<rss
xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"
><channel>
        <title>Christian Today | Culture</title>
        <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/culture</link>
        <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
        <image>
            <title>Christian Today | Culture</title>
            <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/culture</link>
            <url>https://www.christiantoday.com/assets/images/icon/CT_logo.svg</url>
        </image>
        <copyright>Christian Today © 2026</copyright>
        <language>en-gb</language>
        <lastBuildDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2026 22:40:52 +0000</lastBuildDate>
        <atom:link href="https://www.christiantoday.com/culture?format=xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
        <atom:link href="https://www.christiantoday.com/culture" rel="alternate" type="text/html"/>
        <generator>CT</generator>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Half of Christian questions on ChatGPT are attempts to understand the Bible]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/half-of-christian-questions-on-chatgpt-are-attempts-understand-the-bible</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/half-of-christian-questions-on-chatgpt-are-attempts-understand-the-bible</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff writer]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/92/99260.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[ChatGPT, OpenAI, artificial intelligence, AI]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Some searches could be people attempting to learn about other faiths.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Figures from OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, have shown that every week the AI chatbot receives around 70 million enquiries on the subject of religion.
Unsurprisingly it is the world’s two largest religions, Christianity and Islam that receive the lion’s share of interest.
The analysis, which looked at requests from September 2025 to September 2026 found that 45 per cent of religion-related interactions were about Islam and 34 per cent were concerned with Christianity.
Hinduism accounted for just four per cent of requests, Judaism two per cent and Buddhism one per cent.
OpenAI also found that religion-based requests tended to surge around religious holidays, with Islam-related requests rising during Ramadan and Eid, and Christian requests increasing at Easter.
As to the nature of the requests, a little under a third were about understanding religious texts (22 million a week on average), while around 16 million were focused on the meaning of religious practices and holidays. Similar numbers asked questions about beliefs, meaning and spiritual guidance.
Around half of Christian-related interactions asked about passages of scripture, with just 13 per cent about worship, sermons or church practices.
"The common thread is that people are using AI to deepen their understanding of their faith, not to replace it," said OpenAI. 
In their report, the company said that while artificial intelligence was being used by believers to support their religious lives, it should not become a replacement for genuine spiritual guidance.
“AI should help people pursue what matters to them, including their faith, while strengthening rather than replacing human relationships and institutions," it said.
"Religious life is rooted in shared traditions, personal conviction, and connections among people. AI can support those activities, but it cannot and should not substitute for them,” the researchers wrote.
“AI is not - and should not become - an arbiter of religious truth or a replacement for spiritual guidance. Those roles belong to individuals, religious leaders, and congregations.
"What AI can do is to give people tools that help them practice their faith, deepen their understanding, and connect more meaningfully with those who share their beliefs.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Hillsong’s Joel Houston opens up about season of 'soul-searching' after difficult few years]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/hillsongs-joel-houston-opens-up-about-season-of-soul-searching-after-difficult-few-years</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/hillsongs-joel-houston-opens-up-about-season-of-soul-searching-after-difficult-few-years</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/92/99234.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Joel Houston]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: YouTube/Rich Wilkerson Jr) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Joel Houston (R) spoke candidly about his struggles with Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr (L) on his 'Mature Me' podcast. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2026 07:10:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Hillsong United frontman revealed that he even spent two to three years largely away from church.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Hillsong United frontman Joel Houston has opened up about the personal and spiritual struggles he experienced during a turbulent chapter of his life, revealing that he spent two to three years largely away from church as he grappled with the loss of the community he had known since childhood.
Speaking to Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr on the ‘Mature Me’ podcast, Houston reflected on the pressures of Christian ministry, the emotional toll of Hillsong Church’s recent scandals and his journey towards rediscovering a more personal relationship with God.
The son of Hillsong founders Brian and Bobbie Houston, the Australian songwriter spent much of his life serving in the church and became internationally recognised as the leader of Hillsong United, the worship collective behind songs sung by congregations around the world.
However, Houston revealed that even during some of the most successful years of his ministry, he was privately struggling with feelings of emptiness, exhaustion and anxiety.
“Everything on the outside looked incredible, but inside … I was dying and I couldn’t explain why,” he said.
Despite having a loving family and achieving many of the things he had once hoped for, Houston came to realise that neither professional success nor public recognition could provide the fulfilment he was seeking.
“Sometimes the thing that you think you want, the thing you think is going to validate all the process that you're in, all the work, all the sacrifice, all the stuff that nobody sees ... where you feel like you’ve arrived, you’ve made it, that’s not it. It’s just not it," he said. 
His reflections come after several difficult years for Hillsong, which has faced public controversy, allegations of misconduct and significant leadership changes, including the departure of his father, Brian Houston, as Global Senior Pastor in 2022. The Church said he had breached the Hillsong Pastor's Code of Conduct.
For Joel Houston, however, the challenges were not simply institutional or professional. 
They also touched on his understanding of identity, belonging and what it means to follow God.
One of the most striking revelations from the interview was Houston’s admission that he had spent several years struggling to attend church.
“If I’m honest, Rich, I spent two or three years there ... not really going to church,” he said. “I know that's probably shocking for a lot of people maybe to hear ... but it’s just the truth.”
Houston stressed that his withdrawal did not mean he had abandoned his Christian faith or stopped loving the church. 
Rather, he was attempting to process the loss of a community and way of life that had shaped him since childhood.
“I gave my whole life to that church,” he said. “That’s all I knew. I still love it. And I never in a million years imagined ... that that wouldn't be the church that I would be a part of.”
He compared the experience to going through a divorce, describing the pain of becoming separated from something to which he had devoted so much of his life.
Houston spoke about experiencing severe anxiety, including physical symptoms that affected his ability to participate in church life, and said that his personal struggles began even before the most public controversies surrounding Hillsong unfolded.
At times, Houston also turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms, including alcohol and cigarettes, as he attempted to navigate the emotional weight of his circumstances.
“Then I'm going, ‘Well I’m a fake … or am I fake?” he recalled. “But … deep down in my heart, I don't feel fake. Like everything to me is like it has to be solid. It has to be the real thing. I just want to be the real thing all the time, you know? I don't want to lie.”
Rather than continuing with public ministry simply because it was familiar or expected of him, he felt compelled to confront what he was experiencing.
“It felt insincere to me to kind of just get on with doing the thing that I've always done because that’s probably the easiest thing to do,” he explained.
His decision to withdraw from the spotlight was therefore not simply about taking a break from performing. It was also an opportunity to examine the foundations of his faith away from the spotlight.
“I was in a season where I really needed to do some soul-searching,” he said.
Having spent decades leading worship before large congregations and audiences, Houston said he began rediscovering the significance of worship in private.
Without the demands of touring, producing albums or preparing music for public consumption, songwriting became a space where he could express himself honestly before God.
“I felt closer to God ... just sitting by my piano or my computer late at night with no one around ... than some of the most intimate amazing moments that I’ve had on stage,” he shared.
While Hillsong’s music has reached audiences around the world, Houston suggested that the most important measure of the church’s impact is not the size of its gatherings or the prominence of its worship leaders.
Instead, he pointed towards the quieter, often unseen expressions of faith demonstrated by ordinary Christians in their local communities.
“What really matters is. .. the everyday ordinary people who are just doing ... the real stuff of loving God and serving in a local church and loving their neighbourhood,” he said. 
Houston touched on the pressures placed on Christian leaders to continue serving publicly when they are experiencing personal difficulties.
He explained: “It gets hard too when you realize now you've got also a whole bunch of people who depend on you doing the thing that you're meant to do … I think that's a challenge for leaders and it's something I've really wrestled with. 
“If I want to just stop doing United, I think, ‘Oh, what are they going to do? They're going to be without a job or they're not going to be able to do something.’ And it's like, no, like there's plenty of opportunity for people to, like, step in and do great things. It's, like, they don't need me.”
Houston suggested being honest about struggles rather than maintaining an appearance of spiritual strength.
He shared: “I actually believe it's more effective if we could just be who we are and be honest about where we're at … on the journey of sanctification … Like when people have been that way - been honest - that's what's really helped me in my journey. Not seeing everybody looking like they've got it all together all the time.”
Although the process involved considerable pain and uncertainty, he came to see it as an opportunity for deeper surrender to God.
He said: “We go through challenges. We fail. Every time we think that we're bringing this gift to God, it gets taken away from us. It's like we have to kind of go through this process of humbling ourselves again and then God does the thing either through us or through the next generation."
Despite the difficulties of recent years, he expressed optimism about the future and the possibility that his most meaningful years of ministry may still lie ahead.
He recalled a desire he had held since childhood: “I remember as a kid just saying, ‘I don't know what I want to do with my life, but I want the second half of my life to count more than the first half.’”
Having spent much of his adult life in Hillsong, Houston acknowledged that he has become accustomed to a quieter life away from the spotlight.
Nevertheless, he believes there may be opportunities ahead to serve God in new ways, including through music and public ministry.
“I think there’s a whole lot of songs in me that I hope are going to ... hopefully bring back to the world,” he said, adding that he feels the time may now be right to share them.
However, Houston emphasised that his ambitions for the future are no longer centred on repeating past achievements or pursuing success for its own sake.
“If God’s given us [a song] and I feel like I'm just going to bring that, and if it does the thing, it does the thing. And if it doesn't, it's okay,” he explained.
He added: “The end product is actually out of my hands. The process I'm responsible for ... that's within my control.
“When we realize that part it takes so much striving out … Results, of course, matter … but I have become a bit immune to success.”
Houston also revealed that he has found a new church community and is enjoying participating in congregational life again.
