ExtraECC: Recent Episodes
Jason Swan Clark
Listening attentively and respectfully to life stories of people of faith in public life. In these extended interviews, find out the back story of what made these public faith leaders who they are today.
Paul Handley is a distinguished journalist whose career has spanned the post of press officer at Lambeth Palace when Robert Runcie was Archbishop of Canterbury and various roles on Anglican newspapers.
His decades-long editorship at the Church Times provides an unparalleled vantage point from which to look at changes in ecclesiastical and broadsheet journalism.
During that time, Paul has witnessed the terms of three Archbishops of Canterbury: George Carey, Rowan Williams and Justin Welby.
The interview also covers the ordination of women priests, the New Atheism, the development of websites and social media, and the Church Times cartoon!
0:00 Dunstable, Bedfordshire: Family background 25:47 University. Arriving at Goldsmith’s and exploring Christianity 40:24 Church of England Newspaper: Entry into journalism 42:47 Community life at Little Gidding & working for the Church Times 52:56 Press secretary at Lambeth Palace 59:47 Westcott House & the Ordination of Paul’s wife 1:06:21 Returning to the Church Times as News Editor 1:14:06 Journalism in a digital age. 1:22:34 Christian Prime Ministers: Blair, Brown, Cameron and May 1:35:18 The New Atheists 1:39:59 Archbishops of Canterbury: George Carey, Rowan Williams and Justin Welby 1:44:22 Church Times Cartoons & Other aspects of journalism
-- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and on Twitter @ecc_extra
During the 2020 lockdown in the UK, the Reverend Chris Lee came to prominence through his 60-second sermons, which were posted on his Instagram account: revchris7 His aim was to give solace and spiritual encouragement during this difficult time, particularly to the young.
This life story interview follows Chris from his childhood and schooling to a good job, followed by his decision to step off “the middle-class conveyor belt” to train as a vicar in Africa. The conversation covers contemplative spirituality, Chris’s setting up of the Young Franciscans, Chris’s book, the OMG effect, and the Hot Priest in Fleabag.
Since the recording, Chris has negotiated a two-book deal with Tyndale publishing house coming out in 2024. One adult book and one children’s book co-written with his wife.
0:00 Dublin: Family background, twin brother 53:00 University: Kingston, poker and pot 59:05 Life after university: From a secure job to Tanzania 1:04:11 Africa: Being in the moment, exploring priesthood 1:24:2 Ridley Hall: Healing and falling in love 1:39:29 After Ridley Hall: London, evangelicalism, Anglo-Catholic spirituality, work with the homeless 1:43:40. Priest in Charge: St Saviour’s, Young Franciscans and spiritual practices 1:55:43 Going Viral: The Instagram priest 2:09:17 Managing his online presence 2:20: 07 The Hot Priest in Fleabag 2:24:47 St Saviour’s, lockdowns and embracing online technologies 2:27:48 The OMG Effect. A book of Chris’s 60-second sermons -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and on Twitter @ecc_extra
The former principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon, and former Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy is a British theologian with wide-ranging interests across faith, the church, music, culture and the social sciences.
He is the subject of Reasonable Radical?: Reading the Writings of Martyn Percy, edited by Ian S Markham and Joshua Daniel.
He has been a religious columnist for the Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Independent and is a member of the BBC’s Standing Committee on Religion and Belief.
Martyn Percy is an honorary fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford and former dean of Christ Church, Oxford.
0:00 Family background, adoption and childhood 33:47 Bristol University, Theology and copywriting 40:21 Training in publishing, Sales, and Marketing 47:20 Involvement in a tragic road accident. 54:04 Emma: Attraction, marriage and tracing Martin’s birth mother 1:02:27 Non-conformism to conformism: From house church to Anglican robes 1:07:51 Martyn’s PhD: Words, Wonder and Power: The language of power in church discourse 1:15:58 There are no bad foods, only bad diets: Martyn’s interest in the lived practices of the church 1:23:31 Illustrative fragments: The Reasonable Radical conference on Martyn’s corpus 1:28:32 Two illustrative fragments: The Principal of Cuddesdon and the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and on Twitter @ecc_extra
With family links back to revival in twentieth-century Scotland, Pete Greig is the Senior Pastor of Emmaus Rd church, Guildford, in Surrey, England.
But he also describes himself as the “bewildered" founder of 24-7 Prayer, an international, inter-denominational movement of prayer, mission and justice operating in more than 100 nations.
