Watch this space!

Watch this space!

Watch this space!

Music communicates in a language that is experienced more powerfully than the spoken word. John Bell joins Dom, Peter and Sue to explore the way music can powerfully shape and change not only our experience of worship, but also how we understand ourselves and God. What do the songs we sing tell us about what we really believe and how we think we should live? John is a hymn writer, composer, lecturer and broadcaster, and an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and member of the Iona Community. You can download this podcast here

What do William Shakespeare and the Church have in common? Perhaps it is to do with the big questions explored and in the way, at their best, they both address the human condition, hold a prophetic role in society and speak truth in both direct and mythological forms. Dr Rob Pensalfini joins the podcast to talk with Dom, Peter and Sue about some of these biggest questions, tracking the ways theatre and the church have evolved and what this reveals about the passion and pathos of the human condition. Rob is Associate Professor of linguistics and drama at The University of Queensland and Artistic Director of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble and you can download this podcast here

The Royal Commission investigating institutional responses to child sexual abuse uncovered failures of the Church to protect children and revealed stories of betrayal, violence and suffering leading to ongoing, long-term trauma for sexual abuse survivors. Secrecy, clericalism and an unwillingness to believe the stories of victims have all been factors in the failure of the church to prevent these abuses. Hearing the stories is vital. Steve Smith, who recently appeared on the SBS documentary Christians Like Us, joins the podcast to share his story and reflect on faith and the church . From the age of 10 to 15, Steve was sexually abused by an Anglican priest, and spent the next three decades seeking justice. Download this podcast here

Content warning: This conversation talks about child sexual abuse and trauma. If anything in this conversation causes distress, support is available through the providers listed below.

Child abuse is a crime. If you have been a victim of abuse, or are concerned about a child being abused, you should report your concerns to local police.

Finding help and support

The work of the Royal Commission, and particularly the stories of survivors, may bring up many strong feelings and questions. Be assured you are not alone, and that there are many services and support groups available to assist in dealing with these. Some options for advice and support are listed below:

• 1800 Respect – Call 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au 24/7 telephone and online crisis support, information and immediate referral to specialist counselling for anyone in Australia who has experienced or been impacted by sexual assault, or domestic or family violence.
• Lifeline – Call 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention.

Contact details for additional National and State support services can be found here:
www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/contact

The label of being a “progressive” can often be misunderstood. The Rev’d Tiffany Sparks joins the podcast to talk about culture, mainstream media, and sharing the Gospel in a way that releases it to be lifegiving and liberating in the world today. Download this podcast here

Being gay and being Christian can be a hard journey in communities of faith. The stories of pain and exclusion told by many are a prompt to listen more closely to the experiences of the DiGS (Diverse in Gender and Sexuality) community and to pay attention to the damaging and dangerous implications of our theology and practice. Chris Csabs, recently seen in the SBS documentary Christians Like Us joins Dom, Peter and Sue to tell his story and share in a conversation about radical, unconditional love and being the church for everyone. You can download this podcast here

Content warning: This conversation includes references to suicide and so-called ‘gay conversion therapy’. If anything in this conversation causes distress, support is available through the following providers:

• Lifeline – Call 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention.
• Beyond Blue: www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support or call 1300 22 4636
• Equal Voices: supports, sustains and empowers LGBTIQ Christians to express their religious identity in community with others; visit: https://equalvoices.org.au

In 2019, broadcaster SBS aired a reality television experience called Christians Like Us, describing it as “10 Christians from around Australian, living together for one week. From conservative to progressive, Catholic to Anglican, charismatic to controversial – each confronting the issues that challenge their respective faiths.” The results are an interesting study in the challenges facing the church, but also the power of love to forge enduring friendships in an environment of raw vulnerability. Coming up in future podcast episodes are conversations with housemates, The Rev’d Tiffany Sparks, Chris Csabs and Steve Smith, but first here are three short, revealing interviews with Dom about their experience in the house – download this podcast here

How do we move from faith as a fixed set of beliefs to a transformative event that transforms and renews our life? And how can living into the events of Holy Week and the new day of Easter together change us in ways that can be different every time we enter this old story? Dom Fay, Peter Catt and Sue Wilton explore the journey of Lent and the cruciform pattern that plays out in our lives in surprising and holy ways, and you may download this podcast here