He concluded: “God is in the redemptive thing. There’s so much beauty in the tough stuff and I think there is something about, you know, if we're broken enough to be honest about some things and my hope is that the Spirit of God fills in all the gaps and that the fruit of the Spirit is in people's lives.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Christian advent calendar sales 'soar' after online storm with Meghan Markle fans]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/christian-advent-calendar-sales-soar-after-online-storm-with-meghan-markle-fans</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/christian-advent-calendar-sales-soar-after-online-storm-with-meghan-markle-fans</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Parr]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/92/99211.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[The Leprosy Missions advent calendar.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: The Leprosy Mission) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ The Real Advent Calendar is made by the Meaningful Chocolate Company and is being sold through The Leprosy Mission among other places. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2026 07:53:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Leprosy Mission reports that sales of its Real Advent Calendar have “soared” following an online blow-up involving Meghan Markle and a pair of Anglican priests.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Leprosy Mission reports that sales of the Real Advent Calendar have “soared” on its website following an online blow-up involving Meghan Markle and a pair of Anglican priests.
The online storm began with the news that the Duchess of Sussex had released a premium advent calendar costing £112. In response, Anglican vicar, the Rev Daniel French, suggested that the Meaningful Chocolate Company's own festive offering, being sold through The Leprosy Mission among other places, might be more suitable.
Boasting a selection of fairtrade chocolate and the modest asking price of £5.99, sales of the Real Advent Calendar go towards the Leprosy Mission. It also contains a booklet explaining the Christmas story and the birth of Jesus. 
Unfortunately, Rev French’s intervention apparently did not go down well with the so-called “Sussex Squad”, vocal online fans of the duchess and her husband Prince Harry. French was forced to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from the disgruntled fans, although he did receive support from fellow priest, Father Chris Phillips.
While the whole business may have become unnecessarily nasty and personal, there has been a silver lining.
According to The Leprosy Mission, it has been inundated with messages of support from all over the world, with sales of the advent calendar soaring as a result.
Amanda Norman, Chief Executive of The Leprosy Mission Shop, said, “We were delighted to see Rev Daniel French champion the Real Advent Calendar and, most importantly, highlight the lives of people affected by leprosy.
“It has been incredibly encouraging to see people respond with such kindness and to hear from supporters as far away as the US who have contacted us because they want to stand alongside people affected by this cruel disease.”
Norman added that French’s comments were intended to highlight the need for compassion and generosity at Christmas, rather than being a dig at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
“We know the Sussexes are very charity-minded and have supported our work. The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was Patron of The Leprosy Mission until her untimely death in 1997, and my Leprosy Mission colleagues have spoken with Prince Harry about our work, for which he has been most supportive," she said. 
“We are grateful to Rev Daniel for raising the plight of people affected by leprosy at a time when it can be easy to focus on luxury and celebrity. Behind every Real Advent Calendar is a reminder of the people who are too often marginalised, and of the Christmas message that calls us to reach out to them.”
The Leprosy Mission has also confirmed that French will be receiving one of its advent calendars for free.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/televangelist-jim-bakker-dies-at-86</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/televangelist-jim-bakker-dies-at-86</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Gryboski]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/8/81/88160.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Jim Bakker]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ YouTube/The Jim Bakker Show ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Televangelist Jim Bakker ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:37:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who once owned one of the most popular theme parks in the United States but later went to prison for his financial misconduct, has died at age 86.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Jim Bakker, the controversial televangelist who once owned one of the most popular theme parks in the United States but later went to prison for his financial misconduct, has died at age 86.
Lori Bakker, Jim Bakker’s second wife, posted a statement on the Facebook page of "The Jim Bakker Show" announcing that her husband had died Monday night.
“For 66 years, Jim gave his life to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Lori Bakker stated. "He was a pioneer of Christian television, but to me, he was my husband, my best friend, and the man I was honored to walk beside through so many seasons of life and ministry.”
“Jim loved people deeply. He loved this ministry, and he loved the friends and partners who stood with him throughout the years. Even in his final days, his heart was still for the work of God and for the Gospel to continue reaching the world.”
Pastor Jay Bakker, the liberal Christian son of Jim Bakker, posted a statement on Facebook in which he said that he and the famed televangelist “had a very complicated relationship" but that "he was also my father and a grandfather and I need to mourn in my own time.”
“I need the freedom to feel anger and feel loss and not have other people add their two cents please respect this time for me and my family. I have turned off all my notifications and all my social media,” Jay Bakker wrote. “Please do not link me to anything or send me anything about him [at] this time. I just need some time to let this settle in and make what peace I can. Thank you for understanding.”
During the 1970s, Jim, along with his first wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, became national celebrities through their television program, “The PTL Club,” short for “Praise the Lord.”
In 1978, Bakker opened Heritage USA, a 2,300-acre Christian theme park and hotel resort in Fort Mill, South Carolina, that at one point drew millions of visitors a year.
Bakker’s ministries earned around $100 million a year, and his TV program was watched by as many as 13 million homes by the mid-1980s, noted Paul Matzko in a 2018 piece published by The Gospel Coalition.
“Some of that funded an increasingly extravagant lifestyle for the Bakkers and their key lieutenants. But much of it was channeled into building Heritage USA,” he wrote. “The campus, located on the North Carolina-South Carolina border, contained a waterpark with wave pool, a petting zoo, a ridable [sic] miniature railroad, a covered shopping mall (including the ‘Heavenly Fudge Shoppe’), the world’s largest Wendy’s restaurant housed in a turreted castle, and a 500-room hotel.”
However, by the late '80s, Bakker was embroiled in a series of financial and sex scandals that ultimately led to his arrest in 1988 and then being imprisoned from 1989 to 1994. 
After his incarceration, Bakker had an autobiographical book published titledI Was Wrong, in which he detailed his decline from popular televangelist ministry to prison.
In 1992, Bakker and his wife, Tammy Faye, divorced. Bakker remarried in September 1998 to Lori Beth Graham, an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God whom he had met earlier that year.
He and Lori eventually launched “The Jim Bakker Show,” a daily religious broadcast filmed at the property of Morningside USA in Blue Eye, Missouri.
The show was often criticized and mocked for its views, with Bakker promoting products that he claimed could heal people. Like many broadcasters and podcasters, he also sold food prep supplies, which he said were useful for preparing for the End Times.
“Watching Bakker’s show today feels at times like watching a Christianized version of QVC, as Bakker hawks tons of preserved food for those preparing for the apocalypse,” wrote Matzko in 2018. “He hosts a wide variety of guests, including gold hoarders, doomsdayers warning of an EMP device blasting America back into the Stone Age, and those worried that proponents of Sharia law in America will eventually unleash an Islamic crusade to purge America of Christians.”
In March 2020, the Missouri government sued Bakker and his ministry for promoting a product on his show that a guest claimed could cure people of some strains of COVID-19.
Bakker was defended by former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who argued that the televangelist was “being unfairly targeted by those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian television program off the air.”
“The video recording of the Jim Bakker Show clearly shows the allegations are false. Bakker did not claim or state that Silver Solution was a cure for COVID-19. This case is about religious freedom,” Nixon argued.
Bakker later reached a settlement in June 2021, agreeing to pay $156,000 in restitution while not officially admitting any wrongdoing.
In May 2020, amid the litigation, Jim’s wife Lori announced on Facebook that he had recently suffered a stroke, labeling it “the most vicious attack that he has ever experienced.”
“Under the guidance of medical professionals and our Board of Directors, Jim will be taking a sabbatical from the show. Jim will be back,” she stated. “He is still dreaming and hearing from the Lord, and he already has a powerful word to deliver when he returns to the air.”
In July 2020, Bakker appeared on his show, sending a video message from his home with his wife Lori by his side, explaining that the stroke was more severe than previously assumed.
“I missed you all very, very much. I live to do this show. I live to be in your homes and that’s what I live for. That, and my wife and my grandchildren and my kids, because it’s just amazing,” he explained.
In May 2025, an 85-year-old Bakker implored viewers to donate around $1 million to his ministry, warning that if he failed to raise that much money soon, his program would go under.
“I believe if everyone who watches this program will give a thousand dollars, we'll be able to pay our bills and stay on the air,” said the televangelist at the time. “Otherwise, we’ve got about another month, I don’t know, to stay on the air. We’re at the end. God doesn’t have an end. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.”
© The Christian Post]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Winnie-the-Pooh centenary marked with new Christian reflection resources for schools]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/winnie-the-pooh-centenary-marked-with-new-christian-reflection-resources-for-schools</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/winnie-the-pooh-centenary-marked-with-new-christian-reflection-resources-for-schools</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/92/99201.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Winnie the pooh]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:09:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Church schools are being invited to explore Christian values through the much-loved stories of Winnie-the-Pooh as part of new resources produced to mark the character’s 100th anniversary.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Church schools are being invited to explore Christian values through the much-loved stories of Winnie-the-Pooh as part of new resources produced to mark the character’s 100th anniversary.
The Dioceses of Winchester and Portsmouth have created a set of nine classroom reflection cards drawing together passages from Alan Alexander Milne’s ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ stories with Bible verses, prayers and questions designed to encourage children to consider how Christian values can shape everyday life.
The resources coincide with the centenary of ‘Winnie-the-Pooh,’ first published in 1926, and focus on nine themes: friendship, kindness and compassion, gratitude, grace, courage and trust, patience, joy, hope and forgiveness. 
According to accompanying teacher notes, the cards bring together “original extracts from A.A. Milne’s books with related Bible verses” and can be used for individual classroom reflections, as the basis for Collective Worship, in centenary-related curriculum work or to deepen children’s understanding of their school values. 