A popular writer, Pete’s earlier books Red Moon Rising and Dirty Glory describes his odyssey in mobilising young people into intercession and evangelism and becoming inspired by the founder of an earlier 24/7 Prayer Movement, Count Zinzendorf of Herrnhut. Pete's recent memoir, God on Mute, which describes the crisis of faith when his wife Sammy was diagnosed with a brain tumour, is considered ‘a Christian classic’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. -- 0:00 Family background and childhood: A father born 1910 and a mother 1943 45:46 Public School. The brutalizing effect of boarding school. 54:37 Prayer in the garden shed, Reigate. 1:02:43 A series of disappointments: Pete questions his faith. 1:07:17 Pete’s series of adventures: Hong Kong & Jackie Pullinger 1:15:16 University: Unpacking Hong Kong 1:35:25 A Mystical Experience: A vision hitch-hiking in the Algarve 1:41:43 Chichester & Falling in Love: Mentoring from Roger Ellis, and meeting Sammie 2:00:46 Visiting an innovative punk church in Dresden: Count Zinzendorf and the Moravian Church. 2:16:06 Viral Prayer at 3 am: The vision prayer of the 24/7 Prayer movement 2:21:44 Suffering: Sammie, her influence, and her health 2:34:55 Other initiatives: Director of Prayer HTB, Emmaus Church plant, Order of the Mustard Seed 2:39:57 Transitions: Handing on the leadership of 24/7 and the Order of the Mustard Seed 2:43:45 Narrowboats: slowing down and the importance of long-lasting relationships. -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and on Twitter @ecc_extra
The daughter of the sociologists David and Bernice Martin, Jessica Martin, has combined a distinguished career as an academic working across the fields of English literature and theology with ordination in the Church of England.
Her book Holiness and Desire was published in June 2020, and in 2021 she delivered the prestigious Bampton Lectures on the subject of Four Dimensional Eucharist.
Jessica is married to the novelist Francis Spufford and, like him, has written about her own childhood - in Holiness and Desire. The Revd Dr Jessica Martin is a Canon Residentiary of Ely Cathedral and is a member of the influential Littlemore group of theologians.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Family background 21:43 Paradisal childhood memory from Holiness and Desire 25:17 Woking and a suburban childhood 42:07 Schooling: Montessori, Shock of primary school, and Youth Orchestra oboist 53:32 Adolescent self: Choosing words instead of music 1:05:06 Cambridge University: Being a student parent, a first and then a PhD 1:32:36 What Should A Priest Be For Those Who Know Them: Awards, speech writing, abuse and the return to Cambridge 1:47:11Post-graduate and professional life: British Academy award for PhD and speechwriting 1:47:11 Ventriloquizing replies for the Archbishop of Canterbury and The ordination of women 1:51:52 Light on the Water: Research fellowship, being published and training for ordination 2:15:37 Poetry and being a priest in Cambridgeshire. 2:18:29 Music: Lockdown and a return to music 2:23:58 For God’s Sake & The Littlemore Group (Jessica, Sam Wells and Sarah Coakley): Theology to nourish the lay church 2:30:56 Family Mentoring: David and Bernice Martin’s response to Jessica’s writing and priesting 2: 32:52 Jessica’s book, Holiness and Desire: “Wants are the bands and ligatures between God and us.” 2:41:16 Holiness and Desire, and Creatureliness: we are infinitely obliged to a web of relationships 2:44:53 Jessica’s role as Residentiary Canon at Ely Cathedral 2:51:05 Current preoccupations: Four-Dimensional Eucharist (2021 Bampton Lectures) and online services in COVID -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and on Twitter @ecc_extra
Francis Spufford is a writer of non fiction and more recently of novels. He teaches at Goldsmiths College, London, where he is Professor of Creative Writing.
His books include the Costa First Novel Award-winning Golden Hill, the memoir The Child That Books Built, and Unapologetic, possibly the sweariest ever work of Christian apologetics.
He is married to the Anglican priest and writer Jessica Martin, his mother was the historian and spiritual writer Margaret Spufford, and his daughter shows every sign of becoming a writer too.
His most recent novel Light Perpetual was published by Faber & Faber in February 2021.
Interview Timestamps 0:00 Childhood family tragedy and escape into books 31:24 Finding Narnia. From an unbreakable code to a portal 53:20 Rough and Tumble: Learning to read from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings 58:47 Boarding school: The loss of childhood faith and discovery of utopian politics 1:09:23 An educational conveyor belt: Cambridge University, and a vast depressive sulk 1:21:28 An attic and a large typewriter: Dreams of becoming a writer 1:32:54 I May Be Some Time: the forest of repressed feelings behind polar exploration 1:38:55 The Child That Books Built and Red Plenty: A turn towards fiction 2:01:40 The move towards conversion: Grace and mercy, and writing Unapologetic 2:39:33 Light Perpetual: South London 1944 and a German v2 bomb 2:44:03 How Jesus has changed: From aid in catastrophe to pattern for storytelling -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Rev Stephen Chalke MBE is a British Baptist minister, social activist, broadcaster and writer.
He founded the Oasis Charitable Trust in 1985 and has presided over its development as a provider of grass-roots social services in the United Kingdom and internationally across housing, healthcare and education.
