The Church Times Podcast

The Very Revd Dr Mark Oakley is the Dean of Southwark, whose book The Splash of Words: Believing in poetry won the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize. On the podcast this week, we bring you his Plenary Lecture from the Festival of Preaching in Cambridge last month: “Unarmed and Disarming: Preaching love in pitiless times.”

Dr Oakley will be one of the speakers at the Festival of Faith and Literature in Winchester from Friday 26 February to Sunday 28 February. For more information and to book tickets, visit: https://faithandliterature.hymnsam.co.uk

This week’s podcast is brought to you by Magnet: https://ourmagnet.hymnsam.co.uk

Read this week’s featured headlines here: 

• C of E heading for ‘financial disaster’ warn two academics: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/23-october/news/uk/c-of-e-heading-for-financial-disaster-warn-two-academics
• Debt-relief is ‘in the British interest’ says Ed Miliband: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/23-october/news/uk/debt-relief-is-in-the-british-interest-says-ed-miliband
• Selection of books for Advent: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/23-october/books-arts/book-reviews/advent-books-round-up-2026-blossoming-into-holy-living-in-advent

Picture credit: Emma Chonofsky/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 www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Music for the podcast is by Twisterium

John Humphrys was the first reporter on the scene of the Aberfan disaster. Wednesday (21 October) marks the 60th anniversary of the disaster, in which 116 children and 28 adults died when slurry from a hillside coal-heap slid on to the Welsh village, burying classrooms at Pantglas Junior School.

On the podcast, this week, Mr Humphrys speaks to Libby Purves about his memories of Aberfan and how witnessing such suffering made him unable to believe in a merciful God. This leads to a wider discussion about whether belief is possible in the face of suffering.

John Humphrys was a presenter of Today on Radio 4 from 1987 to 2019 and presented the BBC’s flagship Nine O’Clock News from 1981 to 1987. His books include In God We Doubt: Confessions of a failed atheist (Hodder & Stoughton, 2007).

Libby Purves is a journalist and author, who has written for The Times since 1982. She was a broadcaster on Radio 4 for 40 years. She is the author of 12 fiction and non-fiction books, including That Was Midweek That Was: The story of a radio programme 1979-2017 (Songsend Books, 2017).

This episode is produced by Alexis Condon.

Read this week’s featured headlines here:

• Attitudes to Christianity and Britishness reflect deep anxiety, Theos report says: www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/16-october/news/uk/attitudes-to-christianity-and-britishness-reflect-deep-anxiety-theos-report-says
• Churches appeal to Ukrainians to stand firm: www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/16-october/news/world/ukrainian-church-leaders-urge-faith-and-resilience-amid-russian-attacks
• And the Church Times is now on TikTok! Follow our official account for news updates, behind the scenes content, and more. Find us at: www.tiktok.com/@thechurchtimes

Picture credit: Alamy

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 www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

The Revd Steve Chalke is a Baptist minister and the founder of the Oasis Charitable Trust. He recently co-founded the We Are United campaign, which aims “to create at least 1,000 Festive Tables of Welcome across the country in the month-long run-up to this Christmas”.

On the podcast this week, Ed Thornton visits Steve Chalke at Oasis St Martins Village in South London, a hub for community transformation. Mr Chalke talks about the role of faith-based groups in delivering social change, his new voluntary government post as Enrichment Ambassador for Civic Engagement, and about the We Are United campaign.

Read his Church Times article about the campaign here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/2-october/comment/columnists/steve-chalke-let-s-choose-connection-over-division

Read more about We Are United here: https://peopleunite.org.uk/

Steve Chalke’s books include:

• A Manifesto for Hope: Ten principles for transforming the lives of children and young people (SPCK, 2023).
• The Lost Message of Paul: Has the Church misunderstood the Apostle Paul? (SPCK, 2019).
• Being Human: How to become the person you want to be (John Murray Press, 2016).

Read this week’s featured headlines here:

• Bishops decry Green motion on Zionism: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/9-october/news/uk/bishops-and-british-jewish-leaders-voice-concern-about-green-party-motion-on-zionism
• Our door is open to church voices, say Conservatives: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/9-october/news/uk/our-door-is-open-to-church-voices-say-conservatives
• The last temptation of TikTok: interview with Pippa White: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/9-october/features/features/the-last-temptation-of-tiktok

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 www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

“I think it’s really important to recognise that we’re all made differently,” the Archbishop of Canterbury says. Since being diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 15, it has shaped her educational and professional experiences, including her time as Chief Nursing Officer and as the Bishop of London.

Before the start of Dyslexia Awareness Week, on this week’s podcast, multimedia reporter Amelia Braddick sits down with Archbishop Mullally at her office in Lambeth Palace to talk about her experiences of dyslexia. Drawing on her faith and ministry work, the Archbishop reflects on how she came to see neurodiversity as part of human difference, rather than as a flaw.

Their conversation covers:

• Diagnosis and faith
• Coping strategies
• Strength and creativity
• Church inclusion

This year, Dyslexia Awareness Week runs from 5 to 11 October, focusing on dyslexic adults and their experiences of work and the workplace. Read more about Dyslexia Awareness Week here.

Read this week’s featured headlines here: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/support-us/awareness-events

• Emotional PM sets out his stall at first Labour Party Conference in office: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/2-october/news/uk/emotional-pm-sets-out-his-stall-at-first-labour-party-conference-in-office
• Synod hopefuls set out stalls as voting begins: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/2-october/news/uk/synod-hopefuls-set-out-stalls-as-voting-begins
• How 'dem dry bones' speak to today’s world: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/2-october/features/features/how-dem-dry-bones-speak-to-todays-world

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 www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader

Last week, the Festival of Preaching welcomed around 300 clergy and lay preachers. The event brought together inspiring talks and workshop from well-known preachers from around the world.

In today’s episode, we’re bringing you one of the lectures from the festival: Colin Heber-Percy asks: Is writing a sermon like caging a bird?

The Revd Dr Colin Heber-Percy is Team Vicar of Savernake in Salisbury diocese.

He is the author of Lost in the Forest: Finding joy in losing your way (Octopus Books £10.99 (Church Times Bookshop £9.89). You can read our review here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/11-september/books-arts/book-reviews/book-review-lost-in-the-forest-notes-on-not-belonging-from-the-english-countryside-by-colin-heber-percy

He is also a writer and screenwriter, and has written numerous articles on faith and film, the philosophy and theology of cinema.

Read this week’s featured headlines here:

• Muslim scholar in awards débâcle deserves apology from Lambeth Palace, says Moderator of Church of Pakistan: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/25-september/news/uk/muslim-scholar-in-awards-d%C3%A9b%C3%A2cle-deserves-apology-from-lambeth-palace-says-moderator-of-church-of-pakistan
• End ICE deal, say faith leaders: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/25-september/news/world/end-ice-deal-say-faith-leaders
• Churches spear US lawsuits: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/25-september/news/world/churches-spearhead-us-lawsuits
• Good Money Week: Better ways to spend – from housing schemes to microfinance:
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/25-september/features/features/good-money-get-a-home-to-call-your-own
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/25-september/features/features/good-money-from-small-seeds-to-nurturing-growth

If you enjoyed today’s talk, you can also listen to Colin Heber-Percy in conversation with Dr Andrew Rumsey, now Bishop of St Albans, from the 2023 Festival of Faith and Literature: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2023/14-april/audio-video/podcast/colin-heber-percy-in-conversation-with-andrew-rumsey-at-the-festival-of-faith-and-literature

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 www.churchtimes.co.uk/new-reader