Each card takes a familiar moment or saying from the Hundred Acre Wood and connects it with a Christian teaching. 
The friendship resource, for example, begins with Eeyore’s observation, “After all, one can’t complain. I have my friends,” alongside Pooh’s reflection that exciting experiences mean little if there is nobody with whom to share them. 
The card links the theme with Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 and Proverbs 17:17 and encourages children to consider how they can show kindness and love to their own friends. 
Kindness and compassion are explored through Eeyore’s remark that “a little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” 
The accompanying reflection stresses that kindness does not need to involve grand gestures, saying: “Often it is the small things that matter most.” 
Children are encouraged to consider simple actions such as giving somebody a compliment or including them in a game. 
“The Bible teaches us that kindness is not just something we do occasionally; it is a way of living and treating others, every day,” the card states. 
Other cards draw Christian lessons from some of the characters’ more vulnerable moments. 
A section on courage and trust recalls Piglet facing the frightening prospect of being pulled upwards by a piece of string and Pooh reassuring him, “I’ll stand underneath.” 
The resource tells children: “Piglet knew that courage does not mean never being scared. Courage means doing the right thing and facing challenges even when we feel nervous.”
It then connects the story with Joshua 1:9 and Psalm 56:3, encouraging them to trust both those who care for them and God when facing difficulties. 
The everyday humour of the stories is also used to explore patience and joy. 
Rabbit’s willingness to repeat himself after Pooh explains that he had “a small piece of fluff in my ear” is linked with St Paul’s instruction in Ephesians 4:2 to be patient and bear with one another in love. 
Meanwhile, the creation of Poohsticks becomes an illustration of finding happiness in ordinary life. 
The reflection tells pupils that “joy is often hidden in ordinary moments” and encourages them to notice the small blessings around them, alongside Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 
Hope is represented by Milne’s image of a river continuing towards its destination without hurrying or giving up. 
The card pairs the line, “There is no hurry. We shall get there some day,” with passages from Romans about perseverance and hope, encouraging children facing setbacks with Owl’s practical advice to “keep going, keep trying, and keep hoping.” 
The final reflection turns to forgiveness through Milne’s poem ‘Forgiven,’ from his 1927 collection ‘Now We Are Six.’ 
The resource acknowledges that forgiveness can be difficult and makes clear that it “does not mean that what happened was okay,” instead describing it as “letting go of hurt feelings and giving someone another chance.” 
It links the lesson with Ephesians 4:32 and its call for Christians to forgive others as God forgave them in Christ.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[The book that changed Sweden: 500 years of the Swedish New Testament]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/the-book-that-changed-sweden-500-years-of-the-swedish-new-testament</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/the-book-that-changed-sweden-500-years-of-the-swedish-new-testament</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Neil Rees]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99196.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:04:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[2026 is the 500th anniversary of the first New Testament in Swedish. This is the story …]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
2026 is the 500th anniversary of the first New Testament in Swedish. This is the story …
Summary
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the publication of “Thet Nyia Testamentit på Swensko” (The New Testament in Swedish), which was the first complete New Testament printed in the Swedish language. 
The book helped lay the foundations of the modern Swedish language, accelerated the spread of the Reformation, and contributed to the emergence of Sweden as a unified nation. 
Five centuries later, churches, scholars and Christian organisations across Sweden have been marking the anniversary with services, exhibitions, concerts, lectures and new publications celebrating the enduring legacy of the translation.
Reformation Background
In 1516, Erasmus published the first printed edition of the Greek New Testament, allowing scholars to work directly from the original Greek rather than relying primarily on the Latin Bible used in Western Europe for centuries.
On 31 October 1517, the Reformation started when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. Over the following years, the combination of the Renaissance, the printing press and the Reformation led to a market for the Scriptures printed in the languages spoken by ordinary people, rather than Latin. 
Luther printed the New Testament in the German language in September 1522, which was followed by printed New Testaments in French and Dutch in 1523, and Danish in 1524.
Scholars from different European countries went to Wittenberg University to study Lutheran ideas and learn Greek and Hebrew under Philipp Melanchthon. Among them were the brothers Olaus and Laurentius Petri from Sweden and William Tyndale from England. The two Petri brothers returned to Sweden, preaching justification by faith and the authority of Scripture.
The Reformation in Sweden
King Gustav Vasa had become King of Sweden in 1523. He was the first king of Sweden as a country independent from the Kalmar Union, which had hitherto united the Scandinavian lands under one ruler. King Gustav Vasa ruled at about the same time as King Henry VIII in England, and they had many things in common in connection with the Reformation.
King Gustav Vasa was surrounded by influential men, many of whom were sympathetic to Luther’s ideas and sought ecclesiastical reform. In this context, the New Testament was commissioned to be translated into Swedish.
Translating the New Testament
Sweden was not the first country in Scandinavia to achieve a New Testament. The New Testament had appeared in the Danish language in 1524 at the initiative of King Christian II. It was printed in Wittenberg, and Martin Luther even wrote a preface for it. Copies started to circulate in Sweden, but it was criticised for being a rushed job. Nonetheless, that publication stimulated interest in producing a better translation in Swedish.
The Swedish translation was produced under official ecclesiastical and royal authority at the urging of King Gustav Vasa. The project was officially initiated through a letter issued on 11 June 1525 by Archbishop-elect Johannes Magnus, who invited cathedral chapters and religious communities to assist in translating portions of the New Testament, although work may well have already started.
The translation has traditionally been attributed to Olaus Petri, who played a leading role in its production, but it was likely a collaborative project involving several translators and an editor. 
The text of the New Testament was translated largely from Erasmus's Latin translation, with reference to Luther's German New Testament of 1522 and Erasmus's Greek New Testament. Luther's German New Testament also served as a model and inspiration. 
The Swedish edition adopted a similar layout to Luther’s New Testament and translated many of Luther's prefaces and marginal notes, but avoided Luther's more overtly anti-Catholic comments.
Printing the New Testament
King Gustav Vasa confiscated the cathedral printing press in Uppsala and had it transferred to Stockholm. He now had a printing press, but his reforming advisers needed an experienced printer capable of producing a large, high-quality New Testament. 
The best expertise available to Sweden at the time came from the German Baltic printing centres, especially the Hanseatic Baltic port of Lübeck in northeastern Germany, which was not far across the Baltic Sea from southern Sweden. 
In 1525, the German printer Jürgen Richolff the Younger was brought from Lübeck to Stockholm, and he arrived with new typefaces and the latest professional printing skills. The printing of the New Testament was supervised directly by Olaus Petri, the leading Swedish reformer and one of the principal translators.
The New Testament was printed with the title “Thet Nyia Testamentit på Swensko” (The New Testament in Swedish), and the first copy was published on 15 August 1526. It was the Swedish Authorised Version, and the Swedish king's coat of arms appears on the final printed page. 
About a thousand copies of the New Testament were printed, which was enough to supply a copy to every Swedish-speaking parish priest in Sweden and Finland, with some copies left over.
Other works printed there in 1526 and 1527 included writings by Olaus Petri, such as his devotional book “En nyttig undervisning” (A Useful Instruction), “Svar på ett okristligt sändebrev” (Reply to an Unchristian Letter) and “Svar på tolv spörsmål” (Reply to Twelve Questions), the last of which was strongly polemical against Catholic teaching.
Later Reforms
A year later, in 1527, there was the Diet of Västerås, which is regarded as the beginning of the Swedish Reformation. At the Diet of Västerås, the crown gained control of much church property and income. Bishops lost much of their political and economic power, and the king asserted authority over the church. At the same time, the programme called for biblical preaching, and so the new translation was important in spreading evangelical ideas. 
In 1529, the Örebro Synod adopted a gradual approach to reform. It decreed that sermons were to be based on Scripture alone and that preaching had to be supervised to ensure it was biblical. Saints’ days were reduced, and pilgrimages, relics and statues were retained, but people were taught not to regard saints or relics as channels of grace. In 1531, Laurentius Petri was appointed Archbishop of Uppsala without papal approval.
Church of Sweden
Like Henry VIII in England, King Gustav Vasa oversaw the creation of a national Church, which broke away from Rome in 1536. Also like Henry VIII, he became rich by confiscating Church property and subordinated the church to royal authority. The Church of Sweden was created along Lutheran lines, and, like the Church of England, it kept bishops, church buildings, vestments and ceremonies. The final settlement did not come until the Uppsala Synod of 1593, which formally adopted the Augsburg Confession to establish Sweden as a Lutheran state.
The Swedish Bible
Richolff returned to Lübeck after the New Testament was published, but came back to Sweden in 1540 to print the completed Swedish Bible in 1541, consisting of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha and a revised edition of the New Testament. According to the preface of the 1526 New Testament, the translators had hoped that the full Bible would appear much sooner. The 1541 Bible became the standard text for worship, preaching and education.
Although there are now many translations of the Bible into modern Swedish, many Swedish Christians still say the Lord’s Prayer in the traditional form found in the 1526 New Testament.
Birth of Modern Swedish
The 1526 Swedish New Testament helped to standardise the Swedish written language and marks the transition from Old Swedish to Early Modern Swedish (Nysvenska). It was the first Swedish text to be printed and distributed and so helped standardise spelling and vocabulary, and brought biblical expressions into everyday Swedish. Many phrases that remain familiar today entered Swedish culture through the New Testament, much as Tyndale's translation shaped English idiom.
