Words of Grace: Living Hope in the Diocese of Sheffield

‘I just burst into tears – which is not like me at all – and said, “I’ve been running away from God for too long”. I started exploring ordination after that’. Revd Kath Lonsborough, Assistant Curate at St Paul’s Wordsworth Avenue, joins Paul and Ben on the podcast. Kath discusses: ✝️ How being confirmed at 11 helped shape her faith in adulthood ✝️ Her sense of social justice from a young age ✝️ Fe...

Revd Helena Roulston, Head of Chaplaincy at Sheffield Hallam University, is on the podcast today. Helena talks about: ✝️ Growing up in an inter-church family ✝️ Her university thesis on The Eucharist: ‘A Sacrament of unity in a divided church’ ✝️ Being asked for advice by mainly non-religious students in her current role ✝️ The importance of a multi-faith chaplaincy ✝️ Training for ordination at W...

‘Very quickly, it made sense. Within a couple of months of reading my bible and praying…I had fallen in love with Jesus’. Revd Mike Gilbert, Associate Archdeacon Transition-Enabler for Ecclesfield and Hallam, is on the podcast today. Mike talks about: ✝️ Being drawn back to faith as a teenager ✝️ Doing mission work in Hong Kong with Jackie Pullinger ✝️ Seeing what brought former triad gang members...

‘It was a real outpouring of the Holy Spirit and we didn’t really know what we were experiencing at that time’ Revd Sara Goodman joins Paul and Ben on the podcast today. Sara discusses: ✝️ Growing up with Methodist and Anglican services ✝️ Teaching in Tanzania and living in Ethiopia ✝️ Answering the call to ordination after years of discernment ✝️ The love and support she received when she had can...

Rachel Baker, Young Leaders’ Community Enabler, is on the podcast today. Rachel talks about: ✝️ Growing up in Bristol ✝️ Helping to release young people into leadership roles in the church ✝️ How God called her to Rotherham ✝️ Worshipping at St Francis Bramley ✝️ The church leaders who inspired her Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explore Part 2 of our 2025 Words of Grace Christmas Special, as Ben is joined by his wife, and guest co-host, Revd Debbie Coyne-Fearn as they journey through Christmas Live with Christ Church Stannington. Hear Ben and Debbie talk about: ✝️ How Christmas Live has been going for over 30 years ✝️ Their chats with Revd Alison Cook - one of the main organisers ✝️ How it draws hundreds of people every y...

Paul is joined by special guest host Becca as they visit the All Saints Totley Christmas Experience! Paul and Becca talk through with Vicar Ben Tanner what the experience entails, what they think to it and why you should come along next year. Join us next week for Part 2 of our Christmas Special, as we visit Christmas Live at Christ Church Stannington. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...

‘I remember putting my hands up and I felt such an overwhelming presence - I can’t describe it’. Toby Butler, Church Planting Support Lead for Faith in the North, is on the podcast today. Toby shares stories on: ✝️ His background in church planting ✝️ Church leadership challenges ✝️ Faith in the North and working across the Northern Province ✝️ Being called to mission work within the UK ✝️ How his...

The Rt Revd Leah Vasey-Saunders, Bishop of Doncaster, is on the Words of Grace podcast today. Bishop Leah talks about: ✝️ Growing up in a working-class family ✝️ Coming to faith at the age of 18 ✝️ Her experiences of different theological traditions when training for ordination ✝️ Her passion for choral music ✝️ What drew her to the Diocese of Sheffield Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...

‘When I first heard about Jesus, it all made perfect sense’. Julie Sandoval, Lay Reader at Tankersley, Thurgoland and Wortley, joins Paul and Ben on the podcast today. Julie discusses: ✝️ Coming to faith as a teenager ✝️ Why church didn’t initially appeal to her ✝️ How she met her now husband Ricardo on a mission trip in Mexico ✝️ Loving the training process for lay ministry ✝️ Being licensed at t...

Revd Canon Justin Dodd, Canon Missioner at Sheffield Cathedral, is on the Words of Grace podcast today. Justin talks about: ✝️ His upbringing in Johannesburg ✝️ How the fight against apartheid informed his faith and ministry ✝️ His previous work in advertising and copywriting ✝️ His passion for mission ✝️ His calling to Cathedral ministry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

Tim Renshaw, CEO of The Archer Project, and the Dean of Sheffield Cathedral, the Very Revd Abi Thompson, join Ben and Paul for a Camino Pilgrimage Special. Abi and Tim discuss: ✝️ Why you should take part ✝️ Abi’s previous experiences on the Camino ✝️ Helping The Archer Project’s outreach work ✝️ Walking 20km a day ✝️ Encountering God through people from all walks of life on the pilgrimage Sheffie...

