According to the Christian charity Home for Good, according to the most recent figures, almost 3,000 children are waiting for adoption. If each church in this country had one family adopt, or supported a family through adoption that number would immediately reduced to nothing. Furthermore fostering services need to recruit 8,100 new carers this year to meet this need and to account for carers who will retire. The God of the bible clearly loves and cares about children, especially the most vulnerable, and as his church we need to ask how God is calling us to respond to this crisis. In this episode Rev Emma Swarbrick shares her story of calling to ordination and calling into adoption. As with most cases, the stories she tells involves some level of trauma, so please listen with some discretion. To find out more check out https://www.homeforgood.org.uk/ If you have any questions or want to chat about anything that has come up in this episode then chat to Aidan at church or email [email protected]  

In this latest episode of Learning to Live the Life the podcast, Rev Aidan and Anita meet to discuss questions around our current sermon series considering Honest Questions. As part of the episode, Anita interviews her friend Rosie Button, a former missionary who has been teaching at Redcliffe College, now part of All Nations Christian college. If you enjoyed this episode of Learning to Live the Life, please do subscribe, share it with your friends and rate us 5* so that more people get recommended it!  

If you enjoyed this episode of Learning to Live the Life, please do subscribe, share it with your friends and rate us 5* so that more people get recommended it! In this very special episode of the podcast, Rev Aidan is joined by Rev Denis Adide. Denis is the vicar of St Stephens and St Thomas' church in Shepherds Bush. The focus of the discussion is around the idea of what does it mean to pick up your cross and follow Jesus in 2021. The discussion focuses on what this challenging command from Jesus looks like in light of lockdowns and in response to racial injustice, 6 months on from the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer. Above all Denis helps us see how following Jesus is the best decision anyone can possibly make! Find Denis' podcast series with the Rev Richard Moy called By this they shall know here:- Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/ADIDEFILMSinc/videos Listen as a podcast - https://podpoint.com/feed/9896 https://podpoint.com/its-complicated?utm_source=listennotes.com&utm_campaign=Listen+Notes&utm_medium=website Also here is Denis' blog post on Bishop Graham Tomlin's blog - https://grahamtomlin.blogspot.com/2020/06/a-wounded-realist-guest-blog-by-denis.html    

Normally we are settling into a pattern of releasing one discussion podcast a month but as an early Christmas present this month we have a bonus episode because with its subject matter it felt like if we waited till next month it would be out of date! In this episode Rev Aidan and Anita meetup again, this time with Ian Freestone to discuss the emotive question that many have been asking this year: Where are you Lord? We really pray this and all our episodes bless you in your journey with Jesus. If you have any questions or topics for us to discuss, please send us a message [email protected] or leave us a message on the facebook page or YouTube channel. The next episode should be released on New Years day and is a truly special episode with the Rev. Denis Adide, Vicar of St Stephen's and St Thomas' in Shepherds Bush, London.

Learning to Live the Life the podcast is available on many major podcast platforms, if it isn't on yours yet let us know. It is also available to listen to over the telephone on 0117 456 2304 for those who don't have access to technology. As well as weekly sermons, on the first of every month we are releasing discussion episodes looking at various topics to help people in their Christian discipleship.   In this episode Rev Aidan Watson meets with Diane Paddon, head of youth ministry at Christ Church Downend, and two of our young people to find out what has been going on in CCD youthwork, but also to discuss the challenges faced by young people in our communities. Within the discussion there are clear encouragements for people of all ages in their own Christian journeys!   The video version of this episode can be viewed here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq9AyVsfaFs

Learning to Live the Life the podcast is available on many major podcast platforms, if it isn't on yours yet let us know. It is also available to listen to over the telephone on 0117 456 2304 for those who don't have access to technology. As well as weekly sermons, on the first of every month we are releasing discussion episodes looking at various topics to help people in their Christian discipleship. These are also available on our YouTube channel and this episode can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP0kmIRVtv8&t=869s&ab_channel=ChristChurchDownend In this very special episode of our podcast Anita Dobson and Rev. Aidan Watson meet with Rev. Dr Helen Paynter to discuss what we do with difficult passages we might read in the Old Testament in particular of the bible. Helen is a Baptist minister, an Old Testament scholar, a lecturer at Bristol Baptist College where she is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence and she is also an author. The title of this episode follows the title of Helen's book that came out last year - God of Violence yesterday, God of Love today?: Wrestling honestly with the Old Testament. We thoroughly recommend this book and you can get it here: https://www.eden.co.uk/god-of-violenc... Helen has also just published a profoundly important new book using the bile to understand the violence of today's world called: The Bible Doesn't Tell Me So: Why you don't have to submit to domestic abuse and coercive control. This can be bought here: https://www.eden.co.uk/the-bible-does... Also, Helen, alongside Professor Andrew Feldman, hosts a podcast of her own called Guns and God, which seeks to explore how faith and politics overlap. Conversations focus on a diverse range of topics, such as antisemitism, the myth of redemptive violence, BLM, Islamism, and Donald Trump. It is available on various podcast platforms or can be found here https://gunsandgod.buzzsprout.com/ You can find more from the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence here:- https://www.facebook.com/CSBVBristolBaptistCollege/ https://www.bristol-baptist.ac.uk/study-centres/csbv/

Due to lockdown and the subsequent months we have had to put the podcast on the shelf due to the time being taken to edit videos, etc. However, now that times are moving on the podcast is back! This episode is simply a discussion between Rev. Aidan Watson, curate, and Anita Dobson, Discipleship for all ages minister. The podcast was also recorded on video for the youtube channel and can be found here:- https://youtu.be/IUHWM_2pLN0 Please subscribe to and share the podcast which is available on most major podcast providers, just search for Learning to Live the Life. We also upload our sermons each week and will be releasing a discussion podcast episode at least once a month moving forwards.

In our latest episode, Rev. Aidan is joined by Laura Green and Angie Moller, both members of our church who work in healthcare. This is a really interesting discussion for anyone working in or considering a career in healthcare, but is also appropriate for everyone as it includes Laura and Angie sharing how they can believe in a loving God when they witness suffering at such close proximity. Please subscribe and rate us on your podcast app. Any ideas or questions you would like us to consider, or any feedback to help us as we work out how to do the podcast thing, then please email [email protected] If this podcast brings up anything that you want prayer for then please get in touch either by email or at one of our weekly services. As mentioned in the podcast on the 9th February 2020 we are having a Sunday devoted to the similar topic of unanswered prayer so please come along or listen to the sermon then.  

In our second episode, Rev. Aidan Watson is joined by Shahne Vickery and Eloise Phillips for a discussion on prayer as our church is in a time of asking how we can pray better, more consistently and effectively; seeking to grow in prayer as individuals but also as a community. Also please listen to the end where Diane Paddon joins Aidan to share what has been going on recently with Christ Church's youth ministry in the first of our podcast's lifting the lids! Please subscribe and rate us on your podcast app. Any ideas or questions you would like us to consider, or any feedback to help us as we work out how to do the podcast thing, then please email [email protected]  

In this first episode, Rev. Aidan Watson welcomes Anita Dobson and Esther Sardar to talk about Christ Church's vision, also the title of our podcast! Please subscribe and rate us on your podcast provider. Any ideas or questions you would like us to discuss on the podcast please email [email protected]