Does money really make the world go around? Is self-interest the only reliable predictor of human civil and social behaviour? The Rev’d Gillian Moses joins the podcast to talk about the assumptions we make about economics, and how challenging beliefs about competition and scarcity can open us to a new way of being together that heals the isolation and dehumanisation of consumer capitalism – download this podcast here

Dom Fay, Peter Catt and Sue Wilton are joined by Dave Andrews to explore “Plan Be” – the ethical guidelines laid out by Jesus in The Beatitudes that can help us be the change we want to see in the world. This is about a way of being that helps us live into our deepest potential through inner transformation that in turn transforms our world with justice, integrity, compassion and peace. The conversation explores what it means to follow the way of Jesus through the framework of these 8 life-giving principles – download this podcast here

Happy Christmas or Seasons Greetings? And what jokes and topics of conversation are okay to bring out these holidays at parties and family BBQs? In this episode Peter Catt, Dom Fay and Sue Wilton discuss the emotions around being “PC”, explore what is really felt to be at stake and how we can navigate this territory as people of faith. Download this podcast here

Ever wondered what your dreams might reveal? Dr George Trippe rejoins Dom, Peter and Sue in a conversation about how the symbols and images of our dreams and nightmares can be a language of rich spiritual insight, wisdom and self-knowledge. Download this podcast here

What is prayer, and how do we go about it? Joining the podcast for a conversation about the practice, meaning and purpose of prayer is The Rev’d Dr Sarah Bachelard, founder and leader of Benedictus Contemplative Church in Canberra and honorary fellow at the Australian Catholic University. Download this podcast here

Author Matt Haig joins Dom and Sue on the podcast to explore some of the ways our world can make us unwell. Social commentaries often reports that rates of stress and anxiety are rising. We are more connected, yet feel more alone. We are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index. Author Matt Haig joins the podcast to talk about the question of how to stay human in a technological and fast paced world. After years of anxiety, Matt began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. In this conversation he discusses his latest book, Notes on a Nervous Planet, and explores how to feel happy and human in the twenty-first century. Matt Haig is a UK author of several best-selling works of fiction and non-fiction, including How to Stop Time and Reasons to Stay Alive. Download this podcast here

Dom Fay and Sue Wilton are joined by The Very Rev’d Professor Andrew McGowan to explore some of the ancient history of religion and the way ideas about sacrifice pervade the religious imagination. What was the place of sacrifice within ancient religious tradition and what do Christians mean when they talk about Jesus as the sacrificial lamb? This conversation explores the misunderstandings around the nature and history of sacrifice and how a richer understanding can lead to a more compassionate and liberating experience of Christian faith and eucharistic worship. Andrew McGowan is the Dean of Berkeley Divinity School within Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. You can download this podcast here

Peter Catt and Dom Fay are joined by The Rev’d Chris Bedding to talk about the place of humour and the absurd in religion. Where does humour turn up in our understanding of faith and the Christian life? What do comedy and worship share in common and is there anything we can’t laugh at? Chris Bedding is a real live Anglican Priest who serves the Parish of Darlington-Bellevue. He is also a stand-up comedian, actor, director and musician, and one half of the duo responsible for Pirate Church; a loving satire about the wacky world of religion, and Christianity in particular – download this podcast here

Dom Fay and Sue Wilton are joined by Professor Ellen Charry in a discussion about what it really means to be happy, what is the kind of happiness that lasts, and what goodness and blessing have to do with it all. Ellen is Professor of Systematic Theology Emerita of Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey, and author of many publications, including God and the Art of Happiness. Download this podcast here

Do you dream of slowing your life down? Maybe you have explored slow reading, slow food, and even slow TV. What about slow church? The Right Rev’d Professor Stephen Pickard, Bishop and Executive Director for the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture joins us on the podcast to explore how the best things in life can be slow, the mysteries of life can’t be rushed and nothing can be loved at speed. Download this podcast here