Interview Timestamps 0:00 Croydon 1955: Family rejection and racism - An English mother and Anglo-Indian father, family rejection and racism 22:31Schooling and conversion (being saved in every conceivable way): Meeting God outside Crystal Palace Football Club: 45:12: The Seeds of Oasis: Ministry training at Spurgeon’s Bible college, mentors, experimenting with ministry enterprise 1:19:07 The first Oasis hostel: Calling to and miracles in Peckham 1:31:23 TV career: From interviews for TV to presenter for GMTV and BBC1, ITV and BBC Radio 4 1:40:20 The road to Oasis Waterloo: Minister of Haddon Hall Baptist Church, then Upton Chapel, Kennington 1:49:25 Working with central and local government: How to engage with government and politics 1:59:01 Church community work: Academy schools in the UK and schools in the slums of India 2:10:34 A million thumbprints: Stop the Traffik, A United Nations symposium in Vienna, special advisor to the UN 2:21:10 The future of Oasis: “We cannot achieve what we cannot imagine.” -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
A cultural and practising Catholic who grew up in the Irish diaspora community in Greater Manchester, Dr Anna Rowlands, is St Hilda Associate Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice at the University of Durham. A political theologian, she is the author of the forthcoming book ‘Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times’ (Bloomsbury), co-author of ’T&T Clark Reader in Political Theology (T&T Clark) and co-editor of a forthcoming book ‘Oxford Handbook of Religion and Contemporary Migration’ (OUP). She is a researcher on the AHRC/ESRC project Refugee Hosts (www.refugeehosts.org).
Dr Rowlands combines innovative research with a deep engagement with contemporary catholic communities, most recently with the Jesuit Refugee Service UK. She is a member of the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University and Founding Chair of the Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice. She is a trustee of the William Leech Fellowship in the North East of England, the incoming chair of trustees of The Woman at the Well, a London-based charity that works with women whose lives are affected by prostitution. and a Director of the University of Notre Dame London Gateway.
Dr Rowlands has recently written on the politics of Brexit and COVID-19 from the perspective of her long-standing interest in the works of the Jewish thinkers Hanna Arendt, Gillian Rose, and, most specifically, Simone Weil.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Alcoholism & Migration: Irish diaspora and the solitary path to an intellectual life 28:06 Appearing on Top of the Pops and singing with the Nolan sisters 31:01 Cambridge: Culture shock, Impendent thinking, and Christian Social Philosophy 44:38 Piecing things Together & The path to academics: Special needs, pastoral care, chaplaincy 1:01:11 The Broken Middle: A PhD, Gillian Rose, and putting things back together 1:09:24 Catholic Social Teaching: social questions and industrial capitalism 1:35:38 Brexit: Simone Weil and The Need for Roots. 1:51:12 Tears at the scared core: Simone Weil and suffering 1:59:59 Technocrats and Mechanisms: The displacement of suffering from political discourse 2:13:11 Marked by death: Suffering and the premature death of two friends 2:19:10 No Christian life outside the Church: Catholicism, The Church and the Christians Life 2:24:19 The North: Southern constructions, distance from power, and Brexit 2:29:25 Identity and Belonging: What did Catholicism ever do for us? 2:34:05 An accidental academic and Anna’s future -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Donald B. Kraybill is Distinguished College Professor, Senior Fellow, and Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Elizabethtown College., Pennsylvania. Internationally recognized for his scholarship on Anabaptist groups, with a particular emphasis on the Amish, Professor Kraybill is the author or editor of many books and dozens of professional articles.
He is also well known for Upside-Down Kingdom, written in 1976 and published in 1978, with the purpose of reconciling his sociological training and perspectives with theological ones. His newest book, What the Amish Teach Us, is a collection of 22 short essays that infuse storytelling with informative reflections. Each essay is a lesson that the author has learned from the Amish.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Simon meets Donald, a Re-union after 35 years, 4:06 Family background 1945: farming, Mennonites, Youth for Christ and Pacifism 14:45 Anabaptists and the Sermon on the Mount : What does it mean to follow Jesus in daily life?: 27:33 College and the 1960s: Marx, Weber, the Vietnam War, Honduras, Amish friends 38:38 Marriage and ordination: A cognitive dissonance between Amish church and graduate studies 49:50 Graduate studies: Peter Berger, The Homeless Mind, Rumor of Angels and is the concept of God is socially constructed. 58:30 Upside-Down Kingdom 1977: The historical Jesus, counter cultural (upside-down) kingdom 1:11:00 Our Star-Spangled Faith: The separation of church and state 1:15:38 Academic Career PhD 1975: Harrison Ford and Witness (1985), bargaining and negotiating with modernity. 1:30:34 The shadow side of Anabaptism: The Bergholz Barber case 1:44:12 Christianity, the American State and Donald Trump 1:51:07 What the Amish Teach Us: current work, and autobiography -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
The daughter of missionary parents, Dr Ruth Valerio, has been actively connected to many of the major initiatives in the charismatic renewal and social justice for most of her life.