Adoption of the letter å
The Swedish New Testament helped establish the use of the letter “å”. In mediaeval orthography, it was common to put the letter “o” over a letter, called a ring or overring, to indicate a long rounded sound. The letter å was used in the Swedish New Testament instead of “aa” to save space. The letter å has since been adopted into Norwegian in 1917 and Danish in 1948. This symbol is also found in Czech over the letter u, where the letter ů is used instead of “uo”.
Celebrating 500 Years
The anniversary of the Swedish New Testament is being marked throughout 2026 by a series of national events and exhibitions organised by churches, universities and Christian organisations such as the Swedish Bible Society. The main central celebration took place in Stockholm on 15 August to mark the 500th anniversary of the original printing, with cultural events and an ecumenical thanksgiving service in Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan). 
Five hundred years after the Swedish New Testament rolled off a printing press in Stockholm, its position in Swedish history and language is similar to that of Tyndale’s New Testament in England.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Songs of Praise celebrates 65 years with special anniversary episode - and finds a new generation online]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/songs-of-praise-celebrates-65-years-with-special-anniversary-episode-and-finds-a-new-generation-online</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/songs-of-praise-celebrates-65-years-with-special-anniversary-episode-and-finds-a-new-generation-online</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99167.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Songs of Praise]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: BBC) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Pam Rhodes and Aled Jones celebrate the past, present and future of Songs of Praise with favourite hymns old and new, and a special duet featuring the late great Sir Harry Secombe. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2026 08:12:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The BBC’s long-running religious programme ‘Songs of Praise’ is marking its 65th anniversary with a special episode celebrating its history and changing place in British broadcasting.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The BBC’s long-running religious programme ‘Songs of Praise’ is marking its 65th anniversary with a special episode celebrating its history and changing place in British broadcasting.
First aired on October 1, 1961, the programme has since produced over 3,240 episodes, recording hymns and worship songs in more than 2,000 churches, chapels and cathedrals across the UK, as well as in locations ranging from beaches and stadiums to concert halls and cruise ships.
The anniversary programme, presented by Aled Jones and Pam Rhodes, will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday.
It was filmed at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, which is itself marking 300 years since its founding. 
The church also has a long association with broadcasting, having hosted the BBC’s first live church service in 1924.
The episode will look back at some of the people, music and communities featured on ‘Songs of Praise’ over the past six-and-a-half decades while also considering how the programme is reaching new audiences.
Among the specially commissioned elements is a performance by Dai Woolridge, an award-winning spoken word artist, whose anniversary poem incorporates archive material from previous programmes. 
It was filmed at Tabernacle Baptist Chapel in Cardiff, where the first edition of ‘Songs of Praise’ was recorded in 1961.
Jones will also perform a posthumous duet with Sir Harry Secombe, using vocals the late ‘Songs of Praise’ presenter recorded for the programme in 1996.
Jones, who knew him personally, described him as a major influence on his own career.
“Sir Harry Secombe was such an inspiration to me growing up in North Wales, not just as a singer, but also as a presenter on ‘Songs of Praise’,” he said. “He really was the best, a real beacon of joy. I feel so blessed to have known him and to have sung with him as a boy.”
He continued, “I just wish we could have duetted together a few more times," adding that the new performance of “I Believe” had given him an opportunity to sing with Sir Harry again through modern recording technology.
“I didn’t expect our voices to blend together so brilliantly,” he said. “It was a joy.”
The anniversary programme will draw on decades of archive footage, including appearances by the late Dolly Parton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Andrea Bocelli. 
Over the years, the programme has taken congregational singing beyond traditional church settings, including large-scale gatherings at venues like Old Trafford, the Millennium Stadium and Wimbledon’s No 1 Court.
Hymns featured in the anniversary episode will represent all four nations of the UK and a range of worship traditions. 
They include the Welsh hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”, alongside contemporary worship from a growing church in Lincoln.
One hymn recorded at a Belfast church will move between footage filmed more than four decades apart, alternating between recordings made in 1984 and 2025.
The programme has also reflected wider changes in British Christian worship. 
While traditional hymn singing remains central, more recent editions have included gospel, contemporary worship, acoustic and folk-influenced music, choirs and contributions from a wide range of denominations.
‘Songs of Praise’ was among the early mainstream British television programmes to give significant airtime to black gospel music, including a major gospel celebration broadcast from Southwark Cathedral in 1984. 
The programme now stages an annual ‘Sing Gospel’ special.
More than 270 presenters have appeared on ‘Songs of Praise’ since its launch, including Delia Smith, Sir Cliff Richard, Alan Titchmarsh and Dame Thora Hird.
Its current team of presenters includes Jones, Rhodes, the Rev Canon Kate Bottley, Laura Wright, Sean Fletcher, Claire McCollum and Mark De-Lisser.
Rhodes, who joined the programme in 1987, is its longest-serving presenter, while Jones has presented it for 26 years. 
Between them, the pair have now spent a combined 65 years presenting the programme.
While ‘Songs of Praise’ continues to attract a regular television audience, producers say social media has become an increasingly important means of reaching people who do not watch the programme on BBC One.
Its content received around 10 million views across social media in 2025, with that figure expected to rise to around 20 million in 2026.
According to the BBC, 80% of people viewing its content on social media are not part of its television broadcast audience. 
Archive clips have also found new audiences online. A recently shared extract from a 2003 interview with Dolly Parton attracted around 700,000 views within days, while the programme’s 2025 “Big School Assembly Singalong” became its most-watched event content and was later showcased on Channel 4’s ‘Gogglebox.’]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Why we sing: Music, spirituality and the search for meaning]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/why-we-sing-music-spirituality-and-the-search-for-meaning</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/why-we-sing-music-spirituality-and-the-search-for-meaning</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99166.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[choir, singing]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2026 07:32:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A conference at the University of Birmingham explored how singing can express faith, build community and help people find meaning.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Singing is a practice so deeply embedded in Christian worship that it can easily be taken for granted. Yet singing occupies a distinctive place in the life of the Church: Christians sing in celebration and lament, at weddings and funerals, alone and together, and in words ranging from ancient psalms to contemporary worship songs.
What, then, does singing make possible that speech alone cannot?
That question ran through ‘Reasons to Sing: Singing, Spirituality and the Search for Meaning,’ a two-day conference at the University of Birmingham that brought together theologians, musicians and researchers to explore the physical, social and spiritual dimensions of singing.
Opening the conference, organisers and University of Birmingham research fellows Dr Katie Bank and Dr Rebekah Wallace turned to the 16th-century Catholic composer William Byrd, who argued that singing benefits both body and spirit and is “the best way to glorify God”.
“Since singing is so good a thing, I wish all men would learn to sing,” Byrd wrote in 1588.
Centuries later, the conference returned to many of the same questions: what happens when people sing? Why has Christianity placed such importance on it? And how might singing shape prayer, faith and community?
For Jacqueline Leary-Warsaw, classical soprano and professor at the Catholic University of America, singing occupies a distinctive place between the physical and the transcendent because the human voice cannot be separated from the person producing it.
“The voice is the embodied person made audible,” she said, noting that singing brings together breath, hearing, language, memory, imagination and intention.
This may help explain why singing appears so frequently at the thresholds of human experience, she suggested, including worship, lament, celebration and mourning - moments “where speech alone seems insufficient”.
Drawing on Christian theology, Leary-Warsaw proposed what she termed the “sacramentality of the voice”- not suggesting that singing is itself a sacrament, but that physical sound and the human voice can communicate spiritual meaning.
The voice, she said, can “give audible form to prayer or awaken an awareness of divine presence”.
That becomes especially apparent in communal worship, where words of “lamentation, supplication, or praise are taken into the breath and sounded through the body”.
“They are no longer merely words about prayer,” she said. “The singing itself may become prayer that gives way to transcendence.”
Michael Glover, a priest and theologian whose research includes sacred music and the transmission of faith, argued that sacred music can do more than communicate information about Christianity.
“Sacred music is capable of leading a person into the mystery of salvation,” he said.
He argued that sacred music can make the truths of Christianity more vivid and personal, engaging the affections and conscience alongside the intellect.
He was careful not to suggest that music can manufacture belief, though.
“Not everyone who listens to sacred music will be moved to believe or deepen their faith,” he said. “Faith as a theological virtue is a gift from God.”
Nevertheless, he said sacred music can encourage someone to explore Christianity, stir the conscience towards God, deepen an existing faith and provide believers with a means of prayer and praise.
Looking at musical settings of Christ’s Passion by Bach, John Stainer and James MacMillan, Glover identified “memory, participation and invitation” as ways music can draw listeners more deeply into the Christian story.
Composers, he said, can engage listeners “not simply to retell the story, but allow them to enter into the mystery itself”.
Former Bishop of Kingston, Richard Cheetham, similarly argued that singing can help people engage with truths that cannot always be adequately expressed through analytical language alone.
Recalling his own journey through science, philosophy, ordained ministry and, more recently, choral singing, he said Christian song had taught him that music engages “the head and the heart and the body - a much more holistic thing”.
“For the deepest truths of our lives, prose and mathematics are insufficient,” he said. “You need great art, great poetry and so on.”
Cheetham pointed to the Psalms as an example of music and worship encompassing the breadth of human experience, moving “from the depths of despair and grief and rage and suffering to the heights of joy”.
He said his own experience of choral singing had convinced him that “meaning-making and truth-seeking are multidimensional”, involving not simply the intellect but the whole person.
He also connected singing with the Christian understanding of God as love, quoting 1 John: “God is love. Those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.”
“Singing enables us to express that,” he said.
Cheetham pointed to the longstanding Christian understanding of singing as prayer, citing the saying traditionally attributed to Augustine of Hippo: “He who sings prays twice.”
