also out and abou

What is the right way forward for safeguarding in the Church of England?

Feb 06 2025 28 mins  
In 2023, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York asked Professor Alexis Jay to develop proposals for a fully independent structure to provide scrutiny of safeguarding in the Church of England. Her report, published the following year, concluded that not only scrutiny, but operational safeguarding, should be independent, necessitating the creation of two separate charities. But whil

Bishop of Chelmsford on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal

Jan 22 2025 40 mins  
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, was in Jerusalem last week when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was agreed. Shortly after returning from the Holy Land, she spoke to Francis Martin about the reaction to the deal on the ground; the prospects for long-term peace in the region; and more widely about the visit, which included meeting Layan Nasir, a young Anglican wo

Barbara Brown Taylor at the Festival of Preaching

Jan 16 2025 16 mins  
This week’s podcast brings a sermon preached by Barbara Brown Taylor at the 2024 Festival of Preaching in Cambridge last September (Features, 20 September 2024). She considers how the Church can bear witness to good news “in a world so full of the other kind”, such as global warfare and climate change, political divisions and churches closing, the loneliness epidemic, and sy

A message from the new Editor

Jan 09 2025 11 mins  
On the podcast this week, Sarah Meyrick introduces an exciting new era for the Church Times, including fresh content and contributors, and the return to a news front-page, reflecting our proud heritage as an independent newspaper. She tells Associate Editor Ed Thornton more about the thinking behind the changes. Limited-time digital subscription offer: £10 for 2 Months Digital

Does the future have a Church? The 2024 Theos Annual Lecture

Dec 12 2024 57 mins  
On the podcast this week, a panel of experts discuss the question: Does the future have a Church? In an increasingly unstable and dark world, will people return to or at least reconsider belief, or are we continuing to hear the ‘melancholy, long, withdrawing roar’ of faith? The discussion was recorded in London on 26 November at the 2024 Theos Annual Lecture. The panelists

Michael Coren on Heaping Coals: From media firebrand to Anglican priest

Dec 04 2024 34 mins  
On this episode of the podcast, the Revd Michael Coren is intereviewed about his memoir, Heaping Coals: From media firebrand to Anglican Priest. The book charts how he went from an English working-class family to become a high-profile Roman Catholic media personality in Canada, and how he ended up being ordained priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. An extract from the book wa

Ian Collins on Blythe Spirit: The remarkable life of Ronald Blythe

Nov 28 2024 71 mins  
On this edition of the podcast, Ian Collins is interviewed about his book Blythe Spirit: The remarkable life of Ronald Blythe. Ronald Blythe, who died, aged 100, in January last year was best known for his 1969 account of village life, Akenfield, and to Church Times readers as the author of the weekly “Word from Wormingford” column, which ran for 24 years from 1993. Collins wa

Makin review and the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation announcement

Nov 13 2024 25 mins  
This week, the editor, Sarah Meyrick, is joined by senior writer Madeleine Davies and news reporter Francis Martin to discuss a momentous and turbulent week for the Church of England: the publication of the Makin review into the abuse carried out by John Smyth, which resulted, five days later, in the Archbishop of Canterbury announcing his resignation. They talk about the findings