The Bible’s Society’s report The Quiet Revival, published last year, said that the Church in England and Wales was in a “period of rapid growth, driven by young adults and in particular young men”, and the trend of decline had been reversed (News, 11 April 2025). But is the Church of England experiencing a share of this revival? Some have expressed concern that the Church will “miss out” on the opportunity presented.

At the end of January, the Church Times hosted an event at St John’s, Waterloo, in London, “Springtime for the Church of England: Where are we seeing growth?”, which brought together speakers representing different traditions to share stories of local growth.

The podcast this week features the opening talk by the Revd Dr David Goodhew, Vicar of St Barnabas’s, Middlesbrough, Visiting Fellow of St John’s College, Durham University, and the former director of the Centre for Church Growth Research.

“The reason we have a confused discussion is that people tend to say either it must be growth, or it must be decline,” he says. “Actually, it’s both; and, if you look across British Christianity, you are seeing a whole load of things going up, and going down, and it depends where you look as to what you are seeing.”

At the start, Madeleine Davies, senior writer at the Church Times, and the Vicar of St John’s, Waterloo, Canon Giles Goddard, introduce the event.

A video recording of the event can be purchased at: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/springtime-for-the-church-of-england-where-are-we-seeing-growth

Find out about forthcoming Church Times events, including the Festival of Preaching in September, at https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/events

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Picture: The cover image of the report The Quiet Revival. Credit: Bible Society

On the podcast this week, James Macintyre talks about his new book, Gordon Brown: Power with purpose, which provides a definitive portrait of the former Prime Minister and Chancellor. The conversation focuses on an aspect of Mr Brown that previous biographers and commentators have overlooked: his Christian faith, and how it guides his politics and advocacy for social justice.

You can read an article adapted from the book in this week’s Church Times .

James Macintyre is staff writer at the Church Times, and has previously been political correspondent for The Independent and The New Statesman — where he covered Brown’s premiership close up — and politics editor of Prospect magazine. He is co-author of Ed: The Milibands and the making of a Labour leader.

Interview by Ed Thornton, Associate Editor.

Gordon Brown: Power with purpose is published by Bloomsbury at £25 (Church Times Bookshop £22.50); 978-1-5266-7341-1. https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781526673411/gordon-brown?vc=CT913

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On the podcast this week, staff writer Francis Martin speaks to the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, about her recent trip to Israel and Palestine.

Travelling with the Bishops of Norwich and Chelmsford, Bishop Treweek met Anglicans across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. The bishops planted olive trees in the al-Makhrour valley near Bethlehem, with members of the group Rabbis for Human Rights.

“Words are not enough,” she says, as a response to the situation affecting Palestinians, and suggests that the UK Government is “complicit in the occupation” of the West Bank.

The episode was recorded on 30 January.

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On the final podcast of the year, the editor, Sarah Meyrick, is joined by senior writer Madeleine Davies and staff writer Francis Martin to discuss some of the most memorable and significant stories that the Church Times covered in 2025.

They discuss: the departure of Justin Welby and ongoing questions about safeguarding in the Church of England; the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival report; the rise of Christian nationalism; the assisted-dying Bill; the nomination of the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury; and the Archbishop of York’s visit to Israel-Palestine.

The episode was recorded on Wednesday 17 December.

They also look ahead to what 2026 has in store for the Church of England.

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At the age of 91, Richard Holloway has written what he says “feels like the final book”: Last Words, in which he reflects on his long and fascinating life.

Richard Holloway is interviewed by Malcolm Doney in this week’s 12-page Books for Christmas supplement, and a recording of their telephone call is on this podcast. The book is also reviewed by Angela Tilby.

“I’ve always had a melancholic side to my nature. Melancholy is not sadness,” he says in the interview. “It’s a kind of mood you fall into when you consider the passingness and transience of things. Our lives just flow towards the end, but you look back on memories, your parents, your schooldays — all of that, and, as I get older, I spend more time doing that. . .