The same theme appeared in Vedran Obucina’s examination of the debates over singing during the Reformation.
Obucina, who leads the Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue in Rijeka, Croatia, said some Protestant reformers feared that elaborate ceremony and musical beauty could become “an unnecessary barrier between the believer and the Word”, raising the question of whether religious meaning comes primarily through words or whether sound itself can communicate something of faith.
Drawing on Byrd, he argued that singing brings together “breath, body, intellect, emotion and attention”.
He connected breath itself with Genesis and God’s breathing life into Adam. 
Through the voice, he said, “what a person believes and feels becomes audible.”
That physicality is not necessarily a distraction from spiritual life, he argued, but can become a means of spiritual formation.
Music can also intensify “memory, emotion, attention” and communal participation in Scripture.
“It is another way of experiencing the Word,” Obucina said. 
“It doesn't have to be that we must experience the Word only by reading and listening.”
Ultimately, he linked singing with Psalm 150 and humanity’s purpose of worship.
“Why do we have this voice? Why do we sing?” he asked, before describing singing “as an expression of what the human person is ultimately created to do: praise God”.
Kate Fawcett, a musician and music therapist working in paediatric palliative care, also reflected on the spiritual significance of breath. 
Although she said she does not consider herself religious, performing sacred music in churches and cathedrals is deeply meaningful to her.
She pointed to the biblical Hebrew word ‘ruach’, which can be translated “according to context as wind, breath, or spirit, breath of life, spirit of God”.
“Without breath, there is no song to save the world,” she said.
Drawing on Bach’s ‘St John Passion’, Fawcett argued that spiritual meaning can reside not only in sacred words but also in the embodied act of making music together.
The conference also challenged the idea that church music is simply something added to worship.
Daniele Sabaino, professor of musicology and music history at the University of Pavia and a longstanding consultant on liturgical music to the Italian Bishops’ Conference, traced changes in the Catholic understanding of liturgical music following the Second Vatican Council, describing a movement away from “music in the liturgy” towards “music as liturgy”.
Rather than treating music as a sacred object performed by specialists for a largely passive congregation, he said singing can be understood as one of the ways the gathered Church itself participates in worship.
Music in the liturgy, he said, finds its purpose “in the service it renders to the act of celebration”.
Nor does this require every worshipper to be singing continuously.
“Singing, listening, silence, ministerial intervention and communal response all belong to a single act of celebration,” Sabaino said.
He rejected the idea that one particular musical grammar or style is inherently Christian, saying that musical forms could instead vary “according to time, place and culture”.
June Boyce-Tillman, professor emerita of applied music at the University of Winchester, similarly emphasised community over musical perfection.
Drawing on Hildegard of Bingen, she said music expresses “the unity of the world as God first made it and the unity which is restored through repentance and reconciliation”.
Reflecting on the deeper significance of song, she warned: “If we take away singing from people, we take away their power. It’s not taking away a decoration. We take away their power.”
Boyce-Tillman spoke warmly of projects that had brought together conventional choirs, dementia sufferers, children with profound learning difficulties, schools and audiences.
“It was an attempt to create a truly inclusive community,” she said. “Blurring the boundary between the audience or congregation and the singers is a very powerful one.”
Musicians and educators Katherine Zeserson and Guiliana Frozoni distilled this relational dimension into perhaps the conference’s simplest answer to the question of why people sing: “We sing because we love.”
Gareth Wilson, director of music at Girton College, Cambridge, argued that music’s theological value may lie precisely in the fact that it cannot be completely translated into concepts.
“Abrahamic monotheism resists the attempt to reduce God to what can be said,” he said.
Just as God cannot be contained within human categories, music confronts people with forms of meaning that resist complete verbal explanation.
Wilson suggested that this can teach something important about faith.
“To understand is to be in control, which chafes against the de-centering required by faith,” he said.
Reflecting on Schoenberg’s ‘Moses und Aron’, he put the point more starkly: “The idol is intellectual control. The idol is the self.”
Wilson connected singing and music with the Christian theology of creation and beauty. 
Drawing on theologian David Bentley Hart, he said that “when we delight in beauty, we participate in God’s delight in beauty”, describing this shared delight as part of the purpose for which humanity was created.
If creation itself is God’s prior act of communication, Wilson argued, the boundary between sacred and secular becomes more nuanced.
“If God created all that exists and remains in sustaining relationship with it … there can be no such thing as a secular or profane space. All space is sacred,” he said.
The power of song becomes particularly apparent in suffering, the conference heard.
Sarah Moerman, a research fellow at the University of St Andrews working at the intersection of theology and music, explored the history of African American spirituals, describing songs born amid enslavement and oppression yet characterised by “hope, comfort, strength, resilience, deliverance, liberation, freedom and justice”.
Though sometimes described as “sorrow songs”, she said spirituals are ultimately “always looking upward, reaching for hope.”
She linked this explicitly to faith, arguing that suffering can become an opening towards a deeper experience of God.
“Sorrow and suffering is the entrance,” she said.
For enslaved people, singing could help imagine “a world where there was no pain”, where “tears are wiped away.”
It was also an assertion of human dignity.
“The act of singing for the slaves was a way to maintain a sense of ownership and agency over their own selves despite the commodification of their bodies,” Moerman said.
She connected this with the Christian Passion tradition, where familiar hymns inserted into accounts of Christ’s crucifixion bring worshippers into the biblical narrative and encourage them to consider its meaning in the present.
Borrowed songs, she argued, can “honour the past”, help people make sense of and bear witness to the present and “give hope for the future”.
Community musician Daisy Widdicombe offered examples of this power of song in contemporary chaplaincy.
Her research into chaplains working in hospitals, prisons, mental health services and care settings found that more than 64% of those surveyed had incorporated singing into their work, including many without formal musical training.
One chaplain described singing hymns with mental health patients “as a means of reconnecting with faith and as a way of helping to express feelings”.
Another recalled singing to a patient confined to a bedroom in a secure hospital from the other side of a locked door.
“We sing together through a small hatch in the door, which can develop a sense of connection for someone who is otherwise quite isolated,” the chaplain said. “When someone is very acutely mentally ill and unable to speak, I’ve occasionally used song as a way to try and connect.”
Widdicombe said the skills shared by singing and pastoral care include attentiveness to breath, pauses, tone and emotion. Formal musical training is not essential.
“The one core characteristic that links musicianship and effective chaplaincy is the true ability to listen,” she said.
For Widdicombe, singing can offer “profound musical experiences of meaning and beauty for those seeking spiritual relief or connection”, even without instruments, formal instruction or, in some cases, words.
Other contributions widened the meaning of singing itself.
Chae-Lin Kim, a cellist and ethnomusicologist researching music and deaf culture, presented research into the Berlin Sign Choir, attached to a Protestant deaf church, where signed songs form part of the liturgy.
One song’s title translates as ‘God is pleased to sign’, and the lyrics speak of a God who understands, comforts, strengthens, forgives and loves.
“In this song, God is depicted as a signing God who communicates with them in sign language,” Kim explained.
Kim also noted that language around “hearing the Word of God” can be reimagined in deaf worship through seeing and signing.
Rather than treating deafness primarily as something requiring healing, she said the community understands it as a linguistic and cultural identity, with sign language becoming a means through which Christian faith, worship and relationship with God are expressed.
For Cheetham, the Christian vision of singing ultimately extends beyond humanity altogether.
Pointing to Psalm 148, he said Scripture pictures “the mountains, the birds, the animals, all creation singing”.
“One of the missteps that the Christian faith can sometimes take is that it becomes very anthropocentric and focused on the individual and your relationship with God,” he said. 
“I think that is actually a misreading of Christian theology. It’s all about the whole of creation.”
Christian worship, by this account, is not simply a collection of individuals singing religious words. Human voices join something much larger - praising together with creation.
As Cheetham concluded: “Learning to sing [is] vital to our humanity. It’s vital to our meaning-making, and it’s vital to our truth-seeking and our experience of all that is and of God.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[From Genesis to Revelation: The ambitious AI project turning the Bible into music]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/from-genesis-to-revelation-the-ambitious-ai-project-turning-the-bible-into-music</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/from-genesis-to-revelation-the-ambitious-ai-project-turning-the-bible-into-music</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Christian Today]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99156.jpeg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Micah Fiechter, founder and CEO of Music Bible]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Music Bible) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Micah Fiechter , Founder and CEO of Music Bible. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:33:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Micah Fiechter is the founder of the Music Bible, a project that has used AI to convert the entire Bible into music form across a range of genres. Christian Today spoke to Micah to find out more about what inspired him to start the project and the impact he hopes it will have.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Micah Fiechter is the founder of the Music Bible, a project that has used AI to convert the entire Bible into music form across a range of genres. Christian Today spoke to Micah to find out more about what inspired him to start the project and the impact he hopes it will have.
CT: How did this project go from you helping your dad out one Sunday to a team of 70 people?
MF: I think the way God has designed me is to be able to really build and inspire teams towards specific initiatives and goals. In college, I built a radio drama organization at Moody Bible Institute and that ended up having over 100 voice actors and actresses, and an 18-person executive staff.
Building teams is something that I just absolutely love to do, and I also love working with people from around the world. I love the perspective that they bring and just the different eye to things. 
But the other piece to it is my ambition to do musical Bibles in every major genre. We will never do interpretation or repetition, we simply want to use AI for the sole purpose of rendering the Word of God as it is written. That, for me, is super important.
And as we look at doing other languages, it's really important to me that we're not just in the studio producing tracks in Mandarin, or in Urdu, or in Arabic. We're actually on the ground in those regions with the people that are living and breathing in that air, so that they can dictate the sound and what it should feel like.
