Words of Grace: Living Hope in the Diocese of Sheffield

Revd Ben Lacey, Assistant Curate at All Saints Ecclesall, is on the Words of Grace podcast today.

Ben talks about:

✝️ Growing up in churches around the Diocese of Sheffield

✝️ The importance of unity across traditions

✝️ The tough decisions made in his ordination journey

✝️ The rich experiences he had of teaching in a Catholic school

✝️ How he failed his driving test outside Church House

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘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

✝️ Feeling called to serve at the Parsons Cross foodbank

✝️ Her first calling to ordination in 2007 and initially rejecting it

✝️ Getting her black belt in martial arts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Wescott House

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘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 to faith

✝️ Missional challenges and opportunities during his time in Eyam

✝️ Serving his curacy in Sheffield

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘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 cancer

✝️ Feeling rooted in Sheffield

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 year

✝️ The cast performing between different locations in one night

✝️ Meeting Jo Jo the donkey

➡️ sheffdio.org/podcast

This episode is composed of edited highlights of Christmas Live, and not the full evening.

Don't forget to catch Part 1 of our 2025 Christmas Special at All Saints Totley!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 more information.

‘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 new church family has been a place of healing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 more information.