Proost Podcast

Chris met Josie at an Iona Community gathering, where she was presenting some research, and immediately thought she would be a brilliant guest for this podcast because of her unique perspectives, informed by both her background and her acedemic research. In many ways, this wonderful conversations feels like a follow on from our discussions with Katie Cross on this podcast - helping us understand h...

(This episode was also uploaded to our other podcast, the Proost Poetry podcast. We loved it so much that we decided to make it available on this stream also.) For lovers of poetry of wild places, Kenneth Steven probably needs no introduction, but here we go anyway. Kenneth Steven is first and always a poet. To survive as a  ⁠literary author⁠  he’s had to become many other things as a writer – he...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr Katie Cross, who is the Christ’s College Lecturer in Practical Theology at Aberdeen University. Katie updates us on her research into church leavers, as well as inviting people to respond creatively as they tell their own stories of moving into a more fluid, unanchored form of faith. You can be part of this project as follows; By attending online workshops to di...

This is part 2 of a different kind of Proost podcast, in we take you on a journey to the remote island of Lunga in the Hebrides, where community and companionship come alive. Join us as we explore the bonds formed in wild places, where the absence of modern conveniences fosters deep connections and shared experiences. Discover how the rhythm of nature and the spirit of togetherness create a space...

In this unique episode of the Proost podcast, we take you on a journey to the remote island of Lunga in the Hebrides, where community and companionship come alive. Join us as we explore the bonds formed in wild places, where the absence of modern conveniences fosters deep connections and shared experiences. Discover how the rhythm of nature and the spirit of togetherness create a space for reflect...

In this, the first pod of 2025, we introduce a new member of our team, Cameron Preece, who has been working hard on a Proost website, having all sorts of skills that feel essential. We are so grateful to have him part of this project. As well as all his technical prowess, Cameron brings some important learning and creativity. His Masters dissertation explored the connection between poetry and pray...

Another one in which we use poetry as the means to get inside things that matter. Mark Berry and Ali Matthew, both of whom have a long relationship with Proost, read some of their poetry and talk to Chris about the inspiration behind it, and how this helps them into the Christmas season. Chris makes reference to 'At work in the ruins', by Dougald Hine: https://www.amazon.co.uk/At-Work-Ruins-Pandem...

This episode features two Australian poets- Talitha Fraser and Stevie Wills, and is the first of what we hope to be a more regular immersion in poetry, and the story behind the poems. Stevie lives with cerebral palsy which has affected her speach patterns, so listen carefully, because hers is a voice worth listening to! She speaks movingly about her long powerful poem which tells Mary's story. It...

Mark Kensett has been a professional photographer for over 40 years. While much of his early career was spent producing high-quality commercial work for a range of organisations, over time his deep Christian faith and passion for social justice began to shape a new direction. This calling has led him to collaborate with charities such as Amos Trust and Edukid , using film and photography to amplif...

This is the first discussion reflecting on a series of blog articles on https://thisfragiletent.com . Chris wrote these as part of a processing a long journey outside organised religion—but not outside faith—and Rob was keen to dig deeper into the content.

Here, Chris and Rob take a reflective journey through art making, community, spirituality and the nature of faith itself as they reflect and extend ideas brought to us from the brilliant chat with Mark Berry in Episode 10.

In this episode, Rob and Chris welcome guest Mark Berry. A pioneer minister, poet, musician, activist, prison worker, football supporter and art maker (to list a few of his achievements!) We explore a little of Mark's Story, but then get into some chat about how spirituality might relate to art. You can find out more about Mark on his website: https://www.mark-berry.co.uk/

In this (messy and unedited!) chat, we share lives and dreams about all things creative and spiritual. It is a lovely, warm conversation. We also give an update as to where we are and what help we still need as we continue to shape a phoenix from ashes.

This is the second of our music themed chats, this time with the wonderful Yvonne Lyon. Yvonne has been a professional musician for over twenty years, with a dozen albums to her name, garnering praise from many, including Radio 2's Bob Harris. She talks about her beginning in church music, moving through an encounter with the Christian music scene, then her move beyond these categories into making...

We welcome Ant Clifford from the band, Lofter, to our chat. (This is our first of two chats to musicians—next week we will hear from Yvonne Lyon) Ant has been making music with his fellow Lofters since 2002, and along the way, released some of his music via the old Proost platform. We were delighted to talk to about his inspiration, his experience in the music business, and how we might support gr...

Proost formerly gathered creative materials from the edges of Church and made them available more widely. In the past, we used labels like 'emerging church' or 'small missional groups' or 'alternative worship'. We are now at the point of reviving Proost, but this requires a lot of conversation and thought about what, why and a how. Some of this is happening over on our main podcast and Facebook gr...

In this episode, Chris and Rob take stock of where things are up to, and do some deep reflecting on the brilliant podcast with Dr Katie Cross last week.

In this episode, we speak to Dr Katie Cross, who holds the post of Christ’s College Lecturer in Practical Theology at Aberdeen University. Katie's first book  was a theological engagement with the Sunday Assembly, a "godless congregation," and she has also co-edited two volumes on trauma theology ( Feminist Trauma Theologies  and  Bearing Witness ). Her current research adventures into a large sca...

In this episode we have a chat with Jonny who, along with a group of friends, started Proost a couple of years ago. We explore the history, then spend to time thinking about the current landscape of faith, and how a new Proost might engage with this. Jonny currently works for the Church Mission Society, where he has been instrumental in developing pioneer minister training. He blogs here: https://...

This is the second of our 'introductory' podcasts. In the first one, it was pointed out that we failed to introduce ourselves. In this one, we do the painful business of just that! We also talk a bit more about the next steps for Proost, and how we intend continuing the conversation.

Here we have Rob (who lives in Jersey) talking to Chris (who lives in Argyll) about, well, listen for yourself. (If you really need to know, it is a random messy chat about restarting a publishing platform, and a strange decision to make some of this process public via the medium of podcasting.) Music by Will Goan