CT: So the 70 people are not all in Nashville?
MF: They're spread out across 11 countries. We are finding people on the ground and local pastors and their congregations there and getting them involved. 
By the end of next year, I would like to have the nine additional most spoken languages finished as musical Bibles.
So that will give the Bible in song for the very first time to 69% of the global population, 5.7 billion people, by the end of 2027.
CT: What's your favourite genre so far and why?
MF: I just hop around and go back and forth, but my most consistent genre is hip-hop. I really enjoy the hip-hop version because it's just very, very fun to me. But I will also say the jazz music Bible, for me, really makes passages that I've read a hundred times come alive differently. If you go to John 11, where Jesus is raising Lazarus from the dead, and you listen to that passage in jazz, it's like a symphony. It's so cool. That's probably my favourite song in the entire collection.
CT: You've also said that you hope the Music Bible will help people to memorize scripture. How important do you think that is for Christians?
MF: I don't think we can put a value on it - it's so important. It's critical. There's so much power in the Word of God, and when we have that actually hidden and imprinted in our hearts to the point where we can draw on it when we need it, it's preventative care in a way. It's hope and it's life.
I think music could arguably be the most memorisable, contagious medium for communication that is currently available. We're taking that powerful medium and delivering the power of the text of Scripture for the world to experience.
One mother reached out to me to say that her 10-year-old daughter wasn’t sleeping well but with the Music Bible she's been able to fall asleep. Not only that but just by listening, she's memorized over 150 verses of the Bible. I had another mum say that she and her daughter are going through the Book of James and memorizing it together just by listening to it, and they've memorized the first three chapters already.
So I think it hits people differently than a traditional audio Bible or simply reading it does.
CT: You've mentioned that you see this project as in some way continuing on the work of William Tyndale. What does Tyndale mean to you?
MF: I think William Tyndale is one of the most inspirational figures of the last thousand years for me. Around 500 years ago, English speakers could not read the Bible. They did not have the Bible in their language to read it and access it. Tyndale took a new technology - the Gutenberg printing press - and saw it as a means to deliver the Word of God.
A lot of people didn't like it, but what William Tyndale saw was the potential to give access to the Word of God in a revolutionary way. That was in 1526, and he ended up giving his life for that work.
So we have the spoken, oral way to experience the Bible. There is the written text and sign language, and now 500 years on from Tyndale, we have the Bible in music almost like a fourth medium for the entirety of Scripture - and not a paraphrase but word for word.
I think that William Tyndale made and laid the groundwork with utilizing a revolutionary technology for the glory of God, and using the printing press for God and using it for good. That's what we're committed to and that's why we are using AI in this narrow sense - never for interpretation, but in this narrow sense for Bible distribution.
CT: Coming to AI, can you give an idea of how your team and AI are working together on this. So, for example, was the AI coming out with real bangers every time? Did it need tweaks ever, or were there times when the AI came up with a really terrible song and your team had to really work on it? 
MF: That's why we need such a big team. You know, when we're talking about the entire Bible, it's 700,000 words. So we have to break it up into 11-verse songs and 2,750 songs per style of music. Every single song is being reviewed and looked at and evaluated and post-produced by human verification through our team.
We will never push a button and go “generate a Bible song” and just funnel that through the system and then out pops a musical Bible. It's a lot more intimate than that. We have a whole team dedicated to taking a passage, figuring out stylistically how to make it fit a certain genre. That then gets sent over to our review team that looks at textual fidelity - and we're aiming for 100% fidelity to the text. They will also consider things like repetition or phonetic pronunciation, so for example, are we pronouncing Moses correctly? AI makes mistakes and even the production team could make mistakes. So we've got to have a second layer here.
After all of that, the song gets sent over to the post-production team, which starts time-stamping, fixing, and doing everything inside of the song, which then gets sent back to the review team. That process is a feedback loop until the song gets approved and signed off by management. It goes through all of that before it can come off the pipeline and onto the Music Bible app.
When people download the Music Bible app, we're aiming for 100% accuracy; that's our standard. If we ever deviate from that and it gets flagged, we pull it down within 24 hours and replace it.
CT: You're committed to doing the Bible word for word but it can be dark in places and perhaps not always suitable for children - for example, in the Old Testament there are passages dealing with rape. How did your team navigate issues like that?
MF: This is part of what it means for the Music Bible to be committed to never doing the work of interpretation. What we are doing is delivering the canon, the 66 books of the Bible, in music form but it is for families and individual users to make the judgement call themselves about which parts they listen to.
In the app, we have playlists, for example a gospel playlist or a children's sleep medley. These are curated in such a way that certain content is filtered out for kids.
Where do we draw the line at Music Bible? If we are going to pull certain passages from our platform, I think that in and of itself becomes interpretation, and we're not going to do that. 
Something we are exploring for the future is a children's version of Music Bible based on an existing mainline edition of a children's Bible. 
Indeed, we are excited and eager to have conversations with other mainline translations because the Music Bible at the moment is the New American Standard Bible, word for word. It's a seminal, scholar-vetted, time-tested translation. NASB is wonderful and we stand by it. But we also want to meet people where they are in terms of other mainline translations and we hope to partner with some of these in the future. 
CT: Thinking briefly about AI for Christians, do you think there's a risk that AI could potentially crowd out the Holy Spirit? For example, how would you feel about a pastor delivering a sermon which was fully created by AI? 
MF: The conversation on AI and ethics is super important. I personally, at this moment in time, do not support the use of AI for interpreting Scripture and I don't use it that way.
I think there is something to be said about using it to compile research and data to help you as you are studying, but the actual content creation of it in the sense of creating theological words, I don't think that’s something I would support. My position could change potentially, but at this point, I don't think that's something I would support.
CT: Is there anything else that you really want to share about this project, or anything that you really want people to know? 
MF: There's so much fear and so much unknown about AI today, so it's one of those things that could so easily be a turnoff - AI and the Bible. But this app is a great example of AI being used for good.
It's free and you don't even have to create an account. You can immediately start listening to Scripture in song format in the genre that you like. I especially recommend that users listen to whatever passage was just preached on Sunday, or their favourite chapter or verse of the Bible. That's a great starting place. 
From a three year old child to someone with Alzheimer's in a nursing home, this is a revolutionary way to access Scripture and the potential is huge.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Backlash over Meryl Streep casting as Aslan in 'The Magician's Nephew']]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/backlash-against-meryl-streep-casting-as-aslan-in-the-magician-s-nephew</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/backlash-against-meryl-streep-casting-as-aslan-in-the-magician-s-nephew</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jon Brown]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/41/94116.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Aslan]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Disney/Screenshot ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:10:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA["It's an act of creative vandalism pretending to be artistic sophistication. It's more ideological slop produced by the machine that's given us plenty already," said one Texas pastor.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Confirmation that actress Meryl Streep will voice Aslan in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew has prompted backlash from some who claim it's an affront to the classic Christian allegory.
"I wanted someone who was profound but not pretentious, who had gravitas but not morose self-seriousness. Someone who could communicate depth and pathos as well as joy and delight," director Greta Gerwig told Empire of Streep's casting as the Christ-like lion who sacrificed himself to save a sinner in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
"I wanted someone who was older than 70, so there was a wisdom of experience, but who also had the capacity of fresh wonder, like a child. And also to be one of the greatest actors to ever do it. That list is not a long one," added Gerwig, who also directed Barbie and whose first installment in the multi-film Narnia series is slated for release next February.
Though written later, The Magician's Nephew is chronologically the first of the Narnia books and tells the story of Aslan creating the world of Narnia and an evil witch gaining access to it through the prideful incompetence of an occult dabbler.
The reaction from Christians on social media to news of Aslan's new gender was overwhelmingly negative, with some mocking the character as "Translan" and predicting the film will be another ideological attack from Hollywood against Jesus Christ that will flop.
Lutheran commentator and podcaster Liam McCollum said that Lewis "would’ve hated Gerwig’s deconstruction and subversion of Aslan." He noted the irony that Lewis wrote about an Aslan impostor in the last book of the Narnia series.
"[Lewis] literally wrote about a similar moral affront - in Narnia. In The Last Battle, King Tirian expresses fear about a counterfeit Aslan: 'Would it not be better to be dead than to have this horrible fear that Aslan has come and is not like the Aslan we have believed in and longed for? It is as if the sun rose one day and were a black sun,'" he wrote.
"You can guarantee Gerwig’s 'Aslan' will represent the present cultural milieu and Current Thing and will be a secular message about gender equity or something. Gerwig is likely summoning her own feminist god in Aslan's place instead of representing the Christian worldview," he added.
L. David Fairchild, pastor of Cross and Crown in Waxahachie, Texas, called Streep's casting "astonishingly arrogant."
"Giving Aslan a female voice isn't daring or profound or some brilliant act of creative genius. It's an act of creative vandalism pretending to be artistic sophistication. It's more ideological slop produced by the machine that's given us plenty already," he said.
"Gerwig was handed one of the most beloved works of Christian fiction in 20th century, and decided that even the central figure needed her brilliant editorial correction. Her arrogance has turned a potentially great movie into her ideological vanity project, and it will cost the studio," he added.
"In case there's ANY confusion, CS Lewis literally intended Aslan to be the incarnation of Christ inside the world of Narnia," said political commentator Isabel Brown. "When Lucy and Edmund learn they cannot return to Narnia again, Aslan comforts them by saying they'll know him again in their own world: 'There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name.'"
