Sunday

The Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry is the first African American to serve as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. He talks candidly about the soul of America, his hopes and fears post the Coronavirus pandemic, and his concerns about the what he calls a "pandemic of deep and entrenched racism".

Until recently, Muslims in Sudan could be sentenced to death for converting to Christianity; even discussing other religions could lead to arrest. Former British Ambassador to Sudan, Dame Rosalind Marsden explains why the liberalisation of such laws in Sudan is a significant step in the country’s development towards a stable and peaceful future.

In an exclusive interview with the Dean of Westminster Abbey, Dr David Hoyle, talks about the "breathtaking" loss of income the Abbey has incurred as a result of Coronavirus. Dr Hoyle tells the BBC's Religion Editor, Martin Bashir, the steps he might have to take in order to preserve one of the Nation's most historic buildings.

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Photo credit : TEC

Two prominent church leaders, Rev Lucy Winkett and Rev Sam Wells, tell Emily Buchanan about the dire financial situation faced by their iconic London churches due the impact of Covid-19.

A new report claims university campuses can be hostile environments for Muslim students, especially those with visible religious identities. Three students share their experiences and one of the report’s authors Professor Alison Scott-Baumann explains what the research discovered about why.

The Philanthropy Revolution - Lisa Greer talks to Emily about her new approach to giving and raising money.

Sunday continues to examine the issue of racism within the faith world. This week Emily hears from a trainee preacher Anthony Boeteng who raised the issue at the recent Methodist Conference and she asks the new president of the Methodist Conference, Rev Richard Teal what action the church is taking to address it.

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Catherine Earlam

Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh is well known for the statue of the small Skye terrier, Greyfriars Bobby. It commemorates the dog’s loyalty after it guarded the grave of his owner for 14 years. Celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary have been cancelled because of Corona virus but the Rev Richard Frazer, Minister of Greyfriars Kirk, tells Emily why people are being encouraged to model their own statues of the iconic dog as part of the celebrations.

In August the Jehovah’s Witnesses will give evidence to the Independent Inquiry Into Child Sex Abuse. Submissions will also be heard from survivors who have criticised the church’s handling of abuse allegations. Their appearance comes as campaigners around the world are questioning why the religion is restructuring the organisation and selling off substantial amounts of property. Sunday’s - David Cook has been investigating.

The newly confirmed Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell joins Emily to talk about the challenges he faces post pandemic in the Church, the needs of the North and the faith of the nation.

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Pre-pandemic times saw Britain’s roads sprinkled with cyclists but they were mainly white, male and clad in lycra. Cycle Sisters in East London challenges this stereo-type because it’s a cycle group for Muslim women.

There is a high proportion of ethnic minority families living in the part of Leicester where the highest number of Covid-19 cases have been recorded. Suleman Nagdi, from Leicester’s Federation of Muslim Organisations, talks to Edward about how the Muslim community is feeling as the city experiences its second lockdown.

The CEO of World Vision UK, Mark Sheard, and Bernadette Fisher, Director of Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society, discuss how churches can support parents to help their children process the coronavirus crisis.

Bishop Jonathan Ruhumuliza has been offered a job as a priest by the Diocese of Manchester despite twice having been refused asylum in the UK (on the grounds that he was a “genocide denier”). In 2014, he was finally allowed to stay in Briton on appeal, the immigration tribunal deciding that he had “found redemption through his religious work since the genocide”. The Guardian's Chris McGreal talks about Jonathan Ruhumuliza’s past asks whether he should have a future in the Church of England.

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Photograph by Jenna Selby, Waltham Forest Council

Hajj will be held on a much smaller scale this year with a very limited number of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia able to perform it. Emily asks Dr Carool Kersten from Kings College, London, what took the authorities so long and what impact has this had on Muslims world wide?

For religious groups everywhere, lock-down has been a huge challenge. With places of worship and religious centres shuttered, maintaining a sense of community hasn’t been easy. It’s a particular problem for Russia’s Jewish community, which – 30 years after the fall of communism - is still recovering from decades of state-sponsored Antisemitism. Our Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg reports on what the Jews of Russia have been doing to build a community and the efforts they’re taking during the pandemic to preserve it.

With places of worship opening for weddings from the 4th of July we hear from one couple who have been waiting in limbo to hear whether their postponed big day could go ahead and BBC Religion Editor, Martin Bashir explains the rules of socially distanced weddings.

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“The Journey – Leo’s story” is a new app created by the National Holocaust Centre and Museum on the theme of the Kindertransport. The role-play story app follows Leo, a young boy forced to flee Nazi Germany. Marc Cave, Chief Executive of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum and children involved in trialling the app talk about how it reveals the true horror faced by German Jews during WWII.