Wm Paul Young, author of several books including The Shack, joins Dom and Sue to talk about shame and the way it can hold us back from a flourishing life; a life grounded in an awareness that we are loved and of great worth. What are the things we believe or have been told about God that would tell us the opposite? How do we instead travel the journey towards authenticity and freedom? Download this podcast here

Dowd, one of the authors of Transfaith: A Transgender Pastoral Resource. How does the transgender identity influence the life of faith and the search for meaning? What does this mean for both those who identify as transgender and those who hope to gain new understanding of gender and its role in the spiritual journey? A deeply compassionate and human conversation – download this podcast here

In a world that seems obsessed by models of heroic leaders and trusting in the ‘expert’ opinions of others to work things out, models that allow space and time for truly collaborative models of leadership and decision making can seem quite counter-cultural – download this podcast here

Christianity teaches us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves, but that presupposes that we know how to love ourselves. Peter Catt and Dom Fay are joined by psychotherapist, counsellor, spiritual director and artist Dr George Trippe in discussion – download this podcast here

Richard Fay, Dom Fay and Sue Wilton talk over the two halves of life: finding faith in the midst of suffering and discovering the move from trying to allowing and from doing to being – download this podcast here

The Rev’d Dr Steven Ogden joins Dom, Peter and Sue to explore the Church’s enmeshment with sovereign power – download this podcast here

Jim Schirmer is our guest as we discuss challenging our comfortable theologies – download this podcast here

James Alison, theologian and Roman Catholic priest, joins Peter Catt and Dom Fay to explore the meaning of the cross in the light of the work of René Girard. In this conversation, James explores how humans have a history of excluding others and the way Jesus changes all that by volunteering to be the person who was excluded. Shifting the story in this way changes not only how we see our faith, but also how we treat each other and understand relationships. The ideas explored in this conversation help us to understand ourselves and our own patterns of imitative desires and behaviour, even as it gives us insight into patterns of violence in our societies and throughout history. Download this podcast

Dom Fay, The Rev’d Sue Wilton and Brendan McKeague from Pace e Bene Australia in a rich and highly practical exploration of living with an ethic of nonviolence and following the way of Jesus – download this podcast

The Very Rev’d Professor Martyn Percy, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and Dean Peter Catt join Dom Fay for a discussion exploring what shape the Church might have in future as we come to terms with the role of complexity and the idea of incorporation – download this podcast

… and how do we read it when we take our sacred text seriously? Peter Catt, Sue Wilton and Dom Fay are joined by the Rev’d Dr Greg Jenks to discuss differing views about scripture and scriptural interpretation and what that means for how we understand faith and what it means to be a follower of the way of Jesus.  Download this podcast

Dom Fay and Peter Catt are joined by the Rev’d Dr Ceri Wynne to talk about the popular myth that science and religion are essentially in conflict and cover some fascinating ground exploring the dynamic interplay possible when science and faith interact – download this podcast

Dave Andrews and Dr Nora Amath join Dom Fay and Sue Wilton to tell stories and share the urgency of the message of peace and understanding between religious communities and the power of friendship between individuals. This conversation explores how the ‘prophet’ Jesus can unite rather than divide Muslims and Christians, giving examples of Muslims and Christians finding common ground, with thoughts on how we might all work together for common good – download this podcast

Dom Fay leads the discussion with Peter Catt and Sue Wilton around issues of gender and spirituality. Does God have a gender? What are the issues for women when so much of our language for God is masculine and exclusive? What does scripture reveal about gender and what have we been missing in our tradition that is life-giving and empowering for women? The conversation centres around the alternate narrative that the gospel reveals and the liberating good news that challenges cultures of patriarchy and inequality – download this podcast

Dean Peter Catt and Dom Fay are joined by Richard Fay who is CEO of The Centre for Men, Australia and also happens to be Dom’s Dad. Together they explore the way dualistic thinking traps us into defining our world in binary terms, and how seeking a unitive consciousness can avoid an “us and them” mentality and help us on the way to authentic love and freedom and to become who we are created to be – download this podcast

Talking about life and what are the biggest questions: Dom Fay and Peter Catt talk God, the universe and everything. – download this podcast