"Aslan is more than an allegory for Christ, he *is* how the creatures of Narnia experience Christ in their world just as we experience Jesus Christ as an incarnate MAN in ours. To cast Meryl Streep as Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Narnia is a slap in the face to the genius of Lewis, but also a deliberate mockery of Christianity that is 100% intentional. So deeply disappointing," she added.
Lewis was outspoken during his life that Aslan was not a mere allegory for Christ, but rather Christ as He would incarnate in a world like Narnia. When a mother wrote to him because she was concerned that her son, Laurence, had come to love Aslan more than Jesus, the author comforted her by noting he "can't really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that's what he is doing."
"For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus: and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before," Lewis wrote.
Gerwig, who grew up as a Unitarian Universalist, has also said that she envisions her adaptation of The Magician's Nephew to be "a rock opera," claiming, "David Bowie saved my life. Paul McCartney saved my life. David Gilmour saved my life. Pete Townshend saved my life. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant ... Narnia is literally a world made out of music. It is a world sung to life by Aslan."
In a 2018 interview, Gerwig said she feels "uncomfortable around 'Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior stuff,' I find that creepy, but I go to church every Sunday." She also noted that she appreciates prayers to the Virgin Mary because "it feels like this 'God the Father' thing is a bit alienating for me."
© The Christian Post]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Nashville team uses AI to convert whole Bible into musical form]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/nashville-team-uses-ai-to-convert-whole-bible-into-musical-form</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/nashville-team-uses-ai-to-convert-whole-bible-into-musical-form</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff writer]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/85/98561.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Bible, Christianity, Bible study]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:39:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[You can now listen to the whole Bible in musical form while you do your exercise.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A team of 70 people based in Nashville has used AI to convert the entire Bible into musical form.
The project began when 28-year-old Micah Fiechter was asked by his father, a pastor, to turn a single Bible chapter into music for a sermon. However, things didn’t stop there and Fiechter proceeded to assemble a team and do the same for the entire Bible across a multitude of genres.
After around a year of work it is now possible to listen to the entire Bible in a range of different musical styles via a new app known as the Music Bible. In total there are 11 different genres to pick from, each one covering the complete text of the Bible from beginning to end.
It is this faithfulness to scripture that has been emphasised by the team behind the project. Whether it’s country, hip-hop, jazz, pop, rock or even “workout” music, the key point is that not one word of scripture has been changed.
In addition to 11 genres in English, the app also features three genres available in Spanish. More versions are currently in the works.
Speaking about the project, Fiechter said that the hip-hop version appeared to be the most intriguing for users.
He hopes the platform will provide a way for people to not only hear the Word of God, but retain it. 
“The Bible was never meant to sit quietly on a shelf. It was meant to be heard. If someone can memorize the lyrics to a pop song, why shouldn’t they be able to memorize Scripture the same way?" he said.
"I don’t want people to remember Music Bible, I want them to remember the Bible.”
Fiechter takes inspiration from William Tyndale who pioneered the translation of the Bible into English.
Having begun with AI, plans are afoot for the Music Bible to eventually include the work of real musicians. Michael Blanton, the man behind artists like Amy Grant, Michael W Smith and Rich Mullins, has joined Music Bible as executive producer.
Blanton said, “I believe Music Bible has the potential to become one of the biggest developments in the music industry’s history, not only showing the creative power of AI for Bible engagement but launching a new wave of artists recording verse-by-verse Scripture songs.
“I’ve spent my career launching recording artists and tours. Music Bible may be the most significant project yet given its global impact and worldwide potential.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[Christian publisher celebrates 'extraordinary year' after scooping Publisher of the Year award]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/christian-publisher-celebrates-extraordinary-year-after-scooping-publisher-of-the-year-award</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/christian-publisher-celebrates-extraordinary-year-after-scooping-publisher-of-the-year-award</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff writer]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99153.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[SPCK]]></media:title>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2026 22:23:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[SPCK has expanded considerably in the last decade or so.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Christian publisher SPCK is celebrating “an extraordinary year” after being declared Publisher of the Year at the Christian Resources Together Awards 2026.
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge also saw a number of its titles pick up accolades at the event. Staying Faithful, by Traitors winner Harry Clark won Audiobook of the Year, All The Times You Were Not There by Emma Fowle picked up the Biography of the Year award, and God, AI and The End of History by John Lennox was recognised as the Christian Life Book of the Year.
SPCK has a history dating back to 1698 and in the last decade or so has seen significant expansion. In 2015 it merged with Inter-Varsity Press. In 2021 the group became Britain’s largest Christian publisher, following its acquisition of Lion Hudson.
Earlier this month SPCK acquired US based publisher William B Eerdmans, making it “the world’s leading independent Christian publisher of theology, biblical studies, and Christian trade”. 
Sam Richardson, CEO of SPCK Group, said, “Being named Publisher of the Year is a huge moment for SPCK Group. It recognises an extraordinary year for our authors and our team — a year in which we’ve grown, reached new audiences and seen books about Christian faith become part of much bigger cultural conversations.
“That is what we want SPCK Group to be doing: publishing books that engage seriously with the world we live in, strengthen and equip Christian readers around the globe, and bring light and truth to some of the most difficult questions of our time.”
Richardson also praised the award-winning books and their authors as “exceptional".
“These awards belong to our authors and to the remarkable people across SPCK who champion their work, and to the booksellers and bookstores who put these books into readers’ hands and help them find their audience," said Richardson.
"We’re deeply grateful for the role they play in bringing important books into communities and conversations across the country.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[‘Sounds of the Church’ gives Christian musicians live platform at CRE 2026]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/sounds-of-the-church-gives-christian-musicians-live-platform-at-cre-2026</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/sounds-of-the-church-gives-christian-musicians-live-platform-at-cre-2026</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/8/42/84202.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Microphone]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Pixabay ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:09:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Christian musicians from across the UK are being invited to apply for the chance to perform live at this year’s Church Resources Exhibition (CRE).]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Christian musicians from across the UK are being invited to apply for the chance to perform live at this year’s Church Resources Exhibition (CRE).
A new initiative, ‘Sounds of the Church,’ will see two acts selected to appear at CRE 2026, which is being held at Sandown Park in Surrey on October 14 and 15.
The competition welcomes entries from a broad range of Christian performers, including independent Christian singer-songwriters, gospel ensembles, church choirs, and contemporary worship bands and.
Organisers are encouraging churches and music groups to put themselves forward for the opportunity to perform before an audience of visitors, worship teams and church leaders from across the country.
Musicians and groups wishing to enter Sounds of the Church will need to send in a recording of themselves performing up to three songs, with applications closing on September 23.
Two successful applicants will secure a live performance slot at the exhibition.
The initiative is intended to give Christian musicians a platform to share their work with a wider audience while also highlighting the variety of music being produced and performed within churches and Christian communities across the UK.
MTS Live will support the initiative by supplying the staging and audio-visual equipment needed for the live performances at Sandown Park.
CRE is an annual exhibition bringing together organisations, ministries, suppliers and service providers that work with and support churches.
Last year’s exhibition, also held at Sandown Park, attracted over 2,300 visitors and over 170 exhibitors, according to organisers.
The event also serves as a networking space for churches, charities and Christian organisations, with exhibitors showcasing resources covering areas such as worship, technology, mission, finance, buildings, church administration and wider Christian networks.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[First Cornish musical setting of the Eucharist receives cultural award]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/first-cornish-musical-setting-of-the-eucharist-receives-cultural-award</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/first-cornish-musical-setting-of-the-eucharist-receives-cultural-award</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Neil Rees]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/86/98661.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Cornwall]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Getty/iStock) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:51:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Cornish People’s Mass, a Eucharistic service entirely in the Cornish language, has been recognised with a prestigious award for its cultural significance. This is the story …]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Cornish People’s Mass, a Eucharistic service entirely in the Cornish language, has been recognised with a prestigious award for its cultural significance. This is the story …
Cornish language service
Cornish – called Kernewek by its speakers – is the ancient native language of Cornwall, a region in the far southwest of Britain. It is a Celtic language related to Welsh and more closely linked to the Breton language spoken in parts of Brittany.
In the pre-Reformation period, when Cornish was widely spoken across Cornwall, the Mass would have been said in church Latin. When the Church of England was created, services went from Latin to English, at a time when many people still only knew Cornish.
Unlike in Wales, where the Prayer Book and Bible were translated into Welsh, this never happened in Cornish, and many people feel that, had the Bible been available in Cornish, it would have helped to save the language, as it did in Wales.
The Cornish language never quite went extinct, but as the language was dying out in the Victorian era, people sought to save it before it was forgotten and a revival began. Today, the main language of Cornwall is English, but a growing army of enthusiasts maintain the revived Cornish language, and Cornish is now recognised as a British minority language.
A new sung liturgical Eucharist (sometimes called the Mass) setting has now been produced in Cornish for the first time. This was celebrated at the Anglican Truro Cathedral on 3 June 2026. Over a hundred people from all over Cornwall attended, including Cornish speakers and people who recognised the significance of the occasion for the Cornish language and culture.
It was an immensely moving event. One woman remarked that she came expecting it to be a bit of a performance, but that it was in fact deeply prayerful and spiritual. The service was also streamed live and can be watched on YouTube.
A People’s Mass
The idea for a Cornish People’s Mass came from the poet Tim Saunders, based on an Irish People’s Mass, ‘Ceol an Aifrinn’, which uses elements and styles of Irish folk music.
Saunders floated the idea with the Rev Canon Jane Kneebone, an Anglican vicar who leads services in English but also arranges and leads services in Cornish throughout the year. She was inspired by the idea and commissioned folk singer, writer, storyteller and researcher Mike O’Connor to compose the People’s Mass.