She has been the youngest speaker at Spring Harvest (which she later chaired), a researcher at the Evangelical Alliance, and then head of its Social Responsibility department; whilst in her church life, Ruth has witnessed the birth of the 24/7 Prayer Movement.
Increasingly drawn to embedding the values of social justice, environmentalism and simple living in her own life, Ruth helped to galvanise A Rocha UK, a Christian environmental organisation, into greater influence through its Eco Church programme.
Ruth Valerio is currently Global Advocacy and Influencing Director for the international NGO Tearfund.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Jewish merchants, Missionaries in China, Harlow Essex, Japanese Internment Camps, and All Nations College 29:00 Commuter belts, CofE, Public School, and Cambridge 39:07 Roger Forster, Chichester, Spring Harvest, Evangelical Alliance, and Ecology 53:08 LST Masters degree, Clive Calver research assistant, BBC World Service, Ethiopia, Spring Harvest and EA’s social responsibility director 1:01:30 Living on a Chichester council estate for 26 years 1:08:40 Christian revival, Toronto Blessing, the first 24/7 Prayer Meeting 1:13:40 Allotments and pig co-operatives 1:18:00 A Rocha UK, Eco-Church, and theological advising 1:25:20 Kings College London: Doctorate and writing a book, ‘Just Living' 1:50:37 Simple living and capitalism: tracking levels of income against happiness 2:00:33 Global Advocacy and Influencing Director for the international NGO Tearfund 2:10:15 Writing a new book, ‘Saying Yes to Life’, and children’s book, ‘Planet Protectors, 52 Ways to Look after God’s World -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Simon Pellew, OBE, is a social entrepreneur who has spent his career addressing some of the most intractable social problems in the UK, unemployment and repeat offending in the criminal justice system. Influenced in his twenties by the radical communitarian theology of the Anabaptists, Simon studied in America with the expert on the Amish community, Professor Donald Kraybill, being much influenced by his famous book The Upside-Down Kingdom.
Returning to England, he set up the pioneering education and training charity PECAN in Peckham, South London, famous for its impact in lowering unemployment in some of the toughest council estates in London and for its equal pay policy for all employees.
For the last twenty years, Simon has worked with charities aiming to reduce reoffending in the prison population, pioneering approaches to improve family relationships and reduce unemployment amongst ex-offenders.
Interview Timestamps 0:00 Parents & School Bullies: WWII, launderettes, acting, journalism and conversion 20:28 The Navy and University: Ark Royal, masters degree, and Shepherds Bush 28:47 America: Mennonite Seminary, Anabaptists, Vineyard Churches, and the Upside Down Kingdom 39:53 Return to England, Peckham: Icthus Fellowship and a vision for the poor 47:10 Marriage to Shunu: Calcutta and the British army 52:20 PECAN (Peckham Evangelical Churches Action Network): Knocking on 10,00 doors and learning from mistakes 1:08:30 Equal Pay Policy: The impact of all staff being paid the same 1:15:28 Southwark Council: From hospitality to collaboration 1:19:36 The practice of management: Investors in People award and an OBE 1:25:55 Moving: CEO of Stepping Stones, Time for Families - seeing spiritual damage of unemployment 1:44:17 Looking Back and Forwards: The strings of government funding, leaving at the right time, Only Connect and prisons -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
The Reverend Peter Owen Jones is an Anglican priest, author, environmentalist and television presenter. Peter has had an extraordinarily varied and adventurous life as a jackaroo in Australia, a farm labourer in southern England, and then running a mobile disco, before working his way up from messenger boy to creative director in an advertising agency.
But then, a bit like Saint Anthony the Great or Saint Francis of Assisi, he abandoned a metropolitan lifestyle to become an Anglican priest, firstly in rural Cambridgeshire and now in the delightful East Sussex countryside at Firle, near Lewes. In fact, like St Anthony the Great, Peter - in his Extreme Pilgrim television series - lived in a cave for 21 days in the Egyptian desert.