This week the government announced that it is merging the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The former Archbishop of Canterbury and Chair of Christian Aid - Dr Rowan Williams - expresses his concerns about the way in which the UK's aid budget will be administered in the future.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews have launched a Commission into Racial Inclusivity ‘to banish prejudice and promote inclusion’. Nadine Batchelor-Hunt is a writer and journalist. She describes what it is like to be black and Jewish. Stephen Bush, Political Editor of the New Statesman and Chair of the new Commission, talks about what he hopes it will achieve.

When Hamed Amari and his family fled Afghanistan in 2000 they arrived in the UK with nothing. Hamed’s older brother Hussein was seriously ill with a heart condition and died two years ago. Hamed talks to Edward about his first book, 'The Boy With Two Hearts', in which he has captured the family's harrowing journey to safety in the West and talks about how they were determined to ‘give back’ to the NHS and to the country that provided them with a safe home.

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Picture Credit : Bright White and Studio Liddell

The government will shortly launch an independent review to consider whether Post Office Ltd has learned lessons from the Horizon dispute and court case, and made the changes needed to ensure a similar case cannot happen again. The Church of England also has a part in this story as Paula Vennells, former Post Office Ltd CEO and current Chair of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is also a non-stipendiary priest in the diocese of St Albans. There have been a number of complaints to her Bishop about whether she should continue to be a priest, William Crawley asks are these justified?

To mark Carer’s Week, we talk to Chris (80) and Cheryl (75) who are facing extra challenges during lock-down as they care for their 47 year old daughter Natasha.

Not all faith communities have welcomed the government announcement that places of worship can open on June 15th for private prayer. To explain why, William is joined by Rabbi Nicky Liss from the Highgate Synagogue in north London, Hassan Joudi who is Deputy Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain and Rev Canon Chris Thomas, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference.

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As America mourns the death of George Floyd - with memorial services and protests across the country - we ask what impact his death has had on the black community in the UK and what changes they would like to see. Edward Stourton discusses the issues with Aliyah Hasinah from Black Lives Matter UK and Ruth Yimika Afolabi founder of Magnify magazine.

The pictures of President Trump standing outside St John's Episcopal Church just across the road from the White House, bible in hand , have been interpreted as a direct appeal to his religious base. Donald Trump has long enjoyed the support of American Christians, especially white evangelicals, and it’s this relationship that journalist and author Sarah Posner discusses on the programme.

Is Turkey’s President Erdogan planning to allow the Hagia Sofia - one of Christianity’s greatest churches - to be converted into a mosque? Dorian Jones reports.

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The night-time economy in the UK has been hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown. Bars, restaurants and music venues have been forced to close. Luke Rollins is a DJ Chaplain and tells Edward Stourton how he is supporting colleagues whose work and lifestyle has changed because of the pandemic.

The Rev Dr Augusto Zampini Davies has been appointed by Pope Francis to a Vatican Commission that is investigating how the Holy See can respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and what role it can play to help manage the social and economic changes that will follow. He tells Edward about the massive task ahead and how they propose to help the church and society recover.

This week Northern Ireland approved drive-in churches as it begins to ease some restrictions brought in to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Worshipping in 4 wheels was popular in 1950’s America and Father Stephen M Koeth tells Edward about their history and the current enthusiasm for drive-in churches in the US.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic patients account for more than a third of those in critical care with Covid-19. Someone who is seeing this on the front line is the Rev Dr Alfred Banya, Head of Chaplaincy at King’s College Hospital in London. Edward speaks to him along with Robert Beckford, Professor of Theology at the Queens Ecumenical Foundation in Birmingham, as they explore the reasons why this is happening and what more can be done to help protect the BAME community.

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There have been several nights of protests in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in police custody this week. Before moving to Minneapolis in 2018, the 46-year-old lived in Houston’s Third Ward housing projects, where he has been described as a "person of peace" and a "mentor to a generation of young men”. His friend, Pastor Patrick Ngwolo, responds to the news of his death.

When the Church of England comes out of the pandemic how will it survive in a world where financial, political and social norms have changed dramatically? Will some dioceses have to be merged and the number of Bishops reduced? Will plans to grow the church be shelved? The Rev Canon Rosie Harper is critical of the Church’s response to Covid and favours a radical rethink of the Church’s immediate priorities. She debates with the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Rachel Treweek.

Jasvir Singh - the Sikh representative on the government’s Places of Worship Taskforce – stepped down at the weekend "in the interest of the safety of his loved ones" following sustained criticism from certain sections of the Sikh community. They argued that he was an unsuitable representative for the Sikh community as he has no experience of running a Gurdwara. Jas Singh, a spokesman for The Sikh Federation UK, and Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, a Senior Lecturer in Sikh Studies at the University of Birmingham, reflect on the controversy and the issue of representation among British Sikhs.

A poll carried out by the aid agency CAFOD has found that the most popular hymn to inspire hope is ‘How Great Thou Art’. CAFOD’s Programme Director for Peru – Lucy Jardine – talks about why this hymn means so much to her and modern day hymn writer - Keith Getty - explains what makes ‘How Great Thou Art’ such a successful piece of worship music.

Producers: Dan Tierney and David Cook