The idea of a People’s Mass is that it is something anyone can sing, and this one would be based on a folk-song style and sung in unison. O'Connor agreed and, as a Christian himself, immediately understood the vision.
Kneebone then worked with Rev Ross Crichton, a Latin specialist and Scots Gaelic and Cornish speaker, to produce a faithful Cornish translation of the text from the original Latin source. After extensive research into early liturgical music in Cornwall, O’Connor composed a setting based on Cornish folk and psalm tunes.
The result is beautiful, and the music and words fitted together perfectly, with little amendment needed. As Mike commented, in his experience, ‘composition by committee’ never works, but this time it did.
Once the Mass was drafted, extensive checking took place by Kneebone, Crichton and Wella Morris, another Cornish scholar, until all were satisfied that the text, both musical and liturgical, was correct.
The setting was named ‘Oferen an Dasserghyans’ (Cornish for ‘Mass of the Resurrection’). This refers to Christ’s Resurrection, but ‘dasserghyans’ is also the word used in Cornish for the revival of the language, so it seemed doubly appropriate.
Launched in Truro Cathedral
Jane Kneebone contacted Truro Cathedral, which is the cathedral for the Anglican Diocese of Truro and the seat of the Bishop of Truro. It has been the Cathedral’s custom for some time to hold two Eucharists a year in Cornish, one sung with the Cathedral choir and one spoken.
They were genuinely excited about the project, and preparations began for a launch on the Eve of St Petroc’s Day, 3 June 2026. St Petroc is one of the great Cornish saints who helped to spread Celtic Christianity in Devon and Cornwall in the sixth century and is highly honoured in both Cornwall and Devon.
O’Connor prepared the text of the Oferen (Eucharist) for publication through Amazon. It is copyright-free and available to any church that wants to use it.
A rehearsal was held in a parish church the night before, and a full public rehearsal was held with the Cathedral’s Director of Music, James Anderson-Bezant, and the choir. It sounded wonderful and was very emotional for those involved.
Truro Cathedral livestreamed the service through its feed. It was a genuinely great occasion – deeply joyous, spiritual and life-affirming.
The service will be held again at Truro Cathedral on St Piran’s Day (5 March). St Piran is the patron saint of Cornwall, but the service is available to any parish church in Cornwall that would like to worship God in Holy Communion in Cornish and with culturally appropriate music.
Grand Bard’s Award
Every year, a gathering of Cornish bards called Gorsedh Kernow meets and honours people who support Cornish culture. Gorsedh Kernow has been incredibly supportive, recognising that this occasion was a milestone not just for Cornish Christianity, but also for the culture and the language.
The Grand Bard and Deputy Grand Bard both attended the service, marking the importance of the writing of the Oferen for Cornwall.
As a result, the Grand Bard, Jenefer Lowe, awarded the group behind the service her Grand Bard’s Award for 2026. The award was presented at the Gorsedh Annual Awards Ceremony in Bodmin, ahead of the main Gorsedh Ceremony on 4 September, which formed part of the Esedhvos Festival.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[God is ‘at work’ among heavy metal fans at Download]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/god-is-at-work-among-heavy-metal-fans-at-download</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/god-is-at-work-among-heavy-metal-fans-at-download</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff writer]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/9/91/99116.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[A festival chaplain at Download.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo: Baptists Together) ]]>
                                </media:credit>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ A festival chaplain at Download. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 15:22:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Some festivalgoers have subsequently joined churches after encountering chaplains.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
This year’s Download music festival was attended by up to 90,000 people – and by 45 chaplains.
The rock and heavy metal event is perhaps better known for the presence of well-aged bands like Guns & Roses, Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. However, even here God is “at work”, in the words of one of the chaplains.
The chaplains came from a range of denominations, including the Church of England and the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
One of the chaplains, Rev Roy Monks from the Baptist Castle Donnington Community Church told The Baptist Times that they were always “well received” by visitors to Download.
While the festival has been held almost every year since 2003, it’s only been in the last six years that chaplains have been in regular attendance.
Rev Monks said, “Many engage us openly as they see us walking around the site in our chaplaincy high vis vests, while we get the opportunity to help some of them practically, such as directions to where some things are located, and we have been a strong support to some in getting medical help.”
In addition to dealing with such practical matters, the chaplains also hosted a communion service during the festival and have a team of people on hand to pray for matters as they arise.  Rev Monks added, “God is certainly at work in this place. The conversations we have are many and varied but it’s clear to all of us that many are seeking … We had many amazing encounters.”He told The Baptist Times that the chaplaincy team got a real boost when two people they had prayed for last year came back to thank them after they had gone on to find a church and be baptised.  Meeting the chaplaincy team again at this year’s festival, they even offered to help out at next year’s event. 
Plans are now afoot for the chaplains to attend a smaller series of raves in Derby.
“We feel God has opened a door to these places because his heart is moved by the issues and the deep searching so many seem to have,” said Rev Monks.
“If anyone is interested in joining us and feels this could be their ministry we would be happy to hear from you.”]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
                                                        <item>
                <title><![CDATA[‘Shout to the Lord’ songwriter Darlene Zschech says the Church is entering ‘revival days again’]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiantoday.com/news/shout-to-the-lord-songwriter-darlene-zschech-says-the-church-is-entering-revival-days-again</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiantoday.com/news/shout-to-the-lord-songwriter-darlene-zschech-says-the-church-is-entering-revival-days-again</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obianuju Mbah]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiantoday.com/media/original/img/1/16/11670.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Darlene Zschech is leaving Hillsong after 25 years.]]></media:title>
                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Darlene Zschech is leaving Hillsong after 25 years. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                            <pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2026 08:51:00 +0100</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Veteran worship leader Darlene Zschech believes the Church is once again entering a season in which God is moving powerfully and new expressions of worship are emerging.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Veteran worship leader Darlene Zschech believes the Church is once again entering a season in which God is moving powerfully and new expressions of worship are emerging.
The Australian singer and songwriter, formerly of Hillsong, reflected on the relationship between worship and revival during an interview with Crosswalk Talk’s Michael Foust.
Looking back at earlier periods of revival and comparing them with what she sees happening today, Zschech said she believes the Church is living in “revival days again”.
“The new song has always coexisted with a fresh revival on the Earth, wherever it was,” she said. “It was always a new song that accompanied historical revivals, and we’re there again.”
She is encouraged by a new generation of Christian songwriters emerging within the Church and urges them to build upon the foundations laid by those who came before them.
“Seriously, I’m in awe of some of these songwriters now that are picking up these new frequencies, but their job is still the same,” she said.
“When we’re creating worship for the church, we’re not trying to be clever, we’re trying to release something out of people.”
Zschech said she wanted younger worship leaders and songwriters to “get on our shoulders and go as high and as wide as you can”, adding that she found the current season “so exciting”.
Her reflections came as she discussed ‘The House of Worship,’ a new film bringing together influential worship artists and looking back over 25 years of songs that have shaped contemporary Christian worship.
Zschech recalled experiencing what she now recognises as revival during the formative years of the modern worship movement in Australia, when worship services would frequently lead directly into calls for people to respond to the Gospel.
“We were living in revival days,” she said. “We’d lead worship, and rather than, you know, polite clap and someone walks up and preaches, [we’d] lead worship and someone would do an altar call, and just heaps of people would come and get saved.”
Although acknowledging there was “some messiness later”, Zschech said those years had a profound impact on her own faith and the community around her and that she “wouldn’t be sitting here today … without those days, where God really shaped us as a community of faith”. 
“He shaped us as a community of worship, leaders of worship, musicians, production, writers. We were being formed and forged together.”
She said one of the blessings of that period was that those involved were largely unknown outside their own circles, allowing their spiritual foundations to develop away from wider attention.
“It was like God hid us for a season while the roots went down deep,” she said. “And I’m so thankful for those days.”
During the interview, Zschech also reflected on the unlikely beginnings of “Shout to the Lord”, one of the most popular contemporary worship songs in the world.
She wrote the song during a difficult period in her family’s life, when she and her husband were raising two young children and struggling financially. Their business was not doing well and Zschech was singing advertising jingles to help bring in money.
Against that backdrop, she sat down at her piano one day and began pouring out her heart to God. The song came together in around 20 minutes.
“I just sang it, and I sang it, and I sang it, and it was just a prayer to the Lord,” she said.
At the time, Zschech lacked confidence in her songwriting and initially did not show it to her church’s worship pastor.
When she eventually played it for him, she was so embarrassed that she asked him to turn his back while she sang and kept offering to change parts, fearing they were not good enough. By the time she finished, the worship pastor had tears in his eyes and told her the church would sing it that weekend.
A visiting minister told her that day that the song would quickly travel around the world, a prediction she initially struggled to comprehend.
What followed was particularly meaningful to Zschech because it happened before social media and today’s opportunities for musicians to promote their work internationally.
“It was a miracle of God,” she said. “There was no kind of master plan, and I really liked that, because none of us can take credit for it.”
She recalled beginning to receive letters from people around the world and wondering how they had even encountered the song.
“God took this song and just breathed on it,” she said. “When God wants something out there, He can do it.”
More than three decades later, Zschech said she remains humbled when she hears congregations singing songs she has written, often becoming so absorbed in worship that she forgets she wrote them.
Looking ahead, Mrs Zschech said she believes worship will continue to have an important place in what she sees as an emerging spiritual awakening.
“I think we’re on the brink of something so magnificent,” she said.]]></content:encoded>
            </item>
            </channel>
</rss>