Siân Checkley, Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor, and Claire Sayce, Safeguarding Training Officer, join Paul and Ben for a special Safeguarding episode. Siân and Claire talk about: ✝️ Their roles in the Diocese ✝️ How they came to faith ✝️ Improvements made to safeguarding ✝️ Why it’s important to affirm the work of safeguarding officers ✝️ The upcoming Safeguarding Sunday (16 November) Hosted on Acas...

Revd Tom Finnemore, Rector and Oversight Minister at St Thomas Crookes, joins Ben and Paul on the podcast today. Tom talks about: ✝️ His working-class background and how it’s shaped him ✝️ Being given bad advice at school ✝️ How faith has transformed him ✝️ The importance of being authentic and speaking directly ✝️ Moving to Sheffield three times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Lizzie Ilsley, Assistant Curate at Rotherham Minster, is on the podcast today.   Lizzie talks about:   ✝️ Growing up in a mixed Catholic and Anglican household ✝️ Working as a Speech and Language Therapist for 20 years ✝️ Her experience of living with depression as a person of faith ✝️ Rotherham Minster’s welcome to the community ✝️ How a silent retreat helped to guide her path to ordina...

‘Jesus provides this hope. I realised there’s more to life than getting a degree, getting a job, getting married – I found that in the person of Jesus’. Revd Jon Hidden, Oversight Minister and Priest in Charge of St Chad’s Woodseats and St Paul’s Norton Lees, is on the podcast today. Jon discusses: ✝️ His family coming to faith at the same time ✝️ Working in banking after studying marine biology ✝...

Revd Vicky Camber, Priest in Charge at St Peter’s and St Paul’s Todwick, is today’s Words of Grace guest. Vicky talks about: ✝️ Her faith evolving in her late twenties ✝️ The importance of conversations about Jesus ✝️ How she feels rooted here in the Diocese ✝️ Encouraging others in their faith ✝️ The communities in Laughton, Todwick and Ulley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...

‘The fundamental reality of Christ is that he is there reaching out to us.’   John Davis, former Ministry Experience Scheme student in Sheffield, joins Paul and Ben via Zoom from his New Mexico home.   John talks about:   ✝️ Generations of his family working on a ranch ✝️ Swapping the American West for Sheffield ✝️ What attracted him to the UK ✝️ His hopes for ordination ✝️ His plac...

‘Every step I’ve taken, God has been incredibly faithful. I love doing all the work I’m doing and being able to speak about God all day.’ Revd Rachel Crossley, Curate at St Chad’s Woodseats and St Paul’s Norton Lees, is today’s guest on the podcast. Rachel talks about: ✝️ Growing up in a Methodist household ✝️ Spending her childhood telling people she’d never become a minister ✝️ Receiving her cal...

John Ray, author and former mountaineer and teacher, is on the Words of Grace podcast today. John talks about: ✝️ Watching the Battle of Britain as a 12-year-old from a Surrey field ✝️ Working at Gordonstoun School ✝️ Being inspired by Lesslie Newbigin ✝️ Working in Pakistan for 25 years ✝️ Moving to Hook in his eighties for a new challenge Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

Revd Canon Karen Cribb, Associate Vicar at St Mary’s Bramall Lane, is on the podcast today. Karen discusses: ✝️ Growing up in North London ✝️ Being part of a brethren church background in her youth ✝️ Her passion for social activism ✝️ The diversity of the congregation at St Mary’s ✝️ Busting Self-Supporting Ministry myths Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘It was my faith that saved me, and believing that God can – and will – restore.’ Faye Smith, pilgrim guide, speaker and writer, joins Paul and Ben on the podcast today. Faye talks about: ✝️ Leading walking pilgrimages in Derbyshire ✝️ Losing her husband and daughter in the space of two years ✝️ Doing a 700km solo trek across two countries following a bad car accident ✝️ Finding fellowship with ot...

‘A tangible voice which I can only describe as the Holy Spirit said quite clearly, “I will never leave you. I will hold your hand and will take you where you need to go”’. Revd Carol Rashid, Curate at St John’s Goole, is on the podcast today. Carol talks about: ✝️ Coming to faith around the St Lawrence Hatfield church environment ✝️ Leaving an abusive relationship and finding God through difficult...

‘I got the confidence to talk about my faith after I came to the UK.’ Shumaya Stephen, member of the St James Doncaster congregation and Diocesan Synod, is on the podcast today. Shumaya talks about: ✝️ Growing up in Lahore ✝️ The challenges she faced as part of a minority Christian group ✝️ Growing more confident in her faith ✝️ The importance of worshipping in Urdu at St James ✝️ The biggest cult...

‘I had this overwhelming moment where I felt Jesus was stood next to me, calling me to ministry’. Mussarat Iqbal, Churchwarden at St James Doncaster, is on the podcast today. Mussarat discusses: ✝️ Growing up as a Christian in Pakistan ✝️ The difficulties Christians face worshipping in Lahore ✝️ Taking a pay cut to follow a calling to England ✝️ The Doncaster Urdu congregation ✝️ Her near-30 year...