He is currently working on a television series exploring the less glamorous but fascinating areas of the United Kingdom.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Adoption: Unknown place of birth 21:21 Family Life: Quakers, medics, Rothman cigarettes and gin 31:30 Trees and Fields: imaginative richness of experiences in nature 40:07 Escaping Darkness and Brutality: Single-sex public-school 1:05:43 Australia: Working on a cattle station 1:17:46 Return to England: Falling in love 1:22:56 A career in Advertising: Marrying the glamours receptionist 1:26:53 Theological College: Reconciled to the Divine, Publishing a Bed of Nails 1:42:48 A Priest in Cambridgeshire: A service for Newbery Bypass protestors 1:52:30 Psalm: Publishing a small book of poetry 2005 1:55:12 Vicar of Firle: Fifteen years of integration 2:05:42 Extreme Pilgrim: Making a BBC TV series - Monks and Desert Fathers 2:24:10 Letters from an Extreme Pilgrim: Living in a Cave 2:27:34 How to Live a Simple Life: Making a BBC documentary after the financial crash 2: 31:13 Spiritual practices to combat consumerism: The higher the wealth, the higher the walls 2: 37:35 Finding Eden where you live: Celebrating Sussex, aka ‘fall in love where you are’ 2: 43:21 Current preoccupations: Filming ‘The Land Less Travelled’, prayer and enjoying family. -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Jill Weber and her husband Kirk helped found the Greater Ontario House of Prayer in Canada, and she served as its Abbess for 17 years. Jill is the Global Convenor of the Order of the Mustard Seed, a lay ecumenical religious order, and currently serves on the international leadership team of 24-7, their Director of Houses of Prayer.
She and Kirk moved to England in 2018, and Jill is currently establishing a new residential monastic community at Waverley Abbey House in Surrey. A trained spiritual director, Jill published her memoir "a life lived from a place of loving encounter with God" in 2019. It is called Even the Sparrow.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 Australian Ambassadors, Vancouver, Chalk and Cheese 11:47 Scorching and Freezing: Growing up in Canada 16:39 Mere Christianity: A father’s spiritual quest changes everything 23:26 “Hi, I’m Jill”: Meeting God in the woods, and the nature of Prayer 44:12 Toronto Blessing in 1994: The Fatherhood of God 49:07 Vocational choices: Vet or Youth Pastor? 52:01 Marriage and domestic abuse 58:35 Alter egos: Crazy Daisy and Clowning 1:06:18 Holy Indifference: The Christian life as an adventure with Jesus 1:10:57 Vulnerability: Can you walk all the way into your sadness? 1:25:36 The Capacity to Lament: Advice on surviving a pandemic 1:31:41 Archaeology: unearthing buried dreams of leadership 1:41:20 The distinction between prayer and intercession 1: 53:51 Starting a House of Prayer 2001: Monks, Chanting Psalms, Suffering and the Poor 2: 08:45 Learning how to say things sideways: England, 24/7 Prayer, Pete Greig, Waverley Abbey House 2: 17:02 Whys and wherefores: writing Even the Sparrow -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Few Christians have had as much influence upon the public presentation of Christianity in The United Kingdom over the last fifty years, often from behind the scenes, as Peter Meadows.
An expert in communications, Peter Meadows brought his knowledge of printing techniques in the 1960s to help Musical Gospel Outreach develop into Buzz magazine, leading to a quiet revolution in the music deemed acceptable in the British churches and modernising its youth culture. Later in the decade, he helped a newly-formed NGO find its marketing pitch and name as Tearfund. Since then he has found "creative solutions to complex problems” in the development of Spring Harvest and in the political campaigning that paved the way for Premier Christian Radio.
At the time of the interview in December 2020, Peter was Director of AfterWorkNet, which has been set up to help retirees make the most of the opportunities which lie ahead.
Interview Timestamps
0:00 The Class Clown: Fur traders, Germany to Canada to Liverpool, Publicans and Vicars 22:48 A teenager in post war London, Skiffle, Elvis, the Beatles and fashion in Mary Quant. 30:56 Conversion: Christian girls, caravans and youth groups 42:59 First job: Advertising agency 48:30 Music Gospel Outreach, Buzz magazine, a record company and sex surveys 1:13:40 Marriage and fatherhood: Drama, Cliff Richard and cancer 1:35:44 You can’t eat prayer - Setting up TEARFUND: Saving The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund from being called Earfund 1:43:42 Lausanne Conference: Evangelical boycotts and taking team ‘B’ 1:48:05 Spring Harvest: From an ecumenical idea to 80,000 people attending 2:05:32 Reflections on 21st Century culture and future of the Church 2:13:15 Playing out of position: Setting up Premier Radio 2:25:34 Reflections on the role of mistakes in spiritual and organisational growth association 2:30:31 Later career: World Vision, and Programme Director with AfterWorkNet 2:39:30 Play the card you are dealt: Advice to younger church leaders and final reflections.
-- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Since 2012 Revd Dr Sam Wells has been Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, a church which has an honourable history in social justice and as a centre for the arts.
He has served for many years as a parish priest in situations of social deprivation. He also spent 7 years in North Carolina, where he was Dean of Duke University Chapel.
A distinguished theologian, Sam has published 35 books, on subjects ranging from Christian ethics, mission, ministry, scripture, liturgy and preaching.
He is one of the most respected exponents of the sermon in the Anglican Communion.
