In this episode of Irreverend, Rev. Jamie Franklin examines two major stories making waves in the Church and wider culture.

1. The Archbishop of Canterbury in Ghana
Filmed visits to former slave sites, public displays of piety, and a renewed commitment to the Church of England’s £100 million slavery reparations fund. Historical claims, collective guilt theology, African involvement in the slave trade, British abolition, parish backlash, and the legal challenge now underway.

2. Oxford Union debate – “The West is right to be suspicious of Islam”
Protesters outside, Tommy Robinson on the panel, a revealing joke about him being “cooked,” the attempt to separate Islam from Islamism, the age of Aisha, and why the Christian-history comparison doesn’t work the way some claim.

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
5:37 Archbishop in Ghana & reparations
21:13 Oxford Union Islam debate

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The Church of England is sitting on an £11.6 billion endowment — yet parish churches are being closed, merged, and left without clergy or cash.

In this hard-hitting episode, Jamie Franklin interviews the Rev. Marcus Walker, rector of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London and one of the key voices behind the Save the Parish movement.

They dig into:

• 🔥 The extraordinary growth at St Bartholomew’s (from ~50 to 250+) and why young adults are flocking to traditional high-church worship
• 💰 How historic parish money has been redirected while poorer churches struggle
• ⛪ The controversial push for 10,000 new lay-led church plants
• 📖 The Quiet Revival, the King James Bible, beauty, and why “relevance” often means the opposite of what people actually want
• ⚔️ What ordinary Anglicans can do to fight back

This is one of the most important conversations about the future of the Church of England right now.

Get involved:
🔥 Join Save the Parish → https://www.savetheparish.com/join/
🔥 Stand for General Synod → https://www.savetheparish.com/general-synod-manifesto-2026/#

Support the show:
🔥 Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/irreverend
🔥 Substack → https://www.patreon.com/c/irreverend
📧 Donate → irreverendpod@gmail.com

Please subscribe, leave a 5-star rating, and share if this episode hit home.

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Jamie shares encouragement from listener feedback and reflects on the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price — the Kingdom of Heaven is worth selling everything for.

This week’s topics:
- World Cup wrap-up: Why true unity comes from Christ, not global sporting events
- Andy Burnham’s speech as new Prime Minister — a return to 1970s economics?
- The Assisted Suicide bill returns to Parliament. (Write to your MP: https://righttolife.org.uk/jnmv).
- General Synod approves new “Festival of Creation in Christ” — theological renewal or net zero propaganda?
- Church decline and the state of theological education
- Free speech debate after a university employee’s arrest over vile posts celebrating Anne Widdecombe’s murder

Raw, honest, and unflinching. Subscribe and support the show if this content matters to you.

Support Irreverend:
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🔥 Buy Me a Coffee → https://www.buymeacoffee.com/irreverend

Email: irreverendpod@gmail.com

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