“And this is a grateful kind of looking back, I guess, at the way my life went, people I owe a lot to, especially my parents, my mother . . . a reflection on what has been, what feels like the final run.”

Last Words is published by Swift Press at £16.99 (Church Times Bookshop £15.29); https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781800755338/last-words?vc=CT228

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This week’s episode is an interview with the Archbishop of York, recorded a week after his return from a five-day visit to Israel and Palestine. The interview is by Francis Martin, staff writer, who travelled with the Archbishop’s delegation, reporting on the trip for the Church Times.

The Archbishop spoke about what moment of the visit most resonated for him; being confronted by heavily armed settlers; and why he believes that Israeli actions in Gaza are “genocidal acts” and the situation in the occupied West Bank amounts to “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing”.

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The Bishop of Washington, DC, the Rt Revd Mariann Edgar Budde, made headlines in January when she preached before President Trump at the traditional post-Inauguration service of prayer for the nation, in Washington National Cathedral. She pleaded with him directly to be merciful to migrants and LGBTQ people (News, 24 January, Features, 5 September).

Bishop Budde was a speaker last month at the Festival of Preaching, organised by the Church Times and Canterbury Press, in Southwark Cathedral. The theme of the festival was “Preaching Truth to Power”. On the podcast this week, there is a chance to hear the sermon that she preached at the festival eucharist.

“I wasn’t speaking only to the President and his supporters gathered at the cathedral: I was speaking to and for those listening around the country,” she said. “One of my favourite homiletics professors used to say ‘Sometimes, we speak to the people; other times, we speak for them.’ But I didn’t feel like a prophet: I felt like a pastor, speaking to and for a country that I loved. . .

“The task isn’t to preach to those who aren’t listening, but to those who are, who are trying to make sense of what’s happening. . . We have the sacred duty to give voice, yes, to factual truth, as best we can discern it, but also a moral truth rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the prophetic tradition of our faith.”

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On the podcast this week, Dr Selina Stone is interviewed about her new book, A Heavy Yoke: Theology, power and abuse in the Church, by Dr Lisa Adjei, the C of E’s Head of Racial Justice Priority. It was recorded at the book’s launch last month at Bridewell Hall in London.

In A Heavy Yoke, Dr Stone lifts the lid on the ways in which Christian theology can, often unwittingly, uphold existing power structures to the detriment of the flourishing of the whole Church. It calls for a more rigorous and critical understanding of Christian theology and how it is shaping Christian leaders, churches, and organisations.

Reviewing the book in this week’s Church Times, Lyle Dennen describes it as “well written, challenging, and disturbing. . . Stone’s powerful contention is that it is not just some bad apples on a good tree: there are narratives, twisted theologies, and cultures that significantly enable abusers to control others and justify terrible behaviour.”

Read the Church Times review of the book here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/10-october/books-arts/book-reviews/book-review-a-heavy-yoke-theology-power-and-abuse-in-the-church-by-selina-stone

Read Dr Stone’s recent Analysis piece, “Theology can be spiritually abusive”, here: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/12-september/comment/analysis/analysis-theology-can-be-spiritually-abusive

Photo credit: Tom Perkins

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A team from the Church Times was at Canterbury Cathedral on Friday, where the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury was revealed: the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally. She will be the first woman to hold the post.

On the podcast this week, Francis Martin guides us through a memorable day. It includes the Archbishop-designate’s address in the cathedral, shortly after Downing Street announced her nomination; Sarah Meyrick’s interview with Bishop Mullally and episcopal colleagues; and Amelia Braddick seeking reactions from members of the public.

Picture credit: Neal Turner for Lambeth Palace

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The editor of the Church Times, Sarah Meyrick, is joined by Madeleine Davies, senior writer, and Francis Martin, staff writer, to talk about the challenges that will face the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

This week’s edition contains an eight-page pullout exploring what lies ahead for the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

On the podcast, Madeleine talks about her article, which looks at the state of the Church of England that the next Archbishop will inherit; and Francis reflects on his piece, which is about the most pressing issues that will be in the next Archbishop’s in-tray.

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