Interview Timestamps 0:00 Childhood: A mother Ukrainian Jewish Convert to Christianity, Nazi Germany, and Cancer 31:14 Converting Nazis to Christianity in East London 34:17 A Father: Sam’s place in his lineage of Anglican clergymen 41:43 Childhood memories: Rogation, beating the parish bounds and harvest 45:16 His mother’s fatal illness and writing as a retreat 53:53 University and theological education: Oxford, Liverpool and improvisation 1:16:59 Being with People: Reflections on formative ministry in Tyneside in the 1990s 1:21:04 Developments in thought: The Nazareth Manifesto and Being With 1:24:28 COVID pandemic and putting Christian ethics into practice 1:31:34 Preaching and the Press: Being Dean of Duke Chapel, Duke Divinity Schoo 1:56:40 Return to the UK: St Martin-in-the-Fields 2:02:55 Nazareth Manifesto: the importance of being with people, rather than working for them 2:08:54 The Church and the Future of Welfare 2:13:58 Abundance and scarcity: “Poverty is a mask we put on people to hide their true wealth, and wealth is a mask we put on people to hide their true poverty” 2:21:27 Covid and the future of the Church 2:20:36 A formula: Looking to the future. -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Professor Linda Woodhead has been described as “one of the world’s leading experts on religion”.
She has written extensively on Anglicanism, secularisation and the changing face of spirituality in modern Britain.
Professor Woodhead has also collaborated with leading British politicians to look at religion and society, co-founding the Westminster Faith Debates in 2011 with former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke.
For many years Distinguished Professor of the Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University, since 2022 Professor Woodhead has been the F.D. Maurice Professor and Head of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College London.
Interview timestamps
0:00 Distinguished Professor: Hot Fuzz, Glastonbury and the Isle of Man TT 24:54 From Plato to Enid Blyton: Beating the Bounds 39:50 Secret ambitions: Rowan Williams, Don Cupitt and University 56:01 Homecoming: From theology to Sociology 1:16:30 The Spiritual Revolution: Facts are expensive 1:42:44 That Was The Church That Was: Archbishops, the Synod and the church hierarchy 1:59:53 Feminist theology and its history 2:10:41 Westminster Faith Debates: Parliamentarians and faith 2:19:14 Values are the New Religion: The Cadbury Lectures -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
The Very Revd Dr Ian Markham has undergone a considerable spiritual journey from his birth into an Exclusive Brethren family in the United Kingdom to his ordination as an Episcopalian priest in the United States.
Since 2007 Dr Markham has been Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary in the United States where he is also a Professor of Theology and Ethics.
A trained Christian Ethicist and Biblical Scholar, Dr Markham is a prolific author and editor on subjects as varied as the New Atheism, world religions, morality and the reasonable radicalism of Martyn Percy.
Dean Markham has also served for many years as a Priest Associate at an Episcopalian Church in Alexandria, Virginia.
Interview timestamps
0:00 Family origins: Exclusive, Open and Plymouth Brethren 28:20 Brethren Expulsion: Cornwall and Open Brethren 43:09 A Family Death and Atheism 46:53 Mentors and Education 53:01 Russia, Bodmin and London 1:00:04 Suffering & LGBTQ: Kings College and Church Confirmation 1:08:01 Falling in love with the USA, Exeter doctoral thesis, Plurality and Christian Ethics 1:15:34 Globalization, Localism and Communal Life 1:30:55 Ordination: Advertising Standards Authority 1:41:30 Leading Virginia Theological Seminary: Prayer and reparations -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: @extraecc Follow us on FB www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Turning their back on successful careers in social work teaching and practice, Annette and Bob decided to put their lives where their values were by moving with their family into a converted doctor’s surgery on a council estate in Bath. While Bob engaged in innovative community work as a “resourceful friend", Annette supported the family by working full-time and acting as “coach, receptionist, janitor and a good listener".
Being born in Glasgow, then becoming a Christian and a university student there, Annette Holman returned as an adult to a deprived part of the city, Easterhouse, with her late husband Bob, to undertake community work and live out Christian Socialist principles.
Moving later to Glasgow they established FARE, Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse, which influenced the Conservative political Ian Duncan Smith to set up the Centre for Social Justice
Interview timestamps
0:00 A war baby in Glasgow and Bombing in London 20:58 Regimented male lifestyles, factory workers, and Glasgow holiday fairs 25:16 Holland, Scotland, sweet rationing and secondary education 33:36 Atheists and religious debate: Christianity and conversion 39:21 Learning the alphabet at eleven, and university 50:11 A lady almoner: Meeting Bob and engagement in Russell Square: 59:36 Post-war social work, and impact of the Welfare State 1:08:33 Rivers of Blood: Responding to racism, and entering academic life 1:27:50 Bath University, managerialism, and community work 1:40:03 A Coach, receptionist, janitor, and good listener: moving to Southdown Estate, Bath 1:58:58 Easterhouse Glasgow: Establishing FARE (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) 2:14:30 - 2:17:19 The scale of poverty, social problems, and deprivation 2:17:20 Summary of the many established (and continuing) achievements of FARE 2:21:30 Kids at the Door Revisited: The impact of young people from Southdown 2:25:09 Legacy & Christian Socialism, and the Centre for Social Justice 2:34:38 The sustaining power of God for contentment and challenges -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
Professor ‘Ben’ Pink Dandelion is a Quaker historian, academic and writer. He has worked for Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre since 1992 and founded the Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies in 1999, now the Centre for Research in Quaker Studies. He directs its work with the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University. Ben has published extensively on the sociology, history and theology of British Quakerism, also on the spirituality of travel. The Cultivation of Conformity Towards a General Theory of Internal Secularisation, was published in 2019.
Interview timestamps
0:00 Strict and particular atheists, Carlisle and a Premature Death 13:24 Quaker school, Manchester Polytechnic and hotel management 24:40 Life at the anarchist peace camp, and name change to Pink Dandelion 31:02 From revolution to chauffer, miner’s strikes, and discovering Quakerism 44:37 The Pink Dandelions band 45:53 Slow and silent quaker discernment 56:24 Post Christian and Evangelical Quakers 1:09:28 St Louis and an encounter with God on a Greyhound Bus 1:15:31 Christ and the Quakers 1:20:19 Brighton Polytechnic, a doctoral thesis, and death of his mother 1:26:28 Post-graduate Quaker studies at Woodbrooke, and University of Birmingham 1:29:55 The Red Book aka You don’t join the hiking club to go swimming: Swarthmore Lecture, 2014 1:40:20 Differing values of the World and the Spirit 1:42:36 Kettledrums: The essence of Quakerism 1:45:52 Ear rings, sexuality and motorbike: From bi-sexuality and polyamory into heterosexuality, monogamy and becoming a parent -- For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra
A British Anglican Priest and literary scholar specialising in religion and culture, Dr Alison Milbank is Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Nottingham, and Canon Theologian of Southwell Minster.
Professor Milbank's research and teaching focuses on the relation of religion and culture in the post-Enlightenment period, with particular interest in non-realist literary and artistic expression.
Her magnum opus, God & The Gothic: Religion, Romance, & Reality in the English Literary Tradition was published in 2019. She is currently undertaking research on specifically Anglican developments towards a theology of nature from the seventeenth to twentieth century.
For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra -- Timed Interview Summary
0:00 Childhood in post WWII Portsmouth, the book of Common Prayer, Anglo-Irish family life, Gothic fantasy and theology 15:00 Making our world strange and Divine: Arabian Nights, classical books, Vampires, Harry Potter and Tolkien 36:36. Religious and academic journeys: Cambridge University, an academic crisis, Dante and ordination. 44:30 Christian mission and socialism: Stewart Headlam and the Guild of St Matthew, Percy Dearmer, Conrad Noel and the Christian Socialist League and Catholic Crusade, Scott-Holland and the Christian Social Union. Guild socialism, Catholic distributism. F.D. Maurice, G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, Maurice Reckitt and the Christendom Group 1:10:40. For the Parish & Fresh Expressions: Form and content in Christian practice. The danger of modern evangelisation that is culturally relevant without an alertness to what is being smuggled in. 1:21:00 Canon Theologian: Adult education, conferences, marriages, baptisms and children's work. Also Head of Department and Professor of Theology at the University of Nottingham. The duality of being a priest and an academic tutor. 1:24:53. Discussion of the gaps in current spiritual formation in Britain: Feeding on the riches of Christian belief: art, music, literature, ethics and theology. There needs to be more sense of God’s beauty and mystery.
Eve Poole is a leadership expert.
Eve has had two career tracks. One as a leading business consultant at Deloitte, having an MBA, and the other within the Anglican church, with a PhD in theology (Capitalism and Theology ). She has worked with thousands of leaders across sectors and the world. These experiences with leaders inspired her to develop the idea of Leadersmithing: a movement where she believes that leadership is all about the day-to-day craft of gaining real experience in the critical incidents of leading, so leaders develop the muscle memory to do it well. More information about Eve, her books and resources can be found at her website http://evepoole.com.
For all things ExtraECC, go to: https://ExtraECC.com Audio versions of these interviews are at: https://soundcloud.com/extraecc Follow us on FB https://www.facebook.com/ExtraECC, and Twitter @ecc_extra -- Timed Interview Summary
0:00 Early Life in Scotland, Oxford and Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse) 13:39 The early death of Eve's Father and impact on her 25:58 Bilingual Cameleon: Scottishness and Englishness 47:17 The Oxygen of her life: Christianity, Church, and Theology 59:56 From Shyness to Confidence: Advice from the Jackie Album 1975. 1:17:00 First Jobs and an MBA: Church Commissioners and Church House 1:28:35 A short diversion. Eve takes a course at the Lucy Clayton Modelling Agency 1:32:12 A PhD In theology via work as a Change Management consultant specializing in the capital market, high tech and retail businesses. 1:42:08 Virtue Ethics and Biology: Neuro-science, emotional hijacks and the brain's structure. Her book leadersmithing and mental templates for difficult situations. 2:02:05 Key mentors and how they stood out. The importance of finding lifelong mentors. 2:07:58 The Princess Diaries: The meaning of courage and how character trumps fear 2:20:24 Gender issues: Women as senior leaders, and the situational nature of leadership 2:24:56 Gordonstoun School: How Eve becomes chair of the Board of the School where Prince Charles was educated 2:33:25 The UK Church's naivety about capitalism 2:48:06 Leadersmithing playing cards: Applying the Insights of Eve's work into Christian leadership 2:56:32 Covid-19 questions: Basic Income, debt, higher education, apprenticeships 3:07:12 Robots, the Soul and Artificial Intelligence: Current research preoccupations
Interview with the late Rev Dr Joel Edwards CBE, just a few months before his passing.
Joel Edwards CBE (1951 – 30 June 2021) was a Jamaican-born British writer, broadcaster, consultant, international speaker on a range of areas including racial justice, leadership, religious freedom and bible teaching. He made history in 1997 when he became the first Black Pentecostal to become General Director of the Evangelical Alliance from 1997 until 2009.
Prior to taking on this role, he was working as a probation officer alongside service as a church pastor at Mile End New Testament Church of God in London, and general secretary of the African & Caribbean Evangelical Alliance. He was Honorary Canon at St Paul's Cathedral.
Joel’s family confirmed he had passed away due to cancer on the 30th June.
Joel left this letter for his friends and family, as his last words:
"Dear friends, This is to say a final goodbye. First, my incredible thanks for your prayers, love and holding on with me to that fingernail miracle. Words cannot express the depth, breadth and height of my gratitude, but I have gone home. My earnest prayer is that your faith and tenacity on my behalf will not be considered a pointless religious exercise, but that it will have strengthened your faith in a God who is marvellous, mysterious and majestic in all that He does: The Faithful One. I commend my family to you. I know you will watch over them in the months and years ahead. And I commend you to God and to the word of His grace that is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among those that are being saved. I wait to welcome you…”
Timed Interview Summary
0:00 Early life in Kingston, Jamaica. 24:10 Arrival in the United Kingdom 1960s 46:21 Childhood Abuse & Absent Fathers 59:45 Reunion with his Mother 1:17:46 Black Pentecostal resistance to the Swinging 60s 1:36:10 London Bible College and becoming Probation Officer 1:54:35 General Secretary of ACEA (African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance) 1988 2:18:00 General Director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1997 2:30:07 Stakeholders, Grassroots Activism and Hope 2:34:41 Christian Solidarity Worldwide 2015-2017, and a Doctorate 2:51:11 Looking back as a black Christian leader 2:55:30 Summary reflections on the strengths and challenges of Evangelicalism 3:03:32 Dancing in the Darkness - Retirement, and health
Rowan Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological scholar and poet.
Previously Archbishop of Wales, in 2002 he was confirmed as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, standing down in 2012, before becoming Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge between 2013 and 2020.
Dr Williams has written extensively on Christian spirituality Anglicanism and the intersection of theology and literature.
"Looking East in Winter: Contemporary thought and the Eastern Christian tradition" was published by Bloomsbury in June 2021
Interview with Revd Dr Jason Swan Clark: https://www.jasonswanclark.org
Jason is a church planter, pastor and academic, based in the church he and his wife planted nearly 25 years ago. Jason's PhD in theology diagnosed the relationship between the development of Evangelicalism and consumer culture.
Jason is a board member for the Vineyard Institute, helping oversee theological training for his church movement around the world. Jason designed and leads a Doctor of Leadership, for Portland Seminary, now in its eleventh year.
Jason's church: https://suttonvineyard.org Portland Seminary Doctor of Leadership https://www.georgefox.edu/seminary/programs/doctor-of-leadership/index.html
Timed Interview Summary
0:00 Childhood Abuse, 1970s working-class life in Luton 16:16 Abandonment and Bigamy 35:56 Nature and Nurture 47:00 Finding Narnia 1986 58:46 Nervous Breakdown 1999 1:08:24 Navigating the Post Christian World 1:12:35 Doctoral Research: What’s wrong and right with Evangelicalism? 1:35:52 Dynamism of Protestantism and Evangelicalism 1:39:07 The Potential Future for Evangelicalism 1:48:29 Sacralised Narcism